Borderlands Devs Reveal How the Iconic Art Style Was Created

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In a recent chat, the head honcho at Gearbox unveiled the story behind the distinctive cartoonish aesthetic of the Borderlands series.

As the countdown to Borderlands 4’s launch hits just 10 days, players are getting a steady flow of fresh info. Lately, a full roster of trophies and achievements for the game has been unveiled online. Now, the creators have spilled the beans on how they decided on the game’s iconic visual style.

Borderlands Devs Started Working on a New Art Style Right Before the Alpha Milestone

In a chat with GameInformer, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford shared insights about how the distinctive style of Borderlands was conceived and the various obstacles they faced in realizing it. When work on the first game started in 2005, the team was experimenting with six unique art styles, ranging from conventional to extremely exaggerated.

Initially, they believed that either realism or no market potential was the way to go. But it didn’t quite fit the aesthetic and atmosphere that Borderlands was intended to convey – the gameplay style didn’t align with it. Adam May, the art director for Borderlands 4 and a character modeler for the original game, disclosed that when Fallout 3 came out, they found themselves in the same visual space as Bethesda’s game.

Random Doodles Led to the Creation of Borderlands’ Beloved Art Style

During that period, May was seated beside Scott Kester, a concept artist for the initial game, during their leisure hours, he would sketch what they referred to as “illustrated graffiti.” One of these sketches evolved into Captain Flynt, thus establishing the distinctive Borderlands art style cherished by players. With Kester and executive producer Brian Martel’s assistance, May converted these 2D sketches into 3D game art and subsequently presented them to Pitchford.

During this period, they found themselves under pressure due to the game’s tight deadlines and impending alpha phase. In the midst of it all, they proposed a fresh artistic direction for Borderlands, an idea that surprisingly gained approval from Pitchford, who granted them two weeks to develop it. However, the CEO quickly had second thoughts, as he believed that the concept, given the tight timeline, might not pass muster.

Following a fortnight’s wait, Pitchford nervously stepped into the room, apprehensive about the imminent reality. Yet, to his astonishment, the artistic team had transformed the space miraculously. Upon seeing the fresh art design, he exclaimed, “This is spot-on; It fits.” His feelings were echoed when he said, “It just feels right. And it seems like all our previous doubts about what was amiss were verified when we sensed that it felt right.

Going Back to the Drawing Board

Once the design was fully set, Pitchford realized that persuading 2K to accept it would require a lot of work. Remarkably, after some back-and-forth discussions, they gave their approval, necessitating a complete overhaul of most elements from the start. At that stage in development, the game had been underway for quite some time, and altering the art style meant discarding nearly all the levels and characters. Only Trash Coast and another level were left untouched, with everything else needing to be recreated anew.

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2025-09-02 16:49