Thrashgrinder: 1. My girlfriend was just awful when we played Borderlands on 360. She kicks ass on FPS's on PC When we tried playing it on pc some time later, she got a bad case of motion sickness. I wasn't forcing her to play it with me, she likes rpgs and got me into Torchlight. So she couldn't play it. If this character existed in the first game It would have helped her get better at the 360 version of the game for sure.
2. Yes what he called it is a horrible streotyping but should we really Start hating the developers for ONE thing they said. It's not even what it's called in the game. (I really don't understand why they said Girlfriend mode instead of BFF mode. It sounds better and more Borderlandsy)
Just so you know borderlands 2 will have proper fov options so your girlfriend can probably play the game.
I resent the idea of calling this casual mode or girlfriend mode. As if skill means being a 14 year old boy, hopped up on caffeine, who can hit the the buttons quicker than anyone else. I think tactics should count more than twitch skill. Chess is probably the most cerebral game of skill out there, and it has zero twitch skill required.
As for balance, if the "noob" is wasting 5 points on a skill that simply lets him do something you can already do, then you should still have the advantage.
"Women suck at videogames and need a special easy mode to help them out" is pretty much misogyny, yes. At the very least it's sexism.
You're totally right. Or at least, you're right on Alternate Earth #234 where they called it "Girl Mode" and not "Girlfriend Mode". "Girlfriend Mode" is there for people who aren't the target audience of the game, but are only playing because the target audience wanted a companion. Since in this case, that target audience is young males, the likely companion they'll want to play it with is their girlfriend. Odds are fairly likely that games won't be that person's top interests, and let's be honest; FPSs are damn hard if you aren't used to them. Seriously.
Add to that the fact that Borderlands is well known for being a fun game for couples to play co-op and it's a logical name.
The fact is that it's not specifically for girls. It's for any sort of acquaintance who is being roped in without being well learned in the genre. No doubt several of the devs were thinking "Yeah, this'd be perfect for when I play with my girlfriend" and thus the name is logical.
Please don't be so easy to enrage. Nowhere in this article was it even implied that girls are inherently bad at games. And once again, this "special easy mode" is NOT for women. It's for the group of people being represented by the archetypal "reluctant girlfriend".
The Borderlands guy announcing this is called Hemmingway? This is perhaps more an amusing co-incidence I've had at least one Ex complain Ernest Hemmingway was a sexist pig. So... just throwing it out there.
I have also had a mix of girlfriends who kick my ass at games and some that don't get how the other stick controls the camera so while it's a poor choice of words it's probably more personal experience/bias than out and out sexism. Least by my perspective.
Erhm. There's a difference between "you'll wanna protect Lara because she's a girl and thus weak and defenseless" and "yeah, your girlfriend most probably doesn't play videogames more complex than the ones on Facebook". One is horrible sexism, the other is common sense.
I honestly think I'd play as that character solo. Skill tree that makes it easier and breaks the gameplay over its knee with an adorable female protagonist? Yes, please. You should see my stealth/archery/alchemist wood elf in Skyrim.
Twilight_guy: Secondly, this is a stupid idea. Why? Because it would far easier to creat a difficulty setting option then to fuck around with one class and its skill trees. Why not make all your classes assessable to people who can't use the mechanics as well, why force them to play only one skill tree. There is a reason difficulty options exist, and this is the kind of thing you alter with that option.
If you ratchet down the overall difficulty there'll be no challenge for "Boyfriend" and he'll be bored. Less fun for both of them. Putting this in the character customization options is definitely the way to go.
It's the same principle as a lot of those Nintendo "asymmetric multiplayer" games, where one person plays the main character and has to be good at the game, and the second player can participate and be helpful but can't really become a liability. You get to play together but you don't have to play the same game. Borderlands presumably isn't going to allow quite that wide a skill gap, you won't be giving that second controller to a seven year old like you could with Mario Galaxy, but it's not all that different otherwise.
"Women suck at videogames and need a special easy mode to help them out" is pretty much misogyny, yes. At the very least it's sexism.
