Wired.com recently had the opportunity to talk with designer Cliff Bleszinski about the upcoming “bigger, better, and more bad-ass” Gears of War 2. Female significant others across the globe can begin rejoicing because apparently Epic Games has made it their goal to make this game “more girlfriend-friendly”. As I read Cliffy B’s quotes in this blandly interesting Q&A, I couldn’t help but shake my head at the sheer stupidity of his words. I don’t find them offensive, I simply find them dumb. An excerpt from the interview :
At this point it seems like the Gears of War audience has already bought Xbox 360s. Are you trying to reach a new audience?
We’re selling Gears of War 2 to every single guy who bought an Xbox 360 for Grand Theft Auto IV. As well as the guys who like Call of Duty 4 but might not be Halo fans. I still think there’s plenty of room to go. I think we’re going to make it more girlfriend-friendly, with individual difficulty settings. It’s a beautiful game with beautiful vistas, with an actual human story that I think will appeal to a broader audience.How do you make a game girlfriend-friendly?
You do jump-in, jump-out co-op. You have configurable difficulty settings for the other player. You have very cool and bad-ass main characters that have a very human side. And you make sure that the female characters in your game don’t have ginormous tits and aren’t bad stereotypes.
While I’m tickled pink you are reaching out to those “guys” that play GTA and CoD, did you forget females actually play those very same games? Oh wait, you are appealing to them with the “girlfriend-friendly” features, right? The jump-in, jump-out co-op and the configurable difficulty settings for each individual player. Last time I checked, anybody who loves a good, solid co-op experience will appreciate those features regardless of what does or doesn’t dangle between their legs. Those options sound like they have everything to do with providing a decent playing experience and absolutely nothing to do with gender.
And I have one hint for you Mr. Girlfriend-Friendly experience. When you are trying to openly appeal to a female audience, don’t use phrases like “ginormous tits”. Next time try fantastic funbags. Or tig ol’ bitties. Or jolly jigglers of joy. Or majestic man pacifiers. Or burgeoning breasticles. Or objects of your erection. Now go make some pink guns and add some pretty flowers and rainbows and shit. Better yet, you could forget the gender lines all together and just make a decent party up system for online matchmaking. Whatever works.
Posted by petetheduck on May 20, 2008 at 11:26 am
“I couldn’t help but shake my head at the sheer stupidity of his words.”
I’ll add my signature to that statement. :)
Posted by Hugh on May 20, 2008 at 11:48 am
I’m afraid I see no stupidity here. In fact, I have the criteria that any woman that I’m going to marry must be inclined to casually use the phrase “ginormous tits” in a non-ironic manner. And they’re also quite welcome to refer to “thunderous, gargantuan monster-c**ks” if they so desire …uh, not mine, necessarily.
But then, I come from Destructoid. That’s how our womens roll. :)
Posted by Ray on May 20, 2008 at 11:54 am
That’s funny… I searched for ginormous tits and ended up here…
XD
Posted by snorkle256 on May 20, 2008 at 11:55 am
Cliffy B might like to play with girls, the rest of us like to play with WOMEN that enjoy ripping Locust in half just as much as we do. If he does add any female characters, I think they would likely have to be just as steroid injected as the rest of the crew that exists in GoW.
Of course, I would be impartial to pretty pink ponies that have chainsaw armor…..
Posted by Valentine on May 20, 2008 at 12:11 pm
LOL @ Ray… gotta love google.
Posted by soulofaqua on May 20, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Snorkle those women would probably end up like the female Juggernauts from UT… I rather have something less eww. but I am in favor of pink ponies with chainsaw armor! but no pink weapons that reminds me to much of by Bonnie ruberg’s about weapons in “FPS being phallic avatars”. But I do favor pink armor!
Posted by setters on May 20, 2008 at 12:19 pm
well, I have to say if I could change the settings for my husband, maybe he’d play along with me :)
Posted by mendicantbias00 on May 20, 2008 at 1:00 pm
wow…usually when you are doing a public interview, that could possibly be seen by thousands if not tens or hundreds of thousands of readers (both male and female), you tend to THINK about what you say before you say it.
sheesh..
so is GOW2 gonna come with a pink sticker that says “Girlfriend Friendly” or “Girlfriend Approved”?? And for what its worth…what about “Wife Friendly” or “Wife Approved” – i mean if you’re gonna let some chauvinistic colors fly, you might as well cover all your bases right?
