A Borderlands cover was once chosen by a very good dog
The then founder of 2K Games, Christoph Hartmann revealed that he actually let his pet pug, Sissi, decide on the cover for the critically acclaimed Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.
The message comes through a GameSpot interview with the founder, now head of Amazon’s video games division, where he said the team, under intense pressure, put 40 different models on the floor of their office and let Sissi walk around and choose one for herself.
“We say, ‘What?’ We’ve worked so hard, our blood pressure is so high. We’re like, ‘Okay, funny joke, haha, let’s get down to it.’ He says, ‘No, we’re going to do this’; Matt Gorman, one of 2K’s early employees, remembers. “And so we all just looked at each other and were like, ‘Holy cow! We’ve all gone insane.’”
Sussi finally dropped onto the iconic cover, which features the main protagonists of the series floating around in space, the legendary cover seen by millions of people.
Siss the Pug ended up choosing this art for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.
“Sissi goes out, she’s on one, and it wasn’t a bad one, but we said, ‘Are we? Yes, really Are you picking the key art for this next big brand after where this pug sits?’” Gorman recalled. “And we got to the point, and [Hartmann] says, “That’s it!” And we all just said, ‘Okay’, and we collected all the pieces and went to the door, and [Hartmann] says, ‘You know I fuck with you guys, don’t you?'”
Hartmann left the company in 2017 after founding it and working at it for more than a decade – even working with and helping take-two with Take-Two before his ventures with 2K Gmaes, franchises BioShock, Borderlands, Civilization and more to publish.
He now runs Amazon’s video game business with the goal of creating the “Disney of the future.”
Click here to see our original review of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Also, be sure to check out our coverage of the upcoming New Tales from the Borderlands, including a new 18-minute gameplay video.
Diego Ramos Bechara is a freelance writer for IGN and a fan of Star Wars, Rockstar, Naughty Dog and Batman.
You can follow him on Twitter @DRamosBechara.
https://www.ign.com/articles/a-borderlands-cover-was-once-chosen-by-a-very-good-dog A Borderlands cover was once chosen by a very good dog
