GameSlice: Behind the Scenes of the Computer and Video Game Industry

Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun

Developed By: Westwood Studios
Published By:
Westwood Studios
For:
IBM PC
Scheduled Release:
Fall, 1998

GameSlice Thanks: Aaron Cohen, Chris Rubyor, Erik Yeo, Brett Sperry, and Laura Miele.

All Tiberian Sun Images (C)1998, Westwood Studios.

Westwood Studios is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, the only major software publisher in Nevada.

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Sitting in a square office filled with all the latest gaming gadgets, from Japanese imported videogames, to German gaming magazines, and even a souped-up surround sound system, for a moment, Erik Yeo turns away from his computer monitor and all his technological toys. He looks me in the eyes. Matter-of-factly, he states, "The expectations are incredible. To be honest, I lie awake at night worried." He tilts his head back slightly, closing his eyes for a moment, then continues to explain, "Command and Conquer did phenomenally well; Red Alert outsold that; and now the expectation is that we’re going to outsell Red Alert." Few games have such incredible prospects, but for Erik Yeo, lead designer of Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun, the expectations may indeed be a mixed blessing. He’s sitting on a gold mine, but Yeo is humble. After reflecting on the sales expectations, he quickly cautions in an inquisitive tone, "But how much of the success of the previous products was just pure fashion at the time?" Just ask any gamer who’s played Command and Conquer, and they’ll tell you the game’s success was well deserved. Starting to twirl his chair back around to the game monitor where the tense battles of Tiberian Sun are shown to me for the first time, Yeo says in a trailing tone, "I guess we will find out," cracking a little insecure smirk as his eyes re-focus on the deep navy-blue rocky terrain of the first arctic mission in Tiberian Sun.

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Left to Right: Erik Yeo - Lead Designer; Chris Demers - Lead Artist; Brett Sperry - Executive Producer and Designer; Eric Gooch - Lead Artist; Frank Klepacki - The music man of Westwood

As much as Yeo may seem particularly humble, he has a personal attachment to the series. Indeed, he’s been involved with every C&C game to date, working directly with Westwood President Brett Sperry to design the C&C story. "He struck me as a bit unusual for a designer, because he was contemplative, mature, and without the arrogance and ego that you sometimes find in other designers. He didn't try to impose his own ideas and wishes upon someone else's design or vision," comments Sperry, who originally recruited Yeo to work on C&C after he had been brought to Westwood by co-founder Louis Castle to work on The Lion King for console formats. Believe it or not, Yeo wasn’t a big strategy gamer before starting on the C&C project. Sperry remembers that, "I didn't know for certain if Erik would necessarily enjoy making strategy games as much as I did, because he was hot to trot in te console action game genre. However, once he came onto the C&C design team and settled in, I remember him telling me, 'Wow, there is a lot that goes into making these strategy games'. He was impressed with the back story, design fundamentals, and so many other aspects that I felt were key to making great strategy games. He's been captivated by C&C ever since."

Continue: But how would Yeo even begin to try to top Red Alert and Command and Conquer? It took a long time to figure out what was needed. Find out the answer...