Joystiq Interview: Epic's Cliff Bleszinski
by Christopher Grant 
{ May 19th 2006 at 4:45PM }
To help promote the MTV2 special on Gears of War airing tonight, Microsoft was facilitating some quick phone interviews with the game's lead designer, Cliff Bleszinski (aka CliffyB). We got his thoughts on the game's reception at E3, the ongoing console wars, his application of the "mom test," and thoughts on episodic content (hint: he digs it).
I wanted to congratulate you on the success of Gears of War at E3. In a year without a lot of standout titles, Gears of War was the talk of the show. That said, why wasn't it playable on the show floor?
We wanted it to be playable with the versus multiplayer. Thing is, the show floor -- to me -- is a clusterfuck. It is an absolute trainwreck of noise, and boobs, and sweat, and swag, and there is no worse venue to pick up a game and start to play than the show floor of E3. Taking people away from the show floor and putting them into the little theater is a much better experience and that's what we wanted to do with the versus multiplayer.
Our gift and our curse with Gears is we're doing something slightly different: you're not out there looking out the barrel of the gun the entire time; shooting enemies that die in two shots; running and gunning like every other game. You have to take cover. You have enemies that take more than two shots to take out, and they're smart, and they take cover, and flank you. Learning that in E3 is not the proper venue to do that, which is why we chose to go with hands-on versus multiplayer because it was a bit more accessible. Now when a person buys the game and sits down in their living room and they go through the tutorial and go through the proper steps to learn how to play the game, they'll dig it. We're really feeling they'll get what we're going for. But presenting that at E3 would have been a mistake.
[The exclusive Gears of War demo room]
You didn't worry that you'd be doing yourself a disservice by limiting access to the game?
You never get a second chance to make a first impression and I would rather people's first impression playing the game hands-on be outside of the insanity that is the show floor of E3.
Did you have a chance to play the Wii while you were at E3?
I did not and I wanted to. I've been reserving judgment on it completely until I get hands on time with it and I just want to, just control it. My schedule was so jam-packed that there was no way I'd be able to hang out in line like that and I'm not that well connected with Nintendo to be able to skip through the line like Robin Williams is.
Epic's gotten a lot of flak for comments made about the Revolution for being graphically inferior. After E3, the consensus was that the first person control could be great. Although you haven't had a chance to play it, do you know if Epic's planning anything?
We're currently talking with Nintendo. It's not really my department to pontificate on other people's system and comments that the wonderful Mark Rein will make occasionally to upset the fans. Again, I reserve judgment of the Wii until I get hands on with it. I was very judgmental about the DS until I actually got to play hands-on with it and I love Trauma Center and stuff like that.
You know what, Nintendo is zigging while everyone else is zagging and they'll be just fine for it. I give them props for doing something different. My advice to anybody developing a first person shooter for the Revolution is: even though you have a new way to control and make a new FPS you still need a cool, compelling FPS underneath that. [Control] is only one of five things that you need. Give us a Half-Life 2 with those controls and I'll be first in line to buy it.
How about the PS3? Did you get any hands-on time with that?
To be honest, I spent more time on God of War 2 than the PS3. I played a bit of Resistance and couldn't get into Warhawk 'cause the line was too long. But, you know it's all about Riiiiiidge Raaaaaacer [laughs]. Sony's in a position where they have what I think will be a great system ...
[technical difficulties, call resumes]
... Bottom line is there's just a huge war going on right now and I'm perfectly happy to be standing in the middle of it grinning like a little kid. This is what I've always wanted to do. I get to work with amazing people and make a cool fricking IP in 2006. It's great.
[Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima playing Gears of War at E3]
Based on what you know, and what Epic knows as a middleware developer, can you think of anything in particular, specifically, that you would do differently if you were making Gears of War on the PlayStation 3?
I like the whole tilt controller. I think we could do some cool stuff there. Possibly do some integration with the PSP. And, to be honest, that's all I can think of right now. I haven't put a lot of thought into it. I've been so nose-deep in Gears on the 360.
Graphically do you feel there's anything you've been unable to do on the 360 that the PS3 might enable you to?
I think we're at the point where technologically ... I have what I call the "mom test." Take a game that's on 360 and on PS3, can your mom tell the difference in graphic quality? If she can't, is there that much of a difference?
