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8 Years of The Ones Who Came Before:
Looking Back
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10/8/22 By Colum Blackett Edited by Ashlea Blackett
Today, 10th August 2022, The Ones Who Came Before Assassin's Creed Fan Community celebrates eight years since its launch on Facebook and Twitter. What started out as a small-time hobby set-up by two brothers has now blossomed into a highly active online community and well respected media outlet. We are extremely proud of what we have achieved so far, and will continue to provide diverse content going forward. But for now, let's take a look back at eight glorious years of TOWCB!
About the Author
Col is the Community Admin for The Ones Who Came Before, and one of the Assassin's Creed Community Ambassadors (formerly for The Mentors Guild.)
He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player, and has spent the last 8 years working within the Assassin's Creed community on countless projects.
Colum Blackett
Article contains ads that support TOWCB.
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Memory by Kangarrru (Valorianru)
Col: I started The Ones Who Came Before back in 2014 with my brother as a place for Assassin's Creed fans to share their theories. At first, I felt like a small fish, doing everything possible to be noticed. Other communities at the time had thousands of followers on Twitter, and we were struggling to pass 100. After some time writing theories on our Facebook page, one theory stood out for fans. The Norway Theory proposed that Ubisoft would soon close the gap between the Assassin's Creed Initiates platform and the games, moving the Modern Day to this location as the Assassins began to rebuild. Although this didn't actually happen, elements of the theory were correct, and this passion for theory-crafting led to our community growth, as people began to engage with us.
In 2015, I received my first opportunity from Ubisoft. Community Developer Justin Kruger was setting up an Assassin's Creed Unity Multiplayer livestream, and invited me on as a guest! I was absolutely thrilled to be selected, and it really kick-started my passion for the Assassin's Creed community, and helped me recognise it as a force for good, inspiring and bringing people together. You can still watch the livestream here!
Col: After the livestream in 2015, I continued to work on my theories, and even started up a Youtube channel for TOWCB to explore them in more detail. I began building a small team, bringing onboard three members: Caroline, Sofija and Irakli. This helped me to recognise the importance of team work, and having people onboard with different skill sets to my own.
With the help of our graphic designer Irakli, The Ones Who Came Before began to take on an identity of its own. We had a small team, new logo, Facebook, Twitter, Website (Weebly) and Youtube account. The seeds for success were planted.
Col: 2016 was the turning point for our fan community. We were now an officially recognised fan community which had grown to over 15,000 members across social media platforms. Ubisoft invited me to join the Star Players Program, which was an incredible opportunity, leading to my first ever trip abroad attending Gamescom 2016 in Cologne, Germany!
Later in the year, I was also recruited once again by Ubisoft, this time to help promote and launch the Assassin's Creed Movie! I was one of a handful of Assassin's Creed fans around the world to be given the opportunity. The Community Team granted early access to a pre-order program known as Kernel, where fans could pre-book tickets and order exclusive merchandise. We had a video prepared breaking it down in detail , ready for its launch.
I attended two London events for the Assassin's Creed Movie in 2016, the first of which was to watch and review the first 20 minutes! This incredible event was attended by media outlets, with myself being the only fan to be invited, and actually led to our first major interview, Aymar Azaïzia, (Head of Content for Assassin's Creed). I also met film director Justin Kurzel and costume designer Sammy Sheldon!
Everything changed after that. Major Youtube Channels began covering my written account of the Movie, crediting The Ones Who Came Before. I joined a secret group of Assassin's Creed made up of influencers from around the UK. Ubisoft wanted me to work alongside me and my community more regularly. I felt like Assassin's Creed royalty!
In November 2016, I was once again invited to London, this time to attend the film's fan premiere. This was a really cool event, and I actually met members of the community who would also go on to join The Mentors Guild years later!
I also met my wife Ashlea around that time at University, who is now the Editor / Charity Project Coordinator for The Ones Who Came Before!
Col: 2016 was incredible, and the following year was equally as exciting! I had established the first major UK based Assassin's Creed fan community, and wanted to cement our brand further by interviewing as voice actors and attending as many events as possible. I got to a point where people actually recognised me at comic con events, which is a pretty mind-blowing prospect considering TOWCB was originally started as a small hobby!