The fact is that it's not specifically for girls. It's for any sort of acquaintance who is being roped in without being well learned in the genre.
Then why didn't they call it the "Acquaintance" skill tree, then? Or the "Casual" skill tree? If the answer is "demographics" or "target" audience being male, then he's still stereotyping and using exclusionary terminology.
In which case, consider me excluded! Sad, because I am a huge FPS fan and was originally going to buy it. You know, to play with my boyfriend. He's not as good as I am, but since there's no boyfriend skill tree, just a girlfriend one, I'm not sure how he'll manage.
Boudica: Damn. I was looking forward to this game. But alas, I won't be giving money to a group using such silly terms and helping to propagate stereotypes.
-1 sale
Wow, what a stupid reason to-
hazabaza1: "AHMAGAHD TEHY SAID ITS GURLFRUND MOED GREABXO AM SO SEXSST"
Oh, thank you, haza.
OT: I think it's very nice of them to add this. They make it more accessible to people without 'casualizing' the entire game.
"Women suck at videogames and need a special easy mode to help them out" is pretty much misogyny, yes. At the very least it's sexism.
The fact is that it's not specifically for girls. It's for any sort of acquaintance who is being roped in without being well learned in the genre.
Then why didn't they call it the "Acquaintance" skill tree, then? Or the "Casual" skill tree? If the answer is "demographics" or "target" audience being male, then he's still stereotyping and using exclusionary terminology.
In which case, consider me excluded! Sad, because I am a huge FPS fan and was originally going to buy it. You know, to play with my boyfriend. He's not as good as I am, but since there's no boyfriend skill tree, just a girlfriend one, I'm not sure how he'll manage.
-1 sale here.
When people speak they generally draw on personal experiences and say things that are relatable to them, he probably had or has a girlfriend who's more of a casual player but still likes to play with him.
You have to remember developers are people too and he's only a designer, not a public speaker; he was likely speaking in an informal environment as is the wont of game developers.
I'm not saying everything everyone says is forgivable but I think in this case it was just a slip of the tongue.
Just checked the original link and Randy Pitchford has a similar opinion and explanation to me.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
The fact is that it's not specifically for girls. It's for any sort of acquaintance who is being roped in without being well learned in the genre.
Then why didn't they call it the "Acquaintance" skill tree, then? Or the "Casual" skill tree? If the answer is "demographics" or "target" audience being male, then he's still stereotyping and using exclusionary terminology.
In which case, consider me excluded! Sad, because I am a huge FPS fan and was originally going to buy it. You know, to play with my boyfriend. He's not as good as I am, but since there's no boyfriend skill tree, just a girlfriend one, I'm not sure how he'll manage.
-1 sale here.
When people speak they generally draw on personal experiences and say things that are relatable to them, he probably had or has a girlfriend who's more of a casual player but still likes to play with him.
You have to remember developers are people too and he's only a designer, not a public speaker; he was likely speaking in an informal environment as is the wont of game developers.
I'm not saying everything everyone says is forgivable but I think in this case it was just a slip of the tongue.
Maybe, yeah. I'll reconsider a purchase if he retracts it and apologizes. (A real apology, not an "I'm sorry you were offended" fauxpology.) If he really didn't mean it like that, was just speaking from experience, and it was a slip of the tongue, that shouldn't be a problem, right?
Ariseishirou: Then why didn't they call it the "Acquaintance" skill tree, then? Or the "Casual" skill tree? If the answer is "demographics" or "target" audience being male, then he's still stereotyping and using exclusionary terminology.
In which case, consider me excluded! Sad, because I am a huge FPS fan and was originally going to buy it. You know, to play with my boyfriend. He's not as good as I am, but since there's no boyfriend skill tree, just a girlfriend one, I'm not sure how he'll manage.
-1 sale here.
