Gearbox Job Listing Makes Light of Aliens: Colonial Marines Typo

There’s a new Gearbox Software job out there for those with the keenest of eyes that pokes fun [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

There's a new Gearbox Software job out there for those with the keenest of eyes that pokes fun at the developer's recent Aliens: Colonial Marines news.

The Aliens game was released back in 2013 with promises of tense situations fueled by Xenomorphs prowling for players, but it didn't exactly play out that way. People found that the hostile AI was lacking and resulted in some actions from the aliens' part that made certain mechanics pointless. Overall, the AI just wasn't very smart, and it led to a degraded experience for everyone.

Those AI problems were apparently the result of a simple typo, a fact discovered by a player who made a fan-made patch several years after the fact. In a line of the game's code, there was an instance of the word "tether" that was misspelled to say "teather." That simple extra letter, when removed, drastically improved the game's AI and turned it into what it was expected to be at launch. The Xenomorphs behaved differently, hunted players, and the game turned into an all-around better experience.

Now that the AI has been fixed years later, it's given players a reason to revisit Aliens: Colonial Marines and see what could've been had the typo not been there and the AI worked properly. While the revelation has brought on plenty of responses from players, developers, and other parties involved, Gearbox Software shared its own fun take on the situation with a new job listing that calls for a programming copy editor who won't let any typos slip by them.

Programming Copy Editor

"Gearbox Software is looking for a capable and driven full-time engineer to review all code for typos."

  • Responsibilities:
    • Review all code for typos. Just that.
  • Desired Skills and Experience:
    • Enjoys finding typos.
  • Required Skills and Experience:
    • Click apply and pass the rigorous questionnaire located on the application.

The "rigorous questionnaire" found within the job listing consists of filling out some basic information and then deciding whether the correct spelling of the misspelled word is "tether" or "teather." If you can do that, you're on your way to working for Gearbox.

Though correctly spelling the word probably won't net you a career with the makers of Borderlands and more, it's a fun way to take the situation in stride. You can see the job listing for yourself through the tweet above if you're interested, and you can read up on the Aliens: Colonial Marines situation here.

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