Cliff Bleszinski Leaves Epic Games

Maybe he will go back to making good games. Epic hasn't made a good game since Gears of War. 2 and 3 stunk and Unreal Tournament 3 has to go down as one of the all time biggest disappointments ever. When they started worrying more about their bottom line and less about the quality of the product, their product stopped delivering.
 
Sad news but it makes me feel more secure in moving on from the GoW franchise as now I know without a shadow of a doubt it will never be the same again.
 
Gears 2 and 3 were better than 1.

Gears 1 cover was so rough. It was so sticky sometimes. And it was a little unpredictable what you could take cover behind and what you couldn't.

And the graphics, while great for the time, didn't hold up. My friend didn't get a 360 until Gears 3 came out and he went back to Gears 1 to have the start of the story and couldn't stand the graphics.

I think Cliffy will take a sabbatical and enjoy the vacation and then come back fresh for the next gen systems.
 
Wow, this is pretty epic news. Har jar, I made a funny!

Seriously tho, he was the life blood of epic. That's how it seemed to me at least. Next gen is going to be interesting.
 
Cliff gets his score printed in the first issue of Nintendo Power and later becomes the face of Epic.

Nintendo Power shuts down and Cliff leaves Epic.
 
[quote name='cancerman1120']Well I kind of thought it was a joke at first but I guess not. All these guys jumping ship makes me wonder about the future of gaming as we know. First the guys from Bioware and now CliffyB.

http://epicgames.com/community/2012/10/cliff-bleszinski-departs-epic/[/QUOTE]

CliffyB does not concern me to much. I'm sure he will move on to bigger and better things. I'm a fan of the games he has made but not as big as some that will read this. What I'm wondering about are the ones from Bioware. I'm sure they will do well also however till EA took over things I was a big fan of Bioware.
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']Pretty high profile departure. Could be a career move, retire move, or a marriage move ;)[/QUOTE]
I think he's already married, unless you meant something else :p

Guessing it's largely a career move. He's too young to retire, though he could very easily afford to ;)

[quote name='KaneRobot']Cliff gets his score printed in the first issue of Nintendo Power and later becomes the face of Epic.

Nintendo Power shuts down and Cliff leaves Epic.[/QUOTE]
IT'S ALL NINTENDO'S FAULT! :whee:
 
[quote name='blueshinra']I think he's already married, unless you meant something else :p

Guessing it's largely a career move. He's too young to retire, though he could very easily afford to ;)


IT'S ALL NINTENDO'S FAULT! :whee:[/QUOTE]

And the industry is known to destroy marriages. He probably wants to keep his.
 
I wonder what this means for Gears of War: Judgment. And I wonder if him leaving has anything to do with the backlash towards Gears of War 3 and the greed quest Epic went on.

The series definitely went worse after 2, and they never got the tone right after the first game. There's got to be more to this than "I need a break."
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']Pretty high profile departure. Could be a career move, retire move, or a marriage move ;)[/QUOTE]

I vote...career move

Retire: Too young

Marriage: He is married/engaged to this online Cosplay girl

Career: He is leaving Epic probably because he wants to expand his range
 
[quote name='The Ebbtide']I wonder what this means for Gears of War: Judgment. And I wonder if him leaving has anything to do with the backlash towards Gears of War 3 and the greed quest Epic went on.

The series definitely went worse after 2, and they never got the tone right after the first game. There's got to be more to this than "I need a break."[/QUOTE]

Aw crap. I love my Gears. I don't see this being a good thing for the new Gears.
 
Hmm. I guess Judgment is a dry run for other creative voices to take over the Gears series. Three of the best games of all time IMO so I'll be eagerly awaiting whatever Cliffy gets up to next.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Hmm. I guess Judgment is a dry run for other creative voices to take over the Gears series. Three of the best games of all time IMO so I'll be eagerly awaiting whatever Cliffy gets up to next.[/QUOTE]

Should Gears even continue to live after Judgement? IDK. I didn't play the third one yet, but it doesn't seem to have the staying power or deeper narrative that Halo has by comparison (not that Halo is incredibly deep. It just has a richer backstory with the Forerunners IMO).
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']Should Gears even continue to live after Judgement? IDK. I didn't play the third one yet, but it doesn't seem to have the staying power or deeper narrative that Halo has by comparison (not that Halo is incredibly deep. It just has a richer backstory with the Forerunners IMO).[/QUOTE]

