IGN has posted an extensive 8 page interview with the ever boastful Cliff Bleszinski. In the interview CliffyB discusses the success of Gears of War and take time to discuss the future of the game and potential sequels. Of particular interest is his discussion of forthcoming downloadable content. While no specific content or date is announced, CliffyB assures us that something is coming and that we should get some news about it soon. He notes that the possibilities for such content are very broad -- new maps, new multiplayer modes, improved matchmaking, etc -- but declines to give any specific details. Furthermore, Cliffy discusses the possibilities of expanding the GOW franchise into other media, from movies to graphic novels to lunch boxes.
Cliffy also takes time to defend the story of Gears of War, essentially saying that Epic never intended to have gamers "beaten over the head with story," preferring to think of GOW as a big budget, summer action flick. Primarily, Cliffy leaves us with the knowledge that Epic plans to support GOW for a long time to come (presumably until a sequel arrives). Hit the "read" link for the full interview.
It's that time of year when Game Daily's yearly Game Industry Persons of the Year awards are being announced and look who came in at number four. Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski (Cliffy B) has been honored with the title of number four person of the year. Not only has Cliffy B created the Xbox 360's killer app, launched a new major IP, and proved he can drink anyone under the table, but he has pushed the shooter genre in a whole new direction. We salute you Cliff as you are one rocking dude, but we're still patiently waiting on our Gearspatch.
On Monday night set your DVR, TiVo, VHS recorder or just tune into MTV's little documentary Gears of War: Race to Launch airing at 8:30PM. Oh and by the way, this is the same special that a GearHeads of War ultimate fan was chosen for. Seriously, you can't have enough Gears of War or Cliffy B interviews ... that's just how it is right now.
A 36 year old man in Detroit thinks it's okay to go around beating the crap out of a 15 year kid so he can get his hands on a video game. The man, Deion, was waiting in line at Gamestop to purchase Gears of War when the manager announced that they were running out of copies. So, logically he decided to push his way to the front of the line, have a confrontation, and proceeded to pummel a poor 15 year old kid for his copy of the game. The guy was arrested and the kid was taken to the hospital for his injuries. As for punishment, who's up for letting that kid have a chance to chainsaw old Deion in half?
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 ...
The creative genius' behind Gears of War have a little program they call Unreal Engine 3, have you heard? Well it looks like Digimask and their face mapping software is officially a part of the Unreal Engine. Digimask is the same company that incorporated face mapping technology using the Xbox Live Vision camera into World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions and Rainbow Six Vegas. You just can't help but to speculate whether or not our beloved Gears of War (which utilizes the Unreal Engine) will incorporate the new face mapping technology through a future auto update. Though the more I think about it, I highly doubt we'll see this happen because that would totally mess up the feng shui Cliffy B has painstakingly worked to achieve in Gears. We can always hope that we'll see some Digimask face mapping in the uber-hyped, Xbox 360 exclusive, Unreal Engine based game: Jazz the Jackrabbit 4.
In a post on his personal blog, Epic it-boy CliffyB says his work on the monumental gaming/hype event known as Gears of War essentially done -- save for the promotional tour:
My job as designer of Gears of War is, well, more or less done. I can't speak to the status of gold or shipping but those of you familiar with development know that at a certain point you've just got to let your baby get on the school bus and hope for the best.
The days of shipping a game and hopping on a plane for someplace warm to get the heck away are long gone. I've got a busy few weeks ahead of me filled with promotional events; a pair of them in everyone's favorite town of LA. Microsoft knows they're not launching a game anymore, ever since the smash of Halo 2 I think they've realized that they're launching entertainment itself. It's not just a game, it's a f---ing EVENT.
Congratulations, Cliff, your hard work has earned your game a some precious time in my mental cycle. Now get to work on Gears of War 2.
That's what he said and, in a recent interview with CVG, CliffyB elaborates on his original theory that Gears of War is more Bionic Commando than Mario. You are jumping ... just with a grappling hook ... and on a different plane. He explains, "In GoW you're essentially jumping but you're jumping on the X and Y axis. So you're leaping into the environment. If you were to look at a GoW battlefield from an overhead view, it would almost look like a Sonic or Mario level because that's how all the cover plays out."
That's a pretty novel way of looking at the game's construction.Though Cliffy does his best to appear otherwise, he often reveals a thoughtful side. Our favorite part of the interview: when he eschews the sentiment that a Hollywood adaptation means your game has made it. "I love movies but I believe I'm working in the most exciting sector of the entertainment industry." Oh snap! Take that movies! But he still offered up his candidate for the role of Marcus: Clive Owen. Really? He seems like he would need to put on about 150 ell-bees of muscle. And what's all this aboutScarlett Johansson?
We missed telling you guys about the "Match Made in Hell" Gears of War promotion, but we'll make it up to you by cluing you into another opportunity to get your mitts on the 360's upcoming chainsaw-sim. According to a now missing Xbox.com page (helpfully clipped after the break), you'll be able to win a chance to play Gears a full week before the unwashed masses. And that's not all, you'll get to play it with CliffyB himself at Epic Studios in beautiful Raleigh, North Carolina.
Rules are simple: you must be a resident of the US or Canada (sorry Hungary!); you must be 18 or older; you have to enter before October 15th; and you need to fill out this form. Hop to it! If any Fanboys win, make sure to wear something nice ... and bring flowers!
