Bleszinski: "Internet facilitates dickishness"

By Johnny Minkley Published 29 September, 2008

But Gears boss won't 'do a Dyack'.

Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski has no plans to emulate Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack and tackle his critics in "Internet flame wars", insisting: "If you do a good enough job, your fans will come to your aid and defend you."

The artist formerly known as CliffyB, who was speaking to Eurogamer TV in London ahead of the release of Gears of War 2, argued that it was futile to engage with dissenters on forums, because "whenever something becomes large or successful then there's always a certain percentage of backlash where it becomes cool to hate what's universally accepted as something that's stellar or very interesting."

Dyack infamously launched an attack against critics of Too Human via a post on NeoGAF, urging anonymous hecklers to "stand up and be counted", while defending the quality of his game.

But Bleszinski, who has been cultivated as the high-profile frontman for the Gears of War franchise, believes criticism comes with the territory. "You have to have thick skin to be in this business and be some sort of public figure," he explained. "I think one needs to be very careful when dealing with those kinds of criticisms on the Internet, because you're never going to fully get rid of it."

With specific reference to you, dear reader, he added: "Eurogamer commenters aren't huge fans of me; it's highly amusing to read. I believe I've been called a wanker numerous times. You can't take it to heart, man. The Internet sometimes facilitates dickishness; I don't know why that is, but it is. You can call me whatever the hell you want as long as you play Gears of War 2 and give it a fair shake."

The original Gears of War, you may recall, received an eight out of ten in its Eurogamer review. Confident in the quality of his sequel, Bleszinski expects better this time. "I'm hoping it'll get a nine or a ten or I'm going to find you and kick you in the bollocks. One ball at a time." Ouch.

Gears of War 2 releases exclusively on Xbox 360 on 7th November. You can see more from our exclusive interview with Bleszinski over on Eurogamer TV. Be sure to check out our Gears of War 2 hands-on preview for a playthrough of the first act and some thoughts on multiplayer. too.

Picture of Johnny.

About Johnny Minkley

Johnny Minkley is a veteran games writer and broadcaster, former editor of Eurogamer TV, VP of gaming charity SpecialEffect, and hopeless social media addict.

Read more articles from Johnny by visiting the Johnny Minkley archive page.

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Comments (69) Latest comment 4 years ago

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  • Skooch #1 4 years ago

    Cliff's kept flaming to the gaming....literally.

  • agparrot #2 4 years ago

    There are of course still people in the world who don't like Gears, and a small percentage who for their own reasons need to spout this vocally on the internet, but it really is a quality piece of work, and Cliffy is probably right - if it is good enough, the fanbase will defend it.

    I recently rented and loved Too Human, which I found to be an accomplished and highly playable game, but Double-D probably shouldn't have attempted to Bait 'The Internet' into thinking so. It is, after all, the internet.

  • Ninja_Tino #3 4 years ago

    The preview seems like a 9, I must say. I like Cliffy. I read his blog a few times and he's got an image without forcing the 'I'm a game designer but want to be a celebrity'. I give him 9 out of 10

  • Oh-Bollox #4 4 years ago

    Even if it's overhyped wank, the fans will defend it.

    /subtle

  • Davemanz #5 4 years ago

    And then there are those of us who can enjoy the game but still think CliffyB is a pretty big cunt.

  • Optyk #6 4 years ago

    DUN DUN DUUN GEARS OF WAR DUN DUN DUN

  • VampiricEye #7 4 years ago

    I played the first one and thought it was ace. Bring on #2.:)

  • Xerx3s #8 4 years ago

    "If you do a good enough job, your fans will come to your aid and defend you."

    ...or if you are a platform exclusive. :p

    He has a point though, calling out all the shithead haters on the net will not do anything positive, even though you are right. It will only reinforce their sentiments. The best thing to do is not giving them what their pathetic existence revolves around: attention.

  • Tweakmonkey #9 4 years ago

    I thought he was talking about Xbox Live...

