Cliff Bleszinski Says He's Not Going Back To Gears of War

[Andy Chalk]

Cliff Bleszinski Says He's Not Going Back To Gears of War

Former Gears of War mastermind Cliff Bleszinski thinks the Gears of War franchise is in good hands, but he has no interest in going back to it.

Microsoft's acquisition of Epic's famed Gears of War franchise was the big news of the day [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131680-Microsoft-Acquires-Gears-of-War], but while it brought former Epic Games producer Rod Fergusson under the tent as the manager of Black Tusk Studios, one person the change hasn't attracted, and apparently won't, is Cliff Bleszinski.

Bleszinski, the lead designer on the first three Gears of War games, left Epic in 2012, and he made it clear in a blog post today that he's not coming back. "I'm not going to move to Vancouver to work on it. I'm not going to consult on it," he wrote. "My headspace is in the future now, not the past. I have come to realize that until you give people something new to focus on they will obsess about the past. (good problem to have!)"

Bleszinski said he loves Gears fans and appreciates the support they've shown him over the years and that he's confident Fergusson will "take good care" of the franchise at Black Tusk, but he's moved on. "These recent events have steeled my resolve to make something entirely new," he wrote. "Time for new cosplay, new tattoos, new fandom."

He added that news of what that might be will hopefully be coming soon.

Source: Clifford Unchained [http://dudehugespeaks.tumblr.com/post/74738315563/the-one-constant-is-change]


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[Seracen]

...And zero f's are given...

Seriously, I don't know any of my friends who lay the successes of GoW solely at CliffyB's door. For me, the series was never more than passing amusement.

If anything, that whole fiasco with Jim calling him out on the DLC bullcrap caused me to care even less about his involvement with any game development.

 

[Weaver]

I never really liked Gears. My real question though:
Where the hell is Jazz Jackrabbit 4?

 

[Barbas]

Well, that series seems to be past its heyday already. I wouldn't want to go back to work on it if it had just been bought by Microsoft, either.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

*searches pockets frantically* sorry nope, I can't find a single fuck to give Bleszinski and I don't recall anyone asking anyway?

 

[omega 616]

Never saw the appeal of GOW, it was just average. It looked acceptable, it played ok, the enemies were nothing special, the usual gun selection (hammer of dawn was kind of unique but doesn't Halo have a weapon like it?).

The game isn't bad, it's just been done before ... the character design was the most unique thing, everybody looked inflated.

 

[Alpha Maeko]

I have fond memories of GoW2 with the one and only original Horde Mode that started the trend. Now days, I'm not excited about anything Gears related.

This makes me wonder if the Unreal Engine will lose traction and fall by the way side. (seems like all the major game creators are using their own in-house engines nowadays, like Frostbite)

 

[MCerberus]

I really can't hold... everything... against Cliffy B since he apologized for neglecting the Unreal franchise in order to make Roid Necks: The Bro-ing

 

[w9496]

I can understand why he wouldn't want to go back. Gears of War Judgment almost killed the franchise, and why take passage on a sinking ship if you can build your own.

I've been a fan of the Gears game since their release way back in 2006, and I've bought them all on release date. I have a feeling that it's not dead yet with Microsoft buying the rights to it, but I just hope that the games maintain quality with out Cliff there.

 

[Crimsonmonkeywar]

Nice to seem him go on to other things, like David Jaffe, although Cliff tends to get a lot of animosity slung his way(most of it just) he, and other studio big wigs, tends to have a vision and a way of doing things that helps to move the industry in a particular way. For the better (Ken Levine and Bioshock) or the worse (Peter Molyneux and Fable 3), so because of that I tend to eagerly await for their next move.

 

[MarsProbe]

He's working on Unreal Tournament 4. Obviously. And there will be no vehicles, only Flak Cannon and Pulse Rifle battles aboard spaceships charging through hyperspace.

At least, that's what I would like to happen.

But really, I'm glad he's not going back to Gears. I think that franchise should be put to rest now - I really enjoyed the main trilogy (well, the 2nd & 3rd, seeing that I never actually played Gears 1) but I don't personally think there's really any need to tell any other stories beyond that. The Gears franchise basically revolved around the fight between humanity and the Locusts and with them gone, I don't really see where else the series could go, other than pulling some new threat out of their posterior. I suppose they could do the Pendulum wars (if they haven't already - did they cover any of that in Judgement?) but then we'd be back to plain old humans vs. humans, which can get dull quite quickly

 

[TristanBelmont]

I don't care about this series in the first place, but this isn't news. He left Epic.
It's somewhat obvious that someone who left the developer of a franchise isn't going to return to said franchise...

 

[SonOfMethuselah]

I have fond memories of GoW2 with the one and only original Horde Mode that started the trend.

