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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.
Unreal: Cliff Bleszinski really likes musicals
Listen, just because Cliff Bleszinski makes games where you chainsaw dudes in half doesn't mean the man can't feel. Like, take this interview with Adult Swim about his favorite shows for instance, in which he admits that he kinda, sorta loves musicals: I can enjoy a twisted, strange movie like [Funny Games] but also be like, "Sweet! Chicago's on Blu-ray now! Let's go see The Lion King on Broadway! Oh my God, I love Wicked!" ... There's this weird dichotomy going on with my tastes. I think it's important to enjoy all spectrums of entertainment that way. Well, this certainly explains why so many Epic games feature highly choreographed knife fights between rival gangs. Also, because we were all thinking it: This. ... No? Well, we were thinking it.
Epic Games to reveal new IP at GDC 2011
Cliff Bleszinski said recently that Epic Games would unveil a brand new IP at next year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. This will be a brand new universe, unrelated to anything Epic has done before, according to Bleszinski. "Gamers votes with their dollars and they often like established IP, but those IPs came from somewhere, right?" he told EGM. "Call of Duty was crafted by the original Medal of Honor guys. Gears of War was crafted by the original Unreal Tournament guy. I look forward to creating what's next." We pinged Bleszinski ourselves to try and find out what platform Epic is aiming for, but he tells us there's "not much to say yet." The company has had a lot of success with Infinity Blade on iOS recently, and has also been rumored to be working on a Kinect title. GDC 2011 kicks off on February 28 -- we'll be there in San Francisco to cover any announcement for you.
Cliff Bleszinski (probably) beat more NES games than you
Beyond being recognized as a high score champion in the first issue of Nintendo Power, Gears of War creative lead Cliff Bleszinski has an NES marked up with permanent tallies -- what he approximates to represent "close to 60" completed games. He's also got a totally rad sticker of Link on it.
Watch the Gears of War 3 trailer right now
Why wait for Cliff Bleszinski to debut Gears of War 3 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon? Here's the trailer for the "worst-kept secret in the video game industry," posted to the Late Night website (and embedded above) ... before it's appeared on television. The trailer is prefaced by some banter with Mister B about his vintage Nintendo Power appearance and what makes a great game. The new game has playable female soldiers in it! Take that, Crackdown 2! Don't worry, it's still jam-packed with men who look like refrigerators and mellow music, like the famous Gears of War trailer (in this case, Sun Kil Moon's "Heron Blue"). Other elements mentioned by Cliff include new weapons and new aliens -- "crazy tentacle monsters" with mutating ability. Bleszinski said GOW3 will arrive "probably around April 8" -- one year after his Late Night appearance was supposed to be shown. Wouldn't that have been nice marketing? Oh, well. Update: Official release date is April 5, 2011. And catch Cliff's Late Night appearance after the break. %Gallery-90396%
Bleszinski sees RPGs as key to the shooter's future
Look, we know, alright? Cliff "Not CliffyB" Bleszinski has a lot to say, and as such, he ends up in the headlines a bit more than anyone could expect. But how can we resist when he says such interesting stuff, like what he said during a recent interview with Develop. He dropped some pretty serious hints about the future of shooters -- and in turn, his own franchise, Gears of War. "I had a conversation with Harvey Smith – one of the lead designers on Deus Ex – and said to him the future of shooters is RPGs," the Cliffster said during the interview. "He said he completely agreed." So, Deus Ex of War with RPG elements confirmed? Not quite. Bleszinski made sure to mention immediately afterward, "One could wean that from the comments I made earlier about the future of shooters is RPGs and see where things are going with us. It depends on where things go." Here's hoping "things go" right back to work on the game and less of the gum flapping! (Just joshin' ya, Cliffy. We still love you.)
The winner of the Mark Jacobs Award for Corporate Community Achievement is...
