Not many game developers can be considered celebrities, but Cliff Bleszinski fits the bill. One of the industry’s best-known names, he travels in star-studded circles and serves as a de facto representative for games among a wider audience. Meanwhile, he holds down a day job as design director at Epic Games, where he’s in the middle of development on Gears of War 3.
Cliff joins Irrational’s own creative director Ken Levine as well as Chris Remo to discuss that unique role as well as how the mainstream perceives game makers. And along with that consideration of game industry celebrity, there is talk of the realities of how games are made: the collaborative team-based development process.
Share your thoughts about this podcast in the comments below, or head over to the forums for more in-depth discussion.
- Produced by James Bonney & Chris Remo, with editing by Tim Franklin (Ant Bear Audio)
- Music courtesy of The Happy Hollows
bfdannourse | November 3, 2010 8:18 pm
SWEET, keep em coming
quatto | November 3, 2010 8:40 pm
Gears of War may be many things but it certainly doesn’t hold the political or cultural resonance that Cliff claims it does. If the meaning really is ‘War is a bad thing’, then the glorification of headshots and the bloodlust cries of its beefcake characters doesn’t exactly reinforce that authorial intent.
It’s a mechanically sound bro game. And that’s cool (if you’re into linear, scripted games), but his words always come across as if he’s feigning superiority towards the reality of what Gears is: a plaything. There is nothing wrong with that. However, Cliff’s constant grasping at straws to legitimise the narrative depth of this franchise only suggests its weakness.
buckybit | November 3, 2010 9:01 pm
Rockstar CliffyB … wait, I heard, he doesn’t like to be called dat. Irrational really gets the A-list game devs!
Let me load himem.sys to be able to listen to this episode.
buckybit | November 3, 2010 9:54 pm
… great stuff! That’s the kind of dev2dev conversation, we – mortal gamers – don’t get to hear usually.
Now, Clifford could give Ken Peter Molyneux’s number, so they can arrange a Skype-call for the next show *cough* 😉
jayakers | November 3, 2010 9:55 pm
All kinds of win. Amazing conversation and topics. Thank you!
christopherjacknilssen | November 3, 2010 10:27 pm
Cool, but is this from the past? Talking about “just seeing Milo” made me think so.
Thanks for sharing!
IG.Chris | November 4, 2010 12:38 am
Nope, it was very recently recorded. Cliff means he just had a recent demo of Milo, not that he only just became aware of it.
oobs | November 4, 2010 3:02 am
haven’t heard this one as yet..is downloading on my slow connection..but should be interesting for sure
jub8jub | November 4, 2010 3:31 pm
Hmm Cliff Bleszinski , I never heard of him. Nice podcast, it’s been one of the few that I listen to all the way through. Just kidding about not hearing about Cliff. He’s one of the people that it’s hard not to hear about him.
carlosbergfeld | November 4, 2010 4:54 pm
This is better than Interview magazine. Very cool.
walkstar | November 4, 2010 5:37 pm
As soon as Cliff started talking about Alice & Amazon I was like “Chris better tell his teapot story!!” Awesome. Great interview, too.
November 4, 2010 5:56 pm
[…] Drama piece undersold due the game not being appropriately marketed to woman. In an interview on Irrational Games website, Epic Games’ design director ‘Cliffy B’ spoke of how Heavy Rain’s true […]
See Original Post at http://www.ggsgamer.com/2010/11/04/heavy-rain-is-a-great-game-for-girls/
November 4, 2010 8:30 pm
[…] Speaking in an interview with Irrational Games, CliffyB shared his ideas on what demographic Sony should have gone after. “I hate to sound misogynistic but it feels like such a great game for a girl who wouldn’t normally play games. […]
See Original Post at http://techspotlight.net/news/heavy-rain-should-have-been-marketed-to-women-according-to-cliffyb
November 4, 2010 8:45 pm
[…] Speaking in an interview with Irrational Games, CliffyB shared his ideas on what demographic Sony should have gone after. “I hate to sound misogynistic but it feels like such a great game for a girl who wouldn’t normally play games. […]
See Original Post at http://itream.com/gaming/2010/11/05/heavy-rain-should-have-been-marketed-to-women-%e2%80%93-according-to-cliffyb/
ismell | November 4, 2010 9:32 pm
Just when I thought this podcast couldn’t get any better: Cliff Blezinski.