How about episodic content, downloadable content? Is that something you're planning to exploit on 360?
I'm not really wiling to comment on it but I will tell you the whole concept thrills me. And the fact that Microsoft has this umbilical cord hooked into all the gamers with Live and they recognize that it's its own station of television, of music, of entertainment, and they're branding it successfully, I'm completely thrilled about that. I'd love to have a gamer that comes out in one-hour increments. I think what Ritual's doing with SiN is really exciting and I think more people need to do this. Pay a couple bucks for en episode to end with a cliffhanger moment and you have the Lost version for videogames.
Because of middleware package you develop and use, Epic's always said they can make better games with less people, quicker. How long do you think we see something like either a sequel to Gears of War or the next big AAA title that you'll be working on?
I think we need to pace it out, honestly. This is just me talking -- this isn't the official Microsoft or Epic stance -- but I think a lot of properties are hurt by having a version that comes out every year. Let me just wait a year and a half or two years between games, please. Let me miss it a little bit. There's something to be said for that.
Even a year and a half or two years is a pretty short development cycle for a lot of next-gen games. You think that's possible?
I think once we ship Gears, if we wanted to ship Gears 2 in a year and a half we could, absolutely. That's why Unreal Tournament came together so quickly. We started with Unreal itself and then we did Unreal Tournament in nine months. Once you have that base for everything, painting over it with a new coat of paint and putting in new stuff is so much easier than starting from scratch.
Thanks for talking with us and good luck with the show tonight. I look forward to seeing it.
I haven't even seen it. Wish me luck.
[Images from Flickr 1, 2]
(Update: corrected two typing mistakes, sosumi)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
kidjo @ May 19th 2006 4:52PM
wii
aceattorney @ May 19th 2006 4:59PM
Cliff is one persistent man. I'm glad he stuck with this project and made it what it is today...just an incredible masterpiece of a game.
For more impressions of the E3 Multiplayer demo, check out Video 13 - GOW Multi Demo at this link: http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=443318
funkonaut @ May 19th 2006 5:09PM
aceattorney, how can you say it's a masterpiece of a game when it's not even close to being finished, much less released? The framerate was less than 30fps, the game is currently very linear, and it's lacking a lot of variety. Did I miss something?
untitled @ May 19th 2006 5:09PM
I had the opportunity to play this game. Infact, I was at that very same session with Hideo (I'm the guy playing the game, right behind his head in that pic up there).
This game is no joke. It's fast paced, cleverly easy to play, and surprisingly polished at this point. It definately has the potential to be at the level of Halo 2 in terms of graphics, online gameplay & most importantly, fun factor. I see it becoming just as popular.
http://untitlednet.com
Paul P. @ May 19th 2006 5:16PM
He'll always be Cliffry(sic) B to me.
mike @ May 19th 2006 5:33PM
to #3, you did miss something...
the fact that gears of war was the best game at E3
bv @ May 19th 2006 5:55PM
Great questions Chris, you really get a feel for how much passion Cliffy B. has for video games. I like the fact that he has no real bias towards a particular system and that his main goal is to make solid fun games. Cliffy B. is truly a gaming nerd's hero.
elle @ May 19th 2006 6:05PM
This guy is pretty representative of everything I don't like about video games and gamers.
Laziness, excuses: Blaming the no-show of gameplay at E3 on the chaos of the show floor and a desire to make a strong "first impression" is bullshot. The first impression is going to be when early-adopter gamers pick up the game and recommend it to their friends, not from press twats and bloggers at E3 bitching about things. The truth is that he ?and by extension, Epic ? wanted to be in control of the presentation. Either put a product out to the wolves or keep it in the box until it's ready to defend itself. Half-assing it doesn't convince anyone.
Mind firmly inside the box: I agree when he says Wii FPSes will need a compelling game under the controls. Then his example is HL2. Give him a FPS already imitated into the ground that you can play with a Wiimote, and he'll buy it. But don't challenge his ideas of gameplay; GoW, as he describes it, is Rainbow Six with a faster pace and smarter AI. A mild evolution, not a revolution, and the FPS genre is sputtering without a gameplay revolution. I'd like to play it, but as it looks, it won't be much more than Unreal with wooden crates to hide behind. Just "paint over it with a new coat of paint and put in new stuff" because it's "so much easier than starting from scratch;" starting from scratch requires you to be creative, and we certainly can't have that in game development.
