Cliff Bleszinski on the lure of triple-A
Epic's ex-design director on his next step
Cliff Bleszinski, former Epic design director, has explained in a recent interview he's still attracted to triple-A, but only if he can do it right.
"I would want to get back to the triple-A space eventually," he told GamesBeat.
"But the last thing I would want to do - and no offense meant to Curt Schilling [38 Studios] and John Romero [Ion Storm] - is to do what those guys did. "Let's throw 300 bodies at it! Sure, we'll just make it work!" That's the equivalent of taking a garage band and having them play Wembley Stadium on day one."
He compared the process to building a band or a sports team, making sure that everyone knows how to work together. But he's also hesitant about heading up his own studio, and taking on the responsibilities that come with that role.
"One of the main things I've been considering is opening my own studio. But the complication to that is, heavy is the head that wears the crown"
"One of the main things I've been considering is opening my own studio. But the complication to that is, heavy is the head that wears the crown," he explained.
"If you have 150 people that you're responsible for, with their families and their children and all that, that's a lot of weight. The company depends on you."
As for going indie, he admitted that the idea of working all day and napping under his desk at night didn't compare too favourably to the triple-A experience of seeing your work in TV adverts and on billboards.
"That level of relevance comes with being triple-A."
Bleszinski's departure from Epic was confirmed on October 3 last year, after a long tenure that saw him work on the biggest triple-A title including Unreal Tournament, Gears Of War and Bulletstorm.