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As a wise man once said, “Giant steps are what you take, walking on the moon.” The good people at Gearbox Software and 2K Australia were inspired by this (probably) and decided to explore the idea further by setting the next entry in the Borderlands franchise, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, on the surface of the moon, following the events of Borderlands but preceding the events of Borderlands 2.

There’s certainly been no shortage of gameplay footage from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, including a full 14 minute demo narrated by producers Joel Eschler and James Lopez that was released last month, and the two studios have also begun producing development diaries demonstrating what they’re hoping to bring to the table within in the new game, alongside the challenges of collaborating from opposite ends of the world.

One of the most talked-about new features offered by the moon gameplay is verticality, since the lower gravity makes it possible to leap high in the air, boost higher using oxygen, “buttslam” enemies into annihilation and send body parts spinning off into space. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will also introduce laser weapons for the first time in the series, and it will apparently be possible to use these weapons to slice cleanly through frozen enemies.

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One of the challenges of making Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel that’s outlined in the first episode of the game’s developer diary is the division of labor between Gearbox and 2K Australia, which means that a lot of communication seems to take place over phone conferences and e-mail as design ideas from the team in Dallas are implemented by the team in Canberra.  Hopefully the distance between the two halves of development won’t end of creating a dissonance of creative vision in the final version of the game.

The next episode of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’s behind-the-scenes videos promises to deliver some details about the playable characters in the game: Nisha the Lawbringer, Athena the Gladiator, Claptrap the Fragtrap and Wilhelm the Enforcer. It would be interesting to learn a little more about the game’s story as well, since it is set to bridge the gap between the two preceding entries in the series.

In addition to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, the Borderlands universe is also getting another chapter in the form of Telltale Games’ choice-and-consequence adventure game Tales from the Borderlands. That’s a whole lot of Handsome Jack.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel releases October 14, 2014 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.