  • krudster #10 4 years ago

    I really hope it is a 9 or a 10, Cliff. I expected the first one to be a 9 or a 10.

  • paketep #11 4 years ago

    "If you do a good enough job, your fans will come to your aid and defend you."

    Then, the fact that Epic's former fans are attacking you must mean that you are doing an horrendous job, right, Cliffy?
    Edited by paketep at 29/09/08 @ 19:07

  • ScottyXTUK #12 4 years ago

    Bloodkult, arren't you quoting Rik off The Young Ones there about Cliff richard??!!

    Anyhow, I wasn't a big fan of Gears of War, in the minority I know but I found it over hyped and pretty boring and samey.

    I doubt I will get Gears 2 unless it is the shizzle.

    Also I hate Epic as a whole, they are a bunch of wankers particulary the plebs that moderate their forums.

    Actually I don't think Cliffy B is a cunt at all, just a knobhead (j/k).

  • Optyk #13 4 years ago

    It's true though, it certainly is "cool" to hate Gears and Epic. It's the same with Halo and Bungie.
    I for one love both. And those who hate it always give the same vague, generic reasons for hating it. The term "over hyped" is thrown around alot.

  • michaelius #14 4 years ago

    Good to know that I hate most FPS/TPS shooters becouse I'm trying to be cool :)

  • nickthegun #15 4 years ago

    I know its not cool but I liked Gears and I cant really see the problem with Cliffy.

    He has my respect from the original UT stuff and the whole community ethos.

    So....yeah....he's ok.


  • Bremenacht #16 4 years ago

    One for Ellie to review then.

  • Apostle #17 4 years ago

    What a wanker.

    I am looking forward to Gears 2 :)

  • urban #18 4 years ago

    fucking hell..this press conference seems to be splattered absolutely everywhere

    didn't realise gears of war really was that massively popular with you press folk.

    chill out eh? its just a game.

  • CARL05 #19 4 years ago

    Cliff reads Eurogamer! o_O

    Wow, that's pretty awesome.

    Perhaps if we're nice about him he will send us free Gears related merchandise :D

  • Xerx3s #20 4 years ago

    "I really hope it is a 9 or a 10, Cliff. I expected the first one to be a 9 or a 10. "

    Isn't that in the eye of the beholder in the end? A lot of people here played gears sp, coop and mp for months (years even). If you think that a game is a 9, surely the score that a review gives is irrelevant to you?

  • Xerx3s #21 4 years ago

    "He has my respect from the original UT stuff and the whole community ethos. "

    This. UT99 is still the unbeaten king of online shooters imo. It opened worlds for me. The same for Unreal. The first time that I played that, I was just in awe. Even though the sequels where a bit of a letdown, those two games alone earned my respect for the coming decade. gow just added to that as it was a very good game as well.

  • Xerx3s #22 4 years ago

    Cliffy B = BGiE aicm5q!

  • Pasco #23 4 years ago

    I don't get how someone can hate Cliff. He always acts in such a lighthearted way that you have to be a wanker to get offended or be angry at him. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

    And I am not even a fan of Epic games.

  • DutchDemons #24 4 years ago

    well, i got nothing against Cliff. You can really see he is dedicated to his job, really enjoys it and such. I sometimes miss that zeal in other devs. And i like how he recognizes the haters on the net and just says 'meh'. the ultimate diss to the (i assume) kiddo's that seek attention this way.

    roll on gears 2!

  • Chufty #25 4 years ago

    I like CliffyB from his Unreal/UT days. I hope these guys do another PC game; their talent deserves it.

    Why can't we call him CliffyB anymore anyway?

  • Les #26 4 years ago

    "If you do a good enough job, your fans will come to your aid and defend you."

    Even if you do a shit job, 'they' will defend you. It'll just be a smaller group.

  • Les #27 4 years ago

    "believes criticism comes with the territory."

    As far as platform exclusives go, there'll always be the fanboys. But with PS3 and 360 delivering nothing to gaming except excess pixels, developers get off quite easy IMO. And then there's the Wii that shows what a bunch of non-inventive, non-creative idiots are typically hired to make games...

