Borderlands 2 "Girlfriend Mode" Helps Noobs Win

[Zachery Gaskins]

you know everyone has their opinions...and before you go on about "elitist scum" do you really want a wave of kids who can't aim staright flooding in your game? think about it. that whinny 6 year-old you constantly see everyday? now imagine if he was xbox live. And chances are they only thing stopping him from going on it are that he lacks the skills to actually play. Do you really want those kinds of people on xbox live? do you?

If they behave themselves and the end result is someone who learns how to be socially well-adjusted, then yes, that is a worthy cause.

We all deserve the right to play games.

(Also, I don't *have* to play with these people. You're making it sound like we'll be forced to interact with noobs, and that lack of playing skill equates to lack of social grace, when in fact the two tend to be inversely related, in my experience.)

 

[Chairman Miaow]

INB4 bitching about pre-order DLC and calling sexism because he said girlfriend tree.

Anyway. This sounds like a great idea, because my girlfriends main problem with borderlands was that she would die more often than me, and so if this perk tree can tip the scales a bit, we may get a LOT of playtime out of it.

Isn't associating casual play with being female the very definition of sexism? Being bad at FPS games isnt inherent to being male or female.

Yeah, but bitching about it on a forum will change nothing, and we already have an absolute deluge of threads about it, and Randy Pitchford has already responded to the controversy.

 

[Tastum]

It must take some flexibility to put your foot THAT far in your mouth.

I can't aim for shite which keeps me away from shooting-based action RPGs (which apparently makes me female?). I really like the idea of this tree, and maybe some others like it in the other classes - giving the player the option of controlling how much RPG they get and how much FPS they get can't be bad.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

At least they gave the girlfriend tree to the awesome female character and not the dolled up prostitute with an SMG

 

[Chairman Miaow]

INB4 bitching about pre-order DLC and calling sexism because he said girlfriend tree.

Wow, that was close. Merely one minute later and your INB4 would have been too late.

OT: This is actually the first Borderlands 2 character that sounds interesting to me. All 3 of her proposed skill trees, in fact. Unfortunately I'm not likely to ever be able to play as her, as I'm still not sufficiently interested in the game as a whole to go pre-order it.

Well, I'm not as fast as I used to be. You know, they used to call me.... The Waco Kid.

 

[Phasmal]

Wow that's a really fucking stupid thing to say.
Still, they've distanced themselves from the (stupid) comments, so there's that.
Making games accessable- good.
Foot in mouth- bad.

I'm still unsold on the game, but I liked the first one and will probably pick it up at some point but I dunno if I will bother with the DLC.

Eh, the guy who came up with the idea probably tried giving a controller to a female friend of his at some point and she couldn't play. Its not exactly an uncommon experience and they didn't even end up calling it the girlfriend tree.

It was still a dumb thing to say, and yeah it was a sexist thing to say. Not saying gearbox or the dude is sexist. You don't have to be sexist to say sexist things.
I'm not worked up about it, you don't have to be hopping mad to just say `Well that was some word vomit`.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Wow, an ad and shameless plug delivered in the form of an editorial piece? Is this an Escapist first??

anc[is]At least they gave the girlfriend tree to the awesome female character and not the dolled up prostitute with an SMG

I'm sure you aren't referring to Lillith who is leaps and bounds the best and most powerful player character from the original game.

 

[Lucane]

If you can't aim a pistol you shouldn't be playing FPS. Period.

everybody was a rookie or a noob once.Their partly trying to make a character that leans towards helping raw new players or for ones that want an extra challenge outside of just making enemies more or less bulletproff. (I also foresee bad respones because of the "Girlfriend" name of the tree.)

 

[RobfromtheGulag]

Hemingway thinks the Mechromancer's third skill tree could be based around lightning and shock weapons.

Taken out of context I think this could be comedy gold.


On topic: Aiming? Who needs aiming? Shotguns, assault rifles, smgs and some of the faster firing pistols and auto pistols you just aim in the enemy's general vicininty and the spray will hit them.

And to be frank, I came into this thread hoping Borderlands had added romance options like Skyrim...

 

[Dogstile]

Wow that's a really fucking stupid thing to say.
Still, they've distanced themselves from the (stupid) comments, so there's that.
Making games accessable- good.
Foot in mouth- bad.

