Borderlands 2: "Girlfriend Mode"

[mongoose_bite]

"The design team was looking at the concept art and thought, you know what, this is actually the cutest character we've ever had," said lead designer John Hemingway. "I want to make, for the lack of a better term, the girlfriend skill tree. This is, I love Borderlands and I want to share it with someone, but they suck at first-person shooters. Can

Comments

[rosehiptea]

This is why I'm often afraid to say I suck at first-person shooters. Because people will say it's because I'm female.

There are first-person shooters and fighting games I really wish I could play, and I wish there were ways for me to get into them more easily. And now someone else thinks of this but has to do it in a way that insults women.

[seiberwing]

I hear you. I'm a lot better at Zelda style 'hit B until you've bludgeoned it into money' combat but saying it makes you sound like less of a gamer.

[mongoose_bite]

Yeah, the whole 'for lack of a better term' is rediculous, there are heaps of non-offensive terms. Easy, beginner, casual, starting out and that's just off the top of my head - in fact most games have some kind of easy setting and they usually manage to indicate it without being offensive.

[dejadrew]

It's kinda like the lyrics to "Sexy B****" where Akon sings "I'm tryna find the words to describe this girl / Without being disrespectful". Just, seriously. Seriously? Does anyone believe that?

It would take five seconds, possibly a RANDOM WORD GENERATOR, to come up with a better term. Easy, beginner, casual, starting out, all good. May I also suggest:

Newbie mode.
Baby mode.
Sleepy mode.
Training wheels mode.
Starter mode.
Apprentice mode.
Ward mode. (See? See that one? That is ACTUALLY the first word I pulled off a random word generator. AND IT WORKS.)

THERE IS NO LACK OF BETTER TERMS. THE ONE THEY CHOSE IS IN FACT THE WORST TERM.

[arctowardthesun]

Yeah, that's not "lack of a better term" Mr Man.

[thatwordgrrl]

I suck at first-person shooters. I am female.

But I'm not the girlfriend of somebody who does play first-person shooters.

How about, you know, "novice skill tree" or "beginner skill tree"?

[pretzelcoatl]

Welp, there goes my interest in playing the first one.

[mongoose_bite]

I got the impression it wasn't that great a game anyway. FPS as a genre has been stagnating for a while now; the last one I really enjoyed playing was Painkiller.

[kickthehobbit]

The first one was problematic but I really enjoyed it, fwiw.

[sephirajo]

Oh, fuck them. Seriously.

Not buying their games ever again. And just so they know, I'm the girl that could snipe them from across the map in just about any FPS.

[casketscratcher]

And just so they know, I'm the girl that could snipe them from across the map in just about any FPS.

This. I'm all about stealth and accuracy. Of course as soon as they find out I'm a girl it's obviously because I'm not "man" enough to go running blindly into their bullets.

[sephirajo]

And if you do that and die you "suck and can't play, lol!" Not to mention the heaps of misogyny that get flung at us the second we DARE to speak in voice chat.