Milking "IP": I'm sure he loves episodic content, because he stands to profit from it. On my end, I /spit on it because it's nothing but milking the cool IP he gets to make in 32006 (yeah, I know). He wants people to pace their releases because he wants us "to miss it," but he loves the idea of selling an incomplete game with a cliffhanger. After all, he only has to slap on some new paint and put in new stuff ? but let's pace it down to every 18 months or so. Let's not give gamers the equivalent of, say, a HL2 all at once, because it'll be harder to make $75 off that than selling "the God of War 2 trilogy" at $25 a pop every six months. What, don't want to spend that much? Enjoy playing up to the first intermission, then - be sure to hit up GameFAQs to find out the rest of the crappy, half-hearted storyline.
Emphasis on graphics: His "mom test" ought to be whether mom can pick up the game and play it, not whether she can tell the difference in graphic quality. My mom can't tell the difference between Morrowind and Oblivion ?everything looks obviously fake to her. But she does like playing Oblivion more, because of the voice acting, character customization and fast travel. Cliffy's mom test is irrelevant to her ? she likes the game because of the gameplay and non-graphic production values.
If we had more Bethesdas and fewer Cliffy Bs, Oblivion might not be the exception to the rule for successful big-budget games: non-linear, mature, complex storytellers instead of kill-'em-all, "zOMG Sam Fisher blew his legs off, watch the blood spurt!" action.
But I'm a girl gamer, so I'm only, what... 15% of the market? I'm irrelevant, ignore me. :P
Paul P. @ May 19th 2006 6:11PM
How can a girl gamer not like Cliffy B. He's a hottie. I say this as a straight male secure in his sexuality. :)
Amos @ May 19th 2006 6:24PM
Elle, that was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my entire life. The man didn't say a single thing that was outrageous for his reasoning, and he was damn right about the e3 show floor. And he even gave an example of episodic content that was about $2 a pop. 1-2 hours of good gameplay per $2 is a helluva lot more value than you're normally getting in FPSs, and I think the idea is cool too. It could be fun, with weekly/monthly or whatever installments of a great FPS or action or whatever game on Live. Also, quit milking your demographic. That's cheesy and stupid and you know it.
elle @ May 19th 2006 6:37PM
Amos, if that was the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard, get out of the house.
bv @ May 19th 2006 6:48PM
elle-
Sounds like:
A) You don't like FPS's.
B) You are a girl and like video games (this is impossible)
C) Gears of War wasn't half assed at E3. Watch some videos of it in action or read the billions of articles where people revered it as the best game at E3.
D) You don't like Cliffy B. because he wouldn't go to the prom with you.
E) I'm kidding about D, unless its true.
Mechalith @ May 19th 2006 6:52PM
I have to agree with Amos, Elle. (except for the bit about it being the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I've run across too much weird crap for that)
Even Tycho (www.penny-arcade.com) agrees that E3 is a bad place to try to pick up and play a game. I can imagine they're both right, given the video I've seen of the show floor.
The 'mom test' was essentially just a way of saying "I don't think there's a significant difference", if I understood it properly.
GH @ May 19th 2006 7:05PM
"Laziness, excuses: Blaming the no-show of gameplay at E3 on the chaos of the show floor and a desire to make a strong "first impression" is bullshot. The first impression is going to be when early-adopter gamers pick up the game and recommend it to their friends, not from press twats and bloggers at E3 bitching about things. The truth is that he ? and by extension, Epic ? wanted to be in control of the presentation. Either put a product out to the wolves or keep it in the box until it's ready to defend itself. Half-assing it doesn't convince anyone."
What a bunch of nonsense. There are plenty of games shown at E3 that aren't on the show floor, and there's nothing wrong with that.
And you completely twisted his "mom test" point. The guy was asked a question about PS3 vs. 360 graphics and answered acordingly.
elle @ May 19th 2006 7:05PM
bv:
A) I love Metroid Prime, I play glDoom with friends about 2 hours a weekend and a few rounds of BF1942 when I see someone I know online. I play Halo on PC, wore out a couple N64 controllers playing Goldeneye, and love multiplayer Red Faction and co-op Rainbow Six. I've got two copies of System Shock, the CD-ROM re-release and the original on floppies. My dumbest game purchase I can remember was the extra map diskette (not SoD, the disk with some 900 fan-made maps) that id released for Wolfenstein 3D. Unreal Tournament was fun, but I passed on the sequels because they weren't really worth buying compared to other games that were out at the time.
