GAX: Right! So back to the game, can you tell us what’s going on thus far, where does Kane fit into the picture?

Joe: Well as you’ve probably seen from the preview trailer, the world is about to be destroyed by the spread of Tiberium infection and Kane senses that this is an opportunity to further his own agenda. He does go to the GDI and proposes to work together to save the planet. As the game plays out, it will become clear that he does indeed have his own agenda and that he’s looking for other things.

GAX: Now this isn’t the first time Nod and GDI have joined forces. They did so in Firestorm, and that did not end well. Why is it that the Nod just can’t get along with other people?

Joe: I don’t think it’s us Nod guys, I think it’s the GDI guys that can’t get along. They take things too personally. It seems to me that Nod looks in the world in philosophical and political gains. GDI…GDI is after Kane. They don’t have any other agenda. They’re specifically out to get Kane. I think that’s rude. GDI is rude.

Personally administering a Nod recruitment drive

Joe: I honestly had a lot of fun working with Carl Lumbly in the Kane’s Wrath shoot. It’s a tough sell to an actor to talk directly to a camera and understand the sort of connection you need to make with the players. In theater, you’re broadly performing for the people in the back rows, and in film, you’re performing for your fellow actors, and the camera is a third eye. In videogames, you’re ultimately performing for an audience of one person. I think there’s a specific acting technique that is required for an actor to make that connection, and it’s tough for many performers to do it. Actors are trained NOT to look and talk into the lens. Carl Lumbly got it. He understood, so I had a good time. He was funny too.

And of course, all the beautiful women I’ve worked it. That’s always fun.

GAX: So are there any beautiful women in this next installment? How about the rest of the cast, anyone we know besides you?

Joe: Oh, we have a couple of them (beautiful women) actually. The rest of the cast haven’t been officially announced yet. So I can tell you who it isn’t, but not who is. And it isn’t quite a lot of people.

GAX: In the C&C franchise, Red Alert is usually the fun, zany offshoot. And C&C takes itself a little too seriously for its campy feel. Is that intentional?

Joe: I disagree. I don’t think C&C takes itself seriously. It takes the interest of its fans seriously. I think everyone who is involved with the cinematics understand that the people who play C&C – those are the people who take the factions seriously. I haven’t met anyone who plays the game who doesn’t have a strong opinion about whether they’re personally Nod or GDI, embracing the philosophies of each faction and the characters they most identify with. It’s not just about strategy and units.

GAX: How much video is there going to be in C&C4?

Joe: I shot for four days, that’s all I know. But honestly, while we’ve finished principal photography, composition and final editing is not done yet. We’re still in post-production at the moment, so I can say with absolute certainty that it will be anywhere between 20 minutes and six and a half hours.

GAX: How many Command & Conquer games have you finished?

Joe: Finished?

GAX: Yes, I won’t ask you how many you’ve ‘played’ because that would be rude. You’ve obviously played them all. But, how many have you finished…

Joe: Single-player? One…I finished the first Command & Conquer, and that’s about it. The most fun I always have with the game is very very early on in the development stage when we’re alpha testing the game on the network. Whenever we put in a new concept, mode or engine into it and the developers are trying it out in-house among ourselves. That’s when I play the most, because that’s when every once in a while I’ll win.

GAX: So if I challenge you to a game, I’ll win?

Joe: Sure, that’s because you’re younger and faster than me. I’m old and stupid.

GAX: Finally, here’s a question from the fans themselves. I asked around, and this was the question they most wanted to know – What is Kane’s optimal breakfast of choice?

Joe: Waffles

GAX: Lame

Joe: The actual truth is I don’t eat breakfast. I eat when I’m hungry, and one meal usually lasts me the whole day. I don’t do the whole scheduled meals thing. I have to say movie star thin you know.

I'm on a Boat (ft. Joe Kucan)

*The abridged version of this interview was first published in GameAxis Unwired October 2009