Culture of convergence and intermedial relationships in 'Assassin's Creed'

Abstract

New technologies have impacted the modes of communication and the means of mass entertainment, such as cinema. Thus, immersed in the culture of convergence, this study aims to reflect on transmedia and intermediality relations, exploring the process of emergence of the Assassin's Creed video game franchise, whose reference from the first game is the novel Alamut by – Vladimir Bartol –, and the adaptation of this game franchise to the 2016 film of the same name. Furthermore, based on the theory of adaptation and the category of intermedia reference, it is interesting to explore the symbolic relations, within the scope of this narrative, which are updated and converge through current media media, whose basis is the mythology of a first civilization. The study follows the theoretical-methodological molds of qualitative research, supported by the theoretical principles of Anthropological Semiotics (Author) and inter/transmediality (Jenkins, 2013; Clüver, 2011; Rajewsky, 2012 etc.). Thus, it finds that means and platforms of communication, such as cinema, games and the internet, serve to update texts, mythologies and their narratives; combined with the audiovisual resources (sound and image) they currently have, they promote the integration and participation of the public in cultural productions, such as Assassin's Creed.