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Gearbox turned down offer to develop COD sequel

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Memes? Where?

I realize it wasn't direct towards me, but here is a list of just internet memes in the game (it features a ton of references):

Memes

Swag

Dr. Zed's vendors will randomly say "Who needs a medical license when you've got style?" A reference to the "Who needs 'X' When you've got swag?" Pictures

Cool story, bro

After getting a kill, Axton will occasionally say "Cool story, bro." This is a reference to the phrase used in response to a lengthy, off-track, or obviously fake story.
Similarly, the woman being talked at by a drunk outside Moxxi's will sometimes respond with "Super cool story, bro."
Killing Handsome Jack at the end of the game gives the "Cool Story, Bro" achievement.

Come At Me, Bro

When recharged the 1340 Shield will sometimes say " Come At Me." This is likely a reference to the meme Come At Me, Bro.

Don't Copy That Floppy

The second mission that C3n50r807 gives is titled "Don't Copy That Floppy", a reference to a viral video campaigning against software piracy.

Double Rainbow

The achievement "What does it mean?" is unlocked when seeing a double rainbow in the skies of The Highlands. This is a reference to a viral video of someone overly excited about a double rainbow.

Psychos will also occasionally shout "What could it all mean?" which is likely a reference to the "Double Rainbow" video.

Dragon Ball Z

The dials on each radio on Pandora show each hundred from 100 to 800. What should be "900" is actually "9001" in reference to the "It's over 9000" meme.

Haters Gonna Hate

The challenge "Haters Gonna Hate" is a reference to the meme of the same name.

Leeroy Jenkins

The challenge "JEEEEENKINSSSSSS!!!" is part of the famous phrase where he shouts his name and runs blindly into a dungeon in World of Warcraft.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson Reaction

While fighting a badass enemy after finding Lilith, she will sometimes say "Watch out, we've got a badass over here." This is a reference to the Neil DeGrasse Tyson meme of a similar title.

Pirates vs. Ninjas

In True Vault Hunter Mode, Corsairs in Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty are renamed Pirate Ninjas, a reference to the theoretical conflict between pirates and ninjas.

Shoop da Whoop

Constructors, before using their laser attack, will occasionally say "I'm charging mah lazer." a phrase associated with the "Shoop da Whoop" meme.

Super Cool Ski Instructor

One of the loading screen tips will say "if you fight a fire skag with a fire gun, you're gonna have a bad time." This is a reference to the South Park ski instructor meme.

U Mad?

The challenge 'U (No)Mad Bro?' is a reference to the "U MAD?" internet meme.

Xzibit Yo Dawg

One of the challenges is called "Yo Dawg, I heard you like challenges." in reference to the Xzibit meme.

Fuck Yeah

Some badass nomads (including Mad Mel) have a piece of metal with the Fuck Yeah meme on it attached to their shield.
 
Can't really claim higher creative ground if you're making a lootjoy game where you run backwards and shoot for hundreds of hours.

Hell, nobody in this industry but a handful of indy devs out there can claim any creative high ground over another, period.

Your decision was an economic/commercial one. Just say so.
 

diamount

Banned
Can't really claim higher creative ground if you're making a lootjoy game where you run backwards and shoot for hundreds of hours.

Hell, nobody in this industry but a handful of indy devs out there can claim any creative high ground over another, period.

Your decision was an economic/commercial one. Just say so.

That doesn't make sense. COD makes bank, so it has nothing to do with that.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Or, they did not want to deal with the pressure and expectation that comes with making a game bearing the CoD name.
 
Probably the wisest move they've made.



Didn't they like, simply finish that off development wise and didn't it wind up selling like two million copies?
Yeah, basically this. Duke Nukem was kind of a wreak, but it was a train wreak that I wanted to see and bought for like 7.99. I dunno, you cant really blame it on them at all, they basically just cobbled it together which was fine with me.
 

Sciz

Member
Gearbox already has a bunch of other projects in development, most of which are their own IP. It'd be a step up from porting Samba de Amigo to the Wii, but I can see why they wouldn't want to shelve one of those to do contract work, now that they can afford not to.

I realize it wasn't direct towards me, but here is a list of just internet memes in the game (it features a ton of references):

I'd be more sympathetic to this as an argument if the list of memes weren't an order of magnitude smaller than the list of other pop culture references. You could make the claim that the game is too referential in general, but it's not as though it's lacking in original content even after all that.
 

Sethos

Banned
I'd be more sympathetic to this as an argument if the list of memes weren't an order of magnitude smaller than the list of other pop culture references. You could make the claim that the game is too referential in general, but it's not as though it's lacking in original content even after all that.