I'm still unsold on the game, but I liked the first one and will probably pick it up at some point but I dunno if I will bother with the DLC.

Eh, the guy who came up with the idea probably tried giving a controller to a female friend of his at some point and she couldn't play. Its not exactly an uncommon experience and they didn't even end up calling it the girlfriend tree.

It was still a dumb thing to say, and yeah it was a sexist thing to say. Not saying gearbox or the dude is sexist. You don't have to be sexist to say sexist things.
I'm not worked up about it, you don't have to be hopping mad to just say `Well that was some word vomit`.

It also doesn't need to be pointed out so often. Yes, it was in bad taste, but as you said, they moved away. I'm pretty damn sure I make stupid comments all the time, if it got pointed out all the time even when its obvious to everyone involved, even the speaker, it becomes redundant to point it out.

I guess what i'm trying to say is, people should just let it go every now and again

Edit: I guess my problem is with the article. It didn't even need to be mentioned, but they looked at the phrase and jumped on it. There was no need for it especially once they moved away from it. But i guess controversy gets views.

 

[toomuchnothing]

And to be frank, I came into this thread hoping Borderlands had added romance options like Skyrim...

I dunno marriage was pretty deep in Skyrim.

Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy but will you take this Amulet of Mara, marry me maybe?

 

[Lucane]

Wow, an ad and shameless plug delivered in the form of an editorial piece? Is this an Escapist first??

anc[is]At least they gave the girlfriend tree to the awesome female character and not the dolled up prostitute with an SMG

I'm sure you aren't referring to Lillith who is leaps and bounds the best and most powerful player character from the original game.

I think he's talking about Lilith's replacement siren Maya. Wearing what sorta looks like low-cut pants and a one piece wet-suit.

 

[WanderingFool]

I think this is a cool idea. Maybe not how I would've implemented it since that leaves 4 characters that the other person can't really choose, but I like that they're considering everyone playing.

If you can't aim a pistol you shouldn't be playing FPS. Period.

Get your fukin elitism out of here. You couldn't aim a gun in an FPS at one point too.

Learning to shot is what ARCADE games are for, or were you never dropped of at a boardwalk as a child?

Firstly, not everyone wants to waste quarters on those freaking Light-gun games.

Second, playing a Console or PC FPS is not the same as a Light-gun game, which is the only shooting game I can think of you refering to.

Thridly... hrmmmm... *insert joke comment about being left on a boardwalk as a child*[footnote] Couldnt think of any that didnt come of as really nasty...[/footnote]

 

[Phasmal]

It also doesn't need to be pointed out so often. Yes, it was in bad taste, but as you said, they moved away. I'm pretty damn sure I make stupid comments all the time, if it got pointed out all the time even when its obvious to everyone involved, even the speaker, it becomes redundant to point it out.

I guess what i'm trying to say is, people should just let it go every now and again

I'm confused as to what you mean. When I say something is sexist, I don't write it down in my sexism journal and decide to hate it forever.
I point it out as to say `Gee, I wish this shit would stop`.
It'd be exactly the same if they had said something racist. I would say `Well, that was racist`.

It'd be swell if I didn't have to point shit like that out, but be assured, once I point it out, I move on.

As stated before, they moved away from it, so I can just shrug and move on. Hopefully this sorta shit will become less frequent, then we can stop hearing about it.

 

[teebeeohh]

good idea in a coop game.
the normal argument is that if you can't aim and want to contribute play a healer(see tf2) but that role is kinda important.

 

[hazabaza1]

Oh boy.
"AHMAGAHD TEHY SAID ITS GURLFRUND MOED GREABXO AM SO SEXSST"

But this character actually sounds pretty cool. Might get myself a big fuck-off machine gun and just ricochet everywhere.

 

[Lucane]

I think this is a cool idea. Maybe not how I would've implemented it since that leaves 4 characters that the other person can't really choose, but I like that they're considering everyone playing.

If you can't aim a pistol you shouldn't be playing FPS. Period.

Get your fukin elitism out of here. You couldn't aim a gun in an FPS at one point too.

everybody was a rookie or a noob once.Their partly trying to make a character that leans towards helping raw new players or for ones that want an extra challenge outside of just making enemies more or less bulletproff. (I also foresee bad respones because of the "Girlfriend" name of the tree.)

Learning to shot is what ARCADE games are for, or were you never dropped of at a boardwalk as a child?

Well I don't see how holding a plastic light-gun helps you learn to aim when you have to use an analog stick for most home version shooters.

Also when did Arcade games become exclusively for practice/training for other games and not for entertainment on their own?

 

[Dogstile]

It also doesn't need to be pointed out so often. Yes, it was in bad taste, but as you said, they moved away. I'm pretty damn sure I make stupid comments all the time, if it got pointed out all the time even when its obvious to everyone involved, even the speaker, it becomes redundant to point it out.

I guess what i'm trying to say is, people should just let it go every now and again

I'm confused as to what you mean. When I say something is sexist, I don't write it down in my sexism journal and decide to hate it forever.
I point it out as to say `Gee, I wish this shit would stop`.
It'd be exactly the same if they had said something racist. I would say `Well, that was racist`.

It'd be swell if I didn't have to point shit like that out, but be assured, once I point it out, I move on.

As stated before, they moved away from it, so I can just shrug and move on. Hopefully this sorta shit will become less frequent, then we can stop hearing about it.

I think you're confusing me with some of the more militant escapists. I just get tired of hearing people point out the same thing over and over especially if its obvious. It gets doubly annoying if the studio has clearly gone "well that's a dumb name" and changed it before the article is written.

This article should have been how they have an easier mode for casual players. Instead it turned an ill thought out phrase into part of the title. Stay classy, Escapist.

 

[NightHawk21]

I think this is a cool idea. Maybe not how I would've implemented it since that leaves 4 characters that the other person can't really choose, but I like that they're considering everyone playing.

If you can't aim a pistol you shouldn't be playing FPS. Period.

Get your fukin elitism out of here. You couldn't aim a gun in an FPS at one point too.

you know everyone has their opinions...and before you go on about "elitist scum" do you really want a wave of kids who can't aim staright flooding in your game? think about it. that whinny 6 year-old you constantly see everyday? now imagine if he was xbox live. And chances are they only thing stopping him from going on it are that he lacks the skills to actually play. Do you really want those kinds of people on xbox live? do you?

Here's the thing annoying little kids who think they're good and just want to play and ***** at people are going to do it anyways (see any CoD online scene, or if you're a PC player just go play a couple rounds of LoL). If you think the fact that these kids aren't good enough to play online is going to stop them you're pretty delusional. In addition to everything said, the entire thing about random kids playing online is irrelevant.

The mode is there to help someone more causal (for lack of a better word) jump in the game and play with you. By definition you are going to be playing with people you know not some random kids. Now obviously this won't always be the case since the tree is available to everyone, but I don't see how that reconciles with your argument either. I would imagine that since these "noobs" will come online and somehow join your game you would want them to contribute as much to the team as possible, so it would seem to me like this tree would make it so you have less dead weight to carry around.

It is also worth bringing up that everyone starts playing videogames somewhere. I don't know how old you are, but chances are that if you're over 18 you remember playing your first modern (referring to the control scheme) shooter. I don't know if it was my first, but I know that when the first Halo came out I was still really bad at modern shooters. I played it at a friends house and at the beginning it was so bad that a single fodder enemy was giving me trouble. Imagine now if my friend was an ass and instead of keep playing with me he said (like the original quote) "If you can't aim you shouldn't be playing." I'd have been turned off an entire genre and not been able to experience some truly amazing games.

In short, your argument is weak and not well thought as as this change will also fix your main issue, and IMO any change that introduces more people to gaming is a good change.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Everyone, from casual gamer to hardcore gamer deserves a chance to enjoy a game. And the attitude of the "hardcore gamer" (read: elitist douchebag) that only they should have access to "their" game is ridiculous. Like how Blizz opened up raids to less-than-elite players through Raid-Finder. This doesn't discredit hardcore gamers, and doesn't give casual players things that "only the elite" can get, just allows everyone to enjoy content regardless of playing skill.
I don't really think the whole "Girlfriend" mode is anything but a joke, but of course people are going to scream sexism.
The internet unfortunately is more of a *****-box for anyone to take up causes and I suspect that a lot of people who cry out aren't really interested in said cause, but rather want attention. People who fall into that category should grow up a little and leave the "community organizing" to people who actually care about it.
And on another note, some people should realize that a joke is a joke, and if you don't find it funny you don't have to get up in arms about it. Getting offended over offhand comments/jokes is another sign of needing to mature just a bit.