It’s not very often that the gaming spirit moves me to come on this website and defend Randy Pitchford, CEO ofBorderlandsdeveloperGearbox Software. He can be a controversial figure,given his propensitytosay ridiculous things online, but in this case, he really is right.
No Minimap, No Problem
Fans of the Borderlands series have been kicking up a fuss about the game swapping out its minimap for a compass, and there’s been enough backlash thatPitchford found it necessary to comment on it at a PAX East panel. All the Borderlands games so far have had a minimap which made it easier to navigate the games’ open zones – which I appreciate, consideringI get lost very easily in both games and real life.
But recent footage, shown as part of aBorderlands 4State of Play showcase, had this familiar part of the UI conspicuously absent. In Pitchford’s words, “I’ll just be straight with you. We made a big freaking world and a lot of the things you do can be in local space, but a lot of the things you do or want to do are out there.
“A local space map is not a good way to navigate when you’re thinking about objectives and opportunities, several at the same time, that might be miles away. A compass really helps us do that.”
Change Is Necessary, In This Case
I understand why players might still want to have the option of using a minimap. In battles, it can be easy to lose track of your teammates and enemies, and a quick glance at a minimap can fix that problem. It can act like a radar of sorts to make gameplay, especially in co-op, go more smoothly. I’m not sure if a compass can navigate this problem, but itisalso a very small problem.
And considering that Borderlands 4 is, by all accounts, a game with much more verticality, a compass systemdoesmake a lot more sense. Previous Borderlands games have been fairly flat, so a 2D minimap worked just fine, but with innovation necessarily comes change. Why would Gearbox choose to implement a familiar system over one that would work better for the game it’s making? Why would gamers want them to do that?
On top of that, mini-maps are distracting. As Pitchford put it, “We want you to play the game and not play the map.” I’m as guilty as anyone of staring at a minimap while exploring a new world, focusing more on moving through routes I haven’t yet seen than actually looking at what’s passing by me. It’s like the equivalent of staring at Google Maps on your phone while driving instead of looking at the trees passing you by. It works, but there’s no joy in it.
Considering that the compass isn’t the only way to navigate – there’s still a big map you can click into and a navigation system that draws a route for you – it’s really not the end of the world. In fact, this is probably a better, more tactile way to experience the game. It feels like the resistance to the minimap being removed is mostly because players don’t want things to change. But ifBorderlands never changes, how will it keep up with series that are willing to try new things?