Companies began reaching out to us, offering early access to merchandise for us to review! Again, insane! This had never crossed my mind when I began the project, and led to some very special collaborations.
Our big break in 2017 was an interview with Abubakar Salim, voice actor for Bayek in the upcoming Assassin's Creed Origins. Right after the announcement of his role, we had an interview ready to launch, thanks to the AC Community Team and my contacts at Ubisoft PR. You can find the interview here.
I wasn't the only one to have success on the team though, as 2017 saw our admin Sofija gain Star Player status from Ubisoft! She attended Gamescom 2017, and featured on on a video by Ubisoft titled "Meet the Ubisoft Star Players at Gamescom 2017"
2017 also saw the community mark 10 years of Assassin's Creed, and we were thrilled to play a small role in it.
Col: In 2018, we launched Quick-Fire Community Questions, a series which still runs today under the new name Assassin's Creed Community Questions. Alongside this, we launched a series titled Global Networks, which aimed to showcase Assassin's Creed fans all around the globe! I was fascinated by how fans shared their passion for Assassin's Creed in different areas around the world. Here we have the two episodes in the series, featuring fans from Egypt and Colombia.
We also attended Wales Comic Con twice, organising our first ever AC community meet-ups here in the UK, in collaboration with the Assassin's Creed United Kingdom team.
Later in the year, Ashlea launched our first ever Assassin's Creed Community Fundraiser. We wanted to help, heal and support areas of the world touched by Assassin's Creed. For our first fundraiser back in 2018, we teamed up with Access the Animus to support Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation, a sanctuary for birds based in the UK that provides aid to birds across the world. We now launch a different Community Fundraiser every year, supporting a different cause. Keep an eye on our social media accounts for information about the 2022 project, coming soon!
Col: 2019 saw us launch an Assassin's Creed Fan Magazine called The Animus Archives, something which still stands out to this day as a unique and fun project. Unfortunately we terminated the project after a few issues to work on something bigger.
I decided that it was time for The Ones Who Came Before to expand, and have a website which acts as a platform solely to host community projects and news. To do this, I had to painstakingly build the website from scratch. It took 3 months in total to move every single article across to this website from the old Weebly website. A new format for articles was introduced, including the Database, Top Stories grid on the bottom, and Latest page for all the recent updates. It was much more complex than the previous site, and took every minute of my free time to produce. I am so proud of how the website looks today, and it's current position in the Google rankings. Building the new site was very much trial and error, but paid off in the end.
2019 also saw us change our admin structure, as we launched the Assassin's Creed Partnership Program (Isu Network), a community initiative which aims to shine a spotlight on content creators. We felt that it was time to give something back to the community, and bringing them onboard has led to many gaining Star Player status and opportunities due to our online influence. It's an absolute privilege to work alongside these talented community members, who are producing top quality content for the website.
Ubisoft UK invited us to attend the Assassin's Creed Symphony event in London, alongside an open-bus tour of the city and meet-up with community members. We had a ton of fun at the 3 day event, and even met Michael Antonakos! (Alexios from AC Odyssey)
Col: In 2020, we kicked off the year by giving away a signed copy of Assassin's Creed - The Best of Jesper Kyd vinyl record, thanks to Top Dollar PR. We interviewed voice actors Roger Craig Smith (Ezio Auditore) and Carlos Ferro (Leonardo Da Vinci), which were both a ton of fun to work on!
In a world full of lockdowns and tragedy, we had to find digital ways of staying engaged with community members, so we held online meet-ups and promoted Virtual Photography. We did our best to keep people positive in dark times, hosting code giveaways and regular quizzes. The Community Fundraiser for 2020 supported The Italian Red Cross, who were combating the illness which was spreading at a rapid pace worldwide. In total we raised £530 in total, a respectable amount which no doubt made a difference.
We also gained early access to Valhalla thanks to the Rally the Creed Ubisoft initiative, a Ubisoft program in the UK which merged into The Mentors Guild. In October, Ashlea, myself and Lisa Zaman all joined The Mentors Guild, which was a huge opportunity for our community and led to an increase in opportunities such as giveaways, early access and giveaways.