Posted by soulofaqua on May 20, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Just look at his picture and you can see he is not a real geek. He is more the jock who likes to play sport games and shooters with his friends and act as if they are the greatest because they can beat their friends.
Posted by thewilleffect on May 20, 2008 at 1:24 pm
This is instantly my favorite bs angel moment. My fandom of “Cliff Blezinski” (he’s still Cliffy B to me damn it) as he wants to be called now is a bit disturbed by this. When are game developers going to get to make the game they want to make and not worry about what demographic their trying to hit? Ouivee!
Posted by Graham on May 20, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Ok, I agree that CliffyB’s (apparently he hates that name now) use of “ginormous tits” was a pretty stupid move. But, it’s obvious he isn’t referring to hardcore girl gamers, like the Miss McBloggy. He’s talking about girls who’ve haven’t picked up a video game since their Tomagotchi died in 1997.
Posted by soulofaqua on May 20, 2008 at 1:54 pm
There Tamagotchi has been revived since then.. too much even Digimon Tamagotchi’s.. I know… I had one… I know… I was foolish…
Posted by -S- on May 20, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Wow, Girlfriend-Friendly game, huh? That must be the new rating in the Entertainment Software Rating Board: “Gears of War 2″ Rated GFF, for Girlfriend Friendly.
So what exactly are the features of a game rated ‘GFF’?
- Xbox 360 automatically shuts off when new episodes of ‘Project Runway’ come on
- The in game screen randomly displays images of Tiffany’s, Victorias Secret, and what the hell, a couple of ponies every now and then (like when images of Cortana flashed in during h3 campaign)
- New difficulty level below easy: come on guys, I’ve never played before!
- Pink Lancers
- Your controller vibrates when you get shot, when you walk, when you roll, when you reload, when you shoot, and when you breathe
- The 360 mic detects when ‘Bitch, cunt, whore, kitchen, sandwich, and dyke’ are about to be said during Xbox Live matches, and automatically blocks the source
- Any girl in the game that girl player deems ‘prettier than me’ instantly dies!
*looks around* how long has it been since i posted? when did the site look like this? lol
Posted by -S- on May 20, 2008 at 2:39 pm
HAHA – sorry, had to add this. I told my friend about the article
“…what does that mean? …you can go shopping?”
Posted by Crazyeye0 on May 20, 2008 at 2:41 pm
“make a decent party up system for online matchmaking”
I think Rare should employ you. Now.
*Ramble time*
I hated trying to get into a ranked game on the same team as my friends, it would always be something like “Ok, I’m doing a game on Gridlock with three rounds of 5 minutes” and it would end up with like, 6 games with those settings, and the part which showed who the host was, didn’t even work >_<
Silly old Gears.
Posted by Kato on May 20, 2008 at 2:44 pm
bs angel > Cliffy B
Posted by ashame on May 20, 2008 at 3:02 pm
No ginormous tits? WTF!? I’m not gonna buy GoW2 :|
Posted by Jonathan on May 20, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I’m with you, ashame. There’s basically no point to buy it now.
Posted by johpan on May 20, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I want to make a comment but I just don’t know what to say… I’ll probably analyze more and then make a post on my blog >_< lol.
Posted by Ragingterror on May 20, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Lol at -S-’s post.
That was incredibly foolish of Cliff… >_<
Posted by Rift on May 20, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Sooooo – you don’t like the term “ginormous tits”, but you’re cool with “objects of your erection”?? That seems like a huge step back… hell, all of the phrases you put up afterward seemed like huge steps back… did I miss something here? I mean, I don’t disagree with you about what Cliffy B. said, but those phrases… I’m confused, utterly confused and confounded.
Posted by keisal on May 20, 2008 at 5:27 pm
rift: its called sarcasm
Posted by SpaceGhost2K on May 20, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Time for the SpaceGhost to walk on some thin ice…
As a guy playing the game, I would assume that most any guy would take the handsome, buff guy over the scrawny, dorky-looking dude. I would be offended if scrawny, dorky-looking dudes were my only option, in game after game after game.
Not being able to read ladies’ minds, but having read a lot of posts over the past seven years or so, it seems to me that the average gaming lady prefers to have an alternative to the topheavy bombshell who is NOT there to provide a character for girls to play, but more to amuse and titilate the guys. I imagine, whilst trying to get in touch with my feminine side, that I would get sick and tired of ONLY being able to play tits with a girl attached.
