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Posted by Joystiq Feb 19 2013 03:15 GMT
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In a macho, Power Thirst-inspired market, it's difficult to sell a game with a female protagonist, Epic Games art director Chris Perna tells OXM.

"If you look at what sells, it's tough to justify something like that," Perna says.

Epic's Gears of War series features supporting female characters that Perna describes as "butch," rather than a stereotypical portrayal of feminine beauty in an action game.

"You see the implants and the blonde hair and pants and you roll your eyes - it's almost like the game geek's idealization of what a woman should be. I think because we didn't go that route we have more believability." Perna continues, "They're still feminine. Anya in Gears 3 comes across as being very feminine, and I think it works."

Perna says player feedback supports his theory, in the form of female players dressing up as Gears of War characters at conventions and shows.

"They feel empowered," he says. "They put on that armor and they walk around with these massive weapons and I think they get a kick out of it - I get a kick out of seeing it. From what we've heard, when they play the game they feel empowered and they feel good. Some of the feedback I've heard from women that I talk to is that if we'd made these women more feminine and more stereotypical it wouldn't have been so nice."

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Posted by Kotaku Feb 04 2013 21:00 GMT
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#culture "Stories are the filter through which we understand the world." Those philosophical words come from Susan O'Connor, a writer who's worked on BioShock, Far Cry 2 and Gears of War. In the TEDx session above, O'Connor discusses how her work scripting characters for video games led her to an epiphany about the people who may not be the heroes in their own lives. It's a surprisingly poignant talk that could make you re-evaluate the way you interact with people. More »

Posted by Kotaku Jan 15 2013 04:30 GMT
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#gearsofwar This video is actually from all the way back in 2008, but was only just posted on the website of Epic Games. It was made by Tal Peleg, a fan whose skills with animation eventually landed him work in the games business, first on Dead Space 2 and now with Uncharted developers Naughty Dog. More »

Posted by Kotaku Dec 19 2012 13:01 GMT
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#gearsofwar While snapping together plastic bricks will always hold a special place in my heart, sometimes I crave a more complicated building toy - something that requires an allen wrench and several dozen tiny little screws. The Gears of War King Raven Erector set fits the bill nicely. Let's build it. More »

Posted by Kotaku Dec 13 2012 05:30 GMT
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#gearsofwarjudgment Beast Mode vs. Horde Mode. Gears of War fans started batting around that concept even before Gears of War 3 introduced Beast Mode two years ago. Hell, some folks thought that's what they were getting in Gears of War 3. More »

Posted by IGN Dec 12 2012 14:00 GMT
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Writers Tom Bissell and Rob Auten talk about the characters that art director Chris Perna had to reimagine.

Posted by Kotaku Dec 05 2012 21:00 GMT
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#twitter Ever wonder what @Mario is up to on Twitter? How about @Sonic? Or maybe @Wario, @MarcusFenix or @MasterChief? More »

Posted by Kotaku Dec 04 2012 21:56 GMT
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#epic Epic Games president Mike Capps is stepping down from from his role as company president to take on a more advisory role, he announced today in a blog post on the Epic site. Capps cited his coming baby boy as a primary reason for the move. More »

Posted by IGN Nov 07 2012 18:11 GMT
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Pre-Order Gears of War: Judgment and get the Classic Hammerburst in-game weapon for free.

Posted by Kotaku Oct 22 2012 21:00 GMT
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#possibletrolling He cooked up Gears of War. was Epic's lead game creator and then, surprising most of us, left. More »

Posted by Kotaku Oct 04 2012 01:30 GMT
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#oped was be visible. "So what," you might say. "Isn't that part of his job?" Actually, it isn't. More »

Posted by IGN Oct 03 2012 23:07 GMT
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In an EpicGames.com blog post, Bleszinski seems to hint he may be leaving the industry outright.

Posted by Kotaku Sep 03 2012 20:00 GMT
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#gearsofwar You've had a year to play Gears of War 3 and you still haven't found all the Easter eggs. During the Gears of War panel yesterday at DragonCon in Atlanta, lead level designer Jim Brown teased a submersible secret, and told us of the drunken Dizzy Easter egg that didn't make it in. More »

Posted by IGN Aug 29 2012 23:33 GMT
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Check out the new mode on the "Gondola" and "Library" maps.

