Cliff Bleszinski
Encyclopedia
Clifford Michael "Cliff" Bleszinski (born February 12, 1975) is the design director for the game development company Epic Games
in Cary
, North Carolina
. He is most famous for his continuing hand in the development of the Unreal franchise, especially 1999's Unreal Tournament, and the Gears of War
franchise. He cites Shigeru Miyamoto
as his biggest influence.
.
On his website, Bleszinski often shares his thoughts and feelings on the world, American culture, gaming, and life in general. He is occasionally cited for his charitable nature like helping fans get jobs in the industry. Bleszinski also lists his interests on his 1UP.com
page, citing Donnie Darko
and 21 Grams
amongst his favorite films, with Choke
and Stupid White Men
as some of his favorite books.
Bleszinski's first game was The Palace of Deceit: Dragon's Plight, a 1991 pixel-hunting adventure game
for Windows. He is also known for the games Dare to Dream
and Jazz Jackrabbit. In 2006, he served as lead game designer on the game Gears of War
for the Xbox 360
. Bleszinski will be an executive producer on the upcoming Gears of War movie.
Despite the extensive amount of weapons that Bleszinski incorporates into each of his games, he had no experience with a machine gun prior to a guest spot on The Jace Hall Show
.
According to Bleszinski's MySpace
page and his website, he lives in Raleigh, North Carolina
.
The nickname "CliffyB" was given to him derogatorily by "some jock kid" as a shy teenager, which he then took and developed a tougher persona around. In 2008, he expressed a desire to retire the CliffyB moniker, saying it's "time to grow up a bit".
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
in Cary
Cary, North Carolina
Cary is a large town and suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it is the second largest municipality in that county and the third largest municipality in The Triangle after Raleigh and Durham...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. He is most famous for his continuing hand in the development of the Unreal franchise, especially 1999's Unreal Tournament, and the Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
franchise. He cites Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
as his biggest influence.
Personal Life
One of his brothers is Tyler Bleszinski, a sports blogger who founded Athletics NationAthletics Nation
Athletics Nation is a sports blog focusing on the Oakland Athletics baseball team. The blog was founded by freelance writer Tyler Bleszinski in 2003...
.
On his website, Bleszinski often shares his thoughts and feelings on the world, American culture, gaming, and life in general. He is occasionally cited for his charitable nature like helping fans get jobs in the industry. Bleszinski also lists his interests on his 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
page, citing Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is a 2001 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Noah Wyle, Jena Malone, and Mary McDonnell...
and 21 Grams
21 Grams
21 Grams is a 2003 American drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston, and Benicio del Toro....
amongst his favorite films, with Choke
Choke (novel)
-Plot summary:Choke follows Victor Mancini and his friend Denny through a few months of their lives with frequent flashbacks to the days when Victor was a child. He had grown up moving from one foster home to another, as his mother was found to be unfit to raise him...
and Stupid White Men
Stupid White Men
Stupid White Men ...and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation! is a book by Michael Moore published in 2001. Although the publishers were convinced it would be rejected by the American reading public after the September 11, 2001 attacks, it spent 50 consecutive weeks on the New York...
as some of his favorite books.
Bleszinski's first game was The Palace of Deceit: Dragon's Plight, a 1991 pixel-hunting adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
for Windows. He is also known for the games Dare to Dream
Dare to Dream
Dare to Dream is an adventure game produced by Epic MegaGames , released in early 1993 for Windows PC. It is the second game designed by Cliff Bleszinski, after The Palace Of Deceit: Dragon's Plight. It supplements adventure-style gaming with graphics, although Dare to Dream relies more heavily...
and Jazz Jackrabbit. In 2006, he served as lead game designer on the game Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. Bleszinski will be an executive producer on the upcoming Gears of War movie.
Despite the extensive amount of weapons that Bleszinski incorporates into each of his games, he had no experience with a machine gun prior to a guest spot on The Jace Hall Show
Jace Hall
Jason "Jace" Hall is an American film, television and video game producer, best known for being founder and Chief Executive Officer of Monolith Productions Inc and President of...
.
According to Bleszinski's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page and his website, he lives in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
.
The nickname "CliffyB" was given to him derogatorily by "some jock kid" as a shy teenager, which he then took and developed a tougher persona around. In 2008, he expressed a desire to retire the CliffyB moniker, saying it's "time to grow up a bit".
Video games
- Gears of War 3Gears of War 3Gears of War 3 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios exclusively for the Xbox 360. Originally due for release in April 2011, the game was delayed and eventually released on September 20, 2011....
(2011), Microsoft Game Studios - BulletstormBulletstormBulletstorm is a first-person shooter video game developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games, and is published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows...
(2011), Electronic Arts - Lost Planet 2Lost Planet 2Lost Planet 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, taking place ten years after the events of the first game, on the same fictional planet. The game was developed for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and...
