Dear Bungie,
Destiny simply isn't what I expected. I've had great respect for the work you guys do from the first time I played Halo with my friends, and I followed the Destiny buildup until its release with edge-of-my-seat anticipation. To me, there's no story more compelling than that of humanity's very survival, and no pursuit more noble than fighting for the preservation of our species. It's what drew me to Halo, and what drew me to Destiny. It's teams of artists such as yourselves, who recognize the inherent nobleness of this concept and seek to bring it to millions, that inspire me, that give me something to look forward to after a long day at the office, that offer me the chance to escape a reality where the difference I make is marginal at best, and enter a reality where I have the chance to make a difference that feels like it matters, if only for a couple of hours every night.
You brought me that sense of purpose and inspiration with Halo. But I don't feel this anymore. In Destiny, with a full loadout of legendary and exotic gear and having played through the full story, experiencing what the Crucible has to offer, battling my way through countless strike missions, finishing every bounty 100 times over, and exploring the complete extent of every map, I'm...bored. But it's worse than being bored. I don't feel anything. I've stuck with the game all these hours, whole days, desperately seeking to feel what I expected to when I first read about Destiny so many months ago. It isn't there.
Although I initially thought that the lack of story was the problem, I've come to realize that the lack of story is only the tip of the iceberg. It's the part that's visible, that every Guardian who's also searching for that sense of purpose and fulfillment in Destiny can readily point to and say "That must be it". And it's a very valid concern. But the core problem with Destiny runs much deeper. The core problem, as far as I see it, is that you're utterly alone in the game.
I'll attempt to expand as best I can. The reason the raid works so well (and is arguably the most successful part of the entire Destiny endeavor) is that it requires massive amounts of teamwork. It provides, upon beating Atheon, a sense of reward and togetherness that no other part of the game currently gives you as a player. I feel as though the team at Bungie would like to bring this experience to the wider majority of the game, but is confused as to how to do so, or is otherwise very conflicted as to how to go about doing so. I want to assure you that doing this would be exceptionally easy, and would make Destiny the game you want it to be and the game that we, the players, want it to be.
My suggestions operate on the assumption that most Destiny players care about the notion of fighting for humanity. It is the premise of the entire game, the reason anyone who enjoys PvE wanted to become a Guardian in the first place. With that in mind, Bungie needs to begin addressing the issue of feeling alone in the game by giving players a shared experience outside of the raid. Sure, if you have enough friends with the game, you can link up a fireteam and do some of the same 4 strikes (now a staggering 5 strikes for only $19.99 on Xbox) you've done 5,000 times over, but the only emotional appeal to this is that you're doing something with your friends for a while, until you get bored, and let me assure you, killing the Archon Priest for the zillionth time is boring - boring enough that the friends I used to play with have quit the game. I feel that many can relate to this situation. In order to make your players feel something deeper and continue to invest in Destiny, we need to be able to actually fight for the very survival of humanity.
Other people have left comments regarding this, and I'm mirroring their ideas and sentiments and not claiming them as my own, though I've had the very same thoughts as them for some time now. Bungie needs to actually put humanity on the brink. As Guardians, we need to be able to get an alert from The Tower while we're out collecting Spinmetal that The City is under a massive attack by The Fallen. We need to be able to see all the players around us disappear, heading to orbit just like we are, mashing our controllers to take us all back to defend The City. Upon arriving, we need to see droves upon droves of enemies marching to the walls, and have a way to get out in front of the walls to fight them in the plains before they reach the gates (troop transport ships on a loop that fly you over the city and drop you into battle, anyone?). We need to see dozens of other Guardians fighting tooth and nail to defend the last bastion of humanity alongside us, and we need this on at least a weekly basis. These kind of encounters can play out all over the solar system, and last a day at a time, giving many players the chance to enter the fight. Ground must be gained and lost, territories threatened, The City seen teetering on a precipice before you and your fellow Guardians prevail (or don't, which leads to many other, ridiculously interesting options for the game, and opportunities to fight for what is lost).
Again, I don't claim such ideas and sentiments as my own, but I wanted to articulate them here in the hopes that someone with a voice inside Bungie HQ might raise these ideas that I very much believe thousands of players yearn for. If ideas like this were baked into the game, this crippling sense of solitude that one often feels while playing would effectively disappear, because we'd all be fighting for something together - something tangible, that we could see and feel and believe in.