Yes, you didn't blink when you read the title. Of course, the award was made by Alex Litel of "Bell, Game, and Candle" at GameSetWatch and it's meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but it really shows how connected Jacobs is with all of the Warhammer Online hype.Litel's article showcases the many press release quotes that just make you tilt your head in confusion and wonder why exactly someone wrote that for marketing purposes. Quotes such as Cliffy B calling the original Gears of War "...just a tease, an appetizer to Gears of War characters and new style of gameplay" just to ramp up marketing for Gears of War 2.Litel inserted the Mark Jacobs award because he thought it would be unfair to include Mark Jacob's quotes in with the other quotes he gathered. With all of the passion Mark puts behind his marketing promises, including Jacobs's quotes would turn the article into a countdown of Mark Jacobs moments. So, the quotes were left out, but the spirit of Jacobs remained alive and well.If you want to see all 50 quotes, and which quote got the coveted award, head on over to GameSetWatch and check out Litel's article. We certainly got a few chuckles out of it.
VGA 2008: Cliffy B says he's slitting Bethesda tires
If Gears of War goes down to a Bethesda game again, Cliff Bleszinski's getting schoolyard. Live at the VGA red carpet, he just told us "Well, last time we lost Game of the Year to Oblivion and this year we might lose to Fallout 3. So I slit the tires on [exec. producer] Todd Howard's car."With his considerable delts/pecs/biceps, we'd think Cliffy B. Young Cliff could just rip those tires asunder. We're a little disappointed.
Video: Cliff Bleszinski is voting and so should you
Unless you've been living in a media retardant bubble for the past two years, it's Election Day in the United States and that means anyone eighteen and older can and should make their way to their local polling place to cast a ballot. Seriously, it's a presidential election, go out and vote. Whether right this very moment, in an hour or later in the day, just vote. As a bonus, you'll receive an "I VOTED!" sticker.Don't take our word for it, take Cliff Bleszinski's word, because he's voting. In the video above you'll hear a dude asking Cliff about the upcoming election and who he supports. We won't spoil his answer for you, but let's just say "change" sorta has duel meanings. Tricky Cliff.Anyway, if you're in the States, please, go out and rock the vote. If you're in Canada, Europe or any other worldly place that doesn't participate in today's elections, please, go play video games.
Cliff wants less controller buttons, more waggle
Take a look at your Xbox 360 controller and think of one object you could compare its looks to. Seriously, what do you think it looks like? If you said a martian aircraft due the amount of buttons it has, then congrats, you think just like Cliff Bleszinski.Talking with CVG, Bleszinski discussed the 360's controller, admitting that "if you look at a controller right now it looks like an alien spaceship." Cliff hopes that next gen, Microsoft creates an Xbox input device that has "fewer buttons on the controller" and recommends doing something more "with a built-in camera or a little motion sensitivity." "You look at the Wii controller with less buttons - they added functionality by doing waggle" Bleszinski explained, "there are other ways of providing interactivity without having every single finger doing something at once on a friggin' controller."And as much as it pains us to admit this, sorry Cliff, we don't totally agree with you on this one. The Wii is the Wii and the 360 is the 360, try playing a FPS on the Wii or using motion detecting cameras and tell us how competitive or fun it ends up being.
Wait, did Cliffy confirm GoW2 four player co-op? [update 2]
Update 2: As much as we'd like to think Cliffy was referring to four player co-op, the evidence is proving otherwise. For the time being, let's all let go of our four player co-op dreams until Epic talks deets.Update: It has come to our attention that Cliffy may have actually said "multiple difficulty settings FOR co-op players", meaning different difficulty levels for all co-op players and not confirmation of four player co-op. Though, there is a noticeable vocal pause between "settings" and "four" or "for". Meh, make your own judgment and be just as confused as everyone else.Gears of War 2 multiplayer details were noticeably lacking at this year's Spring Showcase, as Microsoft sticks to their well thought out marketing plan by feeding eager fanboys nuggets of GoW2 info piece by piece . But sometimes information leaks prematurely from loose lips, loose Cliffy B lips that make us believe that we can count on four player Gears of War 2 co-op come November.Why do we speculate four player Gears 2 co-op? Well, because we think Cliffy B actually let slip the secret in a recent interview with Gamespot. You'll have to click towards the jump to watch the video interview (stupid Gamespot embedding works like crud), fast forward to about 4:12 and listen carefully to what Cliffy says. From what we can tell, it sounds like Cliffy says "the co-op is drop in, drop out, multiple difficulty settings, four co-op players, uhh, much more multiplayer modes." Four co-op players? Hmm, he either confirmed GoW2's four player co-op secret or said something about "more co-op players". Either way, we're interested in hearing what's the real word.[Via XboxFocus]
Have Gears or Epic questions? Ask Cliffy B!
