'When I recently learned that James had died, it was devastating.

He asked passionate questions and offered clear and concise suggestions on features for the game.

The tour organised itself, as the guys around me scrambled to show James what's going into making Rome 2. 'I was inundated with emails offering help with James' day. 'What really struck me was how my colleagues reacted to James coming in,' wrote Laycock. In many ways, James represented what's best about working in video games.' Creative Assembly He said Creative Assembly was 'moved and humbled' to have James at the studio. Total War community manager Craig Laycock shared a touching account of the day with me. James was accompanied on his trip to Creative Assembly by his brother. Lasting memories are created that loved ones can cling onto long after that person has gone. These are extraordinary days arranged so that a terminally ill person's life can be temporarily lifted out of the doldrums of disease and treatment. James' day at Creative Assembly had been organised by charity Willow as part of its Special Day initiative. James even became an important-looking Roman soldier in the game, his digital likeness recreated superbly for the Siege of Carthage.īut shortly after his visit, James lost his battle with liver cancer. He saw all aspects of the game's creation, played code that was way off alpha stage and interviewed key people, even putting forward his own suggestions for the game. James toured the studio the day after Total War: Rome 2 was announced (in July). Press had only seen a demo of the game running.

Last summer, 24-year-old James became the first outsider to play Total War: Rome 2 at Creative Assembly's HQ in Horsham, UK. Every so often something stops the wheel of time and we pause, zoom out and see the world from a different perspective.

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