As the very public face of such iconic video game franchises as Gears Of War and Unreal Tournament, designer Cliff “CliffyB” Bleszinski was, for years, one of the most recognizable faces in videos games. While fellow designers Shigeru Miyamoto (the Mario man) and Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid) were called auteurs, Bleszinski was considered a rock star designer, one that earned the nickname “Dude Huge.” But while the game industry is usually as tightly controlled as the opening mission in a Call Of Duty game, Bleszinski is being far more open, and honest, about himself in his new memoir, Control Freak: My Epic Adventures Making Video Games (hardcover, Kindle, audiobook). In the following email interview, Bleszinski — who I know from my own career covering games — talks about why he took this approach to telling his own story.