Borderlands 2 "Girlfriend Mode" Helps Noobs Win

[Frybird]

look, I get my feminist on now and again, but THIS? this is petty

Thinking about it, that's everything that's needed to be said about this "controversy".
(Especially since it was kind of resolved before most media, including this one, even reacted)

The other implies women are ditzes that can't manage to play a video game without their big, strong boyfriend to help. This is why there are so few women in game design. This is why there are so few women in IT. This is why so few women feel welcome in the gaming community.

OR it implies that Girlfriends of Borderlands 2 Players need help getting through the game.

Wich surely is a problematic and often wrong implication, but reading this statement as an insult to the intelligence of women?
That is...well, paranoid.

 

[J Tyran]

So he referred to a mode that has some kind of aim assist for people that don't play games much as "girlfriend mode" and that makes him a misogynist? Whats so bad so bad about that? He might have easily referred to it as "Dad mode" or "Mum mode" or "non gamer relative mode".

Its obvious he meant it in the context of having a girlfriend that doesn't really play games wanting to join in a co-op game.

But no that's not acceptable, because the touchy internet doesn't see the context. The Internet reads it as if he had said "all girls suck at games so we added a mode that allow them to join us in our elite gaming".

No wonder real, genuine sexism is so hard to stamp out. People are to busy fighting and railing against non issues instead of focusing on the real problems.

 

[NortherWolf]

Adult content is adult content, don;t let the kids watch or play it

I have seen men tortured, beaten, killed in grusome and disturbing ways....a rape threat (not actual rape) seems trivial in comparison...though in prison settings...when it isnt being played for laughs (like shawshank redemption) it was shown for the terrible thing is it

Yeah, two things: One, the Content-rating of videogames is awful and no one seems to use it. Two: I don't really give a shit about if a protagonist is threatened, or beaten etc...But I am against a particular type of threat that in 99% of the cases of popular media is used against women.

why?

the situation is Lara Croft is a young attractive girl out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by hardass thungs/mercinaries....in that context its a plausable outcome, so its not out of place that there is an "implication" not actual rap or ANY physical/sexual assult

what actually happens is the guy makes some threatenaing comments/actions ..Lara Bites the fuckers ear off and escapes

thats it

rape is an incredibly difficult subject to handle even at the best of times...let alone an "imature" medium like games....so of coarse there is no actual rape in the game...nor would I want there to be,

it was merely a thing to make that particular situation seem more scary/intense

I'm...Not getting through your skull am I?
Would that situation have been appropriate in Uncharted? In Assassins Creed? In ANY OTHER GOD-DAMNED GAME WITH A MALE PROTAGONIST?!
You see, rape is usually not about fucking, no matter what some people think. It's usually about power. Thus, it's a demonstration of how little power someone has to rape or even threaten to rape them. Which is why I don't like the entire rape-thing. It's used to degrade a female char, something which seems to draw out a glee-filled response. Look at the Lara Croft incident(I don't care if she bites his ear off btw, it's the situation in itself I am filled with loathing by) or by The Other M. It's not enough to present threats, no no, you need to devastate the protagonist emotionally.
And with methods you don't use on male protagonists. Easy as that. Disgusting as hell too.

 

[MetalMagpie]

It's just one skill tree on one character that's geared towards requiring less skill. So calling that skill tree "Casual Mode" would be a) boring and b) a bit insulting to anyone who uses it!

"What should I refer to this skill tree as in an interview... Hm. Well, it requires less skill, so pretty much anyone can play it- Girlfriend Mode! 'Cause subconsciously I think women are bad at video games. No one will mind, right?"

It's not called Girlfriend Mode. It's called Best Friends Forever. I think it's quite cute.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Oh, get off your high horse before you fall and hurt yourself.

You can't expect anyone to give you their time if you're going to act so immature. What's the point in even pretending to want discussion when you make your aggression clear from the start? You may as well open your comment with "You're wrong and I'm never going to agree with you" for all the good it does.

You'll find addressing the topic and not the individual works better for productive debate.

*laughs* I'm sorry but when someone seems so determined to be offended by something so small, it's hard to take them seriously.

 

[Vault101]

I'm...Not getting through your skull am I?
Would that situation have been appropriate in Uncharted? In Assassins Creed? In ANY OTHER GOD-DAMNED GAME WITH A MALE PROTAGONIST?!
You see, rape is usually not about fucking, no matter what some people think. It's usually about power. Thus, it's a demonstration of how little power someone has to rape or even threaten to rape them. Which is why I don't like the entire rape-thing. It's used to degrade a female char, something which seems to draw out a glee-filled response. Look at the Lara Croft incident(I don't care if she bites his ear off btw, it's the situation in itself I am filled with loathing by) or by The Other M. It's not enough to present threats, no no, you need to devastate the protagonist emotionally.
And with methods you don't use on male protagonists. Easy as that. Disgusting as hell too.

don't patronise me

no, it wouldn't be used with Nathan Drake, in fact if it were it would probably be played for laughs, which yes, is a huge double standard, but then it seems the "rape" thing feels different when its applied to females and males

and hold on...rape in Other M? I'm pretty sure the issue with that game was something else entirely (and in that case valid...the problem was with the whole game, not a few seconds in the trailer)

that scene in the trailer really offends you for some reason, I see it as merely as Lara in a disturbingly threatening situation ...much like Drake when he's tied to a chair and threatened/beaten by pirate (unrelated point but you don;t often see a female take a full punch to the face)

I'm not about to tell people what they should or shouldn't be offended by, I would guess that the majority of the game is Lara surviving in the harsh wilderness and maybe even kicking ass (eventually) not trying to escape from rape gangs

 

[MetalMagpie]

Oh, get off your high horse before you fall and hurt yourself.