So, I kinda like FPSes. :) Maybe my problem is that I'm not dazzled by Epic, haven't been since I played through Commander Keen and Duke Nukem and yawned through Jazz Jackrabbit.
B) You're right, I actually hate video games.
C) I've seen the videos in action - what I've seen is a fast-paced FPS with a little more strategy involved. I said I wanted to play it, I'm just not expecting it to live up to the "revered as the best game at E3" hype. A fun rental, but not something I'm going to buy when there are deeper single-player games or better party games out there.
My problem is probably that I grew out of six-hour fragfests. If you love those, Gears of War is going to be great. I'd rather get my FPS-challenged friends over for some Guitar Hero these days.
D) He went to prom with me; he doesn't like ME because I wouldn't put out. That's why he's making Gears of War look like it's only an incremental improvement of the tired FPS genre, but with pretty graphics.
insane_cobra @ May 19th 2006 7:16PM
My oh my, elle, seems you managed to get it wrong on each account.
No gameplay on E3: The game was playable, just not on the show floor. You say the should've either given it to people or kept it under wraps. Fair enough, but that's just one approach, there's nothing inherently wrong with a strategy of limited showing.
HL2 example: I think you're taking it a bit too literally, he probably chose HL2 as an example of a polished product with all components in place, not as a prototype for future games, design wise. That said, GoW doesn't look one bit innovative, but does a game have to be innovative to be fun? And GoW seems like loads of fun. I couldn't give a rat's ass about the game before seeing it demonstrated during the Microsoft's press event, all previews I've read prior to that made it look like just another boring collection of pretty pictures. Now it's become one of my most anticipated releases.
IP milking: Er, didn't he just say he didn't like the idea of yearly updates?
Mom test: His "mom test" was a response to a direct question about game graphics. Nowhere did he say graphics should be the main differentiator between games.
The funny thing is I'm totally with you on non-linear games with more emphasis on mature approaches to storytelling (as opposed to just cramming mature themes into juvenile concepts), but I think you've chosen the wrong occasion to vent your frustration. Your arguments are just not hitting the right place here.
Uncontrolled @ May 19th 2006 7:18PM
What are you doing elle? Cliffy B is awesome, he even posts on the same forum as me, which is even more awesome. He is living the dream! Good interview.
SuicideNinja @ May 19th 2006 7:22PM
I'm surprised no one said anything about CliffyB's "mom test".
That's classic. We should keep that in mind for later, and use it when finally comparing multiplatform games between consoles. I'm going to end up running that test with friends rather (when I get a PS3).
It reminds me of when I decided to show my mom that gaming wasn't for 12 year olds any more. I brought over Call of Duty 2 (360) and asked her to compare it to Pac-man (the only video game she can play). She hasn't bugged me about gaming being for kids since.
C. Grant @ May 19th 2006 7:37PM
Wow elle. I think you're wrong on just about every point you failed to make; yet, I'm compelled to give you a star for proving that girl gamers can be just as angry and cynical and jaded as any 14-year old boy! :)
Let me just tackle one of them, since I don't feel like dealing with all the erronous claims and others have already begun to do an admirable job. Episodic content.
By your logic, anything episodic is an inferior product because of the distribution model, as opposed to the quality. That's like saying Lost sucks because it's not The Godfather. Horse armor is not episodic gaming. SiN Episodes is. You don't like it? Fine, but please try and understand it before ranting on it.
And the "mom test" and the pacing... urgh. You need to reread the entire thing!
Oh, and thanks for noticing the spelling error. It's been amended. =)
Wonder Cheese @ May 19th 2006 7:51PM
We (Wii?) need more developers with the passion, smarts, and humility of Cliffy B. This guy rocks.
Kevin @ May 19th 2006 7:53PM
God, I hate women who rant over nothing. Always so emotional.
Black Guy @ May 19th 2006 7:58PM
Elle -
Maybe u should take that girl power somewhere else. Go play UNO or Barbie's Fun House. Sounds to me like u'r just ranting. The entire time during which u made no substantial arguments. If ripping Cliff nutts off 'cuz he's speaking his mind?
