Borderlands Dev Talks Character Diversity

"I don't think it's just about representing a wide range of people. It's just good design" -- Gearbox concept artist Amanda Christensen

Gearbox Software's Borderlands series is known, in part, for its wide variety of diverse characters. During this past weekend's PAX South, the developer outlined the advantages to making games that feature a "huge spectrum" of characters instead of just a few that fit into traditional molds.

"I don't think it's just about representing a wide range of people. It's just good design," Gearbox concept artist Amanda Christensen said when asked if Gearbox purposefully designs its games to be as inclusive as possible. "We want to create worlds that feel real and authentic, and that means having people of all different body types, gender, sexuality, ethnicity--and it's way more fun to design people in a huge spectrum than the same, generic bro and hot chick over and over again."

Borderlands creator and franchise director Matthew Armstrong added: "We don't actually have an agenda--we're just doing what's cool."

Christensen and Armstrong made their comments during a PAX South panel yesterday captured by IGN. Gearbox made a few other Borderlands-related announcements this weekend at the show, including the reveal of more DLC for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and even a tease for Borderlands 3.

The next Borderlands game is March's Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, which includes remastered version of Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (and all DLC) for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.