Hello Louis Castle, thank you for taking some time for us on Command & Conquers Birthday to answer some questions. First tell us something about you.

How did you come to the Idea to create Westwood?

Brett and I just wanted to work for a company that cared as much about the games we were making as we did. Westwood was created simply so we could have the environment we wanted to create games. Brett always wanted to b successful I was more interested in just enjoying my every day work.

Command & Conquer was a real milestone. How did you come to the idea to create this game and how much did it cost you in the end to achieve everything?

C&C was designed after the huge success of Dune 2. I don’t recall the actual costs but I would guess about $2m. At that time that was a huge budget. C&C took about 2 1/2 years to make.

Was it a hard decision to give everything to Electronic Arts? Did it turn out to be profitable for you?

We sold Westwood to Virgin in 1992. Virgin was sold to Viacom, including Westwood and Westwood alone was sold to EA. We were not part of the decision to sell Westwood when it was sold to EA but we were agreeable with EA or Microsoft, both of which were actively bidding to buy Westwood. In the end, both Brett and I were well compensated but we also made sure to take care of all the Westwood staff in 1998 when EA bought Westwood.

How would you have continued the C&C franchise if you would still be in possession of it?

It would have definitely been different. The Irvine team really liked a few mechanics from other games so starting with Red Alert 2 and continuing through C&C 4 the games have been heavily influenced by a different design team.

What were your highlights with Command & Conquer in the last 15 years and what are the things you were happy or sad about?

The success of the original game, the achievement of Tiberian Sun and the game play of Red Alert 2 with Yuri’s revenge stand out to me. I really enjoyed many of the visuals and features of C&C 3 as well but the first three events were true milestones for me personally.

How was it to create such a big project and to get such a big community together? How would you describe the current situation and what do you think about it?

Big game franchises tend to take on a life of their own. The many talented people around the world that worked at Virgin, who clearly made C&C a global success, and EA who fostered and nurtured the community, deserve a great deal of the credit. C&C ran away from me quite a long time ago so I can’t claim to have guided such a massive undertaking. I think it’s sad that the final chapter was under resourced to the extent it was. I think C&C is one of the strongest brands in the industry and deserving of a massive development effort.

How shaping was the cooperation with EA for you, Westwood and Command & Conquer?

EA has always been a great company to work for. We may not have always seen eye to eye on C&C and the necessary investment but I can’t say they were anything less than hugely supportive.

Did you try to cooperate with your fans back then? If yes, how was the cooperation and what is there to improve today’s situation?

We have been in touch with the fan base of C&C since the very beginning and have always devoted a great deal of effort to gather opinions and have their feedback guide our efforts.

Are you still related to the C&C franchise today in any way?

Not really, other than historically and whenever someone calls with questions. I’m always happy to help.

We have a hard time in the community right now: What can you say to the fans to encourage them a little bit?

Fans have tremendous power. Vote with your emails, posts and community power. The voice of a world wide community is what makes franchises like Fallout reinvent themselves. Stick to it and keep up the faith.

Do you still play any Command & Conquer games, or is playing games not included in your interests?

I love games but have very little time to play them recently. We just finished a music game for computers call Instant Jam (instantjam.com) so it’s had me quite busy.

What other hobbies do you have?

I draw a great deal, play some sport (golf, snowboarding etc.).

Is there anything you want to say to the community in conclusion?

Just a heartfelt thank you for all your support of the C&C franchises and Westwood. You have been great to serve and I hope to keep may of you as fans as I work on new projects.

Do you miss the time at Westwood?

Of course.

If you could go back and work on the first C&C games again, what would you improve?

I would seek to improve the sense of immersion. I really felt the first C&C was on to something big with the concept of directing a war from your PC. I think we drifted too far from that feeling of personal empowerment.

Note: The interview was done when CnCSaga.de and CnCHQ.de/HQBoard.net were separate pages, each with their own forums. The interview was conducted by CnCSaga.de at the time.