Personally, I think CliffyB (he signed a faceplate for me a week ago with that name, so that’s what he is) put the new chainsaw attack where you start at the crotch and go UP… PURELY for the enjoyment of the girls, because CERTAINLY the guys are not going to enjoy that much.
Back in guy mode… usually for me, it’s the “girl friendly” games that I like more, because I AM more of a story-based gamer. I like the vistas and the stories and the emotions more than just shooting stuff.
Angel, you are, and always WILL be the exception, NOT the rule. The RULE… is home playing Katamari and Eternal Sonata. Cliffy isn’t worried about the girls who play Halo not adopting Gears. In most cases, they already did. What he wants is for the girls who would never give a game like Gears a chance, to have a reason to give it a chance.
My GF started with Katamari, went up to Open Season, Lego Star Wars and then I got her going on Eternal Sonata. Mass Effect was too much of a jump for her though, and it’s doubtful that Oblivion would be any better. It’s not likely that Gears would interest her at all, regardless of the physique of the character model in the game. You either like violent shooters or you don’t. A subplot where you search for someone’s lost love interest isn’t going to change the fact that it’s an alien gorefest.
Posted by bs angel on May 20, 2008 at 6:26 pm
There’s no thin ice SpaceGhost. You make great points, as always. :)
I suppose I should clarify slightly as the round about ways I make my points sometimes cause the meaning to get lost in translation.
The main thing I find lacking about his language is the game options that he describes as “girlfriend-friendly”. Being able to set two different difficulty levels within the same two player campaign is an interesting concept, but I don’t see how it’s related to gender. I see it as being relevant to two people who enjoy playing together but have varying levels of skill. It could be best friends, it could be roommates, it could be a husband/wife where the husband is better, it could be a boyfriend/girlfriend where the girlfriend is better. Having a multitude of co-op options is great, I just don’t see how it’s specific to one sex only. Keep in mind this opinion is coming from someone who prefers a lack of gender lines with the focus being on quality content. Make great co-op options, please. Just don’t paint them as something they are not.
Secondary is I think many of his comments are simply callous. Referring only to guys (while it could be the generic “you guys” including everybody, that is certainly not how you interpret it when one of the main points he is trying to make is being girlfriend-friendly) was careless, as was using a potentially offensive term as “ginormous tits”. While something like that doesn’t offend me, I happen to know many people who wouldn’t appreciate hearing that particular terminology. He risks alienating the very group he is hoping to appeal to.
And again, dude, multiplayer party options. Seriously.
Posted by bs angel on May 20, 2008 at 6:35 pm
And some of your comments are completely cracking me up by the way. :)
Posted by pwkwsfi on May 20, 2008 at 7:25 pm
I’m sorry, what were you saying?
8)
Posted by SpaceGhost2K on May 20, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I’m girlfriend-friendly.
Sure, it’s totally irrelevant, but absolutely true and I just wanted to say it. :)
Posted by Valentine on May 20, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Yeah , the comment about the difficulty setting and a game that does not have “ginormous tits” did turn me off a bit. I don’t think I’ve ever thought playing on Medium or Hard was an issue to me especially on these types of games. I’m more into shooter games and as long as there are guns and blood in them… I’m in.
Posted by AusQB on May 21, 2008 at 11:21 am
If they want it to be girlfriend-friendly, they should eliminate the horror themes and the incredibly gory cutting up of monsters with a machine gun chainsaw. I don’t think I’d like a girlfriend who’s into that sort of stuff.
What would be great is if there was a female character in co-op campaign who could use Marcus as living cover. He could be standing there all badass with chaingun in one hand fighting off swarms of Locust while his woman is protected by his exaggeratedly enormous body.
Posted by WolfSarge on May 21, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I bet Cliffy B spends his spare time trying to think up Gears of War pickup lines.
And if they involve chainsaws, I don’t wanna hear ‘em.
Posted by Slaign on May 21, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I have to say I disagree whole heartedly. I think you are over analyzing Cliff’s words.
I see where you’re coming from, but I think you are put on the defensive by being a minority in the gaming culture. Gamer girls are just that, a minority, and while video games are growing and appealing to wider audiences, that continues to be true and will continue to be true for awhile.
You have a point that these co-op features are good for any co-op experience, but lets really look at what that means.
With the advent of Live, co-op is easier and more popular than ever, but looking at the Live, you’re playing with someone who owns an Xbox, owns the game, pays for Live, and has arranged to play with you. Chances are your both experienced players with similar skill levels. So in this event these features really apply minimally. If you’re just matchmaking on Live they don’t apply either, as you’d just get paired with someone of similar skill level.
