The Evolution of Gears of War

A number of outlets are reporting on the discussion held this morning by CliffyB on the development process for Gears of War. He discusses some of the early iterations on several elements of the game, such as cover, the Locusts, and the possibility of 'cash' in multiplayer gaming. "The first type of control level is a POC level -- proof of concept, where the designers could get at testing the iterative process quickly. CT levels are the other types of levels Epic used during the design process. Combat testing levels. Cliff shows an image that looks like a shot from American Gladiators mixed with an outdoor paintball arena -- this was done while testing and designing the cover system in Gears."

Evolution?

[Svenne]

So, you're telling me it wasn't designed?


I kid, I kid.

Re:

[maubp]

So, you're telling me it wasn't designed?

Maybe it was, but not intelligently...

The typical CliffyB interview

[elrous0]

Reporter: First of all, do you have a REAL name?

CliffyB: What do you mean?

Reporter: "CliffyB" sounds more like a gamertag

CliffyB: I'm The Legendary CliffyB, haven't you heard of me?

Reporter: Uhm, sure. So, tell me about Gears of War.

CliffyB: It's the greatest thing that humankind has ever of will ever know, it will change the world forever!

Reporter: I thought it was just a shooter.

CliffyB: Oh no, it's an EXPERIENCE!!

Reporter: Okay, well it looks like a pretty good game.

CliffyB: Game?!?! I have people coming up to me on the streets every day offering me their firstborn sons! It's the biggest thing since God said "Let there be light!"

Reporter: Is that a mirror you're holding?

CliffyB: Yes, I always bring one to my interviews.

Reporter: Umm, why?

CliffyB: If I go for more than 2 minutes without looking into one, my doctor says I may develop modesty.

Re:

[p0tat03]

Is the above really trolling? I love GOW as much as the next guy, but having seen some of these interviews I think it's pretty clear Cliffy *is* quite full of himself. Even in the "Making of" documentary it was 50% about him and his legendary quest to make teh BEST GAME EVAR!!!

Re:

[aplusjimages]

That's all I ever hear about is CliffyB as well. It's like he single handedly built the game. The 1up.com pictures are pretty great. One shows a slide that says "Grenades Too Traditional". I would say the grenade on GoW was just as traditional as any other grenade in a game. How you threw it was different.

They should have kept the money looting aspect as that seems pretty interesting.

Re:

[provigilman]

Well, let's look at some figures. Halo 2, one of the most popular shooters ever, has sold just over 6 million copies in the US since it's release. Gears of War has sold just shy of 3 million in the US since it's release. Considering the difference in terms of installed base and time on the market, I would say that Gears is doing *quite* well for itself. Plus, it was on a budget that's a fraction of what some of the other next-gen are cost (10M IIRC). Personally, I think that gives CliffyB plenty of rea

Re:

[LKM]

Haha, thanks. That was funny. I'd mod you up if I could :-)

timeline...

[HockeyPuck]

Why do they always post blogs so I have to read from the bottom of the page to the top...

9:45
9:30
9:25...

I want to read the page from top down... not bottom up.... c'mon.

Camera is everything

[SanityInAnarchy]

Pure genius:

Camera is really everything with next generation. It doesn't matter how good your graphics are, if you can't see them.

Haven't played Gears, but one hint for prospective game developers: Either make your camera placement absolutely fucking flawless, or let us rotate the camera on our own. Note that letting us rotate the camera is no excuse for having the camera suck so much that we have to do it all the time.

I really, really need to go play Gears.