Gears of War Message Board

Josh McDermitt works on AMC's The Walking Dead, and now, he's here to tell us all about. Plus, Gears of War's Cliff Bleszinski is feuding with IGN.

Former Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski has claimed he will never make another disc-based game, and asserted that the current industry model relying on Game Informer cover reveals and E3 announcements is dead.

Interesting words from the man who designed Gears of War: "The whole 'old guard,' where you get a Game Informer cover and an E3 reveal, is dead... I'll never make another disc-based game for the rest of my career, and [at E3] they're trying to woo buyers from Target and Walmart?" Read more...

Sean Palomino, a video game developer, was moving from Texas to North Carolina in September when he suffered the most bizarre of setbacks: the moving van carrying his stuff burst into flames, destroying everything he and his family owned.Read more...

You spend time or energy, you gotta get something out of it. Self-improvement. Money, maybe. Experience, at least. This simple idea is so powerful and pervasive that if course games have modeled it—experience points, levels, and skill trees (otherwise known as role-playing game elements) are things that have been around for a while. But it wasn't until this generation when the ideas overtook nearly every genre.Read more...

Reader Alan emailed me last night wondering if I'd like to see "a cg model of Danny DeVito in Gears of War style armor". Yes, Alan, I did, thanks.Read more...

According to former Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski, "here's another closely cropped image of something I'm working on." That's right, Cliff Bleszinski is doing NBA 2K15. Kidding! Read more...

Here's something new for you. A Q&A from Kotaku with a top gaming person—short enough that you can read the whole thing before the bus arrives, before it's your turn in line, before your date is back in his/her seat. Weekly. First-up: game designer Cliff Bleszinski. Read more...

For my first wedding anniversary, I went out to dinner. Fancy joint. I thought I'd done a good job. Nope. Turns out I did a terrible job. For Xioo's first anniversary, he had artist Edward Chua take an existing Gears of War mural he'd done and alter it so that the piece featured he, his wife...and two dogs. Amazing. Had this picture drawn of my wife, our two dogs, and I for our first anniversary [Reddit] ALL OUT [DeviantArt]

Our Gears of War: Judgment review has been updated with a multiplayer segment as well as an overall verdict on the game (finally). To sum: you might have a better time picking up Gears of War 3 instead.

A 14-year-old admitted to slashing a 13-year-old's throat in an assault Scottish authorities blamed on a soured online friendship developed over Gears of War. Of course the game itself is blamed but when the 14-year-old already is a father, you're not talking about someone with good decision-making and impulse control. The Daily Mail is all over this one, so, caveat reader, but prosecutors and police officials, in statements, pin this one on Gears of War 3. "The reporting officer was of the opinion that the violent video games played online by the accused may have been a factor in his conduct," the prosecutor told the court. "These games are rated 18 and shouldn’t be played by children of this young age —but online gaming may be outside their parents’ knowledge," the chairman of the Scottish Police Federation said. "We need to look again at what we can do to stop this." At the trial, prosecutors said the two met online around Christmas 2011 and played Gears of War 3 together. Later they met in person. But then the friendship devolved to "name-calling via the messaging system used in the game." In a chance meeting in April 2012, the older boy slashed the younger's throat so deeply it exposed his windpipe. "Then," says the Mail, "in a scene reminiscent of violent video games, the accused sneered at his victim: 'Don't die,' before calmly walking off." It's a scene reminiscent of a 1980s action movie, too, but I don't see anyone blaming Commando. The accused, now 16, faces being locked up, though for how long is not said. Xbox player, 13, slashed friend's throat with knife after they met online playing ultra-violent game Gears of War 3 [Daily Mail] To contact the author of this post, write to owen@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @owengood.

Variety reports that Scott Stuber (The Kingdom, Ted, Battleship) has signed on to produce Epic's long-coming Gears of War movie. Who knows, this thing might actually get made!

