14 DAY TRIAL // Borderlands 2 was a surprise when it was announced so soon after the first title in the series, but the developers working on the title at Gearbox believe that it was the perfect time to create a new experience set in the same universe.
Matt Charles, who is a producer working on Borderlands 2 at Gearbox, has detailed the process that the team has gone through for Gamasutra.
He stated, “One of the first things we did was a critical review analysis - it included not just published reviews, but also fan feedback that we'd get through official channels, like Gearbox forums.”
He added, “We also merged that with our own feelings about the game... and collated and collected that information into, 'here are the areas that keep coming up, in both a positive and a negative way’.”
The team was also interested in hitting some internal objectives, like creating deeper characters that gamers could relate to and using the protagonists of the first Borderlands in novel and interesting ways.
After Borderlands was launched, Gearbox assigned a number of smaller teams to work on the downloadable content for the game, which created a steady momentum that was invaluable when a larger team started working on the sequel.
Borderlands 2 also benefited from the fact that the fan base remained committed to the game and vocal, offering feedback on all the changes that Gearbox was trying to make.
The plot of the game is built around the Hyperion corporation, led by a mysterious man called Handsome Jack, and their attempts to industrialize Pandora.
Players will get access to a set of gameplay mechanics that evolves the features of the first game, with more options when it comes to guns and skills and more emphasis on cooperative gameplay.
Borderlands 2 is set to arrive on the PC, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 on September 18 in North America and September 21 in Europe.