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ARCADE ENTHUSIASMMarch 3, 1976
A gang fight involving 20 30 people erupted early Saturday morning in front of an arcade on Guadalupe Street. The owner of the Fun House Arcade at 282J Guadalupe told police pool cues, lug wrenches, fists and a shotgun were displayed during the flurry. Police are unsure what started the fisticuffs, but one witness at the scene said it pitted Chicanos against Anglos. During the fight the owner of the arcade said a green car stopped at the side of the arcade and witnesses reported the barrel of a shotgun sticking out. The crowd wisely scattered and only a 23-year-old man was left lying on the ground. He told police he doesn't know what happened.
ARCADE ROBBEDFirst it was called Fun House and then renamed Play Time a year later. I'm not sure what kind of arcade games beyond Pong and maybe Asteroids they could have had at this place. The peak of the Pinball craze was supposed to be around 1979, so they might have had a few pinball machines as well. A quick search of youtube will show you a few examples of 1976 video games like Death Race. The location is next to Ken's Donuts where PokeBowl is today where the old Baskin Robbins location was for many years.
A former employee of Play Time Arcade, 2820 Guadalupe, was charged Tuesday in connection with the Tuesday afternoon robbery of his former business. Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Ronnie Magee, 22, of 1009 Aggie Lane, Apt. 306. Arcade attendant Sam Garner said he had played pool with the suspect an hour before the robbery. He told police the man had been fired from the business two weeks earlier. Police said a man walked in the arcade about 2:45 p m. with a blue steel pistol and took $180. Magee is charged with first degree aggravated robbery. Bond was set on the charge at $15,000.
A 23-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to a January 1983 murder in East Austin and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jim Crowell Jr. of Austin admitted shooting 17-year-old Anthony Rodriguez in the chest with a shotgun after the two argued outside the Green Goth, a games arcade at 1121 Springdale Road, on Jan. 23, 1983. Crowell had argued with Rodriguez and a friend of Rodriguez at the arcade, police said. Crowell then went to his house, got a shotgun and returned to the arcade, witnesses said. When the two friends left the arcade, Rodriguez was shot Several weeks ago Crowell had reached a plea bargain with prosecutors for an eight-year prison term, but District Judge Bob Perkins would not accept the sentence, saying it was shorter than sentences in similar cases. After further plea bargaining, Crowell accepted the 15-year prison sentence.I can't find anything else on Green Goth except reports about this incident with a murder there. There is at least one other report from 1983 around the time of Crowell's arrest that also refer to it as an arcade but reports the manager said the argument started over a game of pool. It's possible this place might have been more known for pool.
Losing the magic touch - Video Arcades have trouble winning the money gameWell there is a lot to take from that long article, among other things, that the author confused "Dragonslayer" with "Dragon's Lair". I lol'd.
It was going to be so easy for Lawrence Villegas, a video game junkie who thought he could make a fast buck by opening up an arcade where kids could plunk down an endless supply of quarters to play Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Asteroids. Villegas got together with a few friends, purchased about 30 video games and opened Games, Etc. at 1302 S. First St in 1980. .,--.... For a while, things, went great Kids waited in line to spend their money to drive race cars, slay dragons and save the universe.
AT THE BEGINNING of 1982, however, the bottom fell out, and Villegas' revenues fell from $400 a week to $25. Today, Games, Etc. is vacant Villegas, 30, who is now working for his parents at Tony's Tortilla Factory, hasn't decided what he'll do with the building. "I was hooked on Asteroids, and I opened the business to get other people hooked, too," Villegas said. "But people started getting bored, and it wasn't worth keeping the place open. In the end, I sold some machines for so little it made me sick."
VILLEGAS ISNT the only video game operator to experience hard times, video game manufacturers and distributors 'It used to be fairly common to get $300 a week from a machine. Now we rarely get more than $100 .
