narrative design

“I'm made of diamonds but I never got my chance to shine.” -

A Butt Stallion's story.

Narrative design premise for Borderlands 2

by Jennifer Richards.

In this piece I will be writing excerpt for a potential spin-off narrative of the Borderlands series. A small spin-off that would centre around the less prominent characters in Borderlands 2, such as Moxie, Butt Stallion, Crazy Earl, Bloodwing, Hammerlock and many more. So far the video games have put you in the position of the protagonists and told their story, the protagonists being the vault hunters, heroic characters there to slay bullymongs and bandits, hunt for treasure and sometimes, save the day. One of the key goals in the game was building up a substantial collection of firearms and weapons for your character, so in this spin-off the goal will focus more on the exploration of Pandora, shifting the collecting dynamic to vehicles and transport. Considering the deviation from the traditional and loved aspects of Borderlands, this game would be better suited as a pack of DLC or an Expansion pack.

We open with the immediate aftermath of Borderlands 2: Handsome Jack has been defeated, his henchmen are dead or scattered, most have fled into the wilds or fled Pandora all together, we are introduced to a nameless lieutenant of his, badly injured from the fight and making his way back to a safe place, possibly to start a new life.

Part one:

The poison sun shone its beams down over the crackling wasteland, “I swear” he began “it feels like just yesterday I was first discovering the bitter sweet beauty that Pandora had endowed” he shot a cursive glare at the merciless heat radiating down upon him. His feet blistered and battered, how he was still trudging on is a mystery. Wearily he wiped his brow, bejewelled with beads of sweat and blood, a ruby crown. “Now, now I'm finding it more and more impossible to find one reason that would make all of this..” he gestured at the smoking, twisted wreckage around him “..worth it. That would make living, here, on this burning, desolate spit of land, worth it.” He knew his only company right now was regret and shame boiling up inside of him, and the high hopes of finding an establishment specifically designed to make customers forget about feelings of shame and regret somewhere along the way. If he would just, keep, going.

Not 10 minutes later his weary feet dragged him out to the rail line, the earth all around him began to fervently shake, trembling from the colossal vibrations of the freight line. He looked behind him and sure enough a cargo bullet was hurtling his way. Stepping aside at first to attempt to purvey the sleek silver crashing past him, he was always reminded of Sleipnir whenever he saw this mechanical masterpiece make its way across the desert. Just as quickly as the engine had arrived, it was gone, leaving little but upturned pebbles and a cloud of dust, no, not even the weary stranger was left standing in the rubble, the last remnant of Handsome Jack's reign of terror had vanished, it was finally all over.

Part two:

Where did it all go wrong? I came to this planet 15 years ago, just a boy, starry eyed, soon to be a man, lusting for adventure. Pandora was an uncharted gold mine at that point. The bounty she promised drove wanderers mad with desire, a treacherous and unforgiving wasteland, offering gold and treasure beyond belief to those skilled and daring enough to excavate the caverns and crevices that run like veins beneath her skin.

I first came here with my pa, a bumpkin from a broken home, no prospects and no money. he carried me on his back most of my life, like all before him Pandora had laid out her carpet of enticement, whispers of gemstones, precious metals and catacombs ripe for exploration. it wasn't long before we'd made a modest home for ourselves, it was lookin' to be the life I'd always dreamed of, treasure, adventure, a whirlwind of wanderlust, just me and my daddy.

I don't need to bore you with the details for you to know it certainly didn't work out like that, when does it ever? Long story short I ain't seen my pappy in 6 years, didn't even see him go.

This planet was not built for camaraderie or companionship, it was built by the gods alright but it's no Valhalla.

As I grew I continued my pappy's work, reaping the bounty of the lands, and paying almost in equal. Settlements had begun to pop up, I'd sell what I found to wandering travellers, exotic mercantile the likes of which I had never had the fortune of gazing upon, the plethora of produce they had collected, the wares on display came in a menagerie of colours, bright enough to rival the plumage of Pandora! I loved spending my days in the dark crevices and caves fetching the finery that kept these men in business, but being given the opportunity to spy upon their silver and gold, knick knacks, oddities and unique finds, this remained the highlight, this was what kept me working my fingers to the bone. well, that and the handsome coin I was able to salvage from it.