Anyway, that sorry crap u said: "But I'm a girl gamer, so I'm only, what... 15% of the market? I'm irrelevant, ignore me. :P"
Then why u even say anything then? That tantamount to a black person playing the racist card cuz he he didn't get something.
elle @ May 19th 2006 8:02PM
I know his mom test was an answer to the question about graphics, and that his answer was his way of saying the differences between the 360 and PS3 were irrelevant. My point was that the "mom test" could just as easily not see a difference between last-generation and next-generation visuals, while making next-gen gameplay is the bigger issue - something he doesn't appear committed to by watching the Gears of War videos and his description of what he wants out of GoW.
You're right about my statement about gameplay at E3, although that's a lack of clarity on my part - the press twats and bloggers whose opinions I said I don't give a shit about, they got to play the game in the exclusive room, which is where these glowing "best of E3" articles are coming from. My point was that Epic wanted to control the presentation - a great idea for marketing, sure, but a red flag to me. Yes, there are plenty of games that aren't shown on the floor of E3. I'd bet most of them aren't at GoW's level of development - is it playable enough to set up an exclusive room full of systems for play on, but not playable enough to put on the floor?
I said I wanted to play the game. It does look fun, and no, a game doesn't have to change the industry to be fun. But it doesn't look like it's going to be significant enough to get people not already very much into FPSes to buy it. If that's his goal, then he's a success, and I still have no respect for him. If that's not his goal - if he wants to bring people who don't play FPSes to his game - he'll fail, and I still won't respect him. Either way, as a FPS fan, I'm not going to get Gears of War. Red Steel will also probably be more of the same after seeing the E3 coverage of it, as will Metroid Prime 3. Halo 3 will be the ultimate more-of-the-same game ?which means it'll be fun as hell until I'm done with it.
Not that Cliffy cares about whether I respect him or his work, though - GoW will still sell thousands, if not millions, of copies to line his pockets, if for no other reason than because it'll be the best FPS on the 360 until Halo 3 comes out. But there's very few developers with the technical skills of Epic who are in such a good position to take a risk and put out a FPS that moves the genre forwards. I'm disappointed at that; you might be anticipating it more, insane_cobra, but I'm anticipating it less now that I know it won't be one bit innovative.
I went back and read the interview, and reread it, and read it again before posting the first time. He's almost hypocritical - he wants game releases to be slower paced, but he also loves episodic content. How do you reconcile the two?
"I'd love to have a gamer that comes out in one-hour increments. ... Pay a couple bucks for en episode to end with a cliffhanger moment and you have the Lost version for videogames."
but then:
"But I think a lot of properties are hurt by having a version that comes out every year. Let me just wait a year and a half or two years between games, please. Let me miss it a little bit. There's something to be said for that."
So what am I missing? Since I'm so stupid that I can't understand this on my own, tell me what Cliffy B is thinking: How _should_ episodic content be released by this reasoning? It doesn't sound like he wants developers to take the extra time to improve games - his tone is that he wants devs and publishers to take longer just to make him anticipate the next one more. He doesn't say, use our efficient middleware to spend more time on storytelling and gameplay - he says, it's okay to make your game quickly, but make me wait two years to actually play it. And yet it's okay to break a game up and dish it out weekly? Biweekly? Monthly? What?
And I do understand episodic content (and yes, screw horse dresses). I still don't like it, for the same reason I don't like TV - I don't like it when a storytelling experience is arbitrarily interrupted. Cliffhangers are fine - metering gameplay in fixed increments is not. What if I just wait until a whole "season" of SiN episodes are released before I buy the whole set, just like I do with DVDs of Lost - probably complete with "Complete Edition" extras as well? Would you be mad if I got a better deal on that than if I had bought each episode as it came out?
I certainly didn't realize Cliffy B had his own fanboy army, though. Should I just lay back, relax and enjoy yet another FPS?
battmitte @ May 19th 2006 8:18PM
I love the photo of Hideo Kojima playing GOW. I'd love to add the caption of him saying "Amazing thier CGI is like some sort of interactive video game."
James @ May 19th 2006 8:44PM
Why is everyone bagging on the girl? She's entitled to her opinion even if she's wrong.
"...the FPS genre is sputtering without a gameplay revolution."