(2010), CE Europe Ltd. - Fat PrincessFat PrincessFat Princess is a downloadable video game for the PlayStation Network made by Titan Studios and sold by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released in North America and Europe on July 30, 2009, and in Japan on December 25, 2009....
(2009), Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. - Shadow ComplexShadow ComplexShadow Complex is a platform-adventure video game developed by Chair Entertainment in association with Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox Live Arcade, and is powered by Unreal Engine 3...
(2009), Microsoft Game Studios - Gears of War 2Gears of War 2Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games with lead design by Cliff Bleszinski, and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the second installment of the Gears of War series. The game was officially released in North America, Europe and...
(2008), Microsoft Game Studios - Unreal Tournament III (2007), Midway Home Entertainment, Inc.
- Gears of WarGears of WarGears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
(2006), Microsoft Game Studios - Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 is a first-person shooter video game created by Gearbox Software for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Mac OS X. It is the first game in the Brothers in Arms series. It is published by Ubisoft and was released in early 2005...
(2005), Ubisoft, Inc. - Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri ConflictUnreal Championship 2: The Liandri ConflictUnreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict is a first-/third-person shooter video game in the Unreal series of games. It was developed by Epic Games and published by Midway Games for release on the Xbox game console as a direct sequel to the 2002 game Unreal Championship, which itself is an Xbox...
(2005), Midway Home Entertainment, Inc. - Unreal Tournament 2004Unreal Tournament 2004Unreal Tournament 2004, also known as UT2K4 and UT2004, is a futuristic first-person shooter computer game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes...
(2004), Atari, Inc. - Devastation (2003), HD Interactive B.V.
- Unreal II: The AwakeningUnreal II: The AwakeningUnreal II: The Awakening is a first-person shooter video game, designed initially only for a single-player campaign. The game is part of the Unreal series. It was developed by the now defunct Legend Entertainment, published by Atari and released on February 4, 2003 for Microsoft Windows...
(2003), Infogrames, Inc. - Jazz JackrabbitJazz JackrabbitJazz Jackrabbit is a series of video games featuring the titular character of Jazz Jackrabbit, a green anthropomorphic hare, who fights with his turtle nemesis, Devan Shell, in a science fiction parody of the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare. Created by Cliff Bleszinski and developed by Epic...
(2002), Jaleco Entertainment, Inc. - Unreal ChampionshipUnreal ChampionshipUnreal Championship is a first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published by Infogrames and released on November 12, 2002, for the Xbox. Unreal Championship is essentially a console version game of the PC-based Unreal Tournament 2003, developed...
(2002), Infogrames, Inc. - Unreal Tournament 2003Unreal Tournament 2003Unreal Tournament 2003 or UT2003 is a first-person shooter video game designed mainly for multiplayer gaming. The game is part of the Unreal franchise's series of games, and is a sequel to Unreal Tournament ....
(2002), Infogrames, Inc. - Unreal Tournament (Game of the Year Edition) (2000), Infogrames, Inc.
- Jazz Jackrabbit 2: The Secret Files (1999), Gathering, Project Two Interactive BV
- Tyrian 2000 (1999), XSIV Games
- Unreal TournamentUnreal TournamentUnreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels...
(1999), GT Interactive Software Corp. - Jazz Jackrabbit 2Jazz Jackrabbit 2Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is a platform game produced by Epic MegaGames, now known as Epic Games. It was released in 1998 for PCs running Windows, and later for Macintosh computers. It is the sequel to Jazz Jackrabbit....
(1998), Gathering, Project Two Interactive BV - UnrealUnrealUnreal is a first-person shooter video game developed by Epic MegaGames and Digital Extremes and published by GT Interactive in May 1998...
, GT Interactive Software Corp. - Jazz Jackrabbit: Holiday Hare 1995 (1995), Epic MegaGames, Inc.
- Tyrian (1995), Epic MegaGames, Inc.
- Jazz JackrabbitJazz JackrabbitJazz Jackrabbit is a series of video games featuring the titular character of Jazz Jackrabbit, a green anthropomorphic hare, who fights with his turtle nemesis, Devan Shell, in a science fiction parody of the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare. Created by Cliff Bleszinski and developed by Epic...
(1994), Epic MegaGames, Inc. - Jazz Jackrabbit CD-ROM (1994), Epic MegaGames, Inc.
- Jazz Jackrabbit: Holiday Hare 1994 (1994), Epic MegaGames, Inc.
- Dare to Dream Volume One: In a Darkened Room (1993), Epic MegaGames, Inc.
- The Palace of Deceit: the Dragon's Plight (1992), Game Syndicate Productions
Further reading
- Bissell, Tom. "The Grammar of Fun." New Yorker, November 3, 2008.
External links
- Cliff Bleszinski on Twitter
- Personal website
- Page On 1UP.com
- Everything You Wanted to Know About Gears of War... Article about Bleszinski's GDC2007 presentation "Designing Gears of War: Iteration Wins"
- GameSpot Video Interview with CliffyB
- Gears of War 3 debuts on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon