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Play futuristic cops vs robbers in the 'LawBreakers' alpha
If you can't get enough of online brawls by way of Blizzard's Overwatch and Gearbox Software's Battleborn, there's a third contender out there. It's called LawBreakers, and it's the brainchild of Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski. The arena-based multiplayer shooter from developer Boss Key Productions is now offering registration for alpha testing to anyone who wants to get down and start breakin' the law, breakin' the law.
Gears of War's Bleszinski teaming with Nexon America for arena shooter
It looks as if Cliff Bleszinski is getting exactly what he wanted, as the former Epic Games design director is partnering with Nexon America to create a PC arena shooter. Just one week after Bleszinski announced his return to game development following a 21-month absence, the designer now has a studio by the name of Boss Key Productions and a new game to go along with it, codenamed BlueStreak. No, the game won't star Martin Lawrence (as far as we know). Rather, BlueStreak is a free-to-play, sci-fi FPS that will offer a "new take on an old favorite," according to Bleszinski. It's the latest in a string of strategic publishing partnerships by Nexon America, who recently agreed to publish an as-yet-unannounced game from Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games and will also distribute Splash Damage's Dirty Bomb. [Image: Boss Key Productions]
Joystiq Weekly: Bleszinski returns, Escape Dead Island, WildStar impressions and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Well, we did it. We used a ton of gun powder to make pretty shapes and colors in the sky, and we gorged on grilled food as it happened. Our self-appointed roles as Master Pyrotechnicians (read: the person hogging the lighter near a mound of fireworks) also left us without burns, so we're not sure the holiday could have possibly gone better. Just because the United States and Canada celebrated birthdays this week doesn't mean that everyone took time off though – heck, Cliff Bleszinski is about to end his extended vacation from the gaming industry! We've got details on his return, your last-minute hope to get in on the Evolve alpha, impressions from WildStar, a glimpse at Escape Dead Island and more, all waiting for you after the break!
Cliff Bleszinski: 'I am officially making video games again'
Former Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski announced his return to the video game industry this week, and plans to reveal details on his new project "in the next seven days." 21 months after departing a studio he'd served for 20 years, the 39-year-old tweeted, "It's going to be a blast to finally tell the story of what brought me back." In 2012, Bleszinski said he left the company to pursue a fresh start, and that would be a matter of "when and with who." The Unreal and Gears of War designer also fueled rumors by posting several photos of his visits to major studios, including EA, Zynga and Activision. Then last August, he began posting concept art for an upcoming project.
Cliff Bleszinski wants to do an arena shooter on PC
"I have a slide deck, I have a pitch, I have concept art, I know pretty much what I want to do." Cliff Bleszinski has his next project in mind: a first-person shooter for PC that pays homage to classic arena shooters like Unreal Tournament and Quake. Bleszinski revealed the news on former Attack of the Show host Kevin Pereira's podcast, Pointless. "It will be a PC experience that will harken back to a certain type of game that we cut our teeth on, if you know what I'm saying." Bleszinski went on to say that "a lot of these kids playing Call of Duty, I don't think they know what a proper arena shooter is" and that he wouldn't "work with the old guard" on this potential new project. "I'll talk to them, have meetings, but the last thing I need is some mid-level marketing guy telling me that, 'Well, traditionally, this doesn't sell well, so we're concerned,' and all that because they're all rearward-looking and it just drives me fucking batshit." In order to fully realize this vision, Bleszinski added, he'd need to have the support of a full studio. Bleszinski, who created the Jazz Jackrabbit and Gears of War series, left Epic Games a little over a year ago. Bleszinski, who was looking for a fresh start, left in order to "redefine" his footprint on video games. In an interview on X-Play last year, Bleszinski said, "I don't really want just the whole chainsaw gun to be my legacy."
The Daily Roundup for 05.09.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Free for All: The continued standardization of selling power
Selling power is a much quieter controversy than it used to be. I've been in gaming long enough to remember when selling anything desirable at all was taboo. At the same time, it's always been OK to sell some things like subscriptions or special boxed editions, proving that MMO gamers and others are brilliant at segmenting their rage. If it's a cool, special box with a neat virtual item inside, it somehow does not fall under the same umbrella as selling powerful, useful items in game. I think it does. But geeks in general are good at justifying poor behavior if they get what they want; just ask the hackers and file-swappers. Still, it doesn't matter how we feel about selling power because the industry is already moving in the direction of selling power, lots of power. EA recently announced that every title it produces from now on will feature microtransactions. While that doesn't guarantee the sale of powerful items, I can promise that it will include some. This train ain't stopping. Sure, the console community seems a bit late to the party when it comes to the power-selling controversy, but that's likely because of MMOs' always-on multiplayer mode.