Pac-Man's a lost cause. Six months ago, you could resell a Pac-Man machine for $1,600. Now, you're lucky to get $950 if you can find a buyer." Ronnie Roark says. In the past year, business has dropped 25 percent to 65 percent throughout the country, they say. Most predict business will get even worse before the market stabilizes. Video game manufacturers and operators say there are several reasons for the sharp and rapid decline: Many video games can now be played at home on television, so there's no reason to go to an arcade. The novelty of video games has worn off. It has been more than a decade since the first ones hit the market The decline can be traced directly to oversaturation or the market arcade owners say. The number of games in Austin has quadrupled since 1981, and it's not uncommon to see them in coin-operated laundries, convenience stores and restaurants.
WITH SO MANY games to choose from, local operators say, Austinites be came bored. Arcades still take in thousands of dollars each week, but managers and owners say most of the money is going to a select group of newer games, while dozens of others sit idle.
"After awhile, they all seem the same," said Dan Moyed, 22, as he relaxed at Muther's Arcade at 2532 Guadalupe St "You get to know what the game is going to do before it does. You can play without even thinking about it" Arcade owners say that that, in a nutshell, is why the market is stagnating.
IN THE PAST 18 months, Ronnie Roark, owner of the Back Room at 2015 E. Riverside Drive, said his video business has dropped 65 to 75 percent Roark, . who supplied about 160 video games to several Austin bars and arcades, said the instant success of the games is what led to their demise. "The technology is not keeping up with people's demand for change," said Roark, who bought his first video game in 1972. "The average game is popular for two or three months. We're sending back games that are less than five months old."
Roark said the market began dropping in March 1982 and has been declining steadily ever since. "The drop started before University of Texas students left for the summer in 1982," Roark said. "We expected a 25 percent drop in business, and we got that, and more. It's never really picked up since then. - "It used to be fairly common to get $300 a week from a machine. Now we rarely get more than $100. 1 was shocked when I looked over my books and saw how much things had dropped."
TO COMBAT THE slump, Roark said, he and some arcade owners last year cut the price of playing. Even that didn't help, he said. Old favorites, such as Pac-Man, which once took in hundreds of dollars each week, he said, now make less than $3 each. "Pac-Man's a lost cause," he said. "Six months ago, you could resell a Pac-Man machine for $1,600. Now, you're lucky to get $950 if you can find a buyer." Hardest hit by the slump are the owners of the machines, who pay $3,500 to $5,000 for new products and split the proceeds with the businesses that house them.
SALEM JOSEPH, owner of Austin Amusement and Vending Co., said his business is off 40 percent in the past year. Worse yet, some of his customers began returning their machines, and he's having a hard time putting them back in service. "Two years ago, a machine would generate enough money to pay for itself in six months,' said Joseph, who supplies about 250 games to arcades. "Now that same machine takes 18 months to pay for itself." As a result, Joseph said, he'll buy fewer than 15 new machines this year, down from the 30 to 50 he used to buy. And about 50 machines are sitting idle in his warehouse.
"I get calls every day from people who want to sell me their machines," Joseph said. "But I can't buy them. The manufacturers won't buy them from me." ARCADE OWNERS and game manufacturers hope the advent of laser disc video games will buoy the market Don Osborne, vice president of marketing for Atari, one of the largest manufacturers of video games, said he expects laser disc games to bring a 25 percent increase in revenues next year. The new games are programmed to give players choices that may affect the outcome of the game, Os borne said. "Like the record and movie industries, the video game industry is dependent on products that stimulate the imagination," Osborne said "One of the reasons we're in a valley is that we weren't coming up with those kinds of products."
THE FIRST of the laser dis games, Dragonslayer and Star Wan hit the market about two months ago. Noel Kerns, assistant manager of The Gold Mine Arcade in Northcross Mall, says the new games are responsible for a $l,000-a-week increase in revenues. Still, Kerns said, the Gold Mine' total sales are down 20 percent iron last summer. However, he remain optimistic about the future of the video game industry. "Where else can you come out of the rain and drive a Formula One race car or save the universe?" hi asked.
