Gears of War: Judgment’s lead character a “no-brainer”, says Bleszinski

Everybody loves Damon.

Tarryn van der BylJune 12, 2012

Damon Baird’s promotion to lead protagonist in Gears of War: Judgment was the obvious choice, according to original Gears man Cliff Bleszinski.

“We actually had decided to use Baird based upon the assumption that he didn’t have his story told in Gears of War 3,” the man who invented the chainsaw on a gun told GameInformer. “Paul got to have his moment, Marcus had his moments, Anya – everybody else had their moments but Baird was kind of just left in the back being a sarcastic asshole, so from there we decided to put him the main character.

“But once we actually got data from Microsoft that he was one of the most beloved characters in the entire franchise that it really seemed like a no-brainer.”

It’s not just his blond beefcake good looks and sizzling skills with emergency APC repair that’s made him a fan favourite, though.

“I personally believe that Baird is so beloved by the fans because we live in a world where being cynical and snarky and sarcastic is the norm, especially on the Internet,” explained Bleszinski. “I think that’s why he resonates with a lot of gamers.”

Gears of War: Judgment is a prequel in development over at Epic Games subsidiary People Can Fly. It is spelled without an “e” after the “g” because it’s set prior to the events of E-Day. Actually, I made that last bit up, but I think it’s more exciting than pointing out that Americans spell everything wrong.