Gears of War 2 (First Appearance of Horde Mode): November, 2008
Call of Duty: World at War (First Appearance of Nazi Zombie mode): November, 2008
I think you could make a strong argument for either one of those starting the trend. Given how the influx of zombie-related material seemed to follow on the heels of WaW's Nazi Zombies, though, I actually might lean in that direction. Plus every other goddamn shooter that's come out since Modern Warfare seems to have to ape CoD in some way, lending further support to that particular theory...

OT: Cliffy always seemed a bit too big for his britches, to me. Quick to brag about Gears success, quick to call out other developers for doing things wrong (especially after he left Epic), and quick to call out people who expect him to go back to Gears. You know what, Cliff? Maybe if you had something to show for your departure other than your big mouth, people wouldn't be so quick to assume that you'll capitulate and go back to a series that was never more than a passing interest in the first place.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I never really liked Gears. My real question though:
Where the hell is Jazz Jackrabbit 4?

I know, I for one would buy it on my 3DSXL, PC and iPhone.

 

[Ravage]

I loved GoW 1 and 2, 3 was fantastic... During the beta and first few weeks of release.

But ohh, the Gnasher idiots couldn't run up to sawed off double barrels and retro lancers without getting put down like rabid dogs, so they had to whine to Epic "OHMYGOD EVERYTHING BUT THE GNASHER IS OP NERF PLS"

And that kids, is how Gears of War 3 died.

Gears and Halo need to be put to rest and buried in concrete so we can be sure Microsoft can't resurrect them with black magic or some malarkey.

 

[Icehearted]

The Gears franchises are kind of odd ducks for me, since as single player they were mediocre, though visually beautiful for their time. The silly way enemies did mid-air somersaults when they died or the way the difficulty essentially mean they became bullet sponges bugged me, as did the chunky looking men in their boombox armor, and those guitar riffs that played when you cleared a group of bad guys.

So I'm griping more than I'm praising...

It was a fun couch co-op, especially the first one the first time my bud and I played it. One of the last split-screen co-op games that really gave us the most fun. I'm sure Microsoft will change it to suit marketing rather than creativity, as I no doubt view Cliffy-B's take on it as simply selling out further (if that's even possible) and doing what he does worst; opening his mouth and allowing his infantile thoughts to escape.

I respect his work, but that's about all I can say about him respectfully. I'm still mad about his feeding that "anything less than a 9 review score is offensive" bullshit mentality, and his justification for cut-content DLC was all kinds of dipshit.

...this is where I stop before I get pissed off.

 

[144_v1legacy]

There's a lot of anti-Cliff sentiment in these comments, and it seems pretty immature. Regardless of what you may have thought of him before, I don't think that this article really reflects so poorly on the guy.
It's not like he sent out a press release, did he? He wrote it on his blog. He blogged it. To say things like,

*searches pockets frantically* sorry nope, I can't find a single fuck to give Bleszinski and I don't recall anyone asking anyway?

or

Cliffy always seemed a bit too big for his britches, to me. Quick to brag about Gears success, quick to call out other developers for doing things wrong (especially after he left Epic), and quick to call out people who expect him to go back to Gears. You know what, Cliff? Maybe if you had something to show for your departure other than your big mouth, people wouldn't be so quick to assume that you'll capitulate and go back to a series that was never more than a passing interest in the first place.

is really a reflection of just the opposite. If you don't give any fucks, don't read the blog (granted, Mr. Chester Rabbit saw it here first I assume, and not on his blog, which makes it a bit more reasonable, albeit still a bit too hostile I'd say).
And what did he say? Basically, he thinks a franchise he helped build is in good hands now, and he won't be working on it, but he thinks it's nice that there are fans of a it. He wants to keep making new stuff, because he doesn't want to just be remembered as "the Gears of War guy", and knows that he needs to look to the future to do it. He wasn't really bragging at all. He didn't even say any of this in that obnoxious/rude way I remember back when he talked about MarioKart. If nothing else, maybe he's matured a bit. Maybe the difficulty of working on non-GoW stuff has started to take him down a few pegs.

 

[SinisterGehe]

YOu know when original designers of content are getting tired and moving forward, it should be a hint. But if he believes that it is in good hands, then I might be bit indifferent. But otherwise I'd say that - just let it go.

I was never fan of GoW, but Cliff is a good designer. - For what he does, which isn't really my cup of tea.
But then again no one seems to understand why I love Darren Aronofsky's movies. So I can reflect.

 

[Scorpid]

Gears of War is one of the most brain dead franchises and yes I include CoD in that assessment. Where as Modern Warfare started out with a great execution of a central premise (let's show some aspects of unblinking Modern War with awesome action packed setpieces) that eventually got diluted into unabashed jingoism. GoW started out stupid and has only maintained it's present course all the way through, it's ugly, it's poorly written, and most of all boring. I've never had a GoW moment that made me have anymore then mild amusement (Doms wifes fate was sad though). The ONLY single redeeming quality of GoW have been their trailers, which were all very well done and a lie.