Others aren't so optimistic. Roark predicted the slump will force half of all operators out of business and will last two more years. "Right now, we've got a great sup ply and almost no demand," Roark said. "That's going to have to change before things get- significantly better."
'Quartermania' stalks South AustinWell you can see which way the tone of all these articles is going. There were some crimes committed at some arcades but all of them tended to have a negative reputation for various reasons. Parents and teachers were very skeptical of the arcades being in the neighborhoods to the point of petitioning the City Government to restrict them. Three arcades are mentioned besides Chuck-E-Cheese. Electronic Encounters in Southwood Mall, The Outer Limits amusements center at 1409 W. Oltorf, and Computer Madness, a "video game and foosball arcade" at 2414 S. Lamar Blvd.
School officials, parents worried about effects of video games
A fear Is haunting the video game business. "We call it 'quartermania.' That's fear of running out of quarters," said Steve Stackable, co-owner of Computer Madness, a video game and foosball arcade at 2414 S. Lamar Blvd. The "quartermania" fear extends to South Austin households and schools, as well. There it's a fear of students running out of lunch money and classes to play the games. Local school officials and Austin police are monitoring the craze. They're concerned that computer hotspots could become undesirable "hangouts" for students, or that truancy could increase because students (high-school age and younger) will skip school to defend their galaxies against The Tempest.
So far police fears have not been substantiated. Department spokesmen say that although more than half the burglaries in the city are committed by juveniles during the daytime, they know of no connection between the break-ins and kids trying to feed their video habit But school and parental worries about misspent time and money continue. The public outcry in September 1980 against proposals to put electronic game arcades near two South Austin schools helped persuade city officials to reject the applications. One proposed location was near Barton Hills Elementary School. The other was South Ridge Plaza at William Cannon Drive and South First Street across from Bedlchek Junior High School.
Bedichek principal B.G. Henry said he spoke against the arcade because "of the potential attraction it had for our kids. I personally feel kids are so drawn to these things, that It might encourage them to leave the school building and play hookey. Those things have so much compulsion, kids are drawn to them like a magnet Kids can get addicted to them and throw away money, maybe their lunch money. I'm not against the video games. They may be beneficial with eye-hand coordination or even with mathematics, but when you mix the video games during school hours and near school buildings, you might be asking for problems you don't need."
A contingent from nearby Pleasant Hill Elementary School joined Bedichek in the fight back in 1980, although principal Kay Beyer said she received her first formal call about the games last Week from a mother complaining that her child was spending lunch money on them. Beyer added that no truancy problems have been related to video game-playing at a nearby 7-11 store. Allen Poehl, amusement game coordinator for Austin's 7-11 stores, said company policy rules out any game-playing by school-age youth during school hours. Fulmore Junior High principal Bill Armentrout said he is working closely with operators of a nearby 7-1 1 store to make sure their policy is enforced.
The convenience store itself, and not necessarily the video games, is a drawing card for older students and drop-outs, Armentrout said. Porter Junior High principal Marjorie Ball said that while video games aren't a big cause of truancy, "the money (spent on the games) is a big factor." Ball said she has made arrangements with nearby businesses to call the school it students are playing the games during school hours. "My concern is that kids are basically unsupervised, especially at the 24-hour grocery stores. That's a late hour for kids to be out. I would like to see them (games) unplugged at 10 p.m.," adds Joslin Elementary principal Wayne Rider.
Several proprietors of video game hot-spots say they sympathize with the concerns of parents and school officials. No one under 18 is admitted without a parent to Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre at 4211 S. Lamar. That rule, says night manager David Dunagan, "keeps it from being a high school hangout. This is a family place." Jerry Zollar, owner of J.J. Subs in West Wood Shopping Center on Bee Cave Road, rewards the A's on the report cards of Eanes school district students with free video games. "It's kind of a community thing we do in a different way. I've heard from both teachers and parents . . . they thought this was a good idea," said Zollar.
