Mark works as Online Marketing Manager at The Creative Assembly, running the Total War and company websites. When he isn’t playing the latest game releases, Mark spends his time continuing his mission to watch every film in existence (twice).

Hailing from Southampton, Mark has a degree in traditional 2D animation, an unlimited cinema pass and an inexplicable fondness for Jaffa cakes.

He was bitten by the travel bug after spending a year living in Los Angeles, and places on his must-visit list currently include Hawaii, Egypt, Japan, Australia and Loch Ness - because Nessie is still out there.

Since joining CA in September 2006, Mark has absorbed himself in all things Total War in a cunning attempt to improve his win/loss record in Medieval II's multiplayer mode.

When he isn't reporting on the latest Total War news or cooking up new features for the websites, Mark likes to get CA's BAFTA out of the display cabinet and practise his Oscar-worthy acceptance speech.

Biggest achievement to date; "Seeing five films in a row at the cinema, or possibly the time I received a funny audio message from Hulk Hogan!"

 Hi guys,
Welcome to our fifth Empire: Total War FAQ. This month we are focusing exclusively on your Land Battle questions…
With so much of the warfare in the period being focused on the use of gunpowder, will there still be a role for melee units?
Despite the emergence of gunpowder, melee and dedicated melee units remain important […]

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Hi, I’m Jack Lusted a Games Tester at the Creative Assembly UK and this blog will detail my part in the Battle AI development process and how the AI testing works. This blog compliments an upcoming video development diary on the Battle AI.
First a bit of background on myself. Now I’m sure many of you […]

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After our recent Empire: Total War mo-cap shoot at Shepperton Studios, Mark O’Connell from TotalWar.com caught up with one of the stuntmen to learn a bit more about his art…
Totalwar.com: How did you get into being a motion-capture actor?
Chris Freedman: Getting into Motion-Capture isn’t that easy, particularly the area that we specialize in. First […]

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On Friday 9th May, we set out to Shepperton Studios for a day of motion-capture shooting for Empire: Total War. With two highly trained stuntmen kitted out in the latest technology (and a lot of spandex), we captured a whole host of data which is currently being turned into new animations for the game.
Top of […]

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Hi guys,
Welcome to our fourth Empire: Total War FAQ. This month we are once again setting sail on the high seas to answer more of your Naval warfare questions.
Q: Is there a deployment stage for naval battles and if so, what exactly can be set during this phase?
A: Yes, there is a deployment phase […]

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Hi guys,
Just in time for Christmas, we are pleased to bring your our third Empire: Total War Q&A, featuring more of your questions from the official forums. This month we are taking the fight to the seas with an indepth look at Naval warfare.
Q: Will naval battles be fun and easy to command?
A: Where possible […]

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“Remember, remember the blog of November. Drawings, 3D and screenshots. I see no reason why Calendar entries should ever be forgot.” - Mark O’Connell, yesterday.
The poem is of course a riff on the famous gunpowder plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament on 5th November 1605. The event is commemorated each year in England […]

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Hi guys,
Welcome to our second Empire: Total War Q&A, where we provide more answers to some of your most burning questions!
Q: How many factions will there be in the game? And will [insert name of home country here] be included?
A: These two related questions are two of the most popular, particularly the “Will my country…” […]

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Hi guys,
We recently offered our forum community the chance to submit questions about Empire: Total War to the team. Here we’ve tried to address some of the most common themes.
Will the emergence of new governmental systems be reflected in the game? Will we be able to play as a monarchy or republic and will […]

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October has clearly captured your collective imaginations, resulting in a plethora of hand drawn images and Halloween-themed spookiness. We had so many calendar entries this month that I considered inventing a new month just to fit them all in! While Halloween is one of the better-known events in October, let us not forget the other […]

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