Besides being a dumb name for something it seems like a term that is dated to me at least. I'd love a girl's perspective on this.

I'm not mad, but seems to me that Randy Pitchford could use a girl or two in his staff. Gearbox seems like a bunch of Female clueless Nerds, first it was Duke Nukem Forever Rape Jokes, then "no women" in Alien (despite Alien movies being about strong females), now this silliness.

To much of a Toby Club randy.

This isn't news.

Wait, it's not like Girlfriend Mode is a subgame of Cooking Mama, right? Le zinge!

@PrivateIronTFU said:

@Animasta said:

@PrivateIronTFU said:

I'm not saying it's not offensive, but the sensibilities of the kind of morons that incessantly bitch about stuff like this is exponentially more offensive to me.

no one's incessantly bitching about it. They're just saying this is a term that's kind of offensive. No, this obviously isn't a big deal, but then again is it a big deal the other way? do we NEED to keep using it? This isn't about players using it, but developers; and if they start just referring it to asynchronous coop, then the issue is solved.

I said "Incessantly bitches about stuff like this". I didn't say this problem specifically.

if the gaming community was better about this stuff like this there wouldn't be cause for incessantly bitching.

@AuthenticM said:

@OneKillWonder_ said:

Who gives a flying fuck? Seriously. Watching people get so uptight about such trivial shit is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

It's not trivial shit. This shit perpetuates the false notion that girls "don't understand" video games and are bad at them. It's ignorant, insulting and sexist. People like you putting their heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is wrong are part of the problem. Grow up.

There's really no need to be so rude. Directly calling someone 'part of the problem' is rude, whether it's true or not.

How is this sparking more outrage than the fucking DOA5 swimsuit stuff?

@AuthenticM said:

@OneKillWonder_ said:

Who gives a flying fuck? Seriously. Watching people get so uptight about such trivial shit is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

It's not trivial shit. This shit perpetuates the false notion that girls "don't understand" video games and are bad at them. It's ignorant, insulting and sexist. People like you putting their heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is wrong are part of the problem. Grow up.

Yep, well said. Gaming does have an issue with gender and the established social contract that can be seen in game terminology (like this) and experienced online with voice and even text chat. That isn't to say it is the biggest problem that needs to be overcome, but it's not exactly progressive for shit like this (the term girlfriend mode shouldn't be used by a developer as a shorthand, we should make sure there are gender neutral shorthands for stuff like this when it is pointing at a low difficulty/secondary player mode) to get such a backlash from the communities that should be looking to enjoy a more inclusive broader base for their chosen pastime.

If you can't see anything wrong with this term then I advise you check out some of the recent articles (eg) in the gaming press and find out what the male gaze is (and it's pervasive nature in our entertainment) and why it isn't something to just shrug off (especially if it is robbing us on the best brains by only making males want to work in the industries).

@PrivateIronTFU said:

@AuthenticM said:

@OneKillWonder_ said:

Who gives a flying fuck? Seriously. Watching people get so uptight about such trivial shit is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

It's not trivial shit. This shit perpetuates the false notion that girls "don't understand" video games and are bad at them. It's ignorant, insulting and sexist. People like you putting their heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is wrong are part of the problem. Grow up.

There's really no need to be so rude. Directly calling someone 'part of the problem' is rude, whether it's true or not.

Hold on, not taking sides here but you did call anyone who would be in the other side of this issue a "moron".

@Brodehouse said:

And ten years ago the game called you a pussy for playing on easy. The times.

Did we have Usher performing on stage for E3 10 years ago? There are a lot more eyes on this stuff now. Call it political correctness if you want but that's just how the world is.

I am not raving mad about this but it's weird that a developer uses it to describe their game. I've never had a girlfriend so maybe they're really bad at games.

@Matiaz_Tapia said:

@PrivateIronTFU said:

@AuthenticM said:

@OneKillWonder_ said:

Who gives a flying fuck? Seriously. Watching people get so uptight about such trivial shit is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

It's not trivial shit. This shit perpetuates the false notion that girls "don't understand" video games and are bad at them. It's ignorant, insulting and sexist. People like you putting their heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is wrong are part of the problem. Grow up.

There's really no need to be so rude. Directly calling someone 'part of the problem' is rude, whether it's true or not.

Hold on, not taking sides here but you did call anyone who would be in the other side of this issue a "moron".

