Tiny Tina’s DLC is a bit of a departure from the normal Borderlands fare. Instead of taking on the usual opponents, this DLC sees us fighting Orcs, trees, knights and various other fantastical creatures. Doing it with sniper rifles and rocket launchers does seem a little out of place however!
As seems fairly standard with the add-on content, the early levels are a little weak, but this DLC soon gets into its stride giving us some decent bouts of combat. Tina quickly tugs at our heart strings, seemingly unable to accept that Roland is dead. This theme continues throughout the DLC, and I remember the ending being particularly poignant.
This video also continues the evolution of our video presentation, and now sees JBG and I appearing in the videos in full HD glory, allowing you the dubious pleasure of watching us as we commentate on our various escapades.
I’m looking forward to continuing this DLC, as my recollection is that it builds to a very strong conclusion.
My first impressions of Tiny Tina’ DLC were not positive. Skeletons are one thing, but shooting walking trees are another. I’m glad we were committed to playing the DLC though because it gets a lot better once you are past the first orc village.
Throughout the campaign, there is a good blend of opponents ranging from skeletons, knights, archers, sorcerers and orcs. Throw in a dragon or two too.
Tina’s DLC has an excellent narrative on loss as well. It is very powerful, starting with the introduction of a story favourite at the end of this first episode.
If you have been watching our videos for a while (and who wouldn’t) you will notice a few changes in the layout; for a start, you can now see our faces. In just a few weeks, we have gone from having a twirling avatar beneath each of our screens to a gnarly face overlaid on the background and video.
Creating that sort of video overlay with a transparent background takes a certain level of technology; namely a greenscreen. Once we decided we were going to have our faces and then saw that we each either had a wardrobe in the background or a bookcase, it wasn’t a great leap to decide greenscreen was the future. We both bought the same fold-out green screen, which is excellent but HUUGE! Also folding it back up is an art form in itself.
Greenscreen is a challenge in every video because the screen must be well and evenly lit to remove it from the video. Currently, AD and I use bright off the shelf ceiling bulbs. If you see any static in the background or the transparent background isn’t entirely transparent, it is because we’re recording in the spare room and not in a studio. We have found recording the facecam at 1080P with a high resolution does result in a lot less static.
There have been challenges at every step creating these videos and still are, it’s one of the reasons they’re worth making. As we go forward, we’ll be discussing them and the solutions in greater detail. If you want videos demonstrating the process, let us know in the video comments.
For now, have fun. See you in the next one.