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Gears of War’s fantasy setting – its monsters and chainsaw guns – both draw players to the game, and repel them, according to the series executive producer Rod Fergusson.
“We have some elements in our IP that are double-edged swords.” Fergusson explains to Edge. “The Lancer being a chainsaw gun is one of the things that draws people, but it’s also one of the things that has the potential to repel some people because of its over-the-top nature. The fact that we fight monsters, I think that draws people, but other people are looking for more realistic settings.
“So those are the types of things that we talk about in terms of what might be limiting the franchise, but at the same time those exact same things are potentially what causes this franchise to be successful so you have to be careful about how you change that.”
Fergusson believes that the competitive nature of multiplayer is more likely to deter people from the game, however.
“Either they don’t want to fight monsters or potentially they’ve tried it and gotten killed pretty quickly in multiplayer and thought it was too hard.” he explains. “I’ve been using this analogy for a while now, but it’s kind of like playing basketball. I love to play basketball, I love the mechanics. I love the rules and the competition, but if all I can play with is NBA stars, then it’s not going to be fun. But if I can play a pick-up game at the local gym, I’m ok, right?
“So that’s the kind of way I think it is with Gears as well. I think there are people who love the mechanics, world, weapons and characters, but they struggle with the competitiveness or high calibre of the competition online. I think that’s why you see people falling back to PvE with Horde and Beast. It’s a place to go and experience the world but not necessarily go head-to-head.”
Epic recently announced that Gears of War 3 will include a multiplayer area for beginners in an attempt to bring newcomers into the online experience.
Gears of War 3 hits stores on September 20, exclusively for Xbox 360.
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