Posted by Kotaku Jul 23 2012 18:30 GMT
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#gearsofwar Count yourselves lucky, Gears of War lovers. Unbeknownst to you, one of the most annoying enemies in Epic Games' sci-fi shooter franchise could have gotten even more aggravating. I've seen it in action and, guys, we're lucky this thing hasn't made it past the testing stage. More »

Posted by Kotaku Jul 17 2012 13:00 GMT
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#firefly Would you play a Firefly game with first-person gun fights? Or Mass Effect-esque dialogue trees? More »

Posted by Joystiq Jun 05 2012 06:00 GMT
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If we've learned anything from the very first gameplay video of Gears of War: Judgment, it's that subterranean creatures are still super gross, and shooting them into gooey pieces still looks remarkably satisfying. In fact, everything about this video looks exceptionally Gears of Wars-y, although Epic Game's director of development Rod Fergusson maintains that Judgment is less scripted than previous entries in the series.

The game's new asymmetric, class-based multiplayer mode, dubbed Overrun, is also showcased, as are its defensively-oriented COG soldiers and offensively-focused Locust grubs.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 05 2012 04:30 GMT
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#gearsofwar I've just finished playing Overrun, the new multiplayer mode in Epic and People Can Fly's Gears of War: Judgment. As a fan of both Gears of War 3's enhanced horde mode and vicious Beast Mode, Overrun gives me exactly what I've been hoping for: It gives us versus mode, and lets players alternate between playing as the defending COG soldiers and the attacking Horde. More »

Posted by Kotaku Jun 04 2012 19:03 GMT
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#ironman Production began today on Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man 3 at, of all places, Epic Games, the North Carolina studio that makes Gears of War, according to local TV station WRAL. More »

Posted by Kotaku Jun 04 2012 17:02 GMT
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#e32012 As previously reported, Epic's hit shooter series will return with different Delta Squad members in the spotlight. The trailer shown today at the Xbox press conference today showed a smirking Baird taking the fight to the Locust as the war on Sera continues. We'll have more on Gears of War: Judgment this week. More »

Posted by Kotaku Jun 04 2012 16:57 GMT
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#gearsofwar Here is Rod Fergusson, director of production at Epic Games, sporting his Gears of War: Judgment-oriented T-shirt. More »

Posted by Joystiq Jun 01 2012 22:49 GMT
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Looks like Game Informer couldn't wait until Monday for the full reveal. The cover images for Gears of War: Judgment have been revealed, each depicting Damon Baird and Augustus "Cole Train" Cole in handcuffs, seemingly being escorted away from the battlefield by some COG soldiers. We're assuming this is a prequel because, dang, both these guys look young.

Look for the full unveiling on Monday, June 4 at 12:30PM ET/ 9:30AM PT during Microsoft's E3 press conference. Mantle past the break for the Baird cover.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 01 2012 21:41 GMT
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#gearsofwar Game Informer Magazine has revealed that the new Gears of War game teased earlier this week will be called Gears of War: Judgment, and will feature franchise characters Baird and Cole, possibly in more central roles. More »

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Posted by Kotaku Jun 01 2012 12:01 GMT
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#gearsofwar Yesterday, I speculated that the next Gears of War, the one semi-revealed by the folks at Game Informer magazine, will be developed by the talented crew at People Can Fly who made the very good early 2011 first-person shooter Bulletstorm. I even teased People Can Fly creative director Adrian Chmielarz about it over Twitter. He didn't reply. More »

Posted by Giant Bomb May 31 2012 18:37 GMT
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Game Informer is teasing another Gears of War in development with a cover image of a man in chains.

If you’ll remember, the original Gears of War started with Marcus Fenix in chains, suggesting this latest installment could very well be a prequel.

The next question is who’s making it, and it’s not necessarily Epic Games. The company purchased a majority stake in Painkiller developer People Can Fly in 2007, and released Bulletstorm through Electronic Arts in early 2011. I deeply loved the mechanics in Bulletstorm, but the sales were disappointing and a sequel was canned. People Can Fly’s next project has yet to be announced, and Epic Games is keeping mum on any connection to this game.

When asked this morning, Epic Games was unsurprisingly cagey.

“No additional details are available at this time,” said the studio in a statement.

Either Epic Games and the internal team who made the other Gears of War games are making this new one--or they aren’t. It’s an easy question to answer, and if the company isn’t prepared to say one way or the other, I’m willing to bet money People Can Fly’s logo will show up at the Microsoft press conference next week.

It helps that People Can fly creative director Adrian Chmielarz was chattering about the cover on Twitter.

We’ll be at E3, obviously, and the Microsoft press briefing starts on Monday, June 4 at 9:30 a.m. PST.


Posted by Joystiq May 31 2012 17:03 GMT
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The next installment in the Gears of War franchise will be the cover of the July issue of Game Informer. The final name and cover art won't be revealed until next Monday, during Microsoft's E3 press conference.