I know some people are really into the fiction, but Gears is more about the moment to moment gameplay for me, so as long as it's got some 'roided out bros chainsawing and active-reloading through a bunch of incredibly polished TPS setpieces, I'm down for prequels or side stories or whatever. ;)
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']I know some people are really into the fiction, but Gears is more about the moment to moment gameplay for me, so as long as it's got some 'roided out bros chainsawing and active-reloading through a bunch of incredibly polished TPS setpieces, I'm down for prequels or side stories or whatever. ;)[/QUOTE]

No questions the action is nice and polished, but you can carry that to a new franchise. Lord knows other franchises have adapted it (I'm looking at ME3).
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']No questions the action is nice and polished, but you can carry that to a new franchise. Lord knows other franchises have adapted it (I'm looking at ME3).[/QUOTE]
Hmm... The founders of BioWare just quit last week... Maybe they're forming a supergroup with Cliffy B. to create the most badass TPS/RPG franchise ever. Gears of War with romance sidequests.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Gears of War with romance sidequests.[/QUOTE]

Everyone's gay fantasies with Marcus Fenix can finally come true!

Also I'm betting money on Broszinksi emerging with an iOS centric venture after a period of rest.
 
[quote name='Strell']Everyone's gay fantasies with Marcus Fenix can finally come true!

Also I'm betting money on Broszinksi emerging with an iOS centric venture after a period of rest.[/QUOTE]

I don't think he will go mobile development. He's too passionate about 'hardcore' gamer experiences.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Hmm... The founders of BioWare just quit last week... Maybe they're forming a supergroup with Cliffy B. to create the most badass TPS/RPG franchise ever. Gears of War with romance sidequests.[/QUOTE]

Sadly with the way the industry is shaping up I wouldn't be surprised.

I bet good money Dead Space is the next to get raped.
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']Cliff gets his score printed in the first issue of Nintendo Power and later becomes the face of Epic.

Nintendo Power shuts down and Cliff leaves Epic.[/QUOTE]

Oh man... o h maan :cry:
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']I don't think he will go mobile development. He's too passionate about 'hardcore' gamer experiences.[/QUOTE]

Epic talked quite positively about how Infinity Blade sold really well, and effectively made more money for them than Gears of War. Granted, maybe it was Mark Rein saying this (it was a while ago so I'm not sure).

Which is to say, I could see him going mobile and saying that he wants to deliver first rate/hardcore/AAA experiences in that market. Maybe he could usher in actual buttons for such devices.

Not saying it really matters. It'll be interesting to see what he ends up doing.
 
I am kinda shocked but then again I am not. What I want to know is how much of these GOW Sequels were something Cliffy wanted and how much Microsoft threw cash at Epic to make it.

I think this could of been hey, were only making GOW games now. I wanna do something else but I can't, see ya.
 
When high profile people who can make it on their own leave a company, it usually means they are going to take some time to start their own and run things the way they want. I expect the same here.
 
[quote name='Strell']Epic talked quite positively about how Infinity Blade sold really well, and effectively made more money for them than Gears of War. Granted, maybe it was Mark Rein saying this (it was a while ago so I'm not sure).

[/QUOTE]

It didn't make more money. Rein was talking about profit efficiency. How it was easier to make more money with Infinity Blade because the team was very small and they could churn out a product much faster than Gears of War which took over a year to make.

Kind of like the $15 million movie making $100 million versus the $250 million movie making $500 million. Sure, the $250 million movie made a much nicer profit of $250 million versus the $85 million profit. But it cost a lot more to make, took a lot more resources to make, and had a much higher risk.

But in terms of pure profit, it's not even close and totally in Gears favor.
 
I meant from an efficiency standpoint. That's what is causing a lot of developers to strongly consider iOS/mobile development right now over traditional models.
 
[quote name='Strell']I meant from an efficiency standpoint. That's what is causing a lot of developers to strongly consider iOS/mobile development right now over traditional models.[/QUOTE]

Until the market is flooded.
 
