Frank Klepacki Interview at CNCSaga.de

[Sonic 296]

To mark the 15th Anniversary of Command & Conquer, our friends at CNCSaga.de have posted an interview of the legendary C&C composer Frank Klepacki. This interview makes for some great reading. Here's a few questions to get you started.

 

CNCSaga.de: In the past 15 years, did the community and the brand Command & Conquer change since back then? What are your thoughts about this?

Frank Klepack: The community hasn't changed as much as it's remained a solid force of passionate people who love the games and love making their own takes on it. I think that really cool that they are going strong after so many years. As far as the brand goes, thats subjective. I thought C&C3 and RA3 still retained some of the gameplay and visual presentation that echoed what came before it, but C&C4 seems to be the most far removed of the whole series.

 

CNCSaga.de: Was it hard work to make your comeback in the community with Hell March 3? The fans were expecting much and you had to raise the bar you had set yourself.

Frank Klepack: No it wasn't hard - it was quite natural. The only major difference was, they wanted to stick close to the feel of HM2 rather than go in a different new feel, which is what I would've done otherwise. So I had to provide what the client wanted rather than have the creative freedoms I was used to. Which is fine. I think the best version of HM3 is the one I performed at Games In Concert 3. It sounds punchier when its live!

 

CNCSaga.de: What were your highlights with Command & Conquer in the last 15 years and what are the things you were happy about or what makes you a happy even today?

Frank Klepack: Highlights were making the first game and having a blast with no limitations. After Red Alert shipped, the outpouring of fans who loved the music was a big surprise to me, seeing Hell March become a hit. Winning the PC Gamer award for best soundtrack over Quake which was done by Trent Reznor was crazy, since that guy is one of my biggest influences of the time. Scoring msuic to James Earl Jones scenes in Tiberian Sun was awesome, since he's the voice of Darth Vader, and I'm a huge Star Wars fan. Recording my tracks for Red Alert 3 at Skywalker Ranch with the symphony was a great and exciting expereince. And of course the opportunity to perform these themes live with symphonies such as Video Games Live and Games In Concert is the icing on the cake!

You can read the full interview by clicking here. It's also available in German.

[recover 2]

Interviews with ex-Westwood employees are always good, and this is no exception.

[Guest Stevie_K]

Yeah. It's always a good read. I'm glad Frank is happy about the community.

[Nmenth 291]

His face looks 2D in this picture... strange...

[dbjs2009 25]

Good interview..

[Gben 20]

I keep underestimating how much good work the Saga are doing through all these interviews - really good stuff.

I really hope Frank nails another classic song soon. He deserves future success.