AC Community Questions: Louise (TheNerdyArcher)

Col: Hi Louise, thank you for joining me for this introductory interview!

In January 2024 you joined The Ones Who Came Before's Assassin's Creed Partnership Program, known as the Isu_Network. Are you looking forward to working with our content teams?

Louise: I am! I’ve been a keen follower of TOWCB’s content for a long while, even getting some of my own friends into the franchise and following across various social media platforms.

Thinking back to when I was new to the fanbase for Assassin’s Creed, TOWCB was one of those I kept coming back to - whether it was for news, reviews, or just the friendly interactions on socials.

Pretty sure I still have the tweet where the team wished me Happy Birthday a few years back saved somewhere 😂

Everyone has been so lovely and the creativity shown is just amazing. Can’t wait to get started. I’ve already thought of so many ideas - so just wait and see :)

Col: When did you first start writing, and what in your opinion would you say has been your most popular piece of writing?

Louise: Creatively? It’s been something I’ve been doing since I was a kid - I was that person who would finish work early and then write for fun in lessons. So I guess nothing’s changed there!

Reporting I got into a bit later on; when I started university I joined the university magazine and wrote articles on all sorts, joining the committee for a year or two. I even managed to win a few awards in the meantime.

Now I’m heading back to university to study writing for a Master’s come September. :)

Col: What are some of your most recent Assassin's Creed Community Projects, and what are you working on currently?

Louise: I’ve eternally been trying to finish Evie’s coat since I finished the game for the first time in 2015 - as well as a few other outfits in the series I really love. These include Kass’ symposium gown, Claudia’s Brotherhood outfit, and an original design of something for Jenny 👀

But back in October with Mirage’s release I tried my hand at trophy hunting and posted a video that was partially me speed-earning all of the trophies in the game as well as a partial (spoiler free!) review.

Col: Have you visited any of the locations from the games?

Louise: A fair few! It’s a privilege that by living in the UK I’ve been able to visit London a few times - and the town near where I grew up was featured in one of Valhalla’s story arcs. I visited Paris and several places in Greece a few years before both Unity and Odyssey released.

But there’s still dozens of places I’d love to go - Italy is on the top of my list, and I would love to visit parts of the US one day.

Col: Which Assassin's Creed game is your favourite and why?

Louise: What a question!

I think everyone who knows me is well aware Syndicate is the one after my own heart. While Unity was the first title in the series I ever played, it was the Twins who got me invested with my entire being 😂

There’s a few others that hold a lot of sentimental value to me as well: Black Flag as it was the favourite of the person who got me into the series (Jenny is also one of my favourite characters in the franchise, and man do I love the sea shanties too). I still remember the awe when I booted up Origins for the first time and just sat at the menu listening to the theme for almost an hour.

The key to my heart is to show me a video game with a great soundtrack.

Col: Have you attended any events within the Assassin's Creed Community?

Louise: A few! Sadly I was just just joining in with community events when the Pandemic happened, so I’ve only been to a couple - most recently the AC Symphonic Experience in London. But I did attend the event in 2019 too.

Then towards the end of 2022 I was invited by Ubisoft to the opening of their 878AD exhibition in Winchester - which I would highly recommend visiting!

Col: What would be your dream setting for the upcoming AC Netflix TV show or future game?

Louise: When I’ve thought about my dream AC show, I’ve always wanted to see something more anthology based - so instead of being focused around a time period, why not have it follow a Piece of Eden. Like the original idea for Unity, we see it change hands between Assassins and Templars over the centuries.

Building the world around what we already have would be the big thing I’d love to see, though. Instead of focusing on the main protagonists, what is everyone else doing - especially if an episode/plotline is set in a time period or location already seen once before.

(Kind of like how The Resurrection Plot had a small Evie Frye cameo but the story wasn’t about the Twins and Henry).

Col: Do you have any personal AC goals you would like to achieve?

Louise: Trying new things! While I enjoy writing, there are a few other things I would love to try my hands at - cosplay is a big one of those!

Video stuff is also something I am getting myself back into creating, on a few different topics. From reviews of titles, full historical deepdives, and even a little series of learning how to speedrun a game - they’re all in the works :)

I just want to have fun with it all, first and foremost.

Col: What would you say is your most significant community achievement to date?

Louise: The sword designing workshop I was part of with the Mentor’s Guild was pretty fun! Always a fun icebreaker fun fact at parties too :)

Being able to review a copy of Kate Heartfield’s The Magus Conspiracy and then seeing that review highlighted in the media section on various sites was also a lovely surprise for a book that is truly one of the best in AC transmedia.

Col: What is is your favourite part of being a community member?

Louise: The curiosity and the creativity just blows me away every time; from the cosplayers to the writers, the musicians - and just how positive people can be with the original creations.

Col: Do you collect AC merchandise? If so, what is your favourite item?

Louise: Only the ones which catch my eye, but I have a few pieces which are my pride and joy (and are we surprised to find that they’re all Syndicate themed?)

My Rook’s flag is my favourite - and the one I spent the most time looking for.

Col: What advice do you have for people looking to get into games journalism and creative writing?

Louise: Find what’s unique about you and what you’re interested in. There’s a unique twist to anything that you can bring about! For me, that was combining my archaeology degree and LGBTQ reception of video games!

Col: Where can our community members find you online?

Louise: I’m on Twitter and Discord @TheNerdyArcher, as well as Instagram and Twitch @nerdyarcheruk ✌️