Not everybody on the other side of this issue. And not directly to them. And I'm not on the opposite side of this issue to begin with. I think it's a stupid term and they should change it.

If there was one easier below called Boyfriend Mode, not a single fuck would be given AT ALL.

Fucking double standards.

I wish it had a girlfriend mode, it would make me buy a second copie for my GF.

@Brodehouse said:

@BaconGames Yeah I would be incredibly impressed with hypocrisy if either Brad or Patrick came out against this considering they make this reference all the time and Brad in specific has used the term himself. And why not? It's a descriptive term for a common scenario. Are we still at the point where we care about how good people are at games?

https://twitter.com/patrickklepek/status/235043338846339072

You're welcome

Girlfriend mode  should contain a skill tree that does the opposite of what it says it does and make the cars undrivable.

@PrivateIronTFU: Then...everyone seems to be on the same side . Why is a discussion happening?

The discussion seems to be more heated about whether this is important or not. Strange...

@TeflonBilly: Next he's going to be telling us that context matters...pfft.

Anyway, really interested to see what lead writer Anthony Burch thinks of all this and if he will make an episode of Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin' to apologize.

@Brodehouse said:

@BaconGames Yeah I would be incredibly impressed with hypocrisy if either Brad or Patrick came out against this considering they make this reference all the time and Brad in specific has used the term himself. And why not? It's a descriptive term for a common scenario. Are we still at the point where we care about how good people are at games?

Do they? I don't recall them specifically using that term and if either of them did, I highly doubt it was genuinely internalizing the term and not preferring another. Invoking the term is fine in context but that context is lamenting that a lot of women still don't play games and said boyfriends are disappointed about that. Otherwise its just way too presumptuous and somewhat inaccurate about guys who play games and their girlfriends.

And as far as caring about how good people are at games, that doesn't impact players but developers care a lot about that and you can see where the designer here was super close to escaping the problem he created by framing the mode for people who don't play enough games but want to join a person who does. And if he hedged more in the direction of "this is a dumb term but here it is" then he might have been able to avoid this entirely. Instead of saying "for lack of a better term" and said "that is also dubiously known as 'girlfriend mode' by some people in the community", then he could have been the good guy in all this. Not saying he's a bad guy either but instead he's a person that said some dumb shit and the internet called him out on it. Typical day really.

I for one will be cancelling my pre-order.

...well, probably not.

@Lunar_Aura said:

If there was one easier below called Boyfriend Mode, not a single fuck would be given AT ALL.

Fucking double standards.

that's because it's still considered weird for girls to play games, and guys playing games is considered the standard!

but you knew that, of course

@AuthenticM said:

@OneKillWonder_ said:

Who gives a flying fuck? Seriously. Watching people get so uptight about such trivial shit is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

It's not trivial shit. This shit perpetuates the false notion that girls "don't understand" video games and are bad at them. It's ignorant, insulting and sexist. People like you putting their heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is wrong are part of the problem. Grow up.

Really? I totally don't interpret the term that way, and I doubt the guy using it didn't mean it in that way.

If I was to get analytical about the term I'd say:

* It's talking specifically about girlfriends not girls

* Shooters (Borderlands too) are primarely played by men

* The majority of these men have girlfriends/wifes/partners that are not into these types of games perse

* These facts made this term immediately recognizable to the fast majority of the target audience

* Yes, it is stereotype, but why are people so easily upset about the use of stereotypes - like with every stereotype it is recognizable because there is a ring of truth to it. And like all stereotypes there are plenty of examples of people that don't fit into it.

* We are talking about playing games here - is anyones or any genders perceived prowess in playing videogames even something that can be used in a sexist way?

Rename it Idiot Mode. Solved.

@jozzy said:

@AuthenticM said:

@OneKillWonder_ said:

Who gives a flying fuck? Seriously. Watching people get so uptight about such trivial shit is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

It's not trivial shit. This shit perpetuates the false notion that girls "don't understand" video games and are bad at them. It's ignorant, insulting and sexist. People like you putting their heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is wrong are part of the problem. Grow up.

Really? I totally don't interpret the term that way, and I doubt the guy using it didn't mean it in that way.

If I was to get analytical about the term I'd say:

* It's talking specifically about girlfriends not girls

* Shooters (Borderlands too) are primarely played by men

* The majority of these men have girlfriends/wifes/partners that are not into these types of games perse

* These facts made this term immediately recognizable to the fast majority of the target audience

* Yes, it is stereotype, but why are people so easily upset about the use of stereotypes - like with every stereotype it is recognizable because there is a ring of truth to it

* We are talking about playing games here - is anyones or any genders perceived prowess in playing videogames even something that can be used in a sexist way?

