Recently some of us at pricklypixel have been playing through Gearbox Software’s 2009 release Borderlands. Its a mixture of different game types that really comes together after playing a few hours.
Often when first playing a game I’ll wander about taking in the environment, looking at how models have been built, what shaders are being used etc. Borderlands has a unique graphic style, with many surfaces appearing to be straight off a comic page. There’s also a subtle ‘cel shaded’ outline on most objects. These efforts make the game stand out to me, where most Western developed games seem to be striving for absolute realism. I have often found myself staring at a location in admiration. It’s all the more impressive as this art style was changed towards the end of the games development.
