Borderlands 2: Pitchford initially wary of Zero's melee tree

Borderlands 2 includes a cyborg ninja assassin with a stealthy, teleporting melee skill tree, which Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford had to be talked into.

Speaking to PlayerAttack, Pitchford said he wasn't at all keen on the idea initially.

"The entire Bloodshed skill tree for the assassin is thanks to them ignoring what my experience would have informed would have been a risk, and ploughing away anyway and forcing it through and making some really great gameplay as a result," he said.

Pitchford said the team "knocked it out of the park" and that he enjoys being part of a team which challenges his vision.

"These guys are able to say, 'I hear your point, and I understand what you're bringing to the table Randy, but I really think I can pull this off. I want to try it because I've thought this through myself, and I'm looking at it a little more closely than you are, and I'm looking at some details that you're not seeing,'" he said.

Creative director Paul Hellquist is one of the key figures

"There were cases where [Hellquist] just put his heart and soul into things that only worked because he cared so much. There were other risks he wanted to take that I didn't think were going to work. He proved me wrong - they not only worked, but worked brilliantly."

When Pitchford answered your Borderlands 2 questions, he spent some time defending Zero from those disappointed that the assassin's sniper tree hadn't been detailed in marketing.

Borderlands 2 releases on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 18 in the US and September 20 in Europe.