We cornered Epic lead Cliff Bleszinski on the VGAs red carpet yesterday to talk about the newly announced Fortnite, and he says that it'll be very different fare from the popular Gears of War series. "There's no dudebros in it," he told us outright. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, right? But creatively for the team, Gears has been amazing for us. But it's fun to kind of stretch our wings and do something that's a little different from the usual."
Epic's Lee Perry is the project lead on this one, but Bleszinski says that he definitely is involved in playing the game and giving feedback on development. "It was a project that was pitched internally. I was a staunch supporter of the idea, because the game is just like a no-brainer -- I was like yes."
So Epic is hard at work on Fortnite, Chair Entertainment is doing Infinity Blade on iOS, and we're curious as to what Bleszinski is up to lately. "I just hang out at the beach these days," he joked. "No, trust me, I have plenty to work on, it's just a lot of unannounced stuff. Trying to figure out where a lot of things are going in the next five years."
Given the success of Chair's iOS offerings, is that platform something that Epic's main branch would consider making games for? Bleszinski says no. "If we were to do that, which we're not, we'd probably make like six or seven iOS games. Our bread and butter is still with triple A and it's still largely with console, but it remains to be seen what happens."
Reader Comments (33)
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 2:33PM Fullmetal Salchemist said
"There's no dudebros in it,"
It makes me respect Bleszinski a little more knowing that he's willing to take the piss out of himself.
It makes me respect Bleszinski a little more knowing that he's willing to take the piss out of himself.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:05PM philmcfail said
@Fullmetal Salchemist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxZrSILng78
But in all seriousness yes. More power to Cliffy B.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxZrSILng78
But in all seriousness yes. More power to Cliffy B.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 2:36PM CaptainProtonX said
Awwwwww shite, YEAH!
FIST BUMP IT!
...wait. What kind of gun is a "Fortnite"?
FIST BUMP IT!
...wait. What kind of gun is a "Fortnite"?
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:04PM b00mfargl3 said
@CaptainProtonX Its not a gun. a Fortnight = 14 days, but due to the clever spelling who knows what it fully entails.
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Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:12PM Polymorphic Ninja said
@An Irish Saint
Indeed.. I can still here the doppler effect of that going way over b00fargl's head.
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Indeed.. I can still here the doppler effect of that going way over b00fargl's head.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 5:27PM nrkist2424 said
@b00mfargl3 I'm pretty sure it's an FPS/Tower Defense hybrid from the teaser with a material scavenging aspect between the 'fortnite' assault rounds.
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Posted: Dec 11th 2011 2:53PM electricfuture said
I love when studios make big departures like this. Looking forward to this one!
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:03PM saintrobyn said
"Given the success of Chair's iOS offerings"
They would be a success if they worked on all the platforms they are advertised for. There have been two IB2 updates and so far none of them fix the iPad 1 issues.
They would be a success if they worked on all the platforms they are advertised for. There have been two IB2 updates and so far none of them fix the iPad 1 issues.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:09PM Once known as Shadsy said
So glad to see Epic playing around. Spend that Gears blood money, guys!
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:14PM tendoboy1984 said
So Epic themselves won't make iOS / mobile, or handheld games, but they're more than happy to let Chair make them?
So why did Epic showcase the Unreal Engine on the PS Vita if they have no plans to make any handheld games?
So why did Epic showcase the Unreal Engine on the PS Vita if they have no plans to make any handheld games?
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 3:21PM The Aquacharger said
@tendoboy1984
because third party companies can buy the engine and use it. Hell they have a Unreal engine for the Wii but no one used it past Farcry on the Wii.
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because third party companies can buy the engine and use it. Hell they have a Unreal engine for the Wii but no one used it past Farcry on the Wii.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 4:52PM yomachaser said
@antv Fairly certain unreal 2 was used on wii for a few things ,but no if you're thinking of unreal 3 then you're right the wii for sure can't use it.
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Posted: Dec 11th 2011 8:38PM kmcroc said
@antv A game based on the franchise was released as part of Ubisoft's launch lineup for the Wii (Far Cry Vengeance). In the Wii version, the Wii Remote is used for many of the tasks assigned to buttons in previous iterations of the game, including driving vehicles, shooting, and running.but yeah i can't find any far cry game using the URE .
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Posted: Dec 11th 2011 5:01PM AFATALERR0R said
...I kinda like dudebros...
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 5:18PM psycros said
"OK, we gotta get on this casual gaming thing pronto. What's hot? Tower defense you say?"
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 6:06PM jrobington said
@psycros Agreed. I'm interested because it's Epic, but nervous because its tower defense looking, brand new, and honestly kind of nickelodeon cartoonish
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Posted: Dec 11th 2011 6:34PM Ramen of Doom said
The teaser looks pretty interesting. Here's hoping it'll be a multiplatform release
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 6:45PM Rat333 said
If cliffy b sold his own shit I would buy it!!! Can't wait 4 this game...
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 6:59PM liquidsoap89 said
I'm under the impression that it's a COD zombies game where you build your fort (kind of like Source Forts).
Considering how I'm one of the few that doesn't like COD zombies I'm a little uninterested (unless I'm totally wrong, which would potentially make me much more excited about this).
Considering how I'm one of the few that doesn't like COD zombies I'm a little uninterested (unless I'm totally wrong, which would potentially make me much more excited about this).
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 8:21PM (Unverified) said
wait wait, a game where you explore during the day, build stuff, and fight off zombies at night? really? no one else is gonna say it?
alright. i'll step up.
sup minecraft.
alright. i'll step up.
sup minecraft.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 8:24PM TheRedComet said
@(Unverified)
It's like they're trying to make a game for hipsters now.
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It's like they're trying to make a game for hipsters now.
Posted: Dec 11th 2011 8:26PM PaladinLeo said
TELL ME MORE ABOUT IT DAMN IT
Posted: Dec 12th 2011 12:17AM Genaldar said
Anyone else immediately think of Plants vs. Zombies when they saw the trailer?
Posted: Dec 12th 2011 4:34PM SlyBeast said
@Dickhole Pasta
You must be gay.
You must be gay.
Posted: Dec 12th 2011 4:49PM SlyBeast said
I'm glad to see the consensus is generally negative about this one. This just doesn't look interesting in the least. I hope they cancel it and start working on Dudebros: The Game. I don't do casual (read: lame brain) games and the character designs look something Pixar would make. What audience are they targeting here? The Gears fans? I don't see that happening.