Indeed. All hyperbole.
 

RionaaM

Unconfirmed Member
I'm obviously being playful with the terms. I understand what subjective, objective, and truth mean.

Having said that, BL2's writing is irredeemable and objectively terrible.



I did while playing Borderlands 2. I choked the whole fucking turd down while everyone else was clanging their knives and forks together asking for more.
I haven't played BL2, and loved what I played of BL1 so far (13 hours), so I'm sure I won't agree with your opinion when I finally play it. That said, I can't help but truly enjoy your poetic way of describing it. You make a negative critic sound funny and interesting. Kinda like a turd... Nah, I'm no good at it.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
morningbus, did this game rape and murder your family?

Yeah, it did. But I called it a butt stallion the entire time, which was hilarious because having sex in butts is funny.

More seriously, what's your point here? It doesn't deflect the criticisms I've lobbed against the game and, while people have attempted to take me to task, no one has even touched Snuggler's eloquent breakdown of the problems the game has that I reposted on the last page. I'll drop it again because I'm interested in seeing how some of his complaints are answered:

If I had to shit on a more popular and acclaimed game than RE:ORC, I'd have to go with Borderlands 2. That's a sixty dollar purchase that really burned me.

A game that tries and fails to be humorous and edgy with it's crass and unfunny characters and dialog.

An open world game with a large, but barren map with no incentive to explore.

An RPG with fairly limited and binary character building and predictable, MMO-esque quest design.

A first person shooter with monster closets out the ass and brain dead AI. There's no thought put into encounter design and combat often feels like a mindless slog.

A co-op game that doesn't allow players to work together in any meaningful way.

What is there to like, aside from the loot? And even then, so much of it is junk, aside from the novelty of collecting guns as loot it's not a particularly great loot game.

I agree so completely with this list that I can't even comprehend how you'd argue against it. The only argument is that you happen to like those things, which is plausible for some points but downright crazy for others.

I haven't played BL2, and loved what I played of BL1 so far (13 hours), so I'm sure I won't agree with your opinion when I finally play it. That said, I can't help but truly enjoy your poetic way of describing it. You make a negative critic sound funny and interesting. Kinda like a turd... Nah, I'm no good at it.

Someone fucking gets it. SteamGAF bros for life.
 
Well I think we have a difference of opinion on what the Call of Duty franchise is, and the level of creative license Gearbox would be given.

I DO think it would be a cash grab, and I DO think they're doing bigger things (creatively at least), and I DO think Call of Duty is a great franchise for newer studios to tackle because they can gain experience while sticking to an established formula. There's no point in hiding it if that's the way he feels.

Also, I don't look at the game industry like I do the rest if the software industry. People usually get into game design because they're passionate about games. If Randy doesn't feel passionate about a Call of Duty game and he doesn't think it would be a good fit for his studio then there's really nothing wrong with that.
You know what, your're right. At the end of the day, the guy is being honest. If he feels that CoD is beneath him or he just doesn't like the CoD franchise or whatever, he should be able to say that and I believe that's respectable.

I also agree with the doubts that Activision will give them the freedom they would want.
 

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
I respect that. Making a CoD game sounds very boring, but lucrative.

Unless he has ideas to make it more interesting. But I think everyone is out of ideas for the CoD franchise at this point.
 

RionaaM

Unconfirmed Member
Someone fucking gets it. SteamGAF bros for life.
This reminds me of the Angry Video Game Nerd. He may not always hate the game he reviews, but he damn surely will deliver an F-bomb or two, followed by a copious amount of diarrhea-striken buffalo jokes. Damn, now I want to watch one of his videos so badly.

Do you think I could get fired if I watch them at work? :p
 
I haven't played BL2, and loved what I played of BL1 so far (13 hours), so I'm sure I won't agree with your opinion when I finally play it. That said, I can't help but truly enjoy your poetic way of describing it. You make a negative critic sound funny and interesting. Kinda like a turd... Nah, I'm no good at it.
You never know. I really liked BL1 but hated 2. It went from clever to stupid. In addition for some reason it was insanely difficult for me and my friends. People here told me I should have grinded out side quests to be the appropriate level but I wasn't enjoying the game enough to want to do that. It was kind of an awful experience for me. I even turned all voices and subtitles off because I hated the dialogue and characters so much, but that didn't really help make it a fun game.
 

Fularu

Banned
Sure; whatever floats your boat. Still doesn't change the fact that they can make something quality on their own from the ground-up. Their development history is spotty at best.
IW never shared their engine with Treyarch.