Electronic Encounters in Southwood Mall last year was renovated into a brightly lit arcade. "We're trying to get away from the dark, barroom-type place. We want this to be a place for family entertainment We won't let kids stay here during school hours without a written note from their parents, and we're pretty strict about that," said manager Kelly Roberts. Joyce Houston, who manages The Outer Limits amusements center at 1409 W. Oltorf St. along with her husband, said, "I wouldn't let my children go into some of the arcades I've visited. I'm a concerned parent, too. We wanted a place where the whole family could come and enjoy themselves."
Arcades fighting negative imageThis article talks about three arcades. One in Georgetown called Eagles Nest, another in Leander called Krazy Korner, and a third called Smitty's Galaxy of Games on Lake Creek Parkway "on the fringes of North Austin". This is the one I remember the older kids talking about when I was a little kid. There was once a movie theater across the street from the Westwood High School football stadium and behind that was Smitty's. Today I think the building was bulldozed long ago and the space is part of the expanded onramp to 183 today. Eventually another unrelated arcade was built next to the theater that became Alamo Lakeline. It was another site of some unrecorded epic Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat tournaments in the 90s.
Video games have swept across America, and Williamson and Travis counties have not been immune. In a two-part series, Neighbor examines the effects the coin-operated machines have had on suburban and small-town life.
Cities have outlawed them, religious leaders have denounced them and distraught mothers have lost countless children to their voracious appetites. And still they march on, stronger and more numerous than before. A new disease? Maybe. A wave of invading aliens from outer space? On occasion. A new type of addiction? Certainly. The culprit? Video games. Although the electronic game explosion has been mushrooming throughout the nation's urban areas for the past few years, its rippling effects have just recently been felt in the suburban fringes of North Austin and Williamson County.
In the past year, at least seven arcades armed with dozens of neon quarter-snatchers have sprung up to lure teens with thundering noises and thousands of flashing seek-and-destroy commands. Critics say arcades are dens of iniquity where children fall prey to the evils of gambling. But arcade owners say something entirely different. "Everybody fights them (arcades), they think they are a haven for drug addicts. It's just not true," said Larry Grant of Austin, who opened Eagle's Nest Fun and Games on North Austin Avenue in Georgetown last September. "These kids are great" Grant said the gameroom "gives teenagers a place to come. Some only play the games and some only talk.
In Georgetown, if you're from the high school, this is it." He said he's had very few disturbances, and asks "undesirables" to leave. "We've had a couple of rowdies. That's why I don't have any pool tables they tend to attract that type of crowd," Grant said.
Providing a place for teens to congregate was also the reason behind Ron and Carol Smith's decision to open Smitty's Galaxy of Games on Lake Creek Parkway at the entrance to Anderson Mill. "We have three teenage sons, and as soon as the oldest could drive, it became immediately apparent that there was no place to go around here," said Ron, an IBM employee who lives in Spicewood at Balcones. "This prompted us to want to open something." The business, which opened in August, has been a huge success with both parents and youngsters. "Hundreds of parents have come to check out our establishment before allowing their children to come, and what they see is a clean, safe environment managed by adults and parents," Ron said. "We've developed an outstanding rapport with the community." Video arcades "have a reputation that we have to fight," said Carol.
Kathy McCoy of Georgetown, who last October opened Krazy Korner on Willis Street in Leander, agrees. "We've got a real good group of kids," she said. "There's no violence, no nothing. Parents can always find their kids at Krazy Korner."
While all the arcade owners contacted reported that business is healthy, if not necessarily lucrative, it's not as easy for video entrepreneurs to turn a profit as one might imagine. A sizeable investment is required. Ron Smith paid between $2,800 and $5,000 for each of the 30 electronic diversions at his gameroom.
Grant said his average video game grosses about $50 a week, and his "absolute worst" game, Armor Attack, only $20 a week. The top machines (Defender and Pac-Man) can suck in an easy $125 a week. That's a lot of quarters, 500 to be exact but the Eagle's Nest and Krazy Korner pass half of them on to Neelley Vending Company of Austin which rents them their machines. "At 25 cents a shot, it takes an awful lot of people to pay the bills," said Tom Hatfield, district manager for Neelley.
