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An Interview With Brett Sperry
Brett Sperry has one word locked in his mind - entertainment. He calls his crew of die-hard gamers at Westwood Studios "interactive entertainers," but they're not just spinning plates or fighting with ferocious tigers. Rather, he's the ringmaster behind some of the greatest shows on earth, namely games such as Command & Conquer and the forthcoming sci-fi epic Blade Runner. Now, in this exclusive interview with GameSlice's Geoff Keighley, Brett shows us why he's often referred to as one of the greatest marketers in the industry, who's set on one goal: entertaining the audience. A GameSlice Weekly Interview.

Somehow, it just fits: A man who sells the notion of entertainment and the glitter gulch of Las Vegas. For Brett Sperry, he’s king of one of the most respected software development houses in the world, Westwood Studios, based in Las Vegas. Started as a partnership between Sperry and his friend, Louis Castle – who is now heading up their hot Blade Runner project – Westwood has always placed the emphasis on exciting games that constantly push the boundaries of interactive entertainment. They’ve wet their feet in many genres, from programming The Lion King console game for Disney, to developing the Kyrandia series of adventures, to their latest hit franchise, Command and Conquer.

However, Command and Conquer is more than just a franchise; it’s near the definition of entertainment, and entertainment is the key to success in Sperry’s mind. He spearheads a development group with one mission at its heart: entertain the audience. Just like the great P.T. Barnum, Sperry is constantly pushing his team at Westwood to, ultimately, create the "greatest game on earth." With Command and Conquer, they certainly moved closer to their target.

Today, Sperry concedes that Westwood is so busy developing new games that he can’t wait to show the public what’s on the horizon. At Westwood, quality is king, and in 1997 the company will unveil three new titles that will undoubtedly re-enforce the epitome of entertainment: Command and Conquer: Sole Survivor, a new Internet-only C&C game; the long-awaited (and delayed) Lands of Lore II: Guardians of Destiny; and finally, perhaps the most awaited game of the year, Blade Runner, rumored to be an incredible new 3D adventure unlike anything we’ve seen before. Of course that type of prose is common public relations rhetoric, but forgive us, because coming from Westwood, it’s probably darn near the truth.

Although Sperry doesn’t often do interviews, you’ll find him to be extremely energetic and set on one goal: giving the audience the ultimate feeling of entertainment. He wants to create a emotional bond with the audience through everything the company does: the products, the ads, the packages, and hopefully, this interview. After such an incredible 1996, can Westwood top themselves in 1997? For Brett Sperry, it’s a mission to breed the best interactive entertainers in the business – and so far, it seems to be working. With hit titles such as Red Alert under Westwood’s wing, the company continues to engross the player’s mind, and tease their brain. But brain candy aside, engross yourself as we chat with Brett Sperry, CEO of Westwood Studios.

Geoff: Brett, there's no question that Red Alert was one of the true success stories of 1996 for interactive software. Going into the project, I'm sure you had high hopes for the game, but I think it's safe to say it has exceeded the expectations of everyone in the industry. But the bottom line is this: In your opinion, is Red Alert a better game than Command & Conquer, or simply a better marketed game?

Brett: Red Alert was even better than C&C 1. Why? Because every aspect of the gameplay was improved and also because we had broadened the way you play the game. We could have just brought new units online - bigger tanks, bigger planes, more firepower - but instead what we did is that we went way beyond that. We met the challenge of what Command & Conquer is all about: strategy gaming and fresh surprises and challenges on the battlefield. We asked ourselves "How do we expand opportunities for strategic gameplay? What is the next level?" It took a lot of creativity and insight to understand exactly what that meant and to make sure Red Alert would be a quantum leap forward. We had to invent completely new units and situations where you had to think a differently than in C&C 1. We had to expand the multiplayer aspect - not just in the sense of being able to deliver the game to more people online, but to bring the true promise of Internet interaction alive.

Some examples and manifestations of our new insights included game elements like the dogs, MIGs, spies, gap generators, the way you use the Chronosphere, the Iron Curtain, etc. All of these things and many more changed the way you played the game. Everyone coming off of Command & Conquer had all these strategies developed and tuned - and it would have been a letdown if we had given them more of the same. We had to let them do new things to the computer and let them be surprised; we had to let them do different things when they played head-to-head and expand the sphere of possibilities and outcomes. In many ways Red Alert is a much different and more challenging game.

In terms of marketing Red Alert, Laura [Wheeler], Ted [Morris], and so many others did a brilliant job on the web site and on T.V., and that also helped get the word out to an even larger audience and fire up even more excitement.

Geoff: Speaking of marketing, I don't think we're kidding anyone when we say that Red Alert's graphics aren't the most dazzling display of 3D firepower on a PC today. Was it hard to try and communicate to the public what great gameplay was stuffed into Red Alert, especially when all the layman sees is a bunch of little tiny pixel troops scurrying around terrain? Obviously a game such as Quake is a much easier sell based on graphic firepower.

Brett: So many games suffer from the "nothing new at a glance" syndrome. A few static pictures and even certain demos are too cold and promise little or no emotional reward. It is a tricky problem that confronts all game print advertising and often you can't do much, even with the best rendered picture or captured game play moment. In addition to this, a lot of gamers and customers aren't turned on by just pretty graphics anymore. The challenge is to develop a game which will deliver emotional excitement and then to convey those emotions. How can you convey some of the emotional gratification that is in the game? We answered that question and we pushed the frontier on the game development and with our demo movies and our television commercial - bringing that emotion, that adrenaline rush, and interactivity to the forefront! We also try to put emotional excitement into our box design as well, so you tend to see moments of conflict, instances of excitement, and moments where you can read into the latent thrill and fun that awaits you in any Command & Conquer game!

Command and Conquer: Sole Survivor Screenshot

Geoff: Quality. I know it's a word that's very close to your heart and part of your vision for Westwood. When someone thinks of Westwood Studios, is quality the word you wish to have synonymous with the company name?

"We want people to be entertained, riveted, attached, and challenged by the product." -- Brett Sperry, CEO Westwood Studios

Brett: I think quality is jockeying for the number one position - but it's probably number two. Entertainment is number one. We want people to be entertained, riveted, attached, and challenged by the product. Most important, when they finish a session of playing, we want them t