Netflix announced an Assassin's Creed live-action TV Series, something which got the community extremely excited. To this date, we still have very little information on this, but we can't wait to cover it in the future!
We ended the year by releasing an interview on AC Day (21/12) with Magnus Bruun, who plays Eivor/Odin in Assassin's Creed Valhalla!
Col: The first half of 2021 (last year) was huge year for us in terms of content. We decided to split the website into sections, and open up our coverage. We began by launching game guides for Valhalla, Origins and Odyssey, before turning our attentions to 'how to' guides which could help players uncover secrets, such as the Burial Site of Grand Magister Vitus in AC Valhalla.
We also began producing exclusive art for the first time, thanks to the talented members on the Partnership Program. Thanks to this, we were able to launch a beautiful piece of Basim art alongside our interview with Carlo Rota. (Basim /Loki) You can see the finished piece by SophiaEA16 below.
In the second half of 2021, widespread sexual misconduct allegations within the video games industry and the Covid-19 pandemic halted us in our tracks. We hit the pause button, and looked at ways in which we could support victims of abuse and help the community heal after devastating developments. The community was hurting, and we here at TOWCB felt extremely drained.
We began by producing a statement which condemned the acts and named the abusers. We shared the stories, supported the Sisterhood and stood by the community as it suffered a great pain. It was an incredibly challenging time which led to many leaving the community entirely. As Ubisoft began their investigations. we fully cut ties with the toxic people working for the company by cancelling upcoming interviews. We found ways to stay positive in difficult circumstances and help those who needed it most.
Our good friend Gargudon launched Forgotten Youth, an initiative which shone a light on the collective trauma young people face due to worldwide lockdowns. The project was a gathering point for discussion, reflecting on the long-lasting consequences and damage caused by COVID-19.
The year ended on a positive note though, as Ash and I got married in November! We had an Assassin's Creed / Harry Potter themed wedding. A string quartet played Ezio's family in an extremely moving ceremony. Rings were delivered by owl. You can see our wedding cake below!
Col: 2022! Present day:
This year so far, we have taken the Assassin's Creed Partnership Program to the next level, breaking it into four separate content teams and recruiting members from around the globe. This has led to a huge increase in projects, including a new series titled 'This Week in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography' by Aaron Young, a weekly showcase of community captures. We have also been focussing on reviews, and our new Network Leader Michael Smith has been doing incredible work. You can find his projects in the Community Hub.
Although many were disheartened by the sudden closure of The Mentors Guild, we are maintaining a strong relationship with Ubisoft and are keeping in touch via the Ubisoft Star Players program.
Also of note, Finn Fletcher, a new partnership program member broke our own personal records by launching his debut article in July, which recorded record numbers for the site! Don't miss his article, Aztec Empire: Pitching an Assassin's Creed Game.
Consistency is key for 2022, as we aim to keep our content releasing according to a content schedule. You can expect regular content, as we are working hard behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly.
To celebrate 8 years of The Ones Who Came Before, you can look forward to:
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Our biggest ever merchandise giveaway, launching very soon!
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A brand new Assassin's Creed Community Fundraiser! We will make a difference once again!
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Meet the Team: We will be hosting a Discord Q&A / online meet-up! 20/8/22
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A special project currently in development that brings artists together for a fantastic cause.
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The rebirth of our very own podcast!
More happy news for later in the year, as Ash and I are expecting a baby boy in November 2022!
It's an exciting time to be an Assassin's Creed fan, as today marks one month until the special event at Ubisoft Forward which will unveil the future of the series!
We would like to say a huge thank you to the Assassin's Creed community for eight years of love and support. We do this for you, and we love what we do. You inspire us to do more.
A further thanks goes out to our Amazon Assassins, the people who help fund this website and shipping costs by purchasing items through our affiliate links. You are the ones who keep up afloat in difficult times.
We are extremely grateful for the opportunities we have had over the years, and we can't wait to do even more going forward.
Safety and Peace Assassins.
