Control Freak Is a Surprisingly Personal Video Game Memoir

Cliff Bleszinski was lead designer on the popular video game Gears of War, and also worked on other classic titles such as Unreal and Fortnite. His new memoir Control Freak describes his rise from Nintendo fanboy to rock star game designer. "It's 300 pages of my life story, starting when I was a pimply faced teenager who didn't really have any friends or even a girlfriend," Bleszinski says in Episode 531 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "I didn't really like the world in which I lived, so I decided to pursue a career in the video game industry, in which I could not only manipulate the worlds that I played--in the games that I played--but also create those worlds myself." Control Freak is a surprisingly candid look into the life of a game designer, detailing Bleszinski's many mistakes and insecurities.