He added that an owner's personality and the arcade's location can make or break the venture. The game parlor must be run "by an understanding person, someone with patience," Hatfield said. "They cannot be too demanding on the kids, yet they can't let them run all over them." And they must be located in a spot "with lots of foot traffic," such as a shopping center or near a good restaurant, he said. "And being close to a school really helps." "Video games are going to be here permanently, but we're going to see some operations not going because of the competition," which includes machines in virtually every convenience store and supermarket, Hatfield said.
Hundreds of students and curiosity-seekers lined up at the University of Texas Union to play three to five minutes of Dactyl Nightmare, Flying Aces or V-Tol, three-dimensional games from Kramer Entertainment. Nasty weather delayed the unloading of four huge trunks containing the machines, which resemble low pulpits. Still, players waited intently for a chance to shoot down a fighter jet, operate a tilt-wing Harrier or tangle with a pterodactyl. Today, tickets will go on sale in the Texas Union lobby at 11:30 a.m. for playing slots between noon and 6 p.m.The gameplay looked like this.
Players, fitted with full helmets, throttles and power packs, stood on shiny gray and yellow platforms surrounded by a circular guard rail. Seen behind the helmet's goggles were computer simulated landscapes, not unlike the most sophisticated video games, with controls and enemies viewed in deep space. "You're on a platform waiting to fight a human figure," said Jeff Vaughn, 19, of Dactyl Nightmare. "A pterodactyl swoops down and tries to pick you up. You have to fight it off. You are in the space and can see your own body and all around you. But if you try to walk, you have to use that joy stick to get around."
"I let the pterodactyl carry me away so I could look down and scan the board," said Tom Bowen of the same game. "That was the way I found out where the other player was." "Yeah, it's cool just to stand there and not do anything," Vaughn said. The mostly young, mostly male crowd included the usual gaming fanatics, looking haggard and tense behind glasses and beards. A smattering of women and children also pressed forward in a line that snaked past the lobby and into the Union's retail shops.
"I don't know why more women don't play. Maybe because the games are so violent," said Jennifer Webb, 24, a psychology major whose poor eyesight kept her from becoming a fighter pilot in real life. "If the Air Force won't take me, virtual reality will." "They use stereo optics moving at something like 60 frames a second," said computer science major Alex Aquila, 19. "The images are still pretty blocky. But once you play it, you'll want to play it again and again." With such demand for virtual reality, some gamesters wondered why an Austin video arcade has not invested in at least one machine.
Assassin's Creed Setting Idea - The German UnificationA Hypothetical Insignia of the German Assassins in the 19th CenturyHistorical Background The 19th century was an age of European expansionism, conquest, advancement, and constant war. The idea for a united Germany had only truly begun following the disastrous downfall of the German Revolution in 1848, when nationalism was on the rise and a sense of national identity was beginning to blossom. The Kingdom of Prussia was seen as the best candidate for German Unification by many revolutionaries, who even offered to crown King Wilhelm I as Emperor of Germany. However, Wilhelm declined, fearing that the Austrian and Russian Empires could retaliate against a united German state. German Revolutionaries - 1848 In 1862, Otto von Bismarck became the Prime Minister of Prussia, and his main goal was to unify the German states into an empire supervised by the Hohenzollern kings of Prussia, famously giving a speech before the Prussian parliament that ended with the words, "Iron and Blood!" The first step into German unification was to incorporate the region of Schleswig-Holstein, which was under the rule of the Danish Kingdom. Schleswig-Holstein had a large German population, so Bismarck saw it necessary to take the region for Prussia. When the Danish king introduced a new constitution in 1864 that practically incorporated the region into the Danish realm, Austria and Prussia (both of whom were members of the German Confederation) sent an ultimatum for Denmark to revoke the new constitution. The Danish government refused, and the Second Schleswig War had begun. Austria joined Prussia in the conflict, and the two would invade the Jutland peninsula at the start of the conflict. One of the most infamous Danish defeats during the war was the Siege of Dybbøl in 1864. After an 11-day