Gears of War: Judgment writers say story is unique

The writers behind the latest installment in the Gears of War franchise say they are excited about the story they have to tell. Tom Bissell, New Yorker contributor and author of Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter, and Rob Auten, a Twentieth Century Fox consultant who worked on Avatar, spoke with Eurogamer about why they wanted to work on Gears of War: Judgment, and what they say makes it unique for the series.

"We really tried to make this a character-driven game," Bissell said. "We actually tried to give [main characters Cole Train and Damon Baird] more moments to actually see them relate to each other as guys that really love each other and we worked really hard on making that connection something that's actually real."

Bissell and Auten said they were attracted to work on the cover-based shooter prequel because the games appealed to their latent teenage sci-fi fan sensibilities within the context of a dark, interesting world. Bissell said simple foes like the locust afford the game more time to develop its protagonists.

These moments are part and parcel with the game itself, the writers said.

"In this game the story is literally moving through the level. The story elements we're adding and cutscenes are the testimony moments and talking to the judge," Bissell said. "We're getting all of our storytelling juice into the moments that the player's actually playing."

Gears of War: Judgment is being co-developed by Bulletstorm studio People Can Fly and Epic Games and is set for release on Xbox 360 on March 19, 2013. The game's new free-for-all multiplayer mode will be unveiled at PAX Prime this week in Seattle.