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the brains behind an empire
Sun, 1st Mar 2009
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Game Console had a quick chat to the Creative Assembly’s Jamie Ferguson, one of the developers behind Empire: Total War.

Game Console: How far has the game progressed since the likes of Rome: Total War?Jamie Ferguson: Since Rome, the Total War engine has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. There isn’t an area of the game that hasn’t had some sort of change or complete overhaul.

GC: How does the Total War series differ from other real-time strategy titles?JF: Empire: Total War features an exciting turn-based campaign map of the world with real-time land and naval battles, all powered by an advanced AI that has been implemented to offer unrivalled diplomacy, trade, politics, campaign strategy and challenging battles.Unlike almost any other game, your actions on the campaign map have a direct effect on the action on the battlefield. Armies and navies you build and move on the campaign map, and buildings you develop, are directly portrayed when you fight a battle.

GC: What was the biggest challenge in developing a game like Empire?JF: Rebuilding the game code from the ground up and still making a game that had new and more features than any previous Total War, while being even better than any of the previous games.

GC: What is your proudest achievement in completing the game’s development?JF: Have we mentioned the fully 3D naval battles? Creating a new mode that complements and lives up to the land battle and campaign mode was great. We have also managed to deliver a game experience, across the entire game  that simultaneously feels reassuringly familiar but very different from any previous Total War game.

GC: How accessible is Empire for the casual gamer?JF: We have consciously ensured that Empire: Total War is our most accessible game ever. In addition to handy tutorials, players can really get to grips with Total War in our new story-driven “Road to Independence” mode. Here you can be introduced to all of the features of Total War at your own pace, while an on-screen advisor provides useful tips and information.