What would be the next revolution in fps? Using a wiimote to play an fps? And certainly not with the PS3 controller ala warhawk (not a fps but a shooter nevertheless). If it ain't broke, why fix it?
elle @ May 19th 2006 8:57PM
James: "What would be the next revolution in fps?"
Here's a couple ideas:
Follow the aging lead of Half-Life, take the not-broken gameplay formula, and keep moving the story up front. Other games are doing this, but again, it's being done incrementally. HL2 had an immersive, cinematic feel; Oblivion doesn't even break the immersion for cinematics. Merge the overall game experience of Oblivion with the action-filled environment of an FPS and you revolutionize the genre. Add persistent multiplayer co-op and you have much of what makes Neverwinter Nights a fun multiplayer RPG right there with the gameplay of a FPS. Make the controls accessible and you have a game that's hard for anyone to refuse - social, involved, persistent, with your actions making a difference in the gameworld, but without sacrificing the fun of running and gunning people. I was kinda hoping this for Shadowrun, but we all saw how that turd dropped.
Alternately, what about massive, persistent, open-ended multiplayer? There's precedent in Planetside, but it could be done better. Epic has the talents on the coding and game engine side. If Huxley - built on Epic's Unreal 3 engine - turns out to be good, then we're on our way. From the E3 coverage, it doesn't look like it will be, with a number of arbitrary barriers and segmentation thrown up within the game world.
James @ May 19th 2006 10:45PM
Elle,
Do you not realize you live in the world of short attention spans? How many people are willing to sit through a 40 to 60 hour game marathons? People these days like to pick up a game, play for a bit and go do something else.
Being episodic doesn't mean shortening the development time. Far from it, it just means you get more doses in smaller chunks than fewer doses in larger chunks.
I'll bet most people didn't read through your your entire rant. Who would? If you have made it more concise and make it "episodic", I'm sure more people wouldn't think that you are a raving lunatic.
FreQ @ May 19th 2006 11:20PM
Damn, after seeing the MTV special just now,I'm pretty skeptical about an 06 release. It looked like they didn't have much playable content. Right up until E3 they're arguing about the AI( "it sux"), Chainsaw("It's gotta go"), gameplay (" I shoot, you duck, whack a mole") etc. I was under the impression this title was much farther along in production.
I am looking forward to this game, no doubt,but I'm a little nervous from what was displayed.
funkonaut @ May 19th 2006 11:49PM
elle is right on the money, fellas. The problem with Cliffy B is he's like a reincarnated Romero: all fluff and no substance. And we'll see why after Gears of War is released.
kay @ May 19th 2006 11:50PM
FreQ - most of the game, i.e. the engine, graphical assets, etc - are already done. Its the "polishing" and fine tuning that is being worked on. AI doesn't matter if there is nothing there to have AI. At this point, a few months of hard work will pound the game out.
Elle - I'm not gonna bag on you like a lot of people have but I have read arguments such as yours many times over. Consider this: in the 8bit and 16bit era, most games were platformers of some sort. From Mario, to Sonic to Contra, Ninja Gaiden, Metroid, Double Dragon and all those other classics. Were they the same? No. Did each title revolutionize platformers? No. Were they lots of fun? Yes. FPS games and 3rd person games are the new platformers. Every single game doesn't have to revolutionize. They just have to be fun. So, until you have GoW in your hands and play it, lighten up. You might just have fun.
I would continue but I am making my posts episodic.
James @ May 20th 2006 1:29AM
Elle,
You are merging the popular world of MMO with FPS. It may or may not work, but more than likely that many people won't be willing to pay $50 for a game and another $10+ a month to continue playing the same and another $30 for an expansion. It adds up to close to $200 to play an MMO game. You referred to Huxley as an example as a revolution for FPS. It is by no means a revolution, it's just the next step in fps EVOLUTION in multiplayer.
Kevin @ May 20th 2006 2:39AM
Brevity is the soul of wit. Or, in this case, a personal statement. elle, paraphrase those massive posts down to a 5 sentence paragraph and still keep the overall substance of whatever it is your period is trying to tell us, and maybe I'll start taking you seriously.
I'll be playing Halo 2, yet another FPS, until you do.
Danno @ May 20th 2006 2:57AM
All criticism of Gears of War falls flat in the face of chainsaw bayonets.