You are a female gamer (not at all uncommon, welcome to the 21st century) and hear something described as girlfriend mode. This is something that is being used to describe a mode for your non-FPS playing boyfriend, but the term is explicitly pointing to you, not your boyfriend. And that's why it is a broken term that is reinforcing this gender split that a healthy industry would try to move away from, not reiterate to anyone listening to preview coverage. Can you not see any issue with using language that assumes all your customer base is heterosexual male (or gay female)?

This is just some new viral story some hipster jackass decided to broaden his audience with. "Girlfriend Mode" is not a sexist term in the least, unless you cater to the jackasses who see the imaginary meaning. My wife, who would benefit from something called "Girlfriend Mode" thought it was funny - and also true. She's not a self-entitled diva who takes offence at petty pickings, but instead picks her battles.

Again, it's just the crusaders of equality that are too bored sitting around doing nothing in hopes that a trivial discussion like this arises.

@ck1nd: your wife doesn't have a better or worse opinion than anyone else in this, and regardless of how much it's accurate for her, there are many other women who it isn't accurate for.

again, what's wrong with simply calling it something else? idiot mode, asynchronous coop, helper mode, whatever.

if this makes you mad, you don't understand the tone of this game.

Woah, totally weird that a developer who shipped Duke Nukem Forever would create a game with misogynistic undertones.

@ck1nd said:

Again, it's just the crusaders of equality that are too bored sitting around doing nothing in hopes that a trivial discussion like this arises.

Yeah dude, totally right. All the fucking wastes of space wandering around asking for equality for everyone and to remove the gendered language from everything just because it's sexist is bollox! I say fuck equality and so do all my slaves who I asked for their opinions about this; they say I'm a great master and they don't know what they'd do with equality. Isn't it great that we don't have to deal with a progressive society trying to remove all the inequality we benefit from that alienates others. I'm so glad you and me aren't one of those others, imagine how crap it would be to be alienated by this sort on language on a daily basis and have people joke about a simply request for a bit of equality.

@Brodehouse said:

@BaconGames Yeah I would be incredibly impressed with hypocrisy if either Brad or Patrick came out against this considering they make this reference all the time and Brad in specific has used the term himself. And why not? It's a descriptive term for a common scenario. Are we still at the point where we care about how good people are at games?

https://twitter.com/patrickklepek/status/235043338846339072

You're welcome

I think the phrasing was insensitive and should rightly not be included in the game (which it sounds like it never was to start with). I also agree with some of you, that gamers (and the world in general) can be pretty oblivious to the effects of their othering/objectifying/stereotyping of women.

That being said, I think the idea is a great one. Designing a skill tree with the express purpose of teaching someone new to FPSs how to play is pretty phenomenal if it works. I'm actually going to be playing BL2 with my girlfriend, who has almost no experience with FPSs due to the steep learning curve of mastering the dual-joystick control method. She's an avid gamer who never had much reason to play FPSs, but is willing to give it a shot to play local co-op with me.

@AuthenticM said:

@OneKillWonder_ said:

Who gives a flying fuck? Seriously. Watching people get so uptight about such trivial shit is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

It's not trivial shit. This shit perpetuates the false notion that girls "don't understand" video games and are bad at them. It's ignorant, insulting and sexist. People like you putting their heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is wrong are part of the problem. Grow up.

yeah but not really. it's not called "STUPID CUNTS CAN'T PLAY GAMES mode", it's called girlfriend mode, i.e. your significant other, i.e. that person you live with that isn't very good at games. take your white knighting elsewhere.

Everyone who is currently involved in any part of videogames, industry or consumer, needs to back away from their computers for a second and try to see just exactly how retarded they are for a bit. Maybe then, all of this garbage will go away.

@TeflonBilly said:

Where were all these sycophants who are crucifying Gearbox now when Shigeru Miyamoto first introduced "girlfriend mode" a few years ago?

The term was coined by the net, Nintendo didn't come up with it.

h...how do we even know that this isn't the ultra impossible mode? Are we just jumping to conclusions because of the ordered difficulty "rule"? Hell, for all we know that's the hardest one. Like implying how hard it is for a gamer to get a good girlfriend. You know, that mode.

