Assassin's Creed 3 gets dirty with Ben Franklin

In an interview withPenny Arcade Report, Alex Hutchinson, creative director on Assassin's Creed III discussed some of the challenges of designing the game. He began by explaining how hard it is to stay true to real people in the AC series.

He said they always try to make sure the people who are assassinated were...actually killed. He says the goal is to make sure they are real people who die in AC at the same place/time as they did in real life.

This branched off into a conversation about portraying Benjamin Franklin realistically, which is rare in most media. While he's often portrayed as an upstanding paladin of American values, he was also kind of a horn dog.

“We went with the more unusual sides of him. Like his love of women,” Hutchinson explained. “He said that women dry out, but they dry out from the top down, and therefore the bits that you need never dry out. I know we’re going to get [complaints], but this is all public record.”

Penny Arcade took the liberty of looking up Franklin's actual quote, and here it is to scar you forever: "Because in every Animal that walks upright, the Deficiency of the Fluids that fill the Muscles appears first in the highest Part: The Face first grows lank and wrinkled; then the Neck; then the Breast and Arms; the lower Parts continuing to the last as plump as ever: So that covering all above with a Basket, and regarding only what is below the Girdle, it is impossible of two Women to know an old from a young one. And as in the dark all Cats are grey, the Pleasure of corporal Enjoyment with an old Woman is at least equal, and frequently superior, every Knack being by Practice capable of Improvement.”

Andrew Groen

Andrew is a freelance video game journalist, writing for sites like Wired and GamesRadar. Andrew has also written a book called EMPIRES OF EVE: A History of the Great Wars of EVE Online.

Latest in Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed Shadows Claws of Awaji expansion Naoe and Yasuke in Awaji forest
Assassin's Creed Shadows roadmap, DLC and future content
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows reverses roles to show off Naoe's combat and Yasuke's stealth, and I'm suddenly sold on playing Yasuke like a clumsy Snake in Metal Gear Solid 3
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows' DLC will take place after the main game's "definite ending" in a "spookier" location, creative director says
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows devs added a Canon Mode removing RPG choices after Odyssey fans "expressed their disappointment" over not having a "definitive" story
Assassin's Creed Odyssey screenshot of Kassandra admiring a blade
Assassin's Creed's Kassandra stole the show in Odyssey, popped up in Valhalla, and she's still "very much alive" during AC Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin's Creed Shadows will take upwards of 80 hours for completionists, creative director confirms, and Ubisoft is considering adding New Game+ post launch
Latest in News
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip
A misty, forested mountainside in Prologue: Go Wayback!
PUBG creator's wilderness survival game actually draws inspiration from an unexpected place - a whole raft of zombie games like DayZ, Project Zomboid, and Left 4 Dead
The Blood of Dawnwalker: A screenshot of the vampire Brencis holding up a crown during the trailer for the upcoming game.
The Witcher 3 devs created a Jekyll & Hyde-style character for their new vampire RPG "because nobody yet has done that"
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil fans are wondering if Born Again season 2 will set up a darker comic book arc for Matt Murdock
Theo James as Hal in Osgood Perkins' The Monkey
It might only be March, but Stephen King adaptation The Monkey is now the highest grossing horror movie of 2025
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of card packs
Balatro creator initially considered a Steam release in part to help "get a game developer job somewhere," and after 5 million sales I'd say he found one