If I remember right, they even went out of their way to harm them (in the MW2 days).

Which is ironic since IW's engine is "just" a heavily modified Q3A engine.

Doesn't it show in the performance differences between IW's MW games and Treyarch's BO games? Especially on PS3?
 

Sethos

Banned
Yeah, it did. But I called it a butt stallion the entire time, which was hilarious because having sex in butts is funny.

More seriously, what's your point here? It doesn't deflect the criticisms I've lobbed against the game and, while people have attempted to take me to task, no one has even touched Snuggler's eloquent breakdown of the problems the game has that I reposted on the last page. I'll drop it again because I'm interested in seeing how some of his complaints are answered:

No one honestly gives a shit about some random guys rant, really. People like the game you just want to make sure we know you didn't like it and you even manage to insult everyone while doing it.

now gaf hates bl2????????

Nah, it's always a select few who needs to act like X game has tried to kill them, now they want the world to know.
 

RionaaM

Unconfirmed Member
now gaf hates bl2????????
Some people do, while some people love it, others haven't played it yet and others will look at you and ask what a Boor-dar-luns is and how many calories does it have.

Different person, different opinion. Don't know how it could surprise anybody. Unless we're talking about cheese, then I don't know how anyone could like eating that shit.


You never know. I really liked BL1 but hated 2. It went from clever to stupid. In addition for some reason it was insanely difficult for me and my friends. People here told me I should have grinded out side quests to be the appropriate level but I wasn't enjoying the game enough to want to do that. It was kind of an awful experience for me. I even turned all voices and subtitles off because I hated the dialogue and characters so much, but that didn't really help make it a fun game.
Oh, that sucks. With any luck, by the time I decide to buy it Gearbox will already have released a GOTY edition with all DLC, and I may be able to get it for less than 10 bucks on a Steam Amazon sale.
 
I enjoyed gearbox's Half Life expansion and they did put some loving work into some of my favorite military shooters.

I would kill for a Brothers in Arms game with the ease of control of a console Call of Duty.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
No one honestly gives a shit about some random guys rant, really. People like the game you just want to make sure we know you didn't like it and you even manage to insult everyone while doing it.



Nah, it's always a select few who needs to act like X game has tried to kill them, now they want the world to know.
Where did I insult anyone? The closest I came to a direct insult was when someone asked me if I eat shit. I responded in kind.

It's fine if you don't want to argue the points I've posted and linked, but don't pretend I'm being belligerent.
 

Raptomex

Member
Duke Nukem forever was in development hell for years. I don't think it's Gearbox's fault for fucking that up. Plus they have released other great games in the past. I think another test would be to see how Aliens: Colonial Marines fares. Anyway, I agree with the first response.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
So much hate for BL2? I got it for Christmas and am enjoying it immensely.

If it's anything like the first, it's immensely boring after five minutes. The shooting was unsatisfying and the loot wasn't good. I know they fixed the later, but don't know if they fixed the former.
 

Sethos

Banned
Where did I insult anyone? The closest I came to a direct insult was when someone asked me if I eat shit. I responded in kind.

Its fine if you don't want to argue the points I've posted and linked, but don't pretend I'm being belligerent.

I did while playing Borderlands 2. I choked the whole fucking turd down while everyone else was clanging their knives and forks together asking for more.

Oh Mr. "My sense of quality is impeccable, everyone else just aren't up to my level in taste".

You've got your attention, move on.
 
They're either rich as fuck, or he's crazy as fuck. You don't turn down a chance to work on one of the best selling games of all time otherwise.

If I was an independent developer, I would refuse any offer by a publisher like Activision or EA. Money is one thing, but there are other important things in life. If you sign with Activision on something, you'll be locked on the project and forced to make yearly sequels until Activision decides to fire you up and put another team on the project, or they'll just wait until the franchise dies by itself and close your studios in the process. OG Infinity Wards sure seemed to enjoy their good times with Activision.
 
More seriously, what's your point here? It doesn't deflect the criticisms I've lobbed against the game and, while people have attempted to take me to task, no one has even touched Snuggler's eloquent breakdown of the problems the game has that I reposted on the last page. I'll drop it again because I'm interested in seeing how some of his complaints are answered:
I already answered a few of those points, but that must have flown right by you. Its not an empty world, and exploration pays off with special bad-asses, rare loot, and quests that have to be discovered through moving off the beaten path to start.

Character trees provide a decent amount of options, both solo and in different groups. My usual group of three: My siren, armed with fire and corrosion weaponry, nurse mod to provide the group with health regen and ressurections mid-battle, our berzerker with dual shotties/rockets/tediore weapons with a mod to provide the team with ammo regen, and our Zero with a mod to help our critical damage, alternating between sniping and melee and using shock weapons. We established a rhythm with our power use.

