Epic's Cliffy B Talks About The Proper Time To Announce A Big Game

If you're not making your video game release an event, then you might as well give up on the whole thing.

--Cliff Bleszinski, Las Vegas, February 7, 2008

This post is not about "Gears of War 2. The mastermind behind the only "Gears" game that has ever been released, Cliff Bleszinski makes it clear in the interview that follows that he's not hinting at any sequel.

So don't go looking for clues.

Instead, let's focus on the matter at hand: A couple of weeks ago at the DICE gaming summit I asked Cliffy about just how a major new video game should be announced.

Why not just announce a sequel that everyone expects, be it for "Gears" or whatever? Why be coy? Who benefits? Who loses? And, hey, is "Too Human" developer Denis Dyack right? He says games should stay out of the press until they're done. Agree, Cliffy?

One of the things I like about Cliff is that he answers any question I pose no matter what. Read on for his answers and choice use of the phrase "geek boner."

Multiplayer: What happened with GamePro, their "Gears 2" cover? You guys have said …

Cliff Bleszinski, Designer, Epic Games: It was total hogwash. They were just trying to sell magazines.

Multiplayer: I saw an editorial somebody wrote on the new Variety gaming blog and it was saying, "Come on. Everybody knows 'Gears 2' is coming. There's no reason to think a sequel isn't being made. So why can't developers just acknowledge earlier when a game is being developed? Why is there always this ' nothing has been announced yet.' Then there's an official announcement?

Bleszinkski: The thing is, if you're a developer and you're making a new video game -- whatever that game is, I'm not talking about any sequels or anything right now -- you want to control the timing of when the official word goes out. Because it's a carefully orchestrated hype plan building towards a momentous release, which is an event now. If you're not making your video game release an event, then you might as well give up on the whole thing. So what you want as a developer and look for in a publishing partner is to carefully orchestrate the tease and the timing of everything. And if somebody else comes out with some story that's not confirmed or whatever -- you know, don't confirm anything unless the timing's right. It's such a timing issue.

Multiplayer: What kind of window would you like there to be? I mean, Denis Dyack has talked about -- maybe he's not he kind of person you tend to agree with -- but he's talked about the idea of: you wait until a game is done before it's even shown. That's the first time it's seen. And of course there's a lot of fans who would like to know about a game the day you guys are in your first blue-sky meeting.

Bleszinski: Let me put it to you this way. When I first saw the image of Iron Man -- when I saw that very first teaser and the music kicked in -- I got a f---ing geek boner. In this day and age … getting the mindshare of the average 18-35 year old gamer or whoever you want to sell to is incredibly difficult. Every single medium is competing for that person's mindshare and for their money. You need to get that buzz in a person's brain as early as possible and let it gestate…so that once the time comes they're lining up outside of Best Buy and they're salivating. Press demos and all of that is an unfortunate reality and it's part of the business. It's like an actor saying "I don't like doing press junkets." Boo f---ing hoo.

Multiplayer: What would be the perfect cycle for you for any game that you're working on? From when you're giving them that "geek boner" to when you put out the game? You don't want to be Apple? You don't want to be: "It's on sale right now?"

Blezsinski: There's different ways of doing it. And Apple's been very successful with what they do. When you sell a movie or when you sell a video game you want it to be an event release. And the retailers what to know what date to expect it. And the marketing team needs to know. So many people need to coordinate that if you don't have a plan, you might as well give up on it. So I think a year is roughly a good amount of time. You can do that on a slightly more compressed schedule.

Multiplayer: More than a year feels excessive to you?

Bleszinski: It depends on the game. It depends on what you're doing. There have been blockbusters that have been hinted at for two years before they came out. I think it depends on the project. Personally I like having to show our products publicly because it forces a lot of intermediate polish to get in there. That little panic, that little bit of crunch, is a good thing for a team sometimes.

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So that's Cliff's take. What exactly is the right amount of type to hype a game? Would would gamers most enjoy? And what would ensure the best possible games? And should the press care about any of that? Or report on its own schedule?