For anyone concerned that Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands would not fully embrace the character creation aspect of tabletop RPGs, the latest news about the game is reassuring. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will feature a deep character creator that 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, while Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands featuring a character creator is essential due to its Dungeons and Dragons-like approach, Borderlands is 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.
A Character Creator Could Damage Borderlands’ Storytelling
A character creator is a perfect feature for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands not 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 anticipated Borderlands 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 in Borderlands 4, while helping Moze repair Iron Bear or going on a hunt with FL4K also seem like serious possibilities. However, if Borderlands 4 had custom Vault Hunters, Borderlands 5 would not have that same luxury.
The other issue with a character creator in the main Borderlands games is that it would be hard to provide the same level of freedom that is present in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Characters in the main Borderlands game are mostly human, and while some robotic pieces could be tossed in to let players make a character like Zer0, creation would likely be a lot tamer overall. The appeal of Wonderlands’ character creator is that anything can be created since anything could exist in Tina’s fictional world, but that is simply not an option in Borderlands.
This is not to say that Borderlands 4 cannot learn from Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, as there are already some Borderlands 3 features that 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 like a Borderlands MMO, a player-created Vault Hunter would make sense, but it simply would not fit the current style of Gearbox’s series. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands should be a special case, because the game has all the pieces in place to make a character creator work. While it fits Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands perfectly and is yet another reason for Borderlands fans to be excited about the upcoming spin-off, Gearbox should avoid bringing character creation to the mainline games.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands launches on March 25 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