We also changed our loadouts and class mods depending upon the areas we moved into and the composition of the group, divvied up weaponry and gear with an eye towards our builds, and had crazy half hour long battles.

Not liking the game is fine, not realizing what's in it or its depth is another matter entirely. Besides Snuggler not liking the writing, which will differ to personal tastes, he's just flat out wrong about the rest.

...

But back on topic, I'm glad Gearbox didn't jump into any COD deal - they don't need that kind of drama, and I don't think it would end well.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Oh Mr. "My sense of quality is impeccable, everyone else just aren't up to my level in taste".

You've got your attention, move on.

... That's the post where I was asked if I eat shit. I specifically mentioned that in the thing you quoted.

I mean, do you not have anything else to come at me with, bro?

I already answered a few of those points, but that must have flown right by you. Its not an empty world, and exploration pays off with special bad-asses, rare loot, and quests that have to be discovered through moving off the beaten path to start.

Sorry, I skipped over your post because you edited it in afterwards. I noticed it when I double checked everything I said in this thread when Sethos accused me of insulting everyone.

Character trees provide a decent amount of options, both solo and in different groups. My usual group of three: My siren, armed with fire and corrosion weaponry, nurse mod to provide the group with health regen and ressurections mid-battle, our berzerker with dual shotties/rockets/tediore weapons with a mod to provide the team with ammo regen, and our Zero with a mod to help our critical damage, alternating between sniping and melee and using shock weapons. We established a rhythm with our power use.

We also changed our loadouts and class mods depending upon the areas we moved into and the composition of the group, divvied up weaponry and gear with an eye towards our builds, and had crazy half hour long battles.

The main problem with the game is that it's a loot game, but the loot is usually mediocre or sometimes insultingly bad. I felt extremely underpowered weapon-wise while playing and typically any weapon found in the world was worse than the ones I was carrying. There was no incentive to traverse the world to find these things.

And, while I believe you're given the illusion of choice in building your character, realistically it isn't deep. The team I played with did literally the exact same thing you did in terms of loadout. All our characters devolved into those exact roles with those exact strategies. It might be a coincidence, but I think it is more likely that there is only one or two legitimate areas to expand your character.

Not liking the game is fine, not realizing what's in it or its depth is another matter entirely. Besides Snuggler not liking the writing, which will differ to personal tastes, he's just flat out wrong about the rest.

I don't see how he's wrong about anything else, like quest design, for example, which is literally an offline MMO. I can understand liking it, but the criticism of "having to go someplace, kill/deliver something, comeback, go back there and do it again" quest design is totally legitimate.
 

Carl

Member
If it's anything like the first, it's immensely boring after five minutes. The shooting was unsatisfying and the loot wasn't good. I know they fixed the later, but don't know if they fixed the former.

Platinum'd BL1 and put probably 20 hours into BL2. Still enjoying it.
 

Glass Rebel

Member
Good, I genuinely enjoy the CoD campaigns for a few dollars. Borderlands 1 on the other hand was a turd of the highest magnitude. They must have improved BL2 a lot. On the other hand, BL1 was praised as well so who the heck knows.
 

antitrop

Member
Good, I genuinely enjoy the CoD campaigns for a few dollars. Borderlands 1 on the other hand was a turd of the highest magnitude. They must have improved BL2 a lot.
They kind of did, but not really.

It's bigger and better and more Borderlands, but if you don't like the formula in the first place it's still a pretty boring, repetitive game. I was completely bored by Level 20, and I was playing multiplayer with friends over Skype. I can't even imagine what playing that game by yourself is like, and I don't want to. It seems like a dark, depressing, lonely place.
 

olore

Member
BS. Anything can be a challenge. Instead of dissing the game, do something different with it while still pleasing existing fans and adding new ones. There's your challenge. How about taking it upon yourself to improve on it. There's your growth.

Came to post this, instead of talking it down, rise to the challenge and make CoD relevant again
 

RionaaM

Unconfirmed Member
They kind of did, but not really.

It's bigger and better and more Borderlands, but if you don't like the formula in the first place it's still a pretty boring, repetitive game. I was completely bored by Level 20, and I was playing multiplayer with friends over Skype. I can't even imagine what playing that game by yourself is like, and I don't want to. It seems like a dark, depressing, lonely place.
I played over 12 hours alone, and enjoyed it. It's repetitive, but still fun.

Damn son.
You don't appreciate fine poetry.
 
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