Yeesh, don't be so objectionable. "Girlfriend Tree" is short-hand for "The Player's Girlfriend", so if you were going to buy the game anyway, then you are the player. If your boyfriend isn't good at FPS and he's just playing it because you are, then the Girlfriend Tree is made, designed specifically, for him. "Girlfriend Tree" is just a catchy name because in most cases, yes, that's who the demographic's companion will be. And no, it's not exclusionary at all. You can't say a business is stereotyping because it pays attention to it's demographics, that's what a business does. Just because it's called the Girlfriend Tree it doesn't mean they don't want anyone's girlfriend to play the main mode, or vice versa. Jesus, I'm gay, but you don't see me freaking out because they are assuming the player is straight. It's not like I wouldn't be allowed to let my boyfriend use that skill tree.
The fact is that a bunch of people - likely a majority - will suggest something like this to their girlfriend, because that's usually how it is when a seasoned player is asking a non-seasoned acquaintance to play with them. Usually, it is their romantic partner, and usually gamers are male and males are usually straight. It's just a cute term that's being used, I don't know how you can argue that it's exclusionary at all.
... Seriously, you are going to deny yourself BL2 over THIS? ._.
"For lack of a better term"? Really? You don't think there's a better term that doesn't suggest the laughably antiquated notion of 'lol girls don't play video games'? This man is an idiot.
That said, I think everybody who saw this and went "Not gonna buy any more!" is over-reacting. It seems to have been just his stupid mouth, and not reflective of the company as a whole.
Then why didn't they call it the "Acquaintance" skill tree, then? Or the "Casual" skill tree? If the answer is "demographics" or "target" audience being male, then he's still stereotyping and using exclusionary terminology.
In which case, consider me excluded! Sad, because I am a huge FPS fan and was originally going to buy it. You know, to play with my boyfriend. He's not as good as I am, but since there's no boyfriend skill tree, just a girlfriend one, I'm not sure how he'll manage.
-1 sale here.
When people speak they generally draw on personal experiences and say things that are relatable to them, he probably had or has a girlfriend who's more of a casual player but still likes to play with him.
You have to remember developers are people too and he's only a designer, not a public speaker; he was likely speaking in an informal environment as is the wont of game developers.
I'm not saying everything everyone says is forgivable but I think in this case it was just a slip of the tongue.
Maybe, yeah. I'll reconsider a purchase if he retracts it and apologizes. (A real apology, not an "I'm sorry you were offended" fauxpology.) If he really didn't mean it like that, was just speaking from experience, and it was a slip of the tongue, that shouldn't be a problem, right?
I edited this into my original post after you replied but I'll post it again here
Just checked the original link and Randy Pitchford has a similar opinion and explanation to me.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
And here's Randy's Twitter, he said a couple of other things since then:
When people speak they generally draw on personal experiences and say things that are relatable to them, he probably had or has a girlfriend who's more of a casual player but still likes to play with him.
You have to remember developers are people too and he's only a designer, not a public speaker; he was likely speaking in an informal environment as is the wont of game developers.
I'm not saying everything everyone says is forgivable but I think in this case it was just a slip of the tongue.
Maybe, yeah. I'll reconsider a purchase if he retracts it and apologizes. (A real apology, not an "I'm sorry you were offended" fauxpology.) If he really didn't mean it like that, was just speaking from experience, and it was a slip of the tongue, that shouldn't be a problem, right?
