‘Assassin’s Creed’ Real Life Leap Of Faith And Parkour: Watch Altair In The YouTube Video That Went Viral

By Lisa Eadicicco | September 06 2012 4:36 PM

"Assassin's Creed" has always incorporated swift and acrobatic combat into its gameplay mechanics, and the release of the upcoming game "Assassin's Creed 3" looks even more fluid. However, a recent YouTube video brings the energy out of the game and into real-like parkour.

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By now, it's no secret that "Assassin's Creed 3" has found its newest setting in America during the Revolutionary War. There's been a lot of hype about the free-roam cities of New York and Boston, and the new Frontier style maps.

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Earlier this week, parkour artist Ronnie Shalvis, donned in classic "Assassin's Creed" attire, appeared in a video that premiered at PAX 2012. Shalvis leaps and hurdles around a metropolitan landscape as if he is truly one of Desmond's ancestors.

The video begins with Shalvis standing atop a roof with his arms spread out side to side, gearing up to take a Leap of Faith. Nearly three minutes long, the footage follows Shalvis as he jumps and tumbles down city sidewalks, up trees, through parking garages and more.

Devin Graham recorded and edited the video, which was posted to YouTube on Sept. 3 and has attracted more than 1.5 million viewers in those three short days. On his personal blog Shalvis reveals that he had been planning for this video since April of this year, which includes crafting his "Assassin's Creed" costume.

The parkour artist said that he sent his body measurements to Allison Dredge, who produced the incredibly accurate Altair costume seen in the video.

"She built it specifically to allow me to move in it seamlessly, without it being too bulky or constricting," Shalvis writes. "From the video, I'd say she did a great job, right?"

For Shalvis, the key to landing body-twisting acrobatic feats like these is a combination of caution and confidence.

"Everything I do I make sure I feel confident in my ability to do it," he writes. "Everything I do is very meditated and planned. As cool as scars might be, I don't really want to bust anything open. Because of my approach to parkour and free running I have never received a serious injury, and there were no serious injuries in the making of this film."

Shalvis may have taken "Assassin's Creed" movements and motions into the real world, but it seems the Ubisoft development team has been working to bring real-life mechanics into the game as well. For example, environmental changes will have an impact on multiplayer gameplay in "Assassin's Creed 3."

"The dynamic weather system is a perfect example of one of the things we've done," Damien Kieken, Game Director at Ubisoft Annecy, said to CV G. "Now in the multiplayer maps, a snow storm or heavy rain can seriously affect your visibility, making it harder to spot the other players."

The release date for "Assassin's Creed 3" is Oct. 30. In the meantime, be sure to check out the "Assassin's Creed Meets Parkour in Real Life" video below.