Borderlands 2 Level Design – An Insider’s View

Concept drawings for Flanksteak, Borderlands 2 NPC, courtesy of Gearbox Software.

Borderlands 2 has been one of our favorite games to blow hours on over the last year.  Seriously, who doesn’t love farming Mick Zaford endlessly for shiny new Maggies?

With all our hours spent on Pandora – almost as many as spent in Tamriel – we’ve developed a genuine fondness for the locales and inhabitants of Gearbox Software’s dysfunctional dystopia.  Naturally, we’re pleased any time that Gearbox gives us a glimpse behind the veil with their “Inside the Box” blog series, posted on their Gearbox community blog.

In this “Inside the Box” article, Gearbox Senior Designer Keith Schuler gives Borderlands 2 fans a fascinating behind-the-scenes look into the level design process for the BL2 mission “Hunting the Firehawk.”

Warning, if you’ve not already played Borderlands 2, Keith’s article does contain some major spoilers.  If you’re past the “Hunting the Firehawk” mission, however, you are guaranteed a few AHA! moments while reading Keith’s article.

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