Bleszinski left Epic for 'a fresh start,' considering new IP
"I don't really want just the whole chainsaw gun to be my legacy." Former Epic employee Cliff Bleszinski's opening line during G4's X-Play program is the gist of why he left Epic Games, a company he started working for when he was 17."It's time for a fresh start. I'll start a new studio maybe at some point. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when and with who," Blezsinski says. Though he sounds anxious to get back to making video games, Bleszinski doesn't seem to have any immediate plans. "Moving forward I would hope to work on something new and fresh and kinda redefine my legacy."It should come as no surprise that Bleszinski is working on something – famous game designer has idea for video game. When asked who his favorite Transformers character is, Bleszinski says Bluestreak, but notes later his name was changed to Silverstreak, "which is the codename of a new IP I'm gestating on slowly."
Cliff Bleszinski quits Epic Games, leaves us with an Unreal feeling
Fall must be the season for sea changes in the game industry. Just weeks after BioWare's founders retired, key Epic Games veteran and Design Director Cliff Bleszinski (known to many as just CliffyB) is hanging up his hat. He simply describes it as taking a "much needed break," which makes sense when you see his development experience: he joined Epic's crew with Dare to Dream Volume One in 1993 and has nurtured virtually every major (and often minor) game franchise at the company since, including the Jazz Jackrabbit platformers, untold numbers of games in the Unreal line and most recently the Gears of War series. Bleszinski hasn't said where he's headed next, although it's hard to imagine him switching professions like the two BioWare doctors -- for many, he's synonymous with certain eras of first- and third-person shooters. Wherever he goes, we wish him the best of success.
Cliff Bleszinski leaves Epic Games
Cliff Bleszinski is leaving Epic Games, a company he has been working with for 20 years. Most recently, he held the title of Design Director."I've been doing this since I was a teenager, and outside of my sabbatical last year, I have been going non-stop," Bleszinski said in a letter to colleagues, a selection of which Epic posted on its website. "I literally grew up in this business, as Mike [Capps] likes to say. And now that I'm grown up, it's time for a much needed break."Neither Bleszinski nor Epic said what the next step would be; Epic refers only to his plan "to chart the next stage of his career." While at Epic, Bleszinski designed games ranging from the Jazz Jackrabbit series, to Unreal, to Gears of War."In 20 wonderful years with Epic, Cliff Bleszinski has grown into a true design luminary, and his contributions to the 'Unreal' and 'Gears' series have helped shape the game industry into what it is today," said Epic technical director Tim Sweeney. "Cliff leaves Epic with our gratitude for his many contributions, and our wishes for continued success in the next chapter of his life!"Note: An original version of this story incorrectly stated that Bleszinski was a co-founder of Epic Games. This error has been edited and we apologize for the confusion.
Fortnite getting a closed beta 'early next year'
As a special prize for one lucky attendee of tonight PAX Prime 2012 Fortnite panel – a reprise of the Fortnite panel we saw at San Diego Comic Con earlier this year – Epic Games gave out a golden ticket that provides early beta entrance to next year's Unreal Engine 4 PC game. So ... wait, does that mean there's gonna be an open beta for Fortnite?"TBD," Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski told us immediately following the panel. "There will definitely be a closed beta," producer Tanya Jessing added, but she also refused to confirm whether an open beta is also in the cards. But hey, that one lady who won the ticket? She's totally in.
'Critical Path' trailer is loaded with games industry talent
A trailer for Critical Path, a "transmedia project exploring the art, philosophy, politics and psychology of video games" recently surfaced. The trailer, created by a Los Angeles-based studio named Artifact, shows dozens of game designers talking about their craft and the place games take in the history of expressive media. The project aims to "give game designers their due as innovators and influencers of culture."Critical Path is described as the culmination of "two years of filming and archiving" interviews, according to Artifact's site. "User feedback will influence future interviews, which will be added to the archive on an ongoing basis."Among the 37 names listed at the end of the trailer are Warren Spector, Jenova Chen, John Carmack, David Cage, Cliff Bleszinski, Ken Levine, Peter Molyneux, Tim Schafer and Hideo Kojima. You can watch the trailer here.
Epic shares Gears of War insight and trivia at Comic-Con panel
Cliff Bleszinski, Design Director at Epic Games, along with Production Director Rod Fergusson, voice actor Fred Tatasciore (the voice of Baird as well as "most of the Locusts") and writers Rob Auten and Tom Bissell all took the stage at Comic-Con 2012 for a panel about Gears of War: Judgment. The biggest piece of news out of the panel was that Judgment has a release date: We'll be killing grubs as Baird in the prequel on March 19.The rest of the panel, however, contained a few juicy bits of Gears trivia, just for fans of the series. If you've lived and died with the COGs for three games now, read on.
