Interview: Tyler Bleszinski's GearHeads

Ever wonder what it would be like to be Cliff Bleszinski's brother? Do you find yourself caught up in all the Gears of War excitement and want to know where all the cool Gears fans hangout online? Well, Tyler Bleszinski is that guy who carries the label of "Cliffy B's brother" and he's on a mission to create the best Gears of War community online. Tyler has broken out from being the other brother and created one of the best Gears of War community sites on the net, GearHeads of War. I sit down for a friendly conversation about the launch of Gears of War, what special treatment he receives for being Cliffy's brother, why he created his fansite and where it's community is headed. You're formally invited to an interview with the brainchild of GearHeads of War, Tyler Bleszinski ...

Hey Tyler, first I'll let you introduce yourself as some may not know how you fit into the gaming universe.

Tyler Bleszinski: My brother Cliff Bleszinski is lead designer for Gears of War so it inspired me to start a blog for the game since I didn't see a whole lot in terms of community out there for Gears. The site is www.gearheadsofwar.com.

Sweet, so let's talk about GearHeads of War, what made you want to create a community blog other than the fact that your brother is the lead designer?

It's funny, this is the first game my brother has been involved in that I'm incredibly excited to play because I was never a huge PC gamer. I'm more of a console guy so when I saw the game coming together I just realized that I was going to actually enjoy the fruits of his labor for once. Course, that means I'll probably have to put up with him chainsawing, sniping and Hammer of Dawning me over XBL.

Yeah, I'm sure he's had a little more practice than the rest of us. You mention that you "saw the gaming coming together", does that mean you got to witness the development process first hand, or got an advanced copy of GoW?

LOL, unfortunately, no. I just talked to him a lot about it. I remember distinctly talking to him several years ago about his concept when he was smitten with Bands of Brothers and kill.switch and other various elements he wanted to bring together. Then Resident Evil 4 hit and I think that put it all together for him. I still haven't played one second of it yet. He can't even get me a copy because Microsoft wants as many out in the market as possible.

Ouch... that's not brotherly love.

Nah, I don't take it personally. Thankfully starting the blog has put me in contact with some MS PR folks, so I'm hoping to get the hook up that way.

You must be getting some exposure, because I heard that MTV contacted you in regards to looking for the ultimate Gears of War fan for an upcoming special. They obviously knew where to go to get their perfect fan.

Yeah, they did and lo and behold, I was able to procure someone for them. I'm surprised at how fast Gearheads has taken off, but I told my brother that the online universe was starving for something like this. He was skeptical, but I think he's a believer now. I'm hoping to make the site a place where we can organize some quality online matches rather than having to brave the anonymous route where you wind up playing with tools.

You've definitely created a great community, heck you've lured me into your blogging web. So do you have any big plans for the future of GearHeads of War, an update to the site, community aspects, or XBL tournaments?

Definitely XBL tournaments at some point. I think most people want to get through the single player campaign before testing their luck against human opponents, so I don't anticipate the Gears Live action really heating up for at least a week or so. As for community stuff, we're trying to really encourage intelligent participation through the diary function on the site with our signed CliffyB faceplate (the E3 exclusive one) giveaway for the best diary/comment for the month of November. My hope is to make a place for intelligent commentary and insight for years to come. The early returns indicate that Gears will be around for a long, long time as a franchise.

Tournaments will definitely be popular. I know you're a busy blogging man, but I have one more question. When you get your copy of GoW will you be jumping into the campaign alone, with a buddy on XBL or jumping into multiplayer? And come November 12th (official Emergence Day) will you be glued to your sofa playing online for the XBL festivities?

I might have to bug Cliff into going through the campaign co-op with me since I fought many an older boy for my younger bro when we were growing up. He had quite a mouth on him and I was sort of his, well, protector. He owes me that much. Heh.

Yeah, maybe you can get some brotherly counseling done over LIVE while playing. You know, brothers who play Gears together, kill together... or something like that.

Or those who saw together...

I can hear the revving of the chainsaw already. Thanks for taking the the time to answer some questions, good luck with GearHeads of War and I'm sure we'll be seeing you online.

Thanks, Dustin, I appreciate you taking out the time to talk. Perhaps I'll be dropping the Hammer of Dawn on you before you know it.

In your dreams Tyler ... in your dreams!