Borderlands 2 Morality Editorial

Nick Dinicola of Pop Matters took some time aside to write on morality in Borderlands 2, and how, according to him, there is actually no difference in morals between the antagonists and the playable characters.

As always, be warned that the article contains spoilers concerning the game’s story:

What’s interesting about Jack is that he represents the traditional gamer morality turned back on us. The only reason that he is the bad guy in this scenario is because he is not a playable character. If the plot of Borderlands 2 stayed the same, and we simply took control of Jack instead of the Vault Hunters, we would see him as an antihero, not a villain. We wouldn’t question his horrible actions, just as we don’t question the actions of the Vault Hunters. Both parties are antiheroes in their own story, both parties are wronged by each other, and the ultimate justification of everything that they do is that (the other guy deserved it.) But to be perfectly honest, I don’t hold this against Maya, my character. Yet I hate Jack so much. Why?

Because Jack is a jerk. His personality is grating. Everything about him is irritating: the way he laughs, his tone of voice, the cadence of his voice like an exuberant version of Bill Lumbergh from Office Space, a passive-aggressive mocking tone, fueled by arrogance. Jack sounds like an asshole, whereas the voices of the Vault Hunters are always charming in their viciousness. This is where their quirks becomes integral to the game’s moral sensibilities. Their quirk makes them likable. Jack is not quirky, so no matter how similar his actions may be to ours, we’re never on his side. He’s a clear asshole, not an antihero.

The distinction then between antihero and asshole has nothing to do with action, but personality. It doesn’t matter what the hero does, but how he responds to it. Max Payne kills lots of people, but he also tries to do the right thing. Usually this just makes things worse, but it shows that his heart is in the right place. Therefore we root for him even though we’d hate to hang out with him in real life. Kratos on the other hand, never shows remorse or mercy and often kills his enemies in a brutal fashion that’s more about causing pain than causing death. Kratos doesn’t kill. He tortures. He’s an asshole.