Red Alert

The colleague nodded in agreement. "Hardware performance is leaping forward, too. The price of the Pentium Processor has gradually dropped into a range ordinary households can afford, and memory is moving from 4MB toward 8MB, even 16MB. There's too much PC games can do."

Amid the casual chatter, the ten-odd-minute break came to an end.

On the giant curtain at the center of the main stage, the E3 logo faded away, replaced by a sharp-edged "W" icon in yellow on a black background.

Westwood Studios, Westwood Studios.

A low stir immediately rose from below the stage, and the clatter of keyboards grew dense again.

In the PC gaming circle of 1996, Westwood's name represented extremely high technical standards and impeccable commercial results.

A burly man with short hair strode onto the stage.

He was the co-founder and game director of Westwood Studios, Brett Sperry.

There were no exaggerated lighting effects, and no flashy opening remarks.

Brett held the microphone and stood at center stage.

"Just now, Nintendo showed the infinite possibilities of a 3D world." Brett's voice spread through the venue over the sound system. "It was stunning. But in front of PC screens, we have a group of players who prefer controlling the whole battlefield. They don't need to jump personally. They only need to issue commands."

He turned sideways, and the big screen began playing a montage.

Desert terrain, green Tiberium fields, GDI Mammoth Tanks and Brotherhood of Nod Stealth Tanks locked in fierce crossfire.

The Ion Cannon descended from outer space and instantly vaporized an obelisk.

"Last year, Command & Conquer was released." Brett looked at the screen. "At the time, there was a voice in the industry saying that complex resource gathering, base construction, and multi-front command would drive away the vast majority of ordinary players.