siege against the fort town, the Danish troops were defeated by Prussian men and howitzer artillery. With the capital at Copenhagen threatened, Denmark sued for peace, losing Schleswig to Prussia and Holstein to Austria. Bismarck understood that Austria would never accept a Prussian-dominated German Empire right on its doorstep, so preparations were made to wage war against the Hapsburgs. In 1866, Prussia invaded Austria's allies in Hanover, Saxony, and Hesse, while the Italian kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont invaded Austrian lands in Lombardy-Venetia. During this time, Sardinia-Piedmont also had aspirations to unite Italy under their rule. Austria was forced to split its forces as Prussia started another invasion into Bohemia. During the famous battle at Königgrätz , the combined Austro-Saxon armies were defeated. Austria was forced to sue for peace, and the following treaties kicked the empire out of the German Confederation, which was replaced with the North German Confederation. Austria's sphere of influence in Bavaria, Baden, and Württemberg was shattered, and Prussia now was the dominant player of German politics. The last step in German unification was to provoke a war against France and bring the southern German states into the Prussian fold. That opportunity would come when Spain was undergoing a succession crisis, and the Spanish offered the crown to a Hohenzollern prince named Leopold. King Wilhelm I did not want to provoke France into open conflict, but his hand was forced when Bismarck deceptively altered communications between Spain, Prussia, and France. Napoleon III was angered by these apparent messages meant to take a jab at France, so he and the French parliament openly declared war on Prussia. With France now viewed as an aggressor in German politics, the southern German states joined Prussia in the conflict known as the Franco-Prussian War. Even though France had an advantage in numbers, Prussian military minds began prioritizing the use of more advanced equipment and trains, which would sent supplies, orders, and reinforcements to the front lines. At the Battle of Sedan in 1870, an outnumbered Prussian army managed to defeat an enemy force of 130,000 French troops. Napoleon III himself was taken prisoner after the battle, and a new defense government was formed in Paris. By 1871, Paris was suffering from a 130 day siege. With thousands on the verge of starvation, the French Republican government sued for negotiations. Around this time, Versailles was under Prussian occupation, where Wilhelm I was posthumously crowned Kaiser of the German Empire. At last, the war ended with a German victory, with France losing control over Alsace-Lorraine and forced to accept a temporary occupation of Paris by German troops. Gameplay and Game World A game set during the German Unification would primarily take place in Berlin, Paris, and Vienna between 1864 and 1871. As for parkour, stealth, and combat, it could be a combination of mechanics from AC Unity and AC Syndicate. Berlin - 1860 Vienna - 1860 Paris - 1860 Traversal - During the 19th century, cities like Paris, Vienna, and Berlin continued to evolve into more modern cities, with wide roads, taller buildings, and an integration of technology. Even though the use of the grappling hook by Assassins wouldn't be mainstream until 1868 and the Frye Twin's fight against the London Templars, there is no reason to not alter lore to confirm the invention of the traversal device within Germany, as nations like Prussia, Hanover, and Saxony were heavily industrialized nations. Melee combat - Because the combat in AC Syndicate would have been more associated with gang warfare, the combat from AC Unity would be more fit for a game set within Germany, with such weapons like military sabres, daggers, and even a return to hidden blade combat. Ranged combat - As 19th century Europe was an age of modern advancements, ranged weapons would be highly advanced and far more deadly. There would be a larger use of pistols, rifles, hand grenades, throwing knives, and even a formal return to the phantom blade from AC Unity. Activities and World Events With AC Valhalla taking an approach toward world events and side activities, perhaps the same can apply with a game set in the German Unification. Gambling was fairly notorious during the 19th century, so such games like cards, poker, and others would be perfect as side activities. There could even be underground brawls, carriage races, and military practices. Perhaps the best side activity that would be unique to this kind of game is the Prussian war game known as Kriegspiel (just think of the Total War games, but with a chess-like approach). As for world events, they could be bringing criminals to justice, helping civilians