Louis Castle: Renaissance Man

In Episode 1 of our 2nd Season, Susan Gold reconnects with Westwood Studios co-founder Louis “Lou” Castle to explore the curiosity, relationships, and creative risks behind his career. From learning to code to bringing games like Command & Conquer and Blade Runner to life, Lou reflects on building a studio people loved, navigating change, and finding joy in making things again.

Curiosity creates opportunity. Lou learned to code to bring his artwork to life, and he and Brett Sperry started Westwood without waiting until they felt fully ready.
Great studios start with people. Recognizing unexpected talent, building trust, and understanding what holds people back helped shape Westwood’s creative culture.
Reinvention keeps creativity alive. Returning to small teams and hands-on development, Lou explores new possibilities while emphasizing the human stories behind games.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Louis is the CEO and Game Director for Childlike Wonder Games. Louis is best known as the co-founder of Westwood Studios and formerly served as the Head of Studios for Amazon Games, CSO of SHFL, vice president of studios for Zynga, CEO of IAC's Instant Action, and vice president of creative development at Electronic Arts Los Angeles. Louis has contributed as an executive producer, creative director, programmer and artist to over 100 games in the past 40+ years, including the bestselling original franchises ‘Command & Conquer’, ‘Lands of Lore’ and ‘Eye of the Beholder’, as well as blockbuster licensed original products, including 'The Lion King’, ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Monopoly’.

ABOUT THE INDIE STUDIO

Shirley interviews Clara Cattaneo, a UI designer with 12+ years of experience, co-founder of Women in Games Argentina, and co-founder of Bicho Raro Games. Clara discusses the studio’s narrative game “The Swamp Daughter”, based on a novel written by their game designer (Alejandra Bruno) and set in Argentina’s Delta del Tigre: the post-apocalyptic story follows a 13-year-old girl who seeks a nonviolent, ecological way to survive (a Steam demo is available, find the link below). Clara then discusses how they aim to balance game mechanics with narrative through player feedback at events. She also describes doing client side projects, how networking and pitching help secure gigs, and how awards, outreach, and funding opportunities support development and outsourcing.

Find Clara
https://www.linkedin.com/in/claracattaneo

Find BichoRaro Games
Website: https://bichorarogames.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bichorarocoop/
Itch.oi: https://bicho-raro.itch.io/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bichoraro.games/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bichorarogames

Play the demo for The Swamp Daughter: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4944820/The_Swamp_Daughter_Demo/
Wishlist The Swamp Daughter on Steam! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3301850/The_Swamp_Daughter/

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Guest: [Website] | [LinkedIn] | [Portfolio / Game] | [Social]

Mentioned: [Suri] | [Indie Studio] | [Resource]

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