Case Study: Borderlands 2

Target Audience:

Mainly based towards men Aged for 18+ (mature) by law due to violence and bad language but can range from teenagers to people in there 20s and 30s People who are into role-playing first person shooter games Players who enjoy having more than one choice (having side missions as well as the main quest) Player who enjoy gaining XP to earn new skills to make their character better.

Scheduling & FormatBorderlands 2 has been named as a 1st person role-playing shooter game which allows the player to have a more personal experience as display makes it feel like you are the character instead of just controlling the character. In Borderlands 2 you get a choice of 4 characters (Vault Hunters) to play as, A Commander (Axton) A Gunzerker (Salvador) A Siren (Maya) or a Assassin (Zero) all of which have a special power which you can develop using skill trees to make them do different things (E.g. Fire Damage, Health Regeneration) you can also use the skill trees to develop your characters skills with different gun and different elemental effects. Quick change systems within the game allow you to customise your character changing the skins and head of your chosen vault hunter, new skins and heads can be found as dropped loot from enemies, in loot chest or as a reward for completing a quest. Levels are a important part of borderlands as side quests have a level rating showing the difficulty of the mission, the highest level to achieve in the game is 50 and with 18 chapters of main quests, which can be played over and over again with the endless playthroughs, and hundreds of side quests to complete it may be easier than you expect to achieve the highest level. The game can cost anything from £25-£40 but with so much to do on the game you could say that you get your moneys worth.

Video games link to violence Violent shoot games such as Borderlands 2 have been accused of making

teenagers who play them more aggressive many viewpoints of this study have been put forwards with many people both agreeing and disagreeing with the accusation. My view on this is that people are looking at it the wrong way everyone has a small amount of anger in them and a build up of anger can be harmful leaving to outburst but in my view this is not caused by video games such as borderlands, in my opinion video games such as borderlands are away for teenagers to release anger controllably by playing a game a few hours a week.

Narrative ElementsBorderlands 2 contains a main quest which includes approximately 58hours of game play the aim of it is defeating ‘Handsome Jack’ the character killed your friends and stole ‘The Vault Key’ and his Hyperion army. Jack plans to use the vault key to open the vault and harness the power inside to destroy the planet ‘Pandora’ the planet that borderlands 2 is set on. Along with this main quest there are also hundreds of side quest that are assigned to the player through NPC’s (Non-player Characters) and bounty boards which can be completed to gain more XP. You will encounter a range of terrifying enemies including Robots, Bandits and much more.

Mise En Scene

Borderlands 2 is animated game giving a comic book style to the game. The game is set on the planet of Pandora with over 20 locations to explore all with something to do from missions to freely battling enemies. All locations will have a fast travel system which is used to get one from one location to another in just a loading screen. Borderlands 2 is a gory game including violence which includes enemies being lit on fire, corroded exploded, electric shocked and slagged (elemental effect produced through eridium)

Elemental EffectsElemental effects are on guns, grenade mods and shields around Borderlands 2 which can be found in random loot or be bought from vending machine or shop

Fire: Highly effective against flesh causes extra damage to the enemy as well as on weapons having a chance to set enemies a light causing more damage to the enemy. On shields when they are depleted causes a deadly spread damaging surrounding enemies. As a grenade mod it give the grenade a fiery explosion instead of a standard one

Shock:Highly effective against enemy shields causes extra damage to the enemy as well as having a chance to electric shock them causing more damage.

Corrosive:Highly effective against armour (for example Hyperion robots) causes extra damage to enemy as well as on weapons having a change to corrode them for a few second causing extra damage. On shields when shields are depleted it causes a deadly spread of corrosion damaging surrounding enemies. As a grenade mod it adds corrosion to the grenade explosion

Explosive:Has a chance to cause a deadly explosion once the bullet impacts a enemy or object.

Slag:Slag is something which is on the borderlands games its a elemental effect which is created as a by product of refining eridium it makes the enemy vulnerable and when enemies are slagged they take double the damage than usual

Sound and Vocal Elements

In Borderlands 2 whilst in menus the common clicks and beeps that would be expected from a game are there. In terms of music it is calm whilst exploring freely with no problem but once in contact with a enemy the music become more up beat. More than 40 people were used for the games vocal cast used as voices of main NPC’s as well as just voices of enemies for example bandits.

Badass Challenges and Badass Rank

In Borderlands 2 there is additional challenges to be completed these are called ‘Badass Challenges’ many of these challenges include killing a certain type of enemies or dealing a certain amount of fire damage from these challenges you receive a badass rank from this you receive badass token you use these gain stat upgrades they’re 14 stats that can upgraded on borderlands 2 these are Critical Hit Damage, Elemental Effect Chance, Elemental Effect Damage, Fire Rate, Gun Accuracy, Gun Damage, Grenade Damage, Maximum Health, Melee Damage, Recoil Reduction, Reload Speed, Shield Capacity, Shield Recharge Delay, Shield Recharge Rate, using the tokens increases the magnitude of the chosen stats

Multiplayer

Borderlands 2 is both offline and online multiplayer for offline just simply connect another controller and start for offline you make your game public and others join to help you fight the battles together which is great for when you need a little extra on the game. Up to four players can be playing at one time in multiplayer the more players that join the game the challenging it can have its benefits though by adding players to the game and making it more challenging the chance of rarer loot appearing in chests and as rewards increases.

Game Add-OnsMechromancer Pack – Released 9th October

This add on was free if you got the special addition of the game which included premier club. This add on included a fifth character called the Mechromancer, later to be named Gaige, a new relic (increases chance of rare loot), Golden guns and golden key which is used to open the golden chest located in sanctuary which gives out rare loot such as guns shields and class mods.

Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty – Released 16th October

This add on seen the release of a whole new campaign in a search for captain blades lost treasure as well as new gear, new guns, new missions, new ride (Only available in the DLC area), new enemies, new challenges and new bosses. It takes place in a desert which used to be a ocean meeting Captain Scarlett a sand pirate who needs your help finding the treasure but players are constantly reminded that she will eventually betray you

Game Add-OnsMr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage-Released on the 20th November 2012

This Add-on includes brand new game play which allows you to explore new and unexplored parts of Pandora. Including new enemies to fight, more ways to play and the introduction of new NPC’s. based around the discovery of a new vault this add on see’s the CEO off the weapon manufacturer in the game Torgue start a tournament which your character competes in to become the champion of Pandora and be able to open the vault.

Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt – Released 15th January 2013

This Add-on Includes a a brand new location as well as brand new guns, skins, heads, new enemies to fight and a new vehicle. Players will enter the uncharted territory of Pandora where a massive Hyperion shit has crashed and is rumored to have a great deal of loot a board it and its not just you who is after it a brand new villain is introduced to the game ‘Professor Nakayama’ leading his army against you.