6. I’ve heard you describe the beta “Well Polished.†Are you expecting to have to change much after the beta or are you quite confident about the title?
Again, we’re cautiously optimistic. Our internal tests are looking solid and are a blast and we’re hoping to find and iron out as many issues as possible before launch. Thank God for betas!
7. We recently wrote an article about people not completing the single player campaigns (apparently only around 25% do), do you have the same experience in the Gears series?
25% is actually way lower than what we have for the Gears completion rate, we’re much higher than that. That said (and since this is the final game in the trilogy!) we want players to not only beat the game but to then also enlist a friend…or three… to go through it repeatedly. While there, make sure to try “Arcade Mode,” which makes the game more about scoring than story.
8. Do people need to have played the first two titles to understand what’s happening in the third or are you going to catch people up somehow, how?
Absolutely not! There are many great games that I personally didn’t get into until the third game in the series – Burnout 3 and GTA 3 come to mind – and I’d hope that if there are gamers out there that haven’t given Gears a go will try it and hopefully fall in love. Our universe’s narrative is getting denser by the year but at the same time in Gears 3 we open with a short cinematic that accomplishes the “story so far” in a cool way.
9. Inside Epic do you view the single player and multiplayer portions as significantly different games in themselves or do you feel they complement each other.
In many ways, they are different games. So when shipping a competitive AAA shooter in 2011 and beyond you’re almost shipping three to four games in a box in order for users to really feel like they need that title – and hopefully they need it “Day One.”
10. Anya, so we have a playable female character in the game now. Is this in response to community requests or simply an expansion on the already hugely diversified cast.
It was a natural extension of the cast to have the fairer sex alongside the gents in the game kicking butt equally. The models and voice acting both turned out great and I think players are going to love the addition of characters like Sam and Bernie and the evolution of Anya into a true soldier.
11. Any chance we are going to get to play a Thrashball minigame?
Not in this game, but you never know what could happen someday.
12. Lazygamer is a proudly South Africa gaming site, do you guys have any South Africans in your team?
Not at the moment, but we are a very international studio and we’re always hiring, so if we find someone who’s a great fit we’d certainly jump at the chance!
The Gears of War 3 Beta kicks off on April 25, with a retail release on September 20.
Last Updated: April 4, 2011
