14 DAY TRIAL // Cliff Bleszinki, the former leading developer on Gears of War, says that he is interested in promoting video games via public appearance even if he is no longer associated with the Epic Games-created shooter franchise.
The developer tells VentureBeat that, “I hope that there’s somebody out there who saw what I did over the last 20 years and what I’m going to do next and says, ‘Here’s a guy who is proud of his work and proud of his industry. He doesn’t sit behind a desk. He goes out there, and he’s an evangelist for gaming as a cultural thing’.”
The ex-Epic Games executive says he entered the gaming industry in order to create amazing video games, to be the public face of a big franchise and to get paid for doing that.
Cliff Bleszinki has become known for his enthusiastic promotion of the first two Gears of War video games, which included numerous appearances featuring chainsaw guns and fast cars.
He acknowledges that his public persona might have turned some fans off, but he also sees his role as an important one in an industry where most high-profile developers are reserved and never show off.
Bleszinki adds, “Each person has their own thing and what they represent. I always just wanted there to be some younger kid out there who looks up and sees how much fun I was having with what I was doing and says, ‘Hey, I want to make games like that someday,’ as opposed to saying, ‘Hey, I want to be a football player or an astronaut’.”
The developer has left Epic Games because he is looking for a new challenge and he currently does not have a new studio or project that he is attached to.
He has recently praised the upcoming BioShock: Infinite title, which is being created by Irrational Games.