    "The Internet sometimes facilitates dickishness; I don't know why that is, but it is."

    Very simple: anonymity. Hope I made your day.

  • Vin #28 4 years ago

    Yeah, Cliff knows what's up.

    It's easy enough to picture those prickly folks as that same babyfat, pasty-faced thirteen-year-olds, with tears of petulant rage streaming down their chubby cheeks whenever someone mentions that Gears is a 360 exclusive.



  • Strac #29 4 years ago

    I didn't like Cliffy's catscan as I don't like cats... rather like GoW though. and played UT99 to hell (and TacOps ofcourse)
    in my book he's one of the better game scene press celebrities.

    btw Les: it's not anonymity, it's about being detached from direct physical retaliation. the fact that you can kick the ass of anonymous 13 year old who are shouting racial slurs next to you, usually stops that from doing that :p
    Edited by Strac at 29/09/08 @ 21:22

  • David_Snakes #30 4 years ago

    "whenever something becomes large or successful then there's always a certain percentage of backlash where it becomes cool to hate what's universally accepted as something that's stellar or very interesting."

    See Grand Theft Auto IV

  • hiddenranbir #31 4 years ago

    What a wanker.

  • Madder-Max #32 4 years ago

    what a penis he is. He reckons he has the market sussed now or something?

  • shatulance #33 4 years ago

    in all fairness gears was a pretty good game...the MP was shite,but campaign and co-op were great and i give credit to cliffy as its always nice to see someone with real passion and enthusiasm for what they do..wish my job was that fullfilling :(

  • miiiguel #34 4 years ago

    One thing's true, I really believe he's saying the truth when he goes "meh" on "haters".

    I mean, for *some* reason no one is that "loud" on any unsucessfull game/dev, that's for sure. "Loud hate" is also a sign of sucess.

  • doragor #35 4 years ago

    quite the posse of trolling tits as per usual when it comes to a popular game.
    loved GoW and cannot wait to get my paws onto this.

  • pbz #36 4 years ago

    Cliff you are a massive wanker...gears is awesome though =)

  • topblood #37 4 years ago

    STOP HATING HIM. you people who hate gears of war are people who are ps3 fan boys.

  • Ryze #38 4 years ago

    @David_Snakes

    Oh yes. The GTA: SA hate stopped as soon as IV came along.

    sad.

  • miiiguel #39 4 years ago

    oh ffs, you have to understand, he has money, loves his job, he's young and quite cool/atractive, what's NOT to hate?

  • Dodgymat #40 4 years ago

    I used to read Cliff's .plan updates before UT99 came out. I think he seems like a nice enough bloke, 10 years on and his enthusiasm for all things gaming still remains intact, a lesson Mr Dyack could do with learning - STAT !

  • Negotiator #41 4 years ago

    The chipmonk looking git talking about how he couldn't care less about negative comment's, yeah ok Cliffy, so why the fuck are you talking about it then, shit head.
    Edited by Negotiator at 29/09/08 @ 23:20

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #42 4 years ago

    I pretty much love CliffyB. I've charted his career as the spokesperson of Gears of War using posters of him on my wall. My favourites are from when he had more floppy hair than he does now, but I'll make do. He's so cheeky, I could just gobble him all up.

  • miiiguel #43 4 years ago

    "The chipmonk looking git talking about how he couldn't care less about negative comment's, yeah ok Cliffy, so why the fuck are you talking about then, shit head. "

    Because you/we read it!, Try the other way... :D

  • RustyBullet #44 4 years ago

    Whats wrong with all you haters out there. GOW was an amazing game and for a multiplayer component that was an after thought, plenty of people still play online, even with all the problems the first one has on line it is still a blinding game. Apart from UBISOFT, Epic have to be among the best development teams with some pretty cool games, UT i have been playing since the first release, and still do play the original version on the PC now and then, even after all this time there is a large choice of rooms to join. So back to CliffyB, what exactly is youre point, this is where the inteligent ones out there just turn arround and say " Hes a c**t" he has worked on some serious kick ass games, yea hes good looking and he has probably been blessed with a 10" penis. So what.. If you had just 10% of his talent would you not want some recognition for youre achivements ? FFS give me a break..and CliffyB. The ugly, spotty, nerd, haters of you out there that are sat in youre bedrooms at youre parents house spanking youre monkey go and get a life and make something of youreself and then see if you would like a little bit of love and recognition.