I edited this into my original post after you replied but I'll post it again here
Just checked the original link and Randy Pitchford has a similar opinion and explanation to me.PHA+VXBkYXRlOiBZb3UgbWF5IGhhdmUgbm90aWNlZCBHZWFyYm94IFNvZnR3YXJlIHByZXNpZGVudCBSYW5keSBQaXRjaGZvcmQgc3BlYWtpbmcgb3V0IGFnYWluc3QgdGhlICJnaXJsZnJpZW5kIG1vZGUiIG5pY2tuYW1lIG9uIFR3aXR0ZXIuPC9wPgo8cD5BcyByZXBvcnRlZCBiZWxvdywgdGhlIE1lY2hyb21hbmNlciBza2lsbCB0cmVlIHRoYXQgaGVscHMgdmlkZW8gZ2FtZSBuZXdjb21lcnMgaXMgZm9ybWFsbHkgY2FsbGVkIEJlc3QgRnJpZW5kcyBGb3JldmVyLiBCdXQgQm9yZGVybGFuZHMgMiBsZWFkIGRlc2lnbmVyIEpvaG4gSGVtaW5nd2F5IHJlZmVycmVkIHRvIGl0IG51bWVyb3VzIHRpbWVzIGFzICJnaXJsZnJpZW5kIG1vZGUiLjwvcD4KPHA+IkJvcmRlcmxhbmRzIDIgZG9lcyBOT1QgaGF2ZSBhIGdpcmxmcmllbmQgbW9kZSwiIFBpdGNoZm9yZCBzdGF0ZWQgb24gVHdpdHRlci4gIkFueW9uZSB0aGF0IHNheXMgb3RoZXJ3aXNlIGlzIG1pc2luZm9ybWVkIG9yIHRyeWluZyB0byBzdGlyIHVwIHNvbWV0aGluZyB0aGF0IGlzbid0IHRoZXJlLjwvcD4KPHA+IlRoZSBmdXR1cmUgRExDIE1lY2hyb21hbmNlciBjbGFzcyBoYXMgYSBza2lsbCB0cmVlIHRoYXQgbWFrZXMgaXQgZWFzaWVyIGZvciBsZXNzIHNraWxsZWQgY29vcCBwYXJ0bmVycyAoYW55IGdlbmRlciEpIHRvIHBsYXkgYW5kIGJlIHVzZWZ1bC4iPC9wPgo8cD5QaXRjaGZvcmQgZGlkbid0IGRlbnkgdGhhdCBIZW1pbmd3YXkgaGFkIHNhaWQgImdpcmxmcmllbmQgbW9kZSIuIEluc3RlYWQsIGhlIGxhYmVsbGVkIHRoZSB0ZXJtIGEgInBlcnNvbmFsIGFuZWNkb3RlIiB0aGF0IGhhZCBiZWVuIHNwdW4gYnkgdGhlIG1lZGlhLjwvcD4KPHA+IlRoZXJlIGlzIG5vIHVuaXZlcnNlIHdoZXJlIEhlbWluZ3dheSBpcyBhIHNleGlzdCwiIFBpdGNoZm9yZCBhZGRlZC4gIkFsbCB0aGUgd29tZW4gYXQgR2VhcmJveCB3b3VsZCBiZWF0IGhpcyBhbmQgYW55b25lIGVsc2UncyBhc3MuIjwvcD4=
And here's Randy's Twitter, he said a couple of other things since then:
Okay nothing to see here, just a developer putting his foot in it and quickly retracting. No need to blow this up into another multi paged sexism debate... please? No? Okay someone pass me the popcorn.
scotth266: This is perhaps the stupidest pair of mountains I've seen people make out of a molehill.
The skill tree is REALLY called Best Friends Forever, which is a gender-neutral term. His use of the "Girlfriend" term was purely used to describe his view of a companion-type skill tree: he's a straight guy (I think) so he used the term that was most familiar to him: girlfriend - the fact that the character is a girl also probably helped him select that term. This is not sexism in any way, shape, or form.
Secondly, the pissing and moaning about "casuals" ruining your game is complete bullcrap. The ability to hit things even if you miss is something that will be useful to both people new to games and old hands alike: in fact, you could argue that it actually helps people in the middle the most, as that person will bit hitting most of the time, but still getting the extra damage from the rebounding bullets. And we still don't know any of the other abilities in the tree, either.
I second all of this. Some people are getting way too butt hurt over pretty much nothing. They are trying to help the longevity of their game by introducing a new character and making her have several very different ways to play. What's wrong with this? Nothing!
It's not actually called that, it was a designer saying something stupid. Or maybe it got twisted like Mr. Pitchford is saying on his Twitter. Either way, it's not even close to being a big deal because it was never going to be called that in the game.
On the skill tree itself: awesome idea. Gives more people the chance to play it with their friends without negatively impacting anyone's fun.
MPerce: So, is sexism the Flame War Topic of the Month?
