‘Assassin’s Creed 3’ Release Date 2012: Director Reveals Setting, Plot, Gameplay Details [VIDEO]

In new teaser released by IGN, Assassin's Creed creative director Mark Hutchinson discusses the new game, which is set for release October 30, 2012. The YouTube video shows cut-scenes and gameplay from the new title while Hutchinson lists the new features they have brought to the third Assassin's Creed game and explains the thought process behind development for Assassin's Creed 3, which takes place during the American Revolution.

According to Hutchinson, the central issue when developing the new game was deciding which features to keep the same and which needed an upgrade, or as he puts it, what is it that's just part of the brand... and what needs a new coat of paint? While many of the small details that made Assassin's Creed 1 and 2 such huge hits will return in the third installment, the new game will also be a departure from the previous titles. Hutchinson mentioned that early on they tried to model Benjamin Franklin's character after Leonardo da Vinci in the previous game, who invented new tools and weapons for the protagonist. However, they soon realized that Franklin's most famous accomplishments don't exactly translate into assassin's tools and so a new approach was necessary for Franklin's character. It feels like putting pegs in holes instead of making a game, Hutchinson explains.

Perhaps the biggest change in the new game is the wild forest frontier, which will not only be backdrop, but a 3-D environment where 30 percent of gameplay will take place. Hutchinson notes that while forests are often built in games, they are rarely designed as immersive 3-D environments. Hutchinson set out to create a forest that was as interactive as the cities in Assassin's Creed.

Discussing the gameplay, Hutchinson explained that their goal was to create a fighting style that would come naturally to both new and experienced players, while still drawing a clear line between the two groups.

An average player could kill five or six people, he said. But not in a fluid sequence.

However, a skilled player will be able to take out entire packs of soldiers by weaving together a series of attacks moves.

The game follows Connor, a half-Mohawk, half-European Assassin who stands by what's right and finds himself fighting for both sides of the revolution throughout the war, all the while defending the Native Americans from both armies.

The story of how he gets caught up in the war is the story of the game, Hutchinson says. So I won't reveal too much.

The creative director notes that it is important to us that people understand the game is not the battle to win the American Revolution.

The game starts before the war and continues past the final British surrender. The struggle at the heart of the game is not British versus Americans. Instead it is Assassins versus Templars, and there are plenty of Templars working on either side of the revolution.