You can't expect anyone to give you their time if you're going to act so immature. What's the point in even pretending to want discussion when you make your aggression clear from the start? You may as well open your comment with "You're wrong and I'm never going to agree with you" for all the good it does.

You'll find addressing the topic and not the individual works better for productive debate.

*laughs* I'm sorry but when someone seems so determined to be offended by something so small, it's hard to take them seriously.

See how Mortai argued their point? They acknowledged an understanding of the oppositions point, addressed said point, and then proceeded to share their opinion.

That's how you argue. You don't open your comment with a lazy jab--it makes it perfectly clear you have no interest in actually discussing the issue and simply want to throw your opinion at someone.

You really have no idea how silly you sound right now. This isn't a super-serious issue for super-serious discussion. A guy made a throwaway comment and you've decided to get your knickers in a twist about it. Stamping your foot and saying "You're not taking this seriously! Discuss this seriously! THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE!" just makes you sound like a child.

If you're really as easily offended as you claim to be, you must have real problems watching comedy!

 

[MetalMagpie]

*opens forum*
Thats... not what I expected people would find most interesting about this article

You haven't been here long, have you.

 

[MetalMagpie]

So he referred to a mode that has some kind of aim assist for people that don't play games much as "girlfriend mode" and that makes him a misogynist? Whats so bad so bad about that? He might have easily referred to it as "Dad mode" or "Mum mode" or "non gamer relative mode".

Its obvious he meant it in the context of having a girlfriend that doesn't really play games wanting to join in a co-op game.

But no that's not acceptable, because the touchy internet doesn't see the context. The Internet reads it as if he had said "all girls suck at games so we added a mode that allow them to join us in our elite gaming".

To be fair, I think this particular website is a bad example. There seem to be a lot of White Knights and Neo-Nazi Feminists (as opposed to the normal, sane kind) who hang around on this forum. So mentions of anything related to gender-politics (however weakly) tend to get some knee-jerks.

Different corners of the web get their knickers in a twist about different things. Try mentioning copyright law on deviantArt!

 

[MetalMagpie]

Oh, get off your high horse before you fall and hurt yourself.

You can't expect anyone to give you their time if you're going to act so immature. What's the point in even pretending to want discussion when you make your aggression clear from the start? You may as well open your comment with "You're wrong and I'm never going to agree with you" for all the good it does.

You'll find addressing the topic and not the individual works better for productive debate.

*laughs* I'm sorry but when someone seems so determined to be offended by something so small, it's hard to take them seriously.

See how Mortai argued their point? They acknowledged an understanding of the oppositions point, addressed said point, and then proceeded to share their opinion.

That's how you argue. You don't open your comment with a lazy jab--it makes it perfectly clear you have no interest in actually discussing the issue and simply want to throw your opinion at someone.

You really have no idea how silly you sound right now. This isn't a super-serious issue for super-serious discussion. A guy made a throwaway comment and you've decided to get your knickers in a twist about it. Stamping your foot and saying "You're not taking this seriously! Discuss this seriously! THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE!" just makes you sound like a child.

If you're really as easily offended as you claim to be, you must have real problems watching comedy!

You continue to contribute nothing at all to the thread. If you are unable to debate the issue, I suggest you leave. Making comments and quoting people for the sake of insulting them cannot be the best way for you to spend your time and it's against the forum rules.

Leave it be or actually debate the topic. Leave your childish, personal attacks at the door.

Be fair for a moment: you're not exactly contributing much either! Derailing onto a gender-war (based entirely on one line in the post) isn't giving your view on the actual topic.

So let's get back on topic. The Mechromancer looks like she's shaping up to be a really fun character. And the "Best Friends Forever" skill tree could be really great for messing around. The skill "Close Enough" made me chuckle (ricocheting bullets are always fun) and the decoy robot could be really handy.

She is a DLC character though, so I'll have to see how much they charge for her.

 

[Radelaide]

So my options are piss easy or nut breaking?
Why can't I just have a serious character?

Because this is Borderlands.

I think this is a cute idea. I don't need it though. I'm lucky to have a girlfriend that's actually better at FPS than me. And yes, that's kinda hot.

"Just shut up and cover me!"
Best. Dirty talk. Ever.

Also, yeah. Girlfriend mode sounds totally demeaning!

 

[Andy Shandy]

So he referred to a mode that has some kind of aim assist for people that don't play games much as "girlfriend mode" and that makes him a misogynist? Whats so bad so bad about that? He might have easily referred to it as "Dad mode" or "Mum mode" or "non gamer relative mode".

Its obvious he meant it in the context of having a girlfriend that doesn't really play games wanting to join in a co-op game.

But no that's not acceptable, because the touchy internet doesn't see the context. The Internet reads it as if he had said "all girls suck at games so we added a mode that allow them to join us in our elite gaming".

No wonder real, genuine sexism is so hard to stamp out. People are to busy fighting and railing against non issues instead of focusing on the real problems.

You forget "mum mode" wouldn't be allowed because a mother is female, so it's still saying "all women suck at video games". /sarcasm

But, yeah, it was meant as a "partner mode" but because gaming (and game development) is seen and portrayed as a mostly male demographic (whether that's true or not) and the guy the coined the term is a heterosexual male, he called it "girlfriend mode". It's not even called that in the game! It's now BFF-mode.

I wonder if the people white-knighting this get offended this much at something in TV or film. Because there's never ever been stereotypes in them or anything.