November 5, 2010 12:06 am
[…] Irrational Interviews Episode 4: Cliff Bleszinski [Irrational Games] Tagged:cliff bleszinskicliffy bepic gamesheavy rainirrational gamesps3quantic dreamwomen […]
See Original Post at http://www.kotaku.com.au/2010/11/cliffy-b-heavy-rain-missed-its-chance-with-the-ladies/
November 5, 2010 2:04 am
[…] Lo sé, suena como si un cavernÃcola hubiera dado una entrevista acerca de un videojuego de la competencia; estas declaraciones fueron publicadas en el medio Eurogamer, mismas que fueron tomadas de una entrevista que Ken Levine, creador de Bioshock, le realizo a CliffyB (la entrevista pueden escucharla desde la web de Irrational Games). […]
See Original Post at http://ecetia.com/2010/11/cliff-bleszinski-heavy-rain-es-un-juego-para-chicas
November 5, 2010 6:11 am
[…] See more here: Irrational Interviews Episode 4: Cliff Bleszinski | Irrational Games […]
See Original Post at http://games.hotnewstrend.info/2010/11/03/irrational-interviews-episode-4-cliff-bleszinski-irrational-games/
November 5, 2010 7:51 am
[…] in an interview with BioShock creator Ken Levine posted on Irrational Games’ website, Cliffy B explained, “I hate to sound misogynistic but it feels like such a great game for a […]
See Original Post at http://www.gamersworldbd.com/2010/11/cliff-bleszinski-heavy-rain-is-for-girls-says-gears-of-war-creator.html
November 5, 2010 7:58 am
[…] this article: Irrational Interviews Episode 4: Cliff Bleszinski | Irrational Games Author: lixdo Comments: 0 comments Date: 3 Nov 2010 Categories: Uncategorized Tags: […]
See Original Post at http://auto.lixdo.net/wp/2010/11/irrational-interviews-episode-4-cliff-bleszinski-irrational-games/
daedro | November 5, 2010 7:41 pm
It’s nice to see a healthy switch from a conversation specifically more from the process of development with the perspective of the press and how it gets interpreted. That quote from Joss Whedon certainly resonates, especially regarding the medium. Fantastic work 🙂
jillaman | November 5, 2010 11:27 pm
Nice!
ch3burashka | November 7, 2010 10:05 pm
The “mutual fellatio” comment is spot on. I understand that they respect each other, and I’m sure that the expressions are genuine, but there’s a hell of a lot of 69’ing going on in this series of podcasts.
rybow73 | November 10, 2010 11:47 pm
Even better than before.
elliotcentrella | November 18, 2010 1:57 am
Dear Chris,
At 23 minutes when you say Bioshock 4 is going to shoot for the moon, Idle Thumbs lol’d quietly to itself.
Love, your orphaned fanbase.
sunjammer | November 18, 2010 7:08 am
Nothing like a single dude assuming he speaks for the many. Ah entitlement.
I’m so happy I’m not a part of the “fanbase” alluded to by some angry internet men when they go whining on message boards. Sounds like a truly miserable bunch.
sunjammer | November 18, 2010 7:19 am
Oh man, I totally misunderstood this post. Apologies! I stand ashamed for my rash and irresponsible behavior.
November 28, 2010 12:01 pm
[…] can have a listen here, mind you it’s a little over 43 minutes […]
See Original Post at http://www.vg247.com/2010/11/04/irrational-podcast-chats-with-cliff-bleszinski-about-being-an-ambassador-to-the-industry-and-more/
December 7, 2010 7:19 pm
Bioshock PC Game $4.99…
I found your post related to one of mine at 5 Dollars or Less Deal News :)…
See Original Post at http://www.5dollarsorless.com/deals/bioshock-game-sale-cheap-499
December 8, 2010 12:54 pm
[…] You as well as Ken Levine have been talking! What do we consider of BioShock Infinite so far? A: we consider BioShock Infinite is extraordinary […]
See Original Post at http://www.psnweekly.com/bulletstorm%e2%80%99s-cliff-bleszinski-explains-co-op-anarchy-mode-favorite-kill-combo/
December 8, 2010 3:37 pm
[…] You and Ken Levine have been talking! What do you think of BioShock Infinite so far? A: I think BioShock Infinite is amazing and I want […]
See Original Post at http://udosites.com/templatedeltared/2010/12/08/bulletstorm%e2%80%99s-cliff-bleszinski-explains-co-op-anarchy-mode-favorite-kill-combo/
December 8, 2010 9:37 pm
[…] Du hast dich kürzlich mit Ken Levine unterhalten. Was denkst du bisher über BioShock Infinite? […]
See Original Post at http://ps3-welt.de/bulletstorms-cliff-bleszinski-erklaert-den-coop-anarchy-modus/
December 10, 2010 2:01 am
[…] You and Ken Levine have been talking! What do you think of BioShock Infinite so far? A: I think BioShock Infinite is amazing and I want […]
See Original Post at http://games4downloading.com/bulletstorm%e2%80%99s-cliff-bleszinski-explains-co-op-anarchy-mode-favorite-kill-combo/2799
December 13, 2010 2:39 pm
[…] couple of days ago, I listened to the episode of Irrational Interviews in which Cliff Bleszinski was interviewed. For those of you who don’t hopelessly pour over videogames and game development news, […]
See Original Post at http://blog.phonicshotgun.info/?p=68
June 5, 2011 10:06 pm
[…] Irrational Interviews – Cliff Bleszinski […]
See Original Post at http://diaryofgaming.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/day-5-recommendations-day/