  • dahsif #45 4 years ago

    I see that he's matured a lot. Then I guess our CliffyB-bashing will need to be Bigger, better, more badass.

  • Pulsar_t #46 4 years ago

    @Crofto
    I agree with you 100%. But your point is lost on these fine gentlemen here.
    Hey fanboys, I guess it's not okay to hate GoW eh? How about setting up some gulags then?
    Edited by Pulsar_t at 29/09/08 @ 23:39

  • slivir #47 4 years ago

    Gears rocks and CliffyB seems like an OK bloke. Don't understand the hate personally. He pisses me off far less than a lot of the losers who frequent gaming message boards. (Hello irony!)

  • miiiguel #48 4 years ago

    @Pulsar: I think you got it all wrong, the guy is saying he is ok with the bashing. I think you can even read something in the way of "I couldn't care less" (or something).

    I would bet a shit load of money that Houser thinks the same. The same aplies to the whole Bungie team.


    One can't please everybody at the same time, so I guess the best position ypu can be in is, when you please a lotaaaa ppl, do what you love, are very confortable financially, and have the added bonus of girls calling you hot.
    Or..., I can be tottaly wrong and his goal in life is to please Pulsar and Crofto...
    Edited by miiiguel at 29/09/08 @ 23:50

  • sirtacos #49 4 years ago

    Cliff is surprisingly good looking and well groomed for a videogame developer.

    That can't be why EGers love to bash him though, surely. Considering the amount of successful manly studs on this forum you'd expect a little less bitterness.

    I was never a big fan of GoW - it never hooked me - but I can appreciate the fact that whoever was behind it has talent. And heaps of money.

    Wait, what am I saying - Gears of War is derivative shit and Cliffy is a talentless cunt.

  • Sevens #50 4 years ago

    '"I'm hoping it'll get a nine or a ten or I'm going to find you and kick you in the bollocks. One ball at a time."'

    Damn. He's cool.

    /sarcasm

  • stevencole7 #51 4 years ago

    PRICK!

  • Adaptor #52 4 years ago

    Cliff B. has the confindence of knowing they're going to publish a good game in few months. Dennis Dyack was probably a bit desparate...

  • AhrimaaN #53 4 years ago

    It's Dude Huge people. Not CliffyB, not Cliff Blezwhatever

  • BadByte #54 4 years ago

    CliffyB: Loved gears so much I might pick up gears 2 from the bargan bin next summer (pre-played naturally).

  • Les #55 4 years ago

    "btw Les: it's not anonymity, it's about being detached from direct physical retaliation."

    It's not just about direct physical retaliation, though it is important, I agree. What others might think about you can often be as big a prohibitor to anti-social behaviour as the posibility of direct physical retaliation.

  • Diabeu #56 4 years ago

    WAAAANNNKAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!

  • theonlyix #57 4 years ago

    Well, i kinda like the Artist former known as CliffyB, he puts a name behind the game, someone who shows that they are proud of their game.

    People calling him probably are PS3 owners who feel ripped off for buying a console twice or thrice (not a real word i know) as expensive as our beloved 360s and arent nearly putting up the graphics that gears do =)

    Sorry for this trolling, just couldnt resist =)

    On a more serious note, Gears one was a really really great game. Looking forward to nr 2 (and 3)

  • CunningLinguist #58 4 years ago

    @theonlyix

    Don't hate me cause I'm rich... bitch!
    Edited by CunningLinguist at 30/09/08 @ 08:24

  • Doctor_What #59 4 years ago

    I like the bloke, but I'm not so keen on the game. GOW2? The first one bored me with the repetitive gameplay and terrible writing, so I'll probably pass.