@sissylion said:

Woah, totally weird that a developer who shipped Duke Nukem Forever would create a game with misogynistic undertones.

I won't defend Duke Nukem Forever, but you're blowing this shit out of proportion saying that Borderlands has "misogynistic undertones". The "girlfriend mode" text in question isn't even in the game. I'm all for equality and I don't like the term, but sensationalism is as bad as any other form of abuse.

@Lunar_Aura said:

h...how do we even know that this isn't the ultra impossible mode? Are we just jumping to conclusions because of the ordered difficulty "rule"? Hell, for all we know that's the hardest one.

because that has no basis in reality. it being the super easy mode doesn't either, but people think it does which makes all the difference.

Slow news week, huh?

@BRNK: Yep, it's definitely a great idea. Co-op which enables each player to select their own skill level is a required development to allow people to play with friends rather than just people who are roughly equally matched. In the MMO realm this is doubly-important as you get character level differences that put much harder walls on who can enjoy content with who and that leads to 'sidekick mode' type stuff where the overall difficulty is tuned to the ground and any player disparity is moved out of the system with dynamic levelling/boosting of the players in the group. Everyone was new to dual-stick games once (I played FPS from around the start, moved to mouse during Quake DM, but had never seriously played a console FPS before Halo. Without easy I wouldn't have been able to ease into that game and go to becoming competent with the controls while having fun) so it makes sense as we get more co-op to make sure you can mix and match who you play with and how the game works. When people push in the direction and some tricks are found that work really well then everyone will be able to copy and expand on that work so all games start offering this kind of thing (it was possibly CoH that first did sidekicking well and hence the terminology but lots of MMOs now offer both group PvP and PvE auto-levelling to allow friends to play together without being the same level - good ideas spread fast).

The problem here is purely with the developer using the term to describe it when making official communications on behalf of the studio and how it alienates some of the community.

I'm confused...is that picture photoshopped? I can't find anywhere where it says that there's a difficulty in the game called "Girlfriend Mode," only that it is the name of a skill tree. So what's with the photo?

So this is the new hot issue that is not really an issue, eh? Lemme grab my popcorn...

People will be people, we need an apocalypse, that'll fix things, start this world over. Whole lot of issues over women these days.

@Toms115 said:

@AuthenticM said:

@OneKillWonder_ said:

Who gives a flying fuck? Seriously. Watching people get so uptight about such trivial shit is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

It's not trivial shit. This shit perpetuates the false notion that girls "don't understand" video games and are bad at them. It's ignorant, insulting and sexist. People like you putting their heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is wrong are part of the problem. Grow up.

yeah but not really. it's not called "STUPID CUNTS CAN'T PLAY GAMES mode", it's called girlfriend mode, i.e. your significant other, i.e. that person you live with that isn't very good at games. take your white knighting elsewhere.

It doesn't need to. Take your ignorance elsewhere.

Pretty dumb comment from Hemingway, and completely avoidable. Call it noob mode and nary a peep would've been heard.

"White Knighting" is my new least favorite term used by internet people under-thinking things and defending ignorance.

@Shivoa said:

@jozzy said:

@AuthenticM said:

@OneKillWonder_ said:

Who gives a flying fuck? Seriously. Watching people get so uptight about such trivial shit is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

It's not trivial shit. This shit perpetuates the false notion that girls "don't understand" video games and are bad at them. It's ignorant, insulting and sexist. People like you putting their heads in the sand and pretending that nothing is wrong are part of the problem. Grow up.

Really? I totally don't interpret the term that way, and I doubt the guy using it didn't mean it in that way.

If I was to get analytical about the term I'd say:

* It's talking specifically about girlfriends not girls

* Shooters (Borderlands too) are primarely played by men

* The majority of these men have girlfriends/wifes/partners that are not into these types of games perse

* These facts made this term immediately recognizable to the fast majority of the target audience

* Yes, it is stereotype, but why are people so easily upset about the use of stereotypes - like with every stereotype it is recognizable because there is a ring of truth to it

* We are talking about playing games here - is anyones or any genders perceived prowess in playing videogames even something that can be used in a sexist way?

You are a female gamer (not at all uncommon, welcome to the 21st century) and hear something described as girlfriend mode. This is something that is being used to describe a mode for your non-FPS playing boyfriend, but the term is explicitly pointing to you, not your boyfriend. And that's why it is a broken term that is reinforcing this gender split that a healthy industry would try to move away from, not reiterate to anyone listening to preview coverage. Can you not see any issue with using language that assumes all your customer base is heterosexual male (or gay female)?

