It’s been nearly three years since Bungie and Activision first brought us into the world of Destiny . The 2014 first-person loot shooter with MMO-lite mechanics strived to be the next big thing, but was ultimately disappointing. A lack of content, a thrown together campaign and repetitive missions marred what was supposed to be the next big Activision IP. Though Bungie got their act together and released the stellar Taken King and OK Rise of Iron expansions, neither felt like the proper leap forward the franchise needed. Well, now we have Destiny 2, a new chance for Bungie to hit the reset button.
[JH]: So, that’s kind of outside the scope of where we have our involvement. We’re super dedicated to story, and the high-level development decisions based on classes or specializations happen amongst other teams. We try our best to have a good narrative wrapper around that decision-making. Our involvement in the PvP is to develop a strong character in Lord Shaxx.
Destiny is a game with strong lore that does a poor job of presenting it to players. Though Bungie vastly improved the game’s story elements in The Taken King and Rise of Iron, it’s with Destiny 2 where the developer is looking to make it’s biggest strides yet. Featuring a full-fledged campaign, Adventures that tell their own sidestory and new lore items, the story team in Bellevue, Washington have had their hands busy. We got to sit down the Matthew Ward and Jason Harris, members of the Story and Cinematics team to discuss Destiny 2’s plot.
Casual players are the single largest audience in gaming; there’s no getting around it. This is the audience that every major publisher wants to appeal to; the one group that every development studio hopes will latch onto their game. After all, capturing the attention of the casual or mainstream audience usually means massive success and wondrous profit. So it’s understandable that they, publishers especially, would have a vested interest in making their games more accessible and appealing to that audience. Making that appeal often means simplification. The simpler the game is, the more accessible it is, the more mainstream appeal it can have. While there’s nothing innately wrong with making one’s game more accessible to the wider gaming audience, doing so always comes at a cost. Just as a game cannot be both simple and complex, neither can it simultaneously serve its niche and successfully appeal to the mainstream audience. Therefore compromises must be made, usually ones that rob the game of what made it special in the first place.
Hardcore Gamer went hands-on with the PS4 and PC versions of the upcoming game and if what we played is anything to go by, Bungie may have a real winner. While Destiny 2 may not change the minds of those opposed to loot shooter or MMO-lite mechanics, it will make those who were disappointed by the original game very happy. Destiny 2 is bigger, better structured and packs a more powerful punch.
[JH]: We talk about everything, top-to-bottom, with all our creative partners. The first Destiny had a non-silent protagonist. In Destiny 2, we put an emphasis on the player’s story and we feel that, when it comes to the balance of how much should you talk vs an NPC, it should be more NPC. This isn’t Master Chief or Nathan Drake, this is supposed to be you. We don’t want to be presumptuous about the words we put in your mouth as you’re exploring. Ghost is there to help guide you through the story.
Starting with Record Books seems like the appropriate place. Destiny took the idea of achievements or milestones, whatever they might be called, and put them in the form of Record Books. A way for Guardians to keep track of all their glorious achievement plus receive gifts for leveling up through the Record Book that can be shown off when around other Guardians. Nothing like a sweet skin, right? Much like its Age of Triumph title comes the ultimate Record Book. Not only is this Record Book the largest seen so far, but it also is tough as nails to get through. It is sure to keep any Guardian busy, especially those that might be returning. What’s nice about the Age of Triumph Book is even if it seems like a slog (nothing new for Destiny), the records are easy to achieve, especially before September. Nothing bombastic or hardcore. Just a challenging but fair checklist. Things players will find worth doing, hell maybe even starting up that class you’ve always wanted to play but never got around too. September is a long way away after all and that Age of Triumph book wont fill itself Check Out Destiny 2focus.
The campaign mission was the “Homecoming” mission from the gameplay reveal. It’s the first mission of Destiny 2 and kicks things into action with a giant explosion. The Cabal’s Red Legion has launched a strike on the Last City in an attempt to steal the Traveler. Homecoming is the perfect opening mission for Destiny 2, illustrating just how much is changing between the new game and the old. There are epic moments, like helping Zavalla hold back waves of Cabal infantry, interactions with NPCs and actual set piece moments taking place.