As part of GameDaily's new 10 Question series, where they grab someone from the video game industry and (you guessed it) ask them ten questions, they're looking for your help. Epic Games' own Cliff "Cliffy B" Bleszinski will be the next 10 Question target and GameDaily wants your help in narrowing down the ten questions to ask. So, if you have a juicy good Gears of War question, general Epic Games inquiry or were wondering which teeth whitening product the Cliffster recommends, shoot an email to GameDaily or simply hop on over to Joystiq and post your question in the comments section. You have until April 30th to submit your question when GameDaily will choose their top ten questions to ask Cliffy.And just to prevent an influx of teeth whitening questions, we already found out (through stalker'ish means) that Cliffy uses Crest Whitestrips Premium. Now that you know how to brighten your smile, focus your Cliffy questions on video games.Read - Submit your questions through JoystiqRead - Submit your questions through GameDaily
Got a question for Cliffy B? Drop it here
Our business-savvy pals at GameDaily BIZ asked us to loop you all in on the latest in their ongoing user-submitted-questions interview series. Under the magnifying glass this time is chainsaw-enthusiast (and professional Brumak imitator) CliffyB. Have hard hitting questions about the future of the Gears of War series or his role at Epic? Leave 'em here and BIZ just may use one of your questions. Want to know what happened to his blond highlights? We're just as curious as you are, but we're not sure that's what they're looking for. Sound off.
Joystiq video interview: Epic Games' Mark Rein, Tim Sweeney and CliffyB
Click To Play Update: If the video looks choppy, use this link.We got to stop by the Epic Games booth following Microsoft's press conference Wednesday, where Gears of War 2 was (surprise!) announced, to talk with VP Mark Rein, CEO/Technical Director Tim Sweeney, and CliffyB. Watch as we get "no comment" after "no comment" about other GoW 2 details (there will be more to see coming soon, promise Rein) and stay tuned towards the ends where Cliffy talks about his lancer and the Microsoft's flashy unveiling. Check out the video courtesy of Mahalo Daily.
Cliffy B puts his development focus on consoles
Chatting it up with the MTV Multiplayer crew during DICE, the ever entertaining and somewhat outspoken Cliff Bleszinski talks about life, video game design and where he thinks the industry is headed. From their brief interview we learn that the Cliffster has been taking it easy lately, stepping back from his intense development schedule and is gathering inspiration from different media and experiences all from a different perspective. It's easy to see that MTV Multiplayer is talking to a a newly refreshed yet same old same old Cliffy B.But after all the life talk, we quickly learn that Cliffy B fully supports and is entirely focused on console gaming saying that "PC [gaming] is just in disarray" and that "the PC is kind of the secondary part of what we're doing". Cliffy goes on to fully embrace the direction console gaming is taking and that "right now making AAA games on consoles is where we're at". Which AAA game exactly? He wouldn't say, but we have a hunch that the title rhymes with "tears of bore boo" and includes lots of blood. You aren't fooling anyone Cliffy, bring on the Gears 2 already.
