Battleborn, Gearbox Software's arena shooter that was in the position of not being Overwatch last year, is introducing a free trial that allows players to download the game and play competitive multiplayer without actually buying the game.

Players of Battleborn's free trial, which begins rolling out today, will have access to all gameplay modes and maps within the game's competitive multiplayer mode. Similar to other MOBAs like SMITE and League of Legends, free trial players will have access to a weekly rotation of six of the games 30 heroes, with the option to purchase heroes and skins permanently using in-game or real world currency. There will also be the option to pay full price for the game to unlock everything included with the launch version, including all heroes, the game's story mode, and private matches.

Players who purchased the game prior to this shift have been awarded additional in-game currencies, loot packs, and cosmetic items.

Battleborn originally released for PC, Xbox One, and the PlayStation 4 in May 2016. In addition to receiving middling reviews at launch, the game also had to contend with Blizzard's similarly-styled Overwatch releasing that same month. 

Battleborn's free trial will be available for PC, Xbox One, and North American PlayStation 4 owners starting today, with the Japanese and European PS4 versions rolling out on June 13.

Remember to check back with GameSkinny for your Battleborn news.

These five talks are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes down to the content featured on the GDC YouTube channel. With an expanding list of more than 500 videos, the best minds in this industry share their experiences and ideas for the future.

If you wish to work in this field, it is wise to listen to those who have thrived in it and with half a thousand of videos available, there certainly is one that perfect for the role you want to occupy, regardless of being a game designer or a writer.

Grab your popcorn, create your playlist and enjoy an evening of learning.

AI Behavior Editing and Debugging

To craft an emotionally engaging experience, a game designer cannot think exclusively about how to drive the behavior of the player, but also the interaction with the game's various NPCs.

In 2016, Jonas Gillberg joined GDC to discuss the different behaviors of NPCs in Tom Clancy’s The Division and how to design the attributes of the NPCs that players encounter throughout the experience and how to make the interaction with the player and the AI as impacting as possible.

How to Make Great Game Tutorials

Some gamers may not like to admit this, but the days when developers made games especially for gamers are long gone. Nowadays, game designers attempt to reach out to the largest audience possible and in some cases, this has led to an inferior product.

As the Portal franchise has shown us, however, it is possible to design a game that is accessible to even those who do not play games and still be a compelling experience for those who do.

We currently live in an era in which the budgets for AAA games have gone through the roof and as a designer, it will be your job to ensure this money is an investment, not an expense. In order to do this, you will need to design great tutorials and to make your game accessible even for people who are not familiar with video games, thus making your target audience wider.

In order to discuss how to create a good tutorial, Asher Vollmer spoke on the GDC 2014 about the topic.

How To Make Your Game Funny

Throughout the years, the video game industry has embraced a variety of genres, but still has not invested in one: comedy.

In the Borderlands franchise, developers at Gearbox Studios aimed at combining an FPS with humor and the success of the series has proven that comedy does have a place in video games, but we are yet to see a major movement from other companies in this regard. Therefore, there is a big opportunity to upcoming developers to innovate and invest in this under-explored niche.

In his talk, William Pugh, the co-creator of The Stanley Parable, shares his thoughts on why his game was successful and how to make a video game funny.

Building to an Emotional Theme

As video games continue to feature more complex and emotionally engaging narratives, a good game designer needs to have a clear understanding of how storytelling in this medium works, in order to design a system that makes best use of the plot.

In order to help you getting a clearer picture on how to craft an emotional story in a video game, watch this talk from 2016. Lead writer of the Dragon Age franchise, Patrick Weekes, and narrative designer, John Epler, discuss the process of designing the narrative of the "Trespasser" DLC.

Narrative Lego

In 2014, Ken Levine, the mind behind the BioShock franchise pitched the concept he wishes to implement in his next game.

“Narrative Lego”, as he calls his idea, consists of creating a story-driven experience in which the choices of the player will dictate the course of the story.

Many games, such as Fallout 3, for instance, have featured choice-driven narratives in the past, but what makes Levine’s concept unique is the fact that players will have the freedom to create their own stories and choices, rather than following what the designers and writers scripted.

As the video game industry continues to mature, the techniques designers use to craft better experiences keeps raising the development curve. Each day, bright minds create novel ideas and innovative concepts that continue to transform our favorite medium.

If you wish to become a game designer, it is important to keep track of the latest trends in the field. One of the best ways to do so is following the Game Developers Conference (GDC) channel on YouTube, where the masterminds of the industry share their thoughts about the current state of video games and what the future holds.

With this in mind, we have picked five GDC talks you must watch if you are an aspiring game designer and want to keep updated with the latest trends in the industry.

Borderlands is a first-person shooter roleplaying game. I picked it up to give it a second opinion, since the first attempt a few years back didn't go over well. I was pleasantly surprised while playing through it.

Genre:

As I said it has aspects first-person shooters and roleplaying games mixed into one package. Meaning it doesn't just aim for one audience or the other, it makes an attempt to reach both. I'm a fan of both genres and I like how they combined them.

Art and Story:

The art of Borderlands fits the story. Think Mos Isley, but planet wide and you have Pandora. A world filled with bandits, alien life forms, and annoying robots all trying to kill you. The art has a rough cut to it to match.

As far as actual story goes, you play as a Vault Hunter in search of a mythical Vault. The four characters each have their own basic styles and skill trees. For spoilers sake I won't go any farther into specifics.

Here's an in-game shot that I took. Believe it or not, that's an SMG I'm using.

Gameplay:

You can play Borderlands with keyboard and mouse controls or a controller. For the most part it's a standard FPS control system, so nothing really weird. I prefer using a controller myself, but players can use whichever method they prefer.

Leveling:

The leveling system is your basic RPG style system. You get experience for killing enemies and it's effected by enemy level. As you level you get points to put in your skill tree to customize however you like. If you want to do more damage, there are skills for that. It all depends on how you like to play.

Here's what my skill tree looks like at level 25.

Gun Options:

Your gun choices make a difference on your character stats. If you use SMG a lot your SMG stats will be high. As you progress in ranks on a gun you also get bonus experience towards your character's level. I'd recommend trying out weapons early and finding two or three you'd prefer over the others. I chose Combat Rifle as my main, but I didn't really set a definitive secondary weapon.

Here are my proficiency levels..

My Rating:

There's a lot to think about when you're playing the game. if you're not paying attention you could mess up and do something you didn't want and off-balance your character for the rest of the game. I gave the game an 8 out of 10 because although it's enjoyable, but there's no replayability. The game is repetitive and only deviates when a new enemy type appears.