with their daily routines, or helping with military deliveries or practice. The Prussian War Game of Kriegspiel Plot The game begins in the outskirts of Dybbøl in 1864. Franz, a young soldier in the Prussian army chose to take a nap the night before, but is awoken by the thundering Howitzers, which were constantly striking the Danish entrenchments. It is the 18th of April, and the Prussians prepare for a charge against the Danish troops. After another round of artillery fire, the Prussians push forward, charging downhill at the enemy defenses. After nearly an hour of fighting, the Danish troops are pushed back into the fortress town of Dybbøl. With their defenses considerably more secure, Franz offers to the Prussian commanders that he could sneak in and undermine the morale of the enemy troops. Despite the refusal of this commanders, Franz sneaks off to break into the town on his own. Using stealth, Franz eventually breaks into the estate that some of the Danish officers and commanders were using as a place to conduct orders and plans. Not only does Franz steal some documents and military plans, but he even kills one of the commanders, looting a golden cross encrusted with red jewels from the body. With the town now alerted to the assassination of the commander, Franz jumps out of a window and into a hay bale down below. After dealing with a few of the Danish soldiers, Franz escapes Dybbøl and brings the Danish plans to his superiors. At first they were disappointed that Franz entered the city anyway, but they eventually came around after looking into the military plans. On the same day, the Danish garrison at Dybbøl surrendered the town to the Prussians, and the war would continue until October. Denmark would lose the conflict, with Prussian and Austria collectively occupying Schleswig-Holstein. Franz returns to Berlin in late October, together with the rest of the Prussian army coming home from the war. Franz is then greeted by his betrothed, Emilia, who was standing among the crowd cheering on the marching troops. In the following night, Franz and Emilia would be walking out on the streets of Berlin, and he would be alerted to a commotion in a nearby alleyway. Franz tells Emilia to return back to their apartment. At first, Emilia was reluctant to leave him behind, but Franz told to her again for her safety. She agrees and rushes back to the apartment as Franz delves into the alleyway, where a fellow soldier had been murdered. He rushes to check on the body, only to discover that it was his friend. Suddenly, Franz is attacked by Templar thugs, who attempt to cover up their tracks by murdering him as well. He fights back, and after a while, he manages to either kill the thugs or force the others into fleeing into the dark night. Around the same time, Berlin officers heard the commotion and saw Franz wielding a bloodied dagger, standing over a fallen soldier. They immediately attempt to arrest him for murder, but he manages to flee from the alleyway and make his way for the rooftops. After reaching the roof of an apartment far away from the crime scene, Franz decides to take a break, wondering how he would explain himself if he was caught again. All of a sudden, he is knocked out by an unknown assailant. Upon waking up, he finds himself in a room surrounded by hooded figures wielding weapons, guns, and hidden blades; these were members of the German Brotherhood of Assassins. After much revelations and newfound knowledge on his origins, Franz eventually chooses to join the Assassin Brotherhood, who have aligned themselves with the German government in hopes of uniting Germany while handling the Templars in the Austrian and French Empires, with figures like Napoleon III serving as grand masters of the Templar Orders. Around this time, London was still under the heel of Crawford Starrick, Russia continued to degrade under a Romanov monarchy influenced by the Templars, and the French and Austrian Templars were already attempting to exert their influence in the Americas by invading Mexico as the United States was reeling from Civil War. The last thing the Templars want was a United Germany, as it would both create new problems for European politics, and perhaps even threaten their influence if the Assassins had their way. Franz, together with the German Assassins, meet up with King Wilhelm I, Crown Prince Frederick III (the Mentor of the German Brotherhood), and Otto von Bismarck, a grand master in the Templar Order. Bismarck explains that, while the Assassins were his greatest foe, he prioritizes German unification above all. After much discussion, Prussian generals discuss their plans for a future war against Austria, who already had allies in Saxony, Hanover, and Hesse that proved problematic for Prussian ambitions toward a