Command and Conquer's Louis Castle's Triple Threat

The Fourth Curtain

Our guest Louis Castle helped invent real-time strategy games with Command and Conquer and has a BAFTA for Boom Blox. Now leading Childlike Wonder Games, we discuss casino ethics, switching to real-time and building toys - this week!

Top 8 Highlights

[00:00:00] – Lifelong Learning: The Key to Game Design Success
Louis Castle opens the episode by emphasizing the importance of constant learning as a game designer, citing curiosity and adaptability as essential traits.

[00:06:00] – Founding Westwood Studios & Creating the RTS Genre
Louis reflects on co-founding Westwood Studios, the groundbreaking work on Command & Conquer, and helping define the real-time strategy genre.

[00:10:00] – Game Design vs. Casino Game Ethics
He explains how game design in the casino industry is more ethically regulated than video games, raising concerns about manipulation in mainstream game design.

[00:17:00] – A True Multidisciplinary Game Maker
Louis shares how he started as both an artist and programmer, contributing art, code, and design to early Westwood projects.

[00:27:00] – Westwood’s Mission: Make Complex Games Accessible
From Eye of the Beholder to Dune II, Louis discusses how Westwood focused on turning deep mechanics into real-time, accessible gameplay.

[00:41:00] – Technical Wizardry: Building Custom Operating Systems
Louis describes how he built custom OS-level tools and game engines to push hardware limits, including 60 FPS variable frame rate systems in the ‘80s.

[00:44:00] – Childlike Wonder Games: His New Studio & GenAI Vision
He announces his new studio, Childlike Wonder Games, and its mission to create strategy games that let players use generative AI to customize gameplay.

[00:56:00] – The Wild Ride: Selling Westwood 4 Times Before EA
Louis recounts how Westwood was acquired four times—eventually landing at EA—and how he handled all the financial and legal negotiations himself.

Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life!
Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin
Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com

Join our Patreon for early, ad-free episodes plus bonus content at https://patreon.com/FourthCurtain

Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe
Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain
Follow us on twitter: @fourthcurtain
Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com

Audio Editor: Bryen Hensley
Video Editor: Sarkis Grigorian
Producer: Shanglan (May) Li
Art: Paul Russel
Community Manager: Doug Zartman
Featuring Liberation by 505