Isn't it already? Everyone thinks they'll be the next Angry Birds, so it's still a tempting lure. I'm willing to bet big name game honchos think they'll carry their knowledge into surefire hits in that market.
 
[quote name='Strell']Isn't it already? Everyone thinks they'll be the next Angry Birds, so it's still a tempting lure. I'm willing to bet big name game honchos think they'll carry their knowledge into surefire hits in that market.[/QUOTE]

That's casual games. I'm talking hardcore that users can use to show off the graphics.
 
[quote name='limelight022']No one played Bulletstorm.[/QUOTE]

Plenty of people bought Bulletstorm, just not a $60.

Most of my CAG Buddies got it for $20 or less. It was a real fun game.

Cliffy B is going to be sorely missed. He was a icon at Epic games. But hey, everyone needs some time off and It's apparent he's made his money and can do whatever the shaq fu he pleases.
 
[quote name='limelight022']No one played Bulletstorm.[/QUOTE]
Didn't Epic only publish that one? It was developed by someone else, right?

Anyway, Bulletstorm. I watched my husband play the demo of that the other day. It was... off-putting, for both of us. The teenage-boy version of machismo on display was just too much.

We have no problem with games appealing to the "bro" demographic, either; among other shooters, I play Halo and he plays CoD. It just seemed that Bulletstorm, at least in the demo, was trying too hard.

That laser lasso/whip weapon thing was pretty neat, though.

Sorry for the tangent :p
 
[quote name='blueshinra']Didn't Epic only publish that one? It was developed by someone else, right?

Anyway, Bulletstorm. I watched my husband play the demo of that the other day. It was... off-putting, for both of us. The teenage-boy version of machismo on display was just too much.

We have no problem with games appealing to the "bro" demographic, either; among other shooters, I play Halo and he plays CoD. It just seemed that Bulletstorm, at least in the demo, was trying too hard.

That laser lasso/whip weapon thing was pretty neat, though.

Sorry for the tangent :p[/QUOTE]

That's part of the appeal actually, it's definitely not one of those games that takes itself too seriously. My favorite part is when femshep tells you she's going to kill your dick :D
 
Yeah, the humor in Bulletstorm was like a parody of the Gears dudebro stuff, it was so over the top. I honestly wasn't crazy about the gameplay through.
 
[quote name='blueshinra']Didn't Epic only publish that one? It was developed by someone else, right?

Anyway, Bulletstorm. I watched my husband play the demo of that the other day. It was... off-putting, for both of us. The teenage-boy version of machismo on display was just too much.

We have no problem with games appealing to the "bro" demographic, either; among other shooters, I play Halo and he plays CoD. It just seemed that Bulletstorm, at least in the demo, was trying too hard.

That laser lasso/whip weapon thing was pretty neat, though.

Sorry for the tangent :p[/QUOTE]
I felt the same way with the full game, so don't feel bad. I enjoyed the gameplay, sort of, but it grew dull near the end. But the game was so reversed sexist that it sickened me to read the interview with the game producer at Epic games, Tanya Jessen.

She told a story in an interview about how she fought with the game designers over the boob size that Trishka had in the game. Trishka initially was a double D cup, but Tanya found that sexist and inappropriate, so she demanded that the cup size be lowered to be more reasonable. The fact that the only female character in the game can't be exaggerated in the game, but all of the male characters are either stereotypes or unlikeable and childish confuses me. She took offense to a woman being misrepresented, but had no problem with degrading men, with a power hungry war general who betrays his own men, a drunk who kills mercilessly and enjoys earning 'points' for it, and a loyal asian sidekick who naturally is made into a robot/cyborg, as it already compliments his personality.

There was definitely a lot wrong with that game, and the lack of success commercially supports it.
 
[quote name='Superstar']Bulletstorm was awesome. I need to finish it.[/QUOTE]

Wanna try co-op sometime? I really didn't mess with the online co-op stuff much.
 
[quote name='Monsta Mack']Plenty of people bought Bulletstorm, just not a $60.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I think that would change for a sequel. I think most people would jump on board a sequel if it was given the proper treatment. The first was a blast but the character models and levels felt like GoW rejects. It just needed a bit more creativity to distinguish it from Gears.
 
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