united Germany. The Assassins join in on the planning, explaining that after the war is won, they would help their fellow Austrian Assassins in undermining Templar control in Vienna. In 1866, tensions over Schleswig-Holstein, secretly bolstered by the Assassins, would culminate into the Austro-Prussian War. Franz joins the armies under Helmuth von Moltke and Crown Prince Frederick as they march into Bohemia following the invasion of Saxony. An Austro-Saxon army attempts to disperse the Prussian forces, but are pushed back toward the fields of Königgrätz. After a grueling period of fighting, the Austrians retreat from the field, confirming a Prussian victory. During the battle, Franz managed to kill several Templar officers present at the fighting. By late July, Austria sued for peace, and Prussia managed to secure victory; Hanover, Saxony, and Hesse would be incorporated into the North German Confederation, Austria was excluded from Germany, and their hold over Bavria, Baden, and Württemberg was completely broken. In 1867, Franz arrives at Vienna to join up with the Austrian Assassins. Prior to his visit to Vienna, Franz would be given a task to assassinate Friedrich Wilhelm Eduard Gerhard, a professor at the Berlin University who was discovered to have begun the excavation of an Isu Temple beneath the Prussian capital, specifically underneath the future site of the Reichstag. After battling his way through Templar thugs and soldiers, Franz managed to assassinate the archaeologist, and upon discovering the terrifying power of the Apple of Eden buried within, he brings it back to the Assassin Council, who later decided to bury it in Königsberg. Upon arriving in Vienna, Franz meets the members of the Austrian Brotherhood, and begin the process of finding and assassinating targets throughout the Austrian capital. After dealing with the majority of the Austrian order, the final Templar target in Vienna was the leader of the Austrian Teutonic Order, Philipp von Stadion und thannhausen. During a banquet at a Viennese palace in January of 1868, the Assassins infiltrated the party, and Franz himself would assassinate the grand master of the Templar Order in the Austrian Empire. By 1870, Prussia would provoke the Second French Empire into declaring war, with Franz present at the Siege of Metz and the Battle of Sedan. During the chaos, Napoleon III would be captured along with his remaining 100,000 troops. Franz and a few German Assassins were quick in reaching Paris to join the French Assassins. As the Prussians neared the French capital, several Templar members like French Prime Minister Victor de Broglie would be assassinated. At last, France was forced to surrender as Franz was present in Versailles for the proclamation of the German Empire. Napoleon III would be released, but be forced into exile in Britain. The German Kaiserreich - 1871-1918 Borders By 1873, Franz was now a master assassin within the German Brotherhood, but was given one final task; the assassination of Napoleon III. With the aid of the Frye Twins in London, Franz was able to pinpoint Napoleon III's location in the British Isles, a small village in Kent. After a scuffle with Templar guards, Franz would assassinate the former French Emperor on the 9th of January, 1873. At last, the Templars and their power were diminished , not just in Germany and France, but also in Austria and even Britain, as the Frye Twins had already liberated London from the rule of the Templars back in 1868. Epilogue and Possible Lore after German Unification Following the proclamation of the German Empire, the balance of power in Europe changed, especially as the Templars lost great influence in Austria, France, Britain, and the former German states. However, this peace created by the Assassins would not last, as both Wilhelm I and Frederick III would die in 1888, leaving the throne in the hands of Wilhelm II, who had been influenced by the Templar doctrines of Bismarck throughout his youth. By 1890, Wilhelm would elevate Templars into the echelons of the German military and aristocracy, as several purges would be instigated against the Assassins within and outside of Berlin. By the outbreak of the First World War, it was now the Templars who ruled over Germany, while the Assassins consolidated their influence in Britain and France. Russia would eventually fall under the Bolshevik banner, Austria-Hungary would fragment, and the shame from the Treaty of Versailles would give rise to an extremist Templar faction within Germany; one that would threaten both Assassins and moderate Templars, and one that would go down in history as the world's worst and most vile regime. What are your thoughts on a game set during the Unification of Germany? |
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