Give me a game called "Chainsaw Bayonet" and let me place the chainsaw bayonet into the tender flesh of various digital beings and I will gladly hand you my $50 dollars and give you a tip of the hat.
Actually, I think Dead Rising is pretty much doing that, except the chainsaw isn't a bayonet. But they're adding other stuff, so it makes up for it.
insane_cobra @ May 20th 2006 3:14AM
I don't care about the issue enough to keep arguing about it, elle, I just don't see CliffyB in the same light you do. Sure, he may not be the forward thinking savior of the industry, but he doesn't sound like a more-of-the-same bad guy either. I've seen much worse. I'd also like to point out that Gears of War is not an FPS, it's played in third person, with all the subtle and not so subtle differences that brings (in another interview he said they didn't make it an FPS because they didn't want the gameplay to be about moving a pixel onto another pixel as quickly as possible, something along those lines).
PeacefulOutrage @ May 20th 2006 6:48AM
Elle,
I understand some of the points you want to make. You had high expectations for Gears because of who Cliffy is, where he works, and support from MS. But those very things could also be part of his problem.
1)Working for Epic, who are selling their insanely popular Unreal 3 engine, and making a game for MS who touted "Next Generation" HD visuals, he's not ganno come out with a gaame that looks like Chu-Chu Rocket (it's a blast to play, btw). Neither Epic, who wants to sell their game engine or MS want that, and he DOES get paid from both of them.
2)MS is looking to grow their installed user base, so although he could do something more revolutionary, the goal is to make something that sells to the userbase, Viva Pinata is aimed at growing the user base, not neccessarily Gears.
3)From what i've read or seen from Cliffy B. (I don't know him personally) he appears to be a stand-up guy. SO there is no reason to attack his character. Nor is there any reason for anyone disagreeing with you to attack yours. It is really hard to gauge how he's "everything I don't like about video games and gamers"
in a five minute telephone interview. Please give him more credit than that.
I beleive Voltaire said "Although I may not agree with you, I will defend to the death your right to say it."
PeacefulOutrage :-)
SomethingUnreal @ May 20th 2006 7:53AM
Elle,
with all your posts I had no trouble believing that you've never played a CliffyB game. Now get back to your inno-cough-Metroid-cough world.
I played Epic's games since I was 9, and even when there were some bummers (UT2003, anyone?), most appear to be solid and holistic in terms of GAME DESIGN. Does Retro Studios balance their games that good? I doubt that. MP3 was even on the verge of silly with the new Hyper Mode. Compare THAT to episodic content, which ValvE uses in HL2/ Ritual in SiN now.
Gears of War, along with Mass Effect, are going to be the killer apps of both the Unreal 3 engine and the 360. And I believe these two games, to an extent, will DEFINE how much FUN we have in our games.
Wild Homes @ May 20th 2006 8:45AM
@ Elle.
I'm not going to wade through all the posts to see if someone already pointed out these things, so I apologise if I'm just repeating.
CliffyB was referring to two different concepts, about sequels and then episodic content. it seems like you're getting the two mixed up. his 'let me miss it' take was a dig at studios like Ubisoft for pimping out sequels so fast and so easily by reusing the same engine and production values (three Prince of Persias in twenty-four months! all with the same good, then just ok, then by the third one completely outdated/crap, graphics!). his more vague praise for episodic content was an entirely different series of comments. I don't think he meant for them to be considered together, just his thoughts on two seperate topics.
the other thing is just me nitpicking. Gears isn't a first person shooter. it's the Unreal take on KillSwitch; just wanted to make sure, since you kept referring to it as an FPS, and mentioned many other titles you liked that _were_ FPS titles, that you understood Gears of War isn't one.
one last: it seemed kind of odd that you'd mention you're a girl gamer. like that you'd take the time to point it out, that was just weird, like it was a qualifier of why anyone would be wrong to disagree with you. it's cool and all, the playing of the games and the being a girl, but you don't get achievement points for it or anything. (but if you _did_ I'd be considering some gender reassignment therapy... has to be easier than recruiting all those freaking officers in DW5).
Mister Panic @ May 20th 2006 10:28AM
elle, you should be in the kitchen, not on joystiq.com.