Bleszinski: Fortnite on PC 'primary and first,' other platforms not ruled out
Having announced Fortnite as Epic Games' first Unreal Engine 4 game, "exclusively for the PC," Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski took to Twitter this afternoon to make some breathing room. "We wouldn't rule out the possibility of other platforms later," he wrote. That is, while Fortnite will be "primary and first" on PC, it may not be exclusive to the platform forever.Given that Fortnite is built using UE4, it stands to reason that those "other platforms" won't be of the current generation (none of Microsoft's, Sony's, or Nintendo's current hardware can run UE4-based games). What might they be, then? We'll have to wait until the next console generation to find out, it sounds like.%Gallery-160290%
Epic's Fortnite is a 'fresh and bubbly' co-op survival sandbox game
Epic Games kicked off our experience at Comic-Con this year with a panel about Fortnite, the oft-mentioned but not yet seen game that serves as the studio's followup to Gears of War. Producer Tanya Jessen, Lead Artist Pete Ellis, and Design Director Cliff Bleszinski talked at length about the game, revealing it to be a mashup of Minecraft, The Walking Dead and Team Fortress 2. It's designed and built in Unreal Engine 4, and destined for a PC-only launch.Jessen described Fortnite as a "co-op sandbox survival game" with three different elements. Scavenging will allow players to go out into the ruined world and find items and materials wherever they can. Building will let players first erect and then customize various structures of all shapes and sizes. Combat, the last part of the game, pits players against creepy yet "Looney Tunes-inspired" monsters attempting to take those structures down."This is not just a game for people who like shooters or RPGS," said Jessen. "It's a game for everybody." And according to Bleszinski, Fortnite is a big change internally from what the studio has been working on more recently. "It's been really fresh for us," he said. "We've had like six years of Gears and we've perfected the art of killing. Fortnite is serving as a fresh change of pace for us."%Gallery-160290%
Fortnite is Epic's first Unreal Engine 4 game, heading exclusively to PC
Fortnite is Epic's first Unreal Engine 4 game and it'll ship "exclusively for the PC," Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinksi said today during a San Diego Comic-Con 2012 panel. "We're here and we're announcing that this is a PC-designed game, it's shipping exclusively for the PC," he told a crowd of attendees."Next-gen's here. It's been here. It's a high-end PC," Bleszinski said. He added that the dudebro-free Fortnite didn't "make sense" for Unreal Engine 3, and cheered PCs as being part of Epic's "heritage."Fortnite, which sees characters building bunkers and emplacements to defend against the monsters of the night, was suspected of being a PC exclusive earlier this year when it popped up on a LinkedIn listing for PC. The listing was quickly changed after we brought it to the attention of Epic Games.We'll have more from Epic's SDCC panel as soon as we can (it's still going on!).
The testimony of Damon Baird in Gears of War: Judgment
Memory is a fickle thing. You may think one thing, but the reality of the situation in question could be entirely different. Was that thing there? What even was that thing?In Gears of War Judgment, Lt. Damon Baird is on trial for disobeying COG orders – being a military outfit, they're kind of big on following orders – and must recall the events that lead up to the disobedience in question. His recounting of the events while on trial is the entire campaign, but this being a military trial, certain things are classified. It's an idea that will play out in the campaign: the first time through, certain elements from the game environment will be missing; a second playthrough of the "Declassified" campaign will change events and those in-game elements.%Gallery-157621%
'You're going to die a fair amount:' Bleszinski on Gears of War: Judgment's S3 system
Gone are the static spawn wells seen in Gears of War entries in the past. With Gears of War: Judgment, People Can Fly and Epic Games will introduce something they're labeling as S3 – a smart spawn system."Previously in Gears, if you wanted a greater challenge, you went for the higher difficulty mode. It basically meant less health for you and more health for them. It worked perfectly fine, but we tried to attack this from a different angle," People Can Fly's Adrian Chmielarz explained to Joystiq. "S3 constantly monitors your performance, from simple stuff like accuracy and your skills, but also like your location in the combat zone." Chmielarz provided an example of a player in one corner, shooting Locust, then having the system adapt on the fly and spawn enemies at more challenging locations."The other thing it can do is run multiple scenarios: you play through a section of the game, from checkpoint-to-checkpoint, and you die at the very end of it. So then you think to yourself, 'Okay, I know how to fix that; I got this.' You replay and suddenly it's a completely new scenario – new enemies and you have to adapt one more time. Another example would be you choose a higher difficulty level to replay a section and then you encounter an enemy type that you have not encountered before. We kept it in reserves for a higher difficulty level. The big point about S3 is to