Ever since he left Epic Games, Cliff Bleszinski’s been letting his opinions fly fast and unfettered. At this week’s East Coast Game Conference, he talked about where the future of games might be heading. During the 25-minute talk—spotted on GamersNexus—he offers up opinions on the folks who pirate games and the heavy-handed top-down approach protecting copyright on the internet. He also talked about what’s special about the Oculus Rift and the tension between AAA and indie games. [Via GamersNexus]

We asked which was your favorite and now here are the results. Did the game you were rooting for win?

I may be bald, but Cliff Bleszinski is both unemployed and bald. But I wouldn't worry about the former lead designer of the Gears of War series. He's been doing alright for himself since leaving Epic Games, and this weekend he pulled in enough dough—$15,000, the highest contributor in this fundraiser—to make good on a promise to shave his head. The grooming instrument was a simple pair of clippers. Sorry, no chainsaw kill from a Lancer. Bleszinski's stunt benefitted the St. Baldrick's Foundation, a charity that raises money for kids' cancer research. In addition to the money this raised, Bleszinski made his own contribution as well. And even though the fundraiser is over, you may still donate, See this link.

#themultiplayer Breaking a habit is no easy thing—even when a game designer does their best to give players options. More »

#kotakulongreads Video games aren't what kept José Muñoz in his parents' basement for much of the past seven years, slipping into depression. They aren't why the former honor roll student dropped out of college, and they aren't why he couldn't get a job. Video games aren't what sent him to a therapist's couch, and video games aren't what kept him on his living room's, day after day. More »

Get to know the multiplayer maps in Gears of War: Judgment.

#humor More »

Get to know the multiplayer maps in Gears of War: Judgment.

#minecraft Minecraft Xbox 360 Editionis pouring on the fan service with this week's release of Skin Pack 4—providing delightfully low-res interpretations of Claptrap from Borderlands, Klei's Mark of the Ninja and The Behemoth's Castle Crashers, plus a whole lot more. More »

Get to know the multiplayer maps in Gears of War: Judgment.

The Astronauts are working on an eerie, macabre, non-combat game called The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and while we're still not sure exactly what it is, one thing is certain - it's not AAA. After founding People Can Fly, working on Bulletstorm and Gears of War, and leaving to start an indie studio, designer Adrian Chmielarz says AAA games have lost their appeal.

"We're no longer excited by mammoth-sized games," Chmielarz tells Games Industry International. "We're still very interested in high quality, but now and in the future we want to focus on smaller projects."

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter will involve death and murder, but won't feature any shooting. It's a game of discovery, similar to Dear Esther, but with more corpses, as Chmielarz describes. Horror is thriving on the indie scene, he says, and he hopes Ethan Carter shows that video games can offer a broader range of experiences. But if no one understands this approach and the game bombs, The Astronauts may need to come back to Earth.

"If we don't slip, we'll have just enough money for this first project, and then it's sink or float," Chmielarz says. "Kickstarter was tempting, sure, whether we like it or not it's a great marketing tool and gives your project that extra visibility boost. But we think that Kickstarter should only be used by those studios for which there's just no other way without losing their freedom. We're just old-fashioned this way."

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is due out on PC this year.

What do old people think of Gears of War: Judgement? Funny or Die's Kumail answers that question and more in Play Date.

Get to know the multiplayer maps in Gears of War: Judgment.

Get to know the multiplayer maps in Gears of War: Judgment.

Get to know the multiplayer maps in Gears of War: Judgment.

Get to know the multiplayer maps in Gears of War: Judgment.

Let Damon Baird walk you through the new FFA mode, grenade types, and OverRun.

#gearsofwar Sure, the clip above is just a reel that rattles off bullet points of stuff in Gears of War: Judgment. But what makes it sing is the snarky narration provided by Fred Tatasciore, the guy who voices main character Damon Baird. Without him, this would just be a soulless rundown of ways of shooting, things you can shoot with and where the shooting happens. With him, the whole affair feels even more enticing. Now, Fred, can you come over and narrate while my accountant does my taxes? More »