OTAM @ May 20th 2006 11:31AM
BWHAHAH @ Mister Panic. Maybe she has a PC in the kitchen?
Now here's the part where all the regular joystiq posters come out bashing us. You know,the ones who have no fun,are "mature",have "real jobs" and are upstanding citizens who don't laugh at "race or sex jokes" because it's politically incorrect and "only funny if you have no brains".
All while they say that they have their chests stuck out and putting in hairgel while telling us how marijuana will make us turn into murderers with one puff.
"you should be in the kitchen, not on joystiq.com."
BWAHAHHHAH!! Best post yet.
idioteraser @ May 20th 2006 1:13PM
How is Hyper mode on the verge of being silly?
retro took a sidescroller and made it a quasi fps with great success. Metroid Prime 1 and 2 look a hundred times better then Halo 1 or 2.
How many other games can you see the rain splatter on your eyeshield like it would in real life? Or have as good reflections in water or when a bright flash go off?
idioteraser @ May 20th 2006 1:15PM
Btw the PS3 will not give you a good gravity gun expierence like the Wii will. The wii controller would make the gravity gun orgasmic when you play with it.
bv @ May 20th 2006 2:45PM
Hmmm, I'm starting to like this mysterious elle character. Sounds like she knows how to take a joke. A/S/L plz?
freecajunlove @ May 20th 2006 4:16PM
"that's not his goal - if he wants to bring people who don't play FPSes to his game - he'll fail, and I still won't respect him."---elle
You don't respect him?!? What has he ever done to hurt you.
"Either way, as a FPS fan, I'm not going to get Gears of War. Red Steel will also probably be more of the same after seeing the E3 coverage of it, as will Metroid Prime 3. Halo 3 will be the ultimate more-of-the-same game ? which means it'll be fun as hell until I'm done with it."---elle
It may be the grammer errors, but I have no clue what you are saying in these sentences. If you ARE a FPS fan, wouldn't you play all of these games? You complain about innovation and revolutions in genres, but you are you not buying the 2 new IPs; you are instead buying the 2 games which are on their third release and have not changed much since the first release?
Please think about and organize your arguments before you post again.
LOVE,
Freecajunlove
Joebediah @ May 20th 2006 6:59PM
haha....elle told you guys to ignore her!
idioteraser @ May 20th 2006 7:50PM
Hell Metroid Prime 3 has far more new stuff then Halo 3 does.
Halo series is a snoozefest if you are a long time fpser.
freecajunlove @ May 20th 2006 10:08PM
#45 David,
So "eloquently written" means using a bunch of run-on sentences and improper use of a dash? I believe the paragraph I posted pointed out her bad grammer.
The rest of your post is just a bunch of stereotyping. Everyone here seems to think highly of Nintendo, but by your assumption they shouldn't like the games Nintendo makes. Besides, elle claims to have been "dazzled" by Duke Nukem; yep, no "NUDITY AND SWEARING" in that one.
Anyway, I'm not saying I don't like her argument because of she has bad taste or the fact that she is a girl. I'm saying I don't like her argument because she contradicts herself, is arrogant, and very ignorant.
bv @ May 20th 2006 10:36PM
freecajunlove -
Speaking of run on sentences, place a comma after 'So' in your first sentence. Also, you spelled grammar as 'grammer'. If you're going to point out someone's literary shortcomings, please bring your A game. That is all.
Oblivio(us)n @ May 21st 2006 12:21AM
No, let's not combine anything with Oblivion because, well, it's fucking garbage.
Auto balancing NPC's creatures?
A world that feels as uncaring or unchanging to the characters actions as robots?
A threat to all of the people in the gameworld, yet they all just walk around "oblivious" to that fact?
Using Oblivion as this crux of innovation, a standard of what "great new games should be like" is horseshit.
John @ May 21st 2006 1:47AM
Since we are on the subject of knit picking and enjoy being way off tangent, PeacefulOutrage, that quote was not made by Voltaire but rather by S. G. Tallentyre in her early 20th century book "Friends of Voltaire.
You damn Voltaire-fanboy!@!@! i can't stand people like you. John Stuart Mill 4eva baby!@!@!
nootau @ May 21st 2006 3:00AM
i am with elle too. FPS are tired, and interviews like this one show how much the genre lacks substance. will the game sell? sure, but so does madden...
btw-posting from my nokia 770!