make sure that you are challenged. We think that the word kind of disappeared from the vocabulary a little and games now actually paint the path for you on the floor, where to go next."Cliff Bleszinski then interjected, "I think that's why you're starting to see this love for games kind of like Dark Souls now. In order to try and grow the audience, games have been softened – players can't get lost ever, or they can't die ever. But then it's like you've just lost the point of the game and what games do, having that challenge. We're a little guilty of it – I'm fully willing to admit that. When was the last time a game has asked something of you? I've been playing Gears since the beginning, obviously, but when I go into the playtest lab and we play 4-player hardcore co-op [in Gears of War: Judgment], it takes us a good three or four tries to get through a combat scenario. I play a lot of games where I just get into the flow of combat and it's getting good then, boom, cutscene. I'm like, 'Fuck you, get back to the gameplay.' In this game, the pacing has gotten to the point where when you get past a protracted battle, and you finally get a cutscene, yeah you're happy to see the story progress but you're really just happy to have a break. You're going to die, you're going to die a fair amount, but hopefully you like it," he said."It's definitely going to be harder than Gears of War 3," Bleszinski added. "The thing about Gears 3 that I learned kind of in hindsight is the fact that technically it was the longest campaign that we've ever done, but we accidentally softened the difficulty a little too much. So the good gamers got through it in a similar timeframe to Gears 2, and were like 'No way it's the same length!' So we looked at the difficulty and there are certain little trade-offs that they made where, like, do you go DBNO or just die? Things like that, and also the same thing with enemy damage models. Gears of War: Judgment is going to be tough, even on normal difficulty level." Chmielarz then added that he thinks "normal is going to be more difficult than ever before."%Gallery-157621%
Bleszinski explains why Gears of War: Judgment isn't about E-Day or the Pendulum Wars
Gears of War: Judgment is a prequel, and takes place a few months after Emergence Day when the Locust first popped their heads up from underground and began their assault on the human population of Sera.But fans have wondered why Epic didn't aim to highlight a different part of the timeline in the Gears of War universe – like E-Day or the Pendulum Wars, the great 79-year-long war that raged across Sera. The COG (Coalition of Ordered Governments) won the Pendulum Wars, and became the global government of Sera.Both sound like good settings for a video game, right? Sure, but according to Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski, neither would've made for the right game – the latter wouldn't have even been a Gears of War game."The time came, we finished Gears 3 and obviously it's done well for us, and a prequel seemed like the next logical step. So we started looking at the timeframes and what we could do. I looked at E-Day and was like, 'Yeah, there's no chainsaw on E-Day.' It took the COG a little bit to figure out that the Locust have thick skin and their bayonets are breaking, things like that." Being able to chainsaw scary monster men is essential to anything donning the Gears of War title, you see.As for the Pendulum Wars, its human-on-human conflict would technically make for a game that isn't Gears of War. "Now you have no chainsaw and now you have no monsters," Bleszinski said. "And now we're not Gears of War anymore. So we looked at the timeframe, looked at the timeline, and figured that there's a window there of several months after Emergence Day, where humanity got hit and quickly got their shit back together and figured out, hey, put a chainsaw on the end of the gun – that'll help. So that's the timeframe for the game."Gears of War: Judgment launches on the Xbox 360 in early 2013.%Gallery-157621%
Unreal Engine 4's GDC demo: exposed!
Just around 30 lucky GDC attendees saw Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 demo. And one such person was Wired's Stu Horvath, who describes the two minute demonstration as "breathtakingly photo-realistic" in an exclusive reveal. The demo apparently follows the demon knight seen above, as he wakes from a frozen sleep ... only to set everything on fire. That scamp!The demo runs on Nvidia's Kepler GTX 680 – a graphics card often described as "next-gen" – and it follows the armored demon dude as he shows off his fancy, graphics-heavy castle. Just 14 Epic employees put together the demo, which apparently runs in real-time within the Unreal Engine 4 environment (a feat for modern game engines, including UE3). Don't be surprised if we see this demo show up in a future Epic game – the company's past demos for Unreal Engine lead to some of Epic's biggest games.Lighting is also improved, according to the piece, with "dynamic lighting" within the engine rather than being individually implemented after the fact. "The number of man-years that required was astounding," Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski said. But with all the additions, Epic's new engine requires much more horsepower; horsepower for which Epic is pushing the likes of Microsoft and Sony. Whether Epic (and us gamers) will get that horsepower, however, remains to be seen.