Tyler B hints at Gears sequel releasing this year [update]
Update: We just got in touch with Tyler Bleszinski and he clarified his remarks. He says that he has absolutely no information regarding GoW2's release date and was basing this year's release off of rumors from Quartermann of EGM. So, Tyler B doesn't have any juicy GoW2 details and we don't have any release date confirmation. And we were getting excited too. Humf.Okay, we'll be upfront and say this news is a bit of a stretch, but slow news days warrant speculation stories. That's just how it works. So, when we spotted a credible source mentioning Gears of War 2 releasing this year, we had to pounce.Our friend and fellow gaming enthusiast over at Gearheads of War, Tyler Bleszinski (who is the older bro of Cliffy B) posted about his latest Gears gaming experience and how it compared to Call of Duty 4. In summary, Tyler (like many of us) doesn't care for Gears' hit and miss and ever so random shotgun and Boom Shotting. Now this is where the juicy speculation kicks in. He goes on to say that "I had a blast even with the Gears hiccup. I'm thinking I'm just going to need to wait for the sequel later this year. In the meantime, I've got COD 4 to keep me company." Wha? Did you catch that? Tyler specifically references to playing a Gears sequel later this year. Holy double w00t, w00t confirmation!Truthfully though, Tyler has always been open about the fact that he doesn't get into details surrounding Cliffy B's work, doesn't get any insider information and experiences the games and news as reported on the net. So, his comment about playing a Gears sequel in 2008 could simply be his own speculation with no concrete facts backing it up. Kind of like how we speculate about Gears of War 2 here at X3F. But, for the sake of juicy rumor fun, it's somewhat possible Cliffy B's brother knows something we don't and accidentally revealed Gears 2's 2008 release. We say, spill your guts Tyler Bleszinski. Tell us all the Gears of War 2 knowledge you do or don't have.
Gears of War action figures now up for pre-order
For those of you who didn't believe Cliffy B and his proclamation that Gears of War figures would be made, then all we have to say to you is "ha!" We laugh in your face because Gears of War figures are a reality, are releasing March 2008 and Cliffy B doesn't lie. Or not all the time. Available right now for pre-order at your favorite online retailer of choice is the first series. Series one will include 7" figures of Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago and a Locust Horde Drone all with twelve points of articulation and weapons galore. Currently, the manufacturer hasn't released pictures of the figures just yet, so you'll have to put down your pre-order cash blindly. Next Spring we're geeking and blowing our savings on Gears and Halo 3 figures![Thanks, Muffin Lad]
Cliffy B shares his toys, cuz he gotz toyz son
After hearing that Gears of War's signature chainsaw toting Lancer made it into ToyFare magazine's "50 Greatest Fictional Weapons of All Time" list, Cliffy B just had to show off his personal toy collection. Over at Wizard Entertainment's website, they've posted a mini-interview with Cliffy B where he talks about his love of collectibles, Transformers, Gears of War action figures and also shares pictures of his toys collection that he decorates his office with. It's a good read, especially if you like action figures or the Cliffster. Also, mad props to Cliffy for dancing around the final "when can we expect to see Gears of War 2?" question. Nice dancing indeed.
CliffyB loves his chainsaw gun, and his toys
ToyFare Magazine recently did a feature on the 50 greatest fictional weapons of all time, listing the Gears of War Lancer chainsaw gun among the ranks of the Green Lantern's ring, Thor's hammer, and Megatron (you know, when he's in gun form). And when sexy bachelor designer CliffyB learned that one of his weapons made the list, he did what any of us would have proudly done: totally geeked out and sent in pictures of his toy collection.A brief interview with Mr. Bleszinski reveals his favorite items in the collection, the all-importance of combining chainsaws and guns, as well as the undeniable truth that nothing is worthwhile until they've made action figures of it. So true, CliffyB. So true.
Cliffy B's adolescent story inspires comedic skit
We knew Cliffy B liked the spotlight, but we didn't know he also enjoyed comedic improv. The other night, during a DSI Comedy Theatre performance in North Carolina, the improv crew invited Cliffy B on stage to tell of his childhood, his Nintendo roots, and how badass he thought the Nintendo Power Glove was back in the day. As expected, Cliff's storytelling is pretty darn good, but the improv crews' rendition of his story leaves us scratching our heads a little. No matter, it's Cliffy B taking the stage, so be amazed and give the storytelling and improv a watch. Video ever so conveniently embedded above.[Via Digg]
