Aug 16 2012
The Morning Link: The Girlfriend Skill Tree
“So, Borderlands 2 is going have a character with a special beginner-friendly skill tree, which will grant various difficulty skirting perks (such as the ability to kill stuff without actually hitting it). Sounds like a good idea to me — unfortunately in an interview with Eurogamer, Borderlands 2 designer John Hemingway went and referred to it as “the girlfriend skill tree”.
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Read that link, disagree. I don’t see the problem with calling it “girlfriend mode”, officially or unofficially. Men and women are different (thank God for that!) and many women (not all) are not as good at video games, especially shooters, as guys. It’s not a slight to women, it’s just a way we’re different.
My wife is a devoted gamer and absolute Borderlands nuts, but she’ll be the first to tell you she would play more games of other genres if they had Casual modes, especially when we first got together. People taking offense to this are sad, small-minded PC-zombies.
MAYA!!! cant wait, interesting idea tho
The main thing I fear is playing Maya and finding out that I deal more deeps with the casual tree then other trees and not liking how much skill is removed. Thankfully I play with friends who, though minmax themselves, would rather their friends playing what they enjoy.
Wording is shit to intention.
“It’s not a slight to women, it’s just a way we’re different.”
Actually it is, because this is not a way in which men differ from women, I’m sure there are many gamers (both male and female) that take umbrage with your assertion.
Just because traditionally more women participate in sewing does not mean that women are better at sewing by luck of being female. They can be better because they have more experience, but it’s not because they have a vagina.
Just in the same way that men traditionally participate in video games does not mean men are better at it by luck of being male.
This is very similar to the argument that was used to try and prevent women from entering combat roles in the air force — Just like then, it’s bullshit.
Correlation is not causation
I do like how the article was regarding how this statement plays into stereotypes…Your counter was to, reinforce stereotypes.
@RNGcoder
Couldn’t agree more, the mechromancer sounded pretty boss, Hearing about this makes me worried it might be the ‘easy mode’ character.
If it is though, it’s not a huge deal, she’s not the only arrow in the quiver.
Totally agree with Draugr. Once you slap a gender specific label on it, you’re commenting on that gender—not the gameplay mode. Why not just call it what it is? “Easy Mode.” “Casual Mode.” “New-Guy Mode.”
Or in my house: “Husband Mode.” Heyo! See what I did there? But seriously, he’s not very good at video games since he wasn’t allowed to play them growing up. Simple as that. I’m not good at sports games because I never play them. But I can throw a perfect spiral. Penises and vaginas to not enter into these equations.
I will say it’s always unfortunate when someone gets eviscerated because of one off-handed comment. As long as they’re not labeling it “Girlfriend Mode” in the menu, I’m not going to get too worked up. That being said, it’s not like the dude didn’t know he was being interviewed for a public forum, and the resulting outrage obviously indicates that female gamers are starting to publicly take less shit. Good stuff.
Bullshit that guys are better than girls.
@ Draugr & Sara Clemens
-THANK YOU! My mom is better than my dad, too (WAY better) XD
My MOM is the one whom my younger siblings (well, mostly my little brother, but my little sister’s getting there) inherited the gaming skills from.
XD).
Both the N64 and XBOX were mother’s day presents to her. The 360? Also, hers.
My mom and dad play Dynasty Warriors together (because there’s nothing more romantic than conquering Imperial China together,
So YES, we HAVE THE RIGHT to take offense to this tripe. One’s gaming skill is not determined by your genitalia. And I could snipe most men before they knew what hit them.