‘Music creates atmosphere in a way no other medium can’ – Joystuck talks to Creative Assembly
Creative Assembly, based in the South West of Sussex, is one of the most recognisable developers currently creating games in the United Kingdom. Most recently the company has received praise from the gaming press for their newest title, Total War Shogun 2, the latest instalment in their highly successful strategy series.
While Creative Assembly may be used to awards to the standard of BAFTAs and the Ivor Novello, the significance of the industry awards they collected at the end of 2011 should not be understated. Among those which listed Shogun 2 among their end of year awards include PC Gamer, Gametrailers and Gamepot UK, all of whom named the Total War game their Strategy Game Of The Year. Kotaku also named the game as winner in their Best Game Music Of 2011 Award.
Joystuck spoke to Al Bickham, Community Communications Manager at the Horsham studio in Sussex.
Total War: Shogun 2 has received a lot of praise from the gaming press over the last few weeks, having been named Strategy Game Of The Year by PC Gamer, Gamespot UK and Gametrailers, as well as having the Best Game Music by Kotaku. What was the reaction like at Creative Assembly when these announcements were made?
We were utterly thrilled. Shogun 2 is our most polished Total War game yet, and marks the culmination of years of research, planning and hard work.
When thinking of computer games one does not always think about what sort of music the game has, and yet the Total War series has repeatedly been called out for having great in-game music, having won BAFTAs to Ivor Novello awards because of it. How important is it to the series to maintain this link with musical excellence?
Given the nature of our games, which reflect various periods in martial history, maintaining musical excellence is of vital importance.
Music can create atmosphere or conjure a sense of time and place in a way no other medium can; we can create a sense of high drama, intrigue, or even pathos with the right music. Ultimately, we seek to drive emotional engagement and provide our players with a thoroughly authentic experience.
Will there be any events scheduled to celebrate the release of the new expansion, The Fall Of The Samurai? What events are planned for the global tour?
We’re taking Fall Of The Samurai across Europe, the US and Australia over the next few weeks, and we’ll be letting the press get hands-on with it for the first time.
This is a really major expansion to Shogun 2, and deals with the Boshin War of the late 1800s, in which Japan saw major industrialisation and modernisation in both its civic and military technologies. This was essentially the birth of modern Japan; a period of great social upheaval and conflict, and an absolutely fascinating era for players to explore.
Given Creative Assembly is currently involved with a new Alien IP project, what was the reaction like at the company to the trailer for the new Alien film, Prometheus, which was released over the Christmas break?
We’re all massive fans of the Alien series of films, so our reaction was just what you might expect: huge excitement, great anticipation, and lots of talk about a mass cinema outing for the team to the Capitol Cinema in Horsham!
Creative Assembly are currently hiring staff for their new, currently unnamed, Alien project for consoles. Fall Of The Samurai, their next expansion for the award winning Total War: Shogun 2, is due out in March.