While you, Bungie, continue to release patches nerfing hard-earned exotic weapons, killing loot caves, restructuring the raid to prevent players from beating it with human ingenuity, and announcing DLC content that is quite honestly very lackluster and addresses none of the deep, even psychological ineptitudes within the Destiny universe, I assure you that even if the current numbers say otherwise, you are not building a 10 year franchise. Or a 5 year franchise. I'll be curious to know what those numbers reveal once other games are released through the holiday season. Somehow, I don't think they'll be very promising. Not considering what you gave us at launch, and how little you continue to give us. Destiny was a promise of something incredible that never was and still isn't. It could still become that, but my hope is waning, and that's a real shame, because this world you made for us, this repetitive, empty world - it's very pretty.
Thanks for your time. I hope I get the chance to thank you for your efforts in the future.
English
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Then I shall! Really my brothers!! Pooooost!
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Whoop I will toooooo!!! Bump Bump Bump Bump
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Haha awesome, just don't forget to mention my handle.
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I got you covered man ;)
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Bump Bump Bump.
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Wonderfully written piece... but I feel the need to disagree somewhat. While all of what you said I fully support, its not the underlying issue here. The real problem is that we have all been duped. We have taken off the rose colored glasses and see this for what it really is; treachery. We have been lied to friends, sold on hollow promises, shifty wording and an outright bait and switch. I don't lay all the the blame on bungie, they made a beautiful game worthy of their status. I blame most of this on Activision! I don't believe bungie would show us so much awesome shit just to renege on it. I believe when Activision saw just how much content bungie was GIVING us they saw dollar signs and were overcome by their own greed and avarice. They then demanded bungie butcher their masterpiece to sell a bulk of it as dlc; although I don't think it took too much convincing when they ran the numbers. Which I understand to a point; an alleged 500 million dollar budget is a lot of dough to recoup. In their greed they failed to recognize some very important facts. Gamers are some the the most loyal and dedicated people in the consumer market today; that's a fact. If you sell us an out of this world game, we will buy all the quality dlc you have to keep the good times rolling; that's a fact. If you sell us what they actually sold us, you will piss us off and we will turn our backs on you; another fact. What we were sold at retail is absolutely NOT what we were sold on during the build up. We are right to be angry! We were mislead in every way but the beauty and tight shooting of this game. The evidence is all over the internet in the form of developer interviews and game play demos. A couple weeks ago red bull lost a class action lawsuit because consumers said it didn't literally give them wings. Destiny buyers claims aren't nearly as ludicrous or that frivolous. I'm not saying someone should or shouldn't pursue a class action suit, there would be plenty of people to pile on. I'm just saying if this is all they have coming down the pipe for us in the next couple months, I hope they have a REALLY good legal team.
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I thought maybe the had cut a bunch out for DLC too. But then I saw what the DLC is in December and was like uh whut. There has got to be a bigger issue. What they are adding is pretty small and not that game changing. Something major went wrong somewhere. I'm afraid their might not be much quality content to give in the near term.
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Which is I brought up the class action lawsuit. What they did is illegal! Trying to distract people with BS dlc should not be allowed to slide by our community. Becuse that's what this dlc is, nothing of any substance whatsoever.
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I was actually wondering when someone would bring up the class-action lawsuit. Considering the game they showed isn't what came to retail, there is a legal ground to bare in mind. The consumer protection act is a very fickle thing.
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I imagine the federal trade commission will have something to say if this reaches them.
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I agree that most of the blame is on Activision. It reeks of it. However, I addressed my thoughts to Bungie because I think it is much more likely that they will actually take the time to consider them.
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The eternal optimist aren't you? lol. I understand though, I'm not ready to give up just yet either
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BUMP for all that is good in this world.
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Bump : )
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^Read 1st paragraph... I grind my ass off on the game and still get some decent [mostly non-decent] stuff
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Bump and singed so bungie will read this!
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I couldn't agree more. So many empty problems. I hoped they would fix these problems and offer a little more depth. But after seeing this dlc preview, I don't think it will happen anytime soon.
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Bump, bump
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