In development since the aftermath of their smash hit Halo 3, Bungie’s latest release, Destiny, has surprisingly fallen short of expectations for both industry reviewers and fans alike. Sales of the game have been tremendous; Destiny ranks in as one of the top selling games of 2014 and automatically ensures a continuation of the franchise under Activision’s publishing conglomerate. Yet, problems continue to arise as the company continues to face criticism over their handling of Destiny’s lackluster story, social features, Player vs. Environment, and whether or not Destiny actually lives up to the expectations that have escalated over the past four years. 

With a massive budget, nearly six years of development time, a staff of several hundred people, and record-breaking preorders across all four systems – everyone indicated that Destiny would be a smash. So, what caused the most anticipated game of 2014 to launch with so many problems, and what can Bungie do to repair their game, and earn the community's trust once again?

---

Arguably, the biggest let down with Destiny come with it’s main storyline, or lack of one. From their very first announcement in February 2013, Bungie has repeatedly fed us the tagline “Become Legend”, a vague open-ended term that is catchy, but does not deliver. As a whole, the story for Destiny falls flat. The story, which is choppy and lacks any form of depth in the actual game, does not make you feel like a legend. Very little of the actual story for Destiny is revealed in the game – In order to learn about it, one has to read Grimoire cards that are only accessible on Bungie’s website- requiring a person to stop playing the game to learn more about the game. The few characters who actually have a role in the game, including The Speaker, are hardly fleshed out in any degree of the term, with the most personal relationship in the game belonging to the Player, and "The Stranger" - yes. The character you develop a bond with is named The Stranger.

Questions that remain unanswered by the time the main story ends include what the Darkness is, why the Vex have been deemed the supreme evil in the game, who The Stranger is, who she was talking to, the story of The Awoken, on top of the fundamental question: Why should I care about what happens?

Because of the poor story and means of telling that story, many in the community are wondering what happened during Destiny’s development that caused such a potential hit to have such a short, uninteresting, and poor story.


Joseph Staten, one of Bungie’s lead writers and a decade long veteran of the country, left suddenly in August of 2013. There was no indication prior to his departure that Staten was unhappy with the company or any of the work being done; As of June, Staten was on stage on E3, energetically presenting the first glimpse of Destiny to the public, which included story details that showed a far more interesting and dynamic world than what we got last month. Following Staten’s departure, there was little mention of the story for Destiny whatsoever, aside from Bungie reiterating their catchphrase and promising fans more details soon.

One has to ask – was Staten’s departure motivated by Destiny’s direction? Did his departure affect Destiny? Bungie and Activision will likely never publicly comment on the matter, yet if a recent unconfirmed leak is true, it would seem that Staten’s departure sent Destiny’s development into a frenzy, with Bungie split on where to go with the story. This split continued into late 2013, requiring much of what we knew, including whole plots, factions, and potentially characters, to be scrapped as they moved into the final nine months of their development period. This does seem to be the most likely cause for Destiny’s poor performance in the story aspect, and casts a slight