CliffyB had some interesting remarks for his brother, who just so happens to be a blogger for Gearheads of War. What did he say? I'm glad you asked. It breaks down like this. Emergence Day, as we all know, is November 12th. Sure, that's a pretty BIG deal, but there's more. The game will begin shipping on November 7th, and:
"They'll be able to sell it the minute they get it so some of those stores will have the game well before the 12th."
So there you have it, Emergence Day is not so BIG after all. If any of you manage to get it on November 7th, let us know and we'll write it up. Surely Bungie has something to do with this. (117, get it? No? Too nerdy?)
Following yesterday's BIG announcement that Gears of War will hit the US on November 12th and in the UK on the 17th of November, comes the news that there will not be a demo released before the game ships, or possibly ever. Speaking with TeamXbox, Epic VP, Mark Rein, had this to say:
"Demos take a long time to create and polish and we can't afford to get derailed like that if we want to have the game in stores by Thanksgiving. Given a choice of the game this year or a demo this year and the game next year I'm sure every one of you would rather have the game this year because you're already planning to buy it. No idea if we'll do a demo or not after the game ships."
Maybe that was the real BIG announcement. Seriously though, we all want a taste of GOW, but is there anyone out there waiting for a demo to make up their minds? If so, tell us why.
Before you all start thinking this blogger is a Xenophobic American prick (that's only a half-truth), please note that the above headline is a joke. With that out of the way, everybody knows that Gears of War is hitting North American shores on November 12th. Slightly less publicized, however, is the fact that our European friends can look forward to picking up the game a mere five days later on November 17th -- I suppose they would call it the 17th of November, though.
For those of you keeping score, that's the same day PS3 launches in Europe. Zoinks! And, finally, since Ken and I were both indisposed at the time of the BIG announcement, here are some shots of the limited edition collectors booklet "Destroyed Beauty." Who loves ya, fanboys?
Posted Jul 17th 2006 12:00AM by Ken Weeks
Filed under: News
Grab your over-priced popcorn. A big screen trailer for Gears of War will roll before 5 upcoming theatrical releases including Miami Vice, Pulse, A Scanner Darkly, Clerks 2, and Little Miss Sunshine. Not content to share time with ads for Raisinettes, CliffyB is hinting at a fullscale GoW movie -- with Uwe Boll in the director's chair. Just kidding. It's not a horror flick.
CliffyB, the lovable Mario master behind Gears of War, recently sat down with Xbox.com to discuss (what else?) Gears of War. The topics covered include the characters, enemies, weapon design, and co-op among other things. On the possibility of a feature film:
"The only way we'd ever consider doing a film of our property would be if the absolute right people were attached who understood not only the game and its universe but also the (hopefully!) rabid fanbase that we'd like to acquire."
Also of particular interest is the dev team's inspiration for the game's locales:
"I kept pushing for beautiful environments; you can have a post-apocalyptic world but why does it always have to be boring industrial buildings and concrete bunkers? One of the most inspiring moments that really secured the idea of this European influence on the architecture happened one day at Saint Paul's Cathedral in London."
See the cathedral after the break. Just try and tell me it doesn't make you want to kill the locust horde.
Here's a pre-E3 interview with the famous CliffyB. Old stuff, but interesting nonetheless. I like to think the "B" stands for "Bunny" instead of Brez..Blez... whatever.
IGN has posted an extensive 8 page interview with the ever boastful Cliff Bleszinski. In the interview CliffyB discusses the success of Gears of War and take time to discuss the future of the game and potential sequels. Of particular interest is his discussion of forthcoming downloadable content. While no specific content or date is announced, CliffyB assures us that something is coming and that we should get some news about it soon. He notes that the possibilities for such content are very broad -- new maps, new multiplayer modes, improved matchmaking, etc -- but declines to give any specific details. Furthermore, Cliffy discusses the possibilities of expanding the GOW franchise into other media, from movies to graphic novels to lunch boxes.
It's that time of year when Game Daily's yearly Game Industry Persons of the Year awards are being announced and look who came in at number four. Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski (Cliffy B) has been honored with the title of number four person of the year. Not only has Cliffy B created the Xbox 360's killer app, launched a new major IP, and proved he can drink anyone under the table, but he has pushed the shooter genre in a whole new direction. We salute you Cliff as you are one rocking dude, but we're still patiently waiting on our Gears 
On Monday night set your DVR, TiVo, VHS recorder or just tune into MTV's little documentary Gears of War: Race to Launch airing at 8:30PM. Oh and by the way, this is the same special that a 
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 
The creative genius' behind 
In a post on his personal blog, Epic it-boy CliffyB says his work on the monumental gaming/hype event known as Gears of War essentially done -- save for the promotional tour:
Grab your over-priced popcorn. A big screen trailer for Gears of War will roll before 5 upcoming theatrical releases including Miami Vice, Pulse, A Scanner Darkly, Clerks 2, and Little Miss Sunshine. Not content to share time with ads for Raisinettes, CliffyB is hinting at a fullscale GoW movie -- with Uwe Boll in the director's chair. Just kidding. It's not a horror flick.
Here's a pre-E3 interview with the famous CliffyB. Old stuff, but interesting nonetheless. I like to think the "B" stands for "Bunny" instead of Brez..Blez... whatever.
