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One of the most common questions I’m asked as a game developer is, “What makes a next-generation game?” Is it graphics? Better physics and AI? New controls?

I played a game of paintball a while back. While crouched in the woods with high-powered spheres splattering above my head, I had a hint of what it might be to be in an actual firefight. I found the experience rather… painful.

Perhaps it was then that I thought about how most shooters play. They’re not like real firefights. Circle, strafing, jumping around – these elements have felt alien to me for the last few years. For example, take the use of cover. Before we started GEARS OF WAR®, we saw other games with cover in them. Our question was, “How are we going to make hiding behind a wall interesting?” Answer: “Make it real.”

Next-generation games are about doing a better job with what we’re given to work with. How can we use the camera to immerse you more in the narrative? Who are you fighting, and why should you care? How do we use context sensitivity to allow you to do all sorts of cool moves and, in general, switch between feeling frightened and being a badass.

So yes, GEARS has great graphics, AI, and physics. We know we could do that. But more important, we feel we gave it a real soul. Soldiers with whom you fight an abhorrent foe. A world you can lose yourself in for hours on end… and a gun with a CHAINSAW attached to it.

Enjoy, and remember – TAKE COVER!

-- Cliffy B
Lead Designer
Epic Games, Inc

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