  • Wickerman #60 4 years ago

    @Doctor_What - you can't say the first one is boring! If you do you are apparently simply jumping on the 'cool to hate' bandwagon and are facilitating internet dickishness! ;)

    For the record, I didn't find the first one that interesting either - and were I ever to meet him I'd happily tell him that.

    My dickishness transcends modern technology \m/

  • Quint2020 #61 4 years ago

    I don't get all the hate for Cliff, he made Gears of War AND Jazz Jackrabbit, the man is a legend.

  • beholdthelantern #62 4 years ago

    Cliffs alright, but I can't stand the hordes of pedantic binge-wankers we have to put up with in the games community. I don't think Cliff should be using the word 'Bollocks' either - it just doesn't sound right when a Yank says it. Sorry Yanks.

  • qasimps3 #63 4 years ago

    THIS GUY IS A TWAT HE SAID HE DOSNT WANT TO MAKE PS3 GAMES BECAUSE HE DOSNT LIKE THE CONTROLLER WTF FATBOY DONT IT FIT IN YOUR HANDS.

    ONE GOOD GAME DOSNT MAKE YOU ANYTHING IF GEARS2 IS JUST GEARS1 WITH BETTER GRAPHICS ILL PASS
    Edited by qasimps3 at 30/09/08 @ 13:05

  • PierrePressure #64 4 years ago

    I think Joshua Homme said it best:

    "I find that on the internet, everyone is tough in an anonymous, pussy sort of way"

  • BobsUncle #65 4 years ago

    @ qasimps3

    Don't write in caps, and you're obviously a PS3 fanboy so why not just shut up as you'll never have anything good to say about Gears. The reason Gears wasn't on the PS3 was because it's published by Microsoft, not because he doesn't like the PS3 controller. And even if it was because of that then that's a good enough argument because the controller is shit.

    I liked Gears, Cliff, so please don't kick my bollocks.

  • SomaticSense #66 4 years ago

    "Bleszinski expects better this time. "I'm hoping it'll get a nine or a ten or I'm going to find you and kick you in the bollocks. One ball at a time.""

    I never had an opinion about the bloke before, just played his game, but now I like the bloke. He's honest, has a sense of humour, and can take it on the chin. Unlike the majority of the other arsey fucking bores out there in the videogame industry right now.
    Especially unlike Dyack, who I also never had an opinion about until he started acting like a complete mardy-arsed twat in the couple of months leading up Too Human's release, which in a twist of bizarre coincidence (or not), ended up being a twatty game highly reflective of the man's attitude himself.

    Why are there so many people on this site who feel the need to defend Dyack, yet lay into Bleszinski?
    Edited by SomaticSense at 01/10/08 @ 01:19

  • Lamont #67 4 years ago

    Cliffy B has hair and a better game than Dyack.

  • dingo75 #68 4 years ago

    Cliff you are a wanker. Happy now?

    Now go and make some decent UT.
    Back then I bought UT and Q3A same day. Installed UT. Played 10 min.
    Installed Q3A. Played 5 min. Laughed. Uninstalled. Never looked back.
    UT CTF Instagib baby! :)

  • Collymilad #69 4 years ago

    "THIS GUY IS A TWAT HE SAID HE DOSNT WANT TO MAKE PS3 GAMES BECAUSE HE DOSNT LIKE THE CONTROLLER WTF FATBOY DONT IT FIT IN YOUR HANDS. "

    And whats wrong with that you caps locked moron?

    One of the most important things in gaming is the controller. I also hate the PS3 controller it's a POS. The "triggers" are turd and designed exactly the WRONG way (convex instead of concave, whoever decided that needs shot) and to top it off the sticks are bad too - one is in the wrong place (logically, since sticks have replaced d-pads in most instances, you should put the stuck where the d-pads were for 20 odd years, no?) and they are too loose.