Thought/Process: Gear Shift: An Interview With Cliff Bleszinski

We thought he should shut the f*** up during E3, but it turns out Cliff Bleszinski's got some insights worth hearing.
12/17/2008 3:52 PM | 3 Comments | Page 3 of 6

Bleszinski: Not really. I think when we create characters we do it with the broad stroke. Marcus is the anti-hero, Dom is the best friend, and Cole is just Cole. We were watching those Terry Tate office commercials and we made a few calls and were able to cast him. He's just a big, charismatic guy with a heart of gold. [Editor's note: Actor Lester Speight, who played the office linebacker in the 2003 Reebok commercials, does the voice for the Cole character.] If he were a pimp or hustler or crackhead, that would be something else.

Crispy Gamer: Do you think that the war on terror influenced how well the first Gears did?

Bleszinski: I was asked, when Gears of War first came out, if this was the right time to do a game about war. I said, "If you're not going to do it now, when are you going to do it?" There was never a more relevant time to do it.

Crispy Gamer: In the first game, the battles were more or less skirmishes. This title throws gamers into a war. How did you balance having to portray that with character development?

Bleszinski: It's like "Saving Private Ryan," where it's all about the pacing. Sure, you have the bombs and explosions, but at other times, you've got the guys just walking along and you get to know the characters. Games are the same way. You have the explosions and the battles, but you've also got time to get to know the characters. Good pacing dictates that you'll have character development.

Crispy Gamer: Was there any plan to humanize the Locust?

Bleszinski: No. We tried to make them more detailed, but, in the end, you'll still want to kill every last one of the bastards. A player will learn more about their hierarchy as he plays though.

Crispy Gamer: One of my favorite moments in the first game was when you're in the refugee camp, dodging those shadow creatures that swarm on you when you're out of the light. And I was more scared during those moments than when 10 guys were just shooting at you.

Bleszinski: With shooting in a videogame, it's something you have to nail. Shooting is what you're doing when nothing more interesting is going on. We tried to make sure that around every corner there was an "OMG" moment with new challenges that surprised the player throughout the campaign.

Crispy Gamer: As far as new challenges go, would you ever see trying to take Gears to a portable platform?

Bleszinski: We often joke that we'll do that in our "spare time." Every available body is working; we just don't have the time to get around to doing something like that.

Crispy Gamer: Well, that's a refreshingly honest answer.

Bleszinski: And no offense, but if you have to work on mobile games, that's like movie jail. I'm a big believer in "go big or go home." I want big budgets.

Crispy Gamer: Speaking of movies, New Line recently optioned Gears for a big-budget feature film. Did the movie option change the development cycle in any way? Did you think about tweaking things so th at the game and film fit better?