Our Interview with Creative Assembly

The interview

The rest of the article is a set of interview questions with Creative Assembly on Shogun: Total War. Firingsquad questions are in bold and Creative Assembly's answers are in normal text.

Enemy spear cavalry moving into position

The carnage ensues

Firingsquad: Why Japan? Why not a fantasy or science fiction setting?

We were looking for three things from a gameplay point of view. Firstly, a period or setting where there are a large number of factions, one of whom eventually dominates all the others and wins. Secondly we need a period where there is a technology race going on, with new troop types being developed which change the way battles are fought. Thirdly we wanted a period where it wasn't just military might that won the day - we wanted diplomacy, espionage and treachery to play a large part. Japan in the Sengoku period gave us all these things. We were also looking for "content" that would have world wide appeal - that is widely considered to be "cool", and would give us a chance to produce a game with a strong style and well as gameplay. The Samurai era gives us all that.

We also wanted to have a game world that was "real" rather than invented. It gives us huge amounts of material to draw on, and takes advantage of the fact that all players will already have some idea of what the Samurai were all about. There is already a consensus reality which aids suspension of disbelief, making the game more immediately immersive and much more accessible to a wider audience. In the case of Samurai Japan, reality is also genuinely stranger than fiction.

Again my troops lay slaughtered

Twin cavalry strikes against hapless archers!

Firingsquad: It's been said that Shogun will have a strategic aspect going beyond that of the battlefield itself. What is it? How will it be implemented?

Sitting on top of the individual battles is a strategy game played out on a map of Japan. The player takes the role of one of the major Feudal Lords (Daimyo) of the time, and year by year, season by season, builds up his forces. He collects resources from his provinces, and spend them on troops, building and improving his production capability, developing his lands, spying, assassination and diplomacy. When the time is right, he invades his enemies and fights the battle in real time, full 3d, with thousands of men on the battlefield. If he wins, he takes the province off the enemy and his empire expands. The aim is to gain control of all Japan and become Shogun.

Firingsquad: How historically accurate will the game be?

As accurate as we can reasonably make it. We have a historical consultant (Dr. Stephen Turnbull) who has helped keep us on track. All the major historical figures appear, working for one faction or another. The map and resources are accurate, the troop types and tactics are accurate, and the way espionage and diplomacy play a part is accurate.