Bleszinski: Critics Have Made Games The 'New Rock 'n Roll'

Epic Games design lead Cliff Bleszinski says that video game critics have inadvertently been quite flattering to the video game industry. The man behind Unreal, Gears of War, and the upcoming game Bulletstorm, says that critics of video games have basically made it the "new rock 'n roll," creating a boogie man that parents are warned about on a daily basis by politicians, child psychologists, and the mainstream media. Bleszinski made the comments in response to a question by Computer & Videogames about Bulletstorm becoming a target of critics due to its gratuitous violence and adult language.

"You know the violence in games, the language and all those issues are issues... on one hand I've always found [that] very scary, that people are attacking the industry," said Bleszinski. "But on the other hand, I have found it somewhat flattering because it's one of those situations where the fact that people think 'ooh, big scary video games are ruining the world', I guess, means that we're the new rock and roll, the new Elvis, the new Dungeons and Dragons, the new moving pictures."

"It means we're clearly hitting a nerve somewhere," he continued. "I could talk all day about the tone of the violence in [Bulletstorm]. It's very tongue in cheek."

Bleszinski went on to say that the violence in Bulletstorm was never meant to be there just for the sake of violence. It may at times be gratuitous, but most of it is done in the name of fun.

Bulletstorm releases in the United States for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 February 22 and in Europe on February 25.

Source: C&VG