In the newest “Beyond the Borderlands” video blog for the upcoming Borderlands 4, the development team details painstaking work on Vex, the game’s playable Siren character. Sirens in the series are known for having the flashiest and often coolest powers, with each new Siren tweaking the formula to bring something new to the table. Vex is turning out to be no exception, with the team having to go through a tough time getting all of her features right in the game.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“Vex is… she’s our goth girl. She is our darkest take on the playable siren formula so far,” said associate art director Max Davenport in Beyond the Borderlands #4.
According to the team, Vex’s gameplay was designed around fulfilling her character concept, which required her to be both intimidating, dark, and brooding while also having readable and vibrant action skills. Prototypes for Vex forced the developers to test the limits of the engine to get her skills to stand out and work in conjunction with “any scenario” that the game’s massive amount of loot content and different situations could put the player in.
Sporting demonic-looking wings and a sinister glare, Vex was revealed along with the other playable vault hunters earlier this year on the publisher 2k’s website.
“Vex had a rough upbringing that was made more complicated by receiving her Siren powers, says her character description. “Her cynical and sarcastic demeanor comes from having to fend for herself and scrape for everything she’s got.”
As her character was fleshed out, the scope of Vex’s design continued to expand. When more ideas came to fruition, the development team struggled to incorporate a large number of small details into her character while ensuring Vex fit well within the game.
“It was development hell getting stuff to work, but I think in the end it looks so fantastic and just so amazing,” said lead FX artist Ashley Lyons. “I’m glad we were able to get in and make it work the way it did because it’s just… It’s just like the chef’s kiss to her action skills, and I think it works extremely well.”
The hard work the team put in appears to be worth it, as fans feel like Vex is set to steal the show from the other vault hunters.
“Vexlands 4 at this point,” wrote YouTube commenter CherryTheLad underneath the Vex design video.
Earlier this month, in a character short dubbed “Purple Friday,” Vex received a humorous backstory as a disgruntled retail worker who uses her powers in a deadly way to deal with annoying customers. In a game overview trailer released the same day, Vex is shown to be able to use her powers to summon shades of herself and phase familiars to assist the team in combat. She is also an excellent outlet for elemental-specific damage, which, in conjunction with her other abilities, gives her a flexible playstyle.
Vex fans still have a few months to wait until Borderlands 4 officially releases on September 12th, so it’s nice to have so many spotlight videos to tide them over until then.
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Image Courtesy of Lucasfilm