I am not a female, not sure if you think I was or if you are talking from their viewpoint but I wanted to clear that up. I am a husband of a wife that doesn't like to play shooters, and I pre-ordered the game so I guess we are part of the stereotype. Like I said, I think you read way to much in the term "Girlfriend mode". Everyone immediately understand what you mean with the term because guess what, this mode will primarely be used by a dude with his girlfriend/wife who is not into games. Everyone also understands that there are plenty of girls who do like playing games and are skilled at doing so. I think people are too sensitive about stereotypes sometimes, especially about ones like these who are essentially harmless. It's about gaming, not about an actual important skill.

That said, I realize that there is a very real history of sexism in gaming and game development culture so it is probably a good idea to not use this term anymore, if only to prevent taking the attention away from the real issues that are out there.

@Shivoa said:

@BRNK: Yep, it's definitely a great idea. Co-op which enables each player to select their own skill level is a required development to allow people to play with friends rather than just people who are roughly equally matched. In the MMO realm this is doubly-important as you get character level differences that put much harder walls on who can enjoy content with who and that leads to 'sidekick mode' type stuff where the overall difficulty is tuned to the ground and any player disparity is moved out of the system with dynamic levelling/boosting of the players in the group. Everyone was new to dual-stick games once (I played FPS from around the start, moved to mouse during Quake DM, but had never seriously played a console FPS before Halo. Without easy I wouldn't have been able to ease into that game and go to becoming competent with the controls while having fun) so it makes sense as we get more co-op to make sure you can mix and match who you play with and how the game works. When people push in the direction and some tricks are found that work really well then everyone will be able to copy and expand on that work so all games start offering this kind of thing (it was possibly CoH that first did sidekicking well and hence the terminology but lots of MMOs now offer both group PvP and PvE auto-levelling to allow friends to play together without being the same level - good ideas spread fast).

The problem here is purely with the developer using the term to describe it when making official communications on behalf of the studio and how it alienates some of the community.

Well said. I think the key thing you pointed out there is that learning a complex task like dual-stick FPS controls also needs to be fun or one won't push over that initial steep learning curve. I'm actually pretty stoked to play with my gf, I think it could be a lot of fun to play along as she learns to circle-strafe, headshot, and blow baddies to gibs. :)

Well, I don't think it's as much a misogyny issue as much as an issue of sheer stupidity. A dude made an off the cuff comment and honestly its probably just some ignorant behind the times kind of "Well, I call it girlfriend mode because girls don't play video games because they're icky and stuff. They like... I don't know. Hula hoops? Are those still a thing? Do kids still like trains? I don't know, I fell out of a time portal from the 1840's. Do kids still love the sweet cool taste of Marlboro? Cure's what ails ya, I tell ya... oh shit, commies! Someone tell president Coolidge about this! Wait, we have a black president now? I tells ya, it's all the fault of that dang rocks and rolling records the kids listen to these days at the sock hops."

I think this is dumb. This could be considered a tad crass I guess. But breaking out the "sexism" pitchforks at the drop of a hat is getting old.

@Alkaiser said:

Well, I don't think it's as much a misogyny issue as much as an issue of sheer stupidity. A dude made an off the cuff comment and honestly its probably just some ignorant behind the times kind of "Well, I call it girlfriend mode because girls don't play video games because they're icky and stuff. They like... I don't know. Hula hoops? Are those still a thing? Do kids still like trains? I don't know, I fell out of a time portal from the 1840's. Do kids still love the sweet cool taste of Marlboro? Cure's what ails ya, I tell ya... oh shit, commies! Someone tell president Coolidge about this! Wait, we have a black president now? I tells ya, it's all the fault of that dang rocks and rolling records the kids listen to these days at the sock hops."

Well done.

I'm totally with you too! I think it's unfair and a leap to say that this guy is a misogynist, or there is a misogynist culture at Gearbox, but instead that this dude misspoke. He should have phrased his wording better and realized he was speaking to the press and not someone else at the office.

Although, that doesn't mean that a mode for people who are bad at games called "Girlfriend mode" is anything but sexist, outdated and exclusionary.

Because it is. And people arguing otherwise are flat out wrong.

Nothing makes me feel more alive than some good old fashioned internet drama.