Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddy Del Castillo.
Eddy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My interest in gaming didn’t happen overnight. It started when I was young, spending my youth playing Dungeons & Dragons and different board games with kids in my neighborhood. I went off to college and made like-minded friends in the first week.
Shortly after graduating, I took a job answering phones at the software company my college buddies worked.
I offered to write manuals for the games in between calls and in my off time. When there were no more manuals, I offered to help build the games under the same terms. I designed my first entire game from the folding table where I took calls and filled orders.
Eventually the boss said, “I don’t know why I’m paying you to answer phones.” and gave me a Game Designer job. During that job, I noticed that some departments didn’t have a proper delivery schedules so I started creating work schedules for everyone and that’s how I got promoted to Producer.
Shortly after, I got my big break and went to work at Westwood Studios in Las Vegas where I was the Producer for the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert.
After that I did a short stint at Origin Systems and then decided to start my own company.
Liquid Entertainment was formed in 1999 and is still going today. It has had a great run of success and now largely collects royalties on existing products and technologies that we have licensed to others.
Liquid was a great learning experience for me, so in 2015 I retired for a year to soak it all in and to get back to family. Best move I ever made.
By 2016, a consulting business had organically grown up around me as word got out that I was available and I did that until a company called HERO asked me to help them globalize an Indian software team that they had at their disposal. It was a great fun challenge working as the COO of the organization and I really enjoyed it.
Now I maintain my consulting business under the informal name “42” or “system 42” depending on who you talk to. I help small and medium companies set up proper culture and production techniques so that they can scale and be global. I also help large companies gamify their products for increased revenue and engagement.
Has it been a smooth road?
“Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” I read that somewhere a long time ago and it has been a mantra ever since.
To go into all the obstacles along the way would take more time than anyone has. Bad bosses, politics, horrible production techniques, being fired, not being hired, etc. etc. There are so many and none of them are unique… and that is what everyone should take away from this. All the setbacks, all the failures… there will be many and none of them will be unique. Take solace in that. You are not alone. Everyone else is struggling too.
Just… keep… at… it.
The only thing that separates success from failure is your ability to get back up. Your ability to recover and get back in the ring. Nothing else matters more.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with System 42 – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
42 is a consulting company for software. I’ve spent 26 years in the game and app business and now people hire me to fix production and culture issues in their software creation pipeline.
I also do a good deal of work with “gamification”. This is the idea that bringing gaming and game techniques to non-gaming apps has a positive effect.
I’ve helped gamify all sorts of enterprise software, including call centers.
I think the thing I’m most proud of is still the first game that Liquid ever made, Battle Realms. It launched in 2001 and it still sells today. I get fan mail for it every week and it warms my heart. I put a lot of myself into the game and to see it still being played today makes me really happy.
Some people say that I’m really creative, but I think of myself as an alchemist at heart, and a user experience junky. I am always reading and diving into different subjects to see what I can bring to gaming or to an app. I also like to explore the user interface for just about anything I’m exposed to.
If I sit down with an app or even an idea for one; once I get to know it, it doesn’t take very long for me to have a number of insights as to how it could be a better, more engaging user experience.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Likes:
Family – All of my family lives in LA so we have a good time.
Location – It’s a place where I’m only about an hour away from surfing, snowboarding, 4 theme parks, and national parks.
Weather – super good most of the year.
Variety – LA is many cities grown into one and that offers lots of variety within driving distance.
Dislikes:
Traffic. I can’t wait for self-driving, electric cars and a more robust mass transit system.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/42news
Image Credit:
Eddy Del Castillo
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