Bleszinski would be "terrified" if given free reign

Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has said rock star developers need the constraints of a team to keep their creative madness in check.

"As a creative you will always want an infinite amount and it’s your job as a creative to push for that too much," Bleszinski told Develop, crediting his producer, Rob Fergusson for countering over-enthusiasm.

"If I went off tomorrow and some investors came along and gave me a billion dollars to make my dream game I’d be terrified because I need that system of checks and balances. I think as a creative you need to be edited."

The Epic Games spokesman likened key creatives to authors and directors, who achieve success and are then given the freedom to do whatever they want - with less than stellar results.

"They go and make this one movie that they want that’s three and a half hours and you end up thinking: ‘really dude? I liked your old one that was two hours long’. Half of the time when you see the director's cut of a movie, you’re like ‘actually I can see why they cut all that out'.

"You need that system of checks and balances to keep creators in check sometimes. We’re not just art, we’re still a business."

Having said that, Bleszinski reiterated the message from his 2011 GDC keynote - that developers should brand themselves, project a personality, and ensure they receive credit for their work.

"By and large, those who are creative will always have the money surgically removed from them by those who are business people," he said.