Setting up an Assassin's Creed Community can be a daunting prospect, as so many exist across multiple different social media platforms. Don't let that deter you though. The community is always ready to embrace the next wave of innovative projects, and in this new series we will help you to establish your own. In this first article, I will be drawing on my own experiences to help fellow community members start up their own projects, and build something that stands out from the crowd.

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Back in 2014, the community looked very different. You would wait eagerly for the next epic video produced by Assassin's Creed Universe, and use the Initiates platform to gain intel from an online database full of lore and mysteries. The Ones Who Came Before was created as a place to share theories and aimed to create a platform that encouraged positive discussion surrounding the games. We have since shifted our aims, and now strive to make our channels the home of Assassin's Creed community content, and hope to inspire a new wave of fan content.

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So, how do you get started? At the drawing board of course! Grab your nearest notepad and pen and jot down some initial ideas that come to mind.

Find a niche and set your goals

Once you have your initial ideas, conduct some research into past and present Assassin's Creed communities. Look for a way to stand out from the crowd, and highlight your niche area.

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A perfect example of this is AC: Landmarks, a new community project led by Arshak that provides in-depth historical discussions. Although the project only started up this year, it's been very successful and is different to anything else going on in the community right now.

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Next, set your goals and list your intentions. What are you hoping to achieve? Do you want to create a new form of community or simply cover the news? Whatever it is, make it a goal and keep going until you achieve it.

You don't always need to be the biggest, and sometimes people make huge social media numbers a priority. I personally value small-scale interactions with passionate community members over this. Yes, growth is a sign of progression, but it takes time to achieve. You probably won't gain huge numbers overnight, but that's okay. 

So, you have your niche area and goals. Now what? Next,  your community needs a name! 

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Look for something that sounds Assassin's Creed related, but doesn't clash with past initiatives or projects.  A great example of this is Access the Animus, which is actually a song by Jesper Kyd on the original soundtrack! 

Trial and Error

Now you have your goals, niche area and a name, it's time to set up your social media channels/ platform!

Where do you want to start? Probably best to begin with a platform you're already familiar with. Create your channels and begin your first Assassin's Creed community projects!

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In the beginning, you'll probably get a low response rate. That's to be expected when you start. You'll also start to notice what does well and what doesn't. Youtube is a good place to see this progression, as you can track likes, views and dislikes. 

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Whatever you do in the beginning, make it work for you. One of the first projects for TOWCB was a wall poster that listed all the Modern day characters from Initiates. This sparked discussion about the Altair II ship and later developed into the Norway theory, which became popular with community members at the time. 

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It really is just a case of trial and error. Thrive in your niche field, and people will notice. As I said before, it's not always about the numbers. If you have positive interactions with community members, you're on the right track and your platform is beginning to establish itself.

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Don't give up, and if you're unhappy with your response rate, reach out for support.

Create an inner circle

The Assassin's Creed community has always been extremely supportive, and you can always find people to give you a helping hand. You don't have to do anything alone.

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Collaborative projects with community leaders are a great way of making a name for yourself, and will also help you make friends. Establish a network, and build a team around you in order to take the pressure off.

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We here at The Ones Who Came Before have a huge inner circle thanks to years of working on projects. Some of our branches include: The core admin team, The Discord moderators and The AC Partnership Program members. As you can see, we have loads of community members we can call on for help or support, and you too can create an inner circle by working with people.

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You might even find that working on projects with other people can be more fun! This can seen by looking at recent episodes of the Let's Talk Assassin's Creed Podcast hosted by Declan from The Mentors Guild. Collaborative projects will always be a great way to spark discussion and explore different avenues of thinking.

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The Ones Who Came Before always aims to promote community content, so reach out to us directly for support. We would be honoured to join your inner circle, and will share your projects with our audience.

Stay Unique

This one can sometimes be hard, as other communities are also working hard to create content, but try your best to stay unique, and stand out from the crowd.

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If you notice similarities in your projects, maybe collaborate or put a unique spin on it. You can always adapt your work to stay innovative.

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As former community developer Justin Kruger used to say: #DoAThing.

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Keep going and establish yourself.

I hope that you found the first article in the series to be useful. Let us know in the comments if you plan on setting up your own AC community/ project over the coming weeks, and if we can be of any help.

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Next time: We invite another Community Builder from The Mentors Guild to bring you some guidance on establishing and maintaining an Assassin's Creed community.

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Thanks for reading!