For anyone concerned thatTiny Tina’s Wonderlandswould not fully embrace the character creation aspect of tabletop RPGs, the latest news about the game is reassuring.Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandswill feature a deep character creatorthat allows gamers to make whatever they would like, ranging from human characters to bats and orcs. Based on what has been revealed about it thus far, the feature looks incredible, and it perfectly fits with the game’s themes.
However, whileTiny Tina’s Wonderlandsfeaturing a character creator is essential due to itsDungeons and Dragons-like approach,Borderlandsis a different story. The games rely heavily on former Vault Hunters in their storytelling, but player-created Vault Hunters would remove that option. While some would surely have interest in creating their own Siren from the ground up, losing out on proper characters like Lilith and Maya ensures it would not be worth it.
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A Character Creator Could Damage Borderlands' Storytelling
A character creator is aperfect feature forTiny Tina’s Wonderlandsnot just because it fits the game’s style, but also because Tina is present to compensate for an unnamed playable character. With Tina constantly narrating and telling the story around the characters gamers are controlling, they do not need to stand out in any meaningful way. In terms of the narrative, Tiny Tina is the star of the show, and her position as the dungeon master means that things will never get boring - even with custom player avatars.
The same could not be said about the heavily anticipatedBorderlands 4. When the game finally comes, it would be a genuine shame to lose original characters like Zane that have distinct personalities. It is easy to imagine him being hired by the Vault Hunters to carry out a mission inBorderlands 4, while helping Moze repair Iron Bear or going ona hunt with FL4Kalso seem like serious possibilities. However, ifBorderlands 4had custom Vault Hunters,Borderlands 5would not have that same luxury.
The other issue with a character creator in the mainBorderlandsgames is that it would be hard to provide the same level of freedom that is present inTiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Characters in the mainBorderlandsgame are mostly human, and while some robotic pieces could be tossed in to let players makea character like Zer0, creation would likely be a lot tamer overall. The appeal ofWonderlands’ character creator is that anything can be created since anything could exist in Tina’s fictional world, but that is simply not an option inBorderlands.
This is not to say thatBorderlands 4cannot learn fromTiny Tina’s Wonderlands, as there are already someBorderlands 3featuresthat the next game should expand upon. However, some compromise would need to be made. Perhaps Gearbox could let players create their own clothing and headwear for their Vault Hunters, with another option being customizable Siren tattoos. This way, players can have a bit more flexibility with how their character looks, but proper Vault Hunters with their own stories and personalities would not be lost.
In something likeaBorderlandsMMO, a player-created Vault Hunter would make sense, but it simply would not fit the current style of Gearbox’s series.Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandsshould be a special case, because the game has all the pieces in place to make a character creator work. While it fitsTiny Tina’s Wonderlandsperfectly and is yet another reason forBorderlandsfans to be excited about the upcoming spin-off, Gearbox should avoid bringing character creation to the mainline games.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandslaunches on March 25 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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