It's not actually called that, it was a designer saying something stupid. Or maybe it got twisted like Mr. Pitchford is saying on his Twitter. Either way, it's not even close to being a big deal because it was never going to be called that in the game.
On the skill tree itself: awesome idea. Gives more people the chance to play it with their friends without negatively impacting anyone's fun.
I'm actually quite annoyed at the media shit stirring frankly.
At this point it looks like he was speaking about his own girlfriend and not women as a whole which is fine by me.
Aaaaand I'm suddenly reminded why I wanted this game. Haven't heard much about it lately, nice to get a little news on the Gearbox front.
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.
Oh man, the post literally right after yours said it was sexist. It's shameful how ridiculous some of the users are getting on here. It's not sexism, you nit-picking white-knight wannabes. It's a funny name. Yeesh.
FoolKiller: Ugh... the further dumbing down of a game.
Well it makes it easy. I don't want to waste money on a character whose 1/3 wasted skill tree. I like a lot of things they do but a skilltree to basically eliminate one of the key components of the game. That just seems like a stupid idea.
Sorry Gearbox but I'm not biting in this case.
If you read the full article
I love this... because I pick on one aspect of the article, I get the "If you read the article" attitude.
Azuaron: "Dumbing down a game" is what happens when they either nerf the enemies or hypercharge all the characters.
This is an opinion. In my opinion, dumbing a game down includes creating a character that effectively doesn't need to know how to play the game to play the game. This is akin to letting someone play basketball with me but they don't have to dribble because they can't be bothered. The point of a shooter is to aim and shoot at things.
If you can't be bothered to learn the basics of that then don't fucking play. If I want to do something then I go and learn how to do it, not expect the bar to be lowered.
Also, if I play online and like to play with randoms as well, it will be idiotic when I have 3 teammates all with these perks in play.
A few more things: 1. If you notice, I said that it was a no go for me. It's DLC and Gearbox has instantly lost out on this with me.
2.
Azuaron: Besides, most people have highly specialized characters, anyway. I know I wouldn't lose sleep if Mordecai lost his gunslinger tree.
I'm not most people. Borderlands was one of my favourite games of all time and I have 17 distinct character builds and have maxed out each skill at least once. A walking difficulty slider as you put it seems like a wasted character, especially when 1/3 of it dumbs the game down.
3.
Azuaron: Besides, haven't you heard? That skill tree isn't for you. It's for your girlfriend*.
*I'm saying that ironically. I shouldn't have to explain that, but, on The Escapist, I'm certain I do.
While I accept the humour of your statement, any girlfriend of mine can shut up and watch if they don't want to learn to play or do what my last girlfriend did and learn the controls and have 5 of her own characters by the time we were done with that game.
Sparrow: Aaaaand I'm suddenly reminded why I wanted this game. Haven't heard much about it lately, nice to get a little news on the Gearbox front.
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.
Oh man, the post literally right after yours said it was sexist. It's shameful how ridiculous some of the users are getting on here. It's not sexism, you nit-picking white-knight wannabes. It's a funny name. Yeesh.
I'd be annoyed if that was actually what it was called and I'm a woman... it's not 'funny' and it is sexist.
Man I love the idea behind this of making an option for people who suck at shooters but geezus could they have possibly picked a worse way to describe it. The "girlfriend mode" line is borderline sexist really and while I know that's not their intent the way people use that phrase seems to always imply that their aren't guys who really suck at games or girls who are really awesome who have boyfriends that suck at them.
Sigh but anyway good on them for not hiding from the realities of modern gaming at least. I certainly wish more fighting games had modes for people like me who really suck at them so I really don't see why such features can't be added to all genres. It's not like these options are going to impact the overall design and depth of the entire game like some closed minded elitist cynics seem to always think this kind of stuff will. I can only assume someone who masters their Borderlands playing (such as myself) is still going to wipe the floor with anyone playing a "casual specced Mecromancer" but the simple fact I'll have even more people to play with is awesome.
Just so you know borderlands 2 will have proper fov options so your girlfriend can probably play the game.