So live doesn’t really apply. We’re left with single console co-op experiences where these tools REALLY apply. We’re talking about just someone who happens to be sitting on the couch next to you. They might own an Xbox they might not, they may have played a game recently, or at all, maybe not.
So lets break down who these people are likely to be.
First, there’s me sitting next to my friend and rocking some Gears. The friend over scenario is common for us, but since it’s common and we always play together we wouldn’t need the features.
Then, there’s friends that you don’t play games with on a regular basis, but if it doesn’t happen regularly the features aren’t being used that often. Nice to have but not the main target.
So we’re left where you might be playing a game on a regular basis with someone who doesn’t really game. Why would this be happening? Most likely because you live with the person.
One common case of this is siblings, but the game’s demographic rules that out for the most part.
So what are we left with? Mostly significant others. Since the majority of gamers are male, it’s assumed these features are good to get the girlfriend playing. Instances where both genders are gamers the features don’t apply, and instances where the girl is a gamer and the guy isn’t are far from commonplace. Furthermore many of the girls in that demographic are more likely to be playing Final Fantasy, Blue Dragon, magic and story games than they are to be playing “Look it’s a blood fountain!” Gears of War.
So to call these features Girlfriend Friendly is accurate, and applies to the majority of uses these features would see. While saying “Casual-friendly” might be more PC, Cliff is a game dev, not a journalist.
Which brings me to my next point. So many people bash on Cliff for semantics in this post, calling him stupid, etc, but he’s just a normal guy with an extraordinary life. He’s a game dev with a rockstar personality.
He’s arrogant sure, but he has a right to be. Other than that, he’s just an outgoing, magnetic personality that the media latched on to because he’s exiting. He’s not some humdrum game dev monotonously explaining his game while being clearly camera shy. He’s the guy that comes out on a stage with a lancer and gets people’s attention. That is why you know his name.
So when he lets something slip like Gigantic Tits, he’s just being a guy. Personally, I hate when people get upset at something like that, and I wouldn’t be attracted to a girl who would hold such a phrase against the man. Gigantic Tits describes the video game vixen stereotype perfectly. Sure “Large Breasts” would work, and be more PC, but it’s also very boring, which Cliff is not, and doesn’t quite nail the absurdity of the issue.
I’ll concede that it’s not smart to say gigantic tits in an interview, but I also maintain that it being an issue is a damn shame.
I also find it funny that you stopped quoting him where you did, instead of including the next question where he elaborates on what he means using Anya as an example. Anya Is a perfect example of where his head is at. She’s strong, important, powerful, and human. She’s beautiful but she’s not unrealistic or Barbie’d out. She’s the perfect example to how to make an appealing female character to all genders. So semantics or not, actions speak louder than words, and Cliff obviously understands what he’s doing.
Posted by bs angel on May 21, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views on the subject. While it doesn’t change my opinion at all, your arguments were well articulated and thought provoking. Your statements may reflect your reality, but I found some of them to be completely false for my personal situation. I can appreciate the fact that they are true for you though as our backgrounds are apparently quite different.
Posted by WolfSarge on May 22, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Slaign brings up some valid points that I agree with. Having said that, I still think there should be an official UN mandate prohibiting Cliffy B from talking to the press. Ever.
Posted by A(lex) Ha on June 18, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Use of the “t”-word. Here’s another: ddoh!
Posted by niveker14 on September 16, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I agree with Ms. McBloggy. It’s true that my girlfriend isn’t really a “gamer” but when she does play, she prefers games like Halo. She really loves Stubbs the Zombie and Conkers Bad Fur Day, lol, gotta love her for that. She’s also really into Mass Effect. I think that a lot of people still believe that whole “gaming is a guy’s sport” stereotype, but I think it’s really just that: a stereotype. I think we need to move beyond that and just make good games.
When you push the whole notion that girl gamers aren’t that common, all it does is push more women away. My girlfriend is this way, for some reason she thinks that she isn’t good at video games, so she doesn’t play very much, even though she’s actually really good, lol. I try to tell her, I’ll be like “What do you mean you’re not that good?! You just beat three levels without dieing once!” lol. She’s got it in her head that girls aren’t suppose to be gamers, which I just think is bull.
Besides, most of my friends who are girls have played plenty of video games in their lives.