Every night, you could spy more and more camp-fires on the horizon, a feeble string of fairy lights encrusting the blackened cliff-side, blinking pathetically underneath the stars. “This is just the beginning..” an elderly native would warn me, they say that, hundreds of years ago a refugee space shuttle touched down on Pandora, immigrating from a planet that had become.. inhospitable.. after what seemed like endless months of scouring the galaxy the refugees had found Pandora, or perhaps Pandora found them. A small colony was established there, however, due to the harsh nature of the planet, living conditions were poor and many ended up meeting with their early demise. The population dwindled until eventually so few were left that their existence became a myth among travellers and plunderers of Pandora. It is said that some miraculously thrived, in the hill-sides, underground, living over the sea. Driven into a nomadic existence, they floated about the painted deserts and graced the effervescent glaciers, never leaving so much as a footprint behind them, becoming little more than extensions of the land. You hear a lot of sporadic and strange rumours circulating these parts, humans will invent any ridiculous story to scare scavengers away from their bounty, but there are some tales that have their validity, some that are so intricately structured and with such eeriness that you just, know. “This is just the beginning, more will come and when they do, they'll be bringin' with them an evil that'll blast a hole right through 'er. Our beautiful Pandora will open up a shit-storm, and with it we'll be seein' some darker days, darker 'n you 'n' I have ever dreamt o' seein'.”

Part three:

The crimson sky seemed to spin slowly above, a cascading shower of stars trickled across the clouds overhead. The dark wisps of galaxy, streaks of black, green and gold painted the atmosphere, it all looked like it had been designed by a mad man, a complete medley of cosmic dissonance, harmonious and yet chaotic simultaneously. It sort of felt as though the planet had gone to sleep, all the lights blown out and enduring a sloe black world, silhouetted against the bright, kaleidoscopic sky. Exhausted, he stretched out his toes across an old cargo container, reclining back into the warmth of the fire and taking a long, deep drag on his pipe, the embers illuminating his face, if only for a second. His companions setting up camp around him, well, nearly all of his companions, the youngest of the group was extremely busy napping in the chair next to him. Nobody liked the kid, not yet anyway, he'd proven himself to be nothing but lazy and moronic, why did they think it'd be a good idea to take on a kid? In this climate? Scavengers were at their peak, with Handsome Jack gone all of the treasure was ripe for the taking, and everyone on Pandora knew it. He was too young, he had grown up in a metropolis, he'd yet to learn the harsh and unforgiving way or life that comes with living out here, he was too young and too lazy and the vault hunters didn't have the time to wait for him to mature, the only problem was they didn't have a choice, if they wanted that bounty they needed an extra crew member and if there were any better candidates no doubt that kid would still be back at home, kicking cans about the dirt. Behind the man two of the younger yet, somehow, more experienced hunters took on the duty of counting their earnings that day, by the licks of fire-light the coins sparkled and seemed to dance beneath her fingers. She had the nonchalant air of somebody that had seen it all and probably too much of it, her tired eyes, all drained of their youthful colour and glimmer, darted back and forth across the table, silently counting, whilst her partner, short tempered and agitated after a quarrel between the two, sat begrudgingly twiddling his weapon between his short, grubby fingers, leaving her to the finances and muttering bitterly under his breath. Just then, the clouds above them parted and a small portion of the valley was cast under the moon's illumination. The ex-soldier with the pipe felt the corners of his rugged maw stretch into a smile, the refreshing beauty before them was enough to melt any heart, there was a lot to be cynical about on Pandora, but her aesthetic charm seemed to be what kept everyone going. He stopped for a moment, pipe hanging from his lip, statuesque the smoke billowed gently out of his mouth, like a haggard, man shaped kettle. Finally he blinked, sitting up from his recline, a bright, ivory light, no bigger than a pin prick piercing through the twilight down in the valley. They were all accustomed to seeing strange and peculiar things on Pandora, and random lights certainly wasn't one of them, settlers and travellers came across their path more frequently than they'd care for, but this light, this light was oddly, different. He composed himself, coughing slightly then removing the pipe to tap the ashes into the fire, leaning forward in his chair, he scoured the land for any other random lights, but he could only see that one shimmer. Amused and entranced he watched it flicker, stationary, then, with a biting breeze that seemed to cut right through him, he shuddered and heard, echoes of screaming, no, not screaming. A whinny. A lonesome equestrian cry. It was coming from the tiny light! He got up and ran to the edge of the cliff, the others had taken notice by now. The light began to change, evolve, move, it grew larger and brighter, and then, he saw it. The ghostly eye and silken mane of a diamond encrusted horse. “...Is that?” “I couldn't possibly..” “no way is it..” “Butt Stallion!” In a shriek and a gust of icy wind Butt Stallion was off, like a shooting star tearing across the valley, the vault hunters looked on in dumbfounded awe.

Fin.

These texts are collectives from a potential narrative for a spin-off of the video game Borderlands. A science fiction First person shooter with role play elements set on an alien planet with comedic themes. The premise of this spin-off would be giving a spot-light and a voice to the characters many felt were glossed over in Borderlands 2, with some comedic effect. Telling the tale of the planet Pandora during Handsome Jack's (the antagonist in Borderlands 2) totalitarian reign of terror. The before and the after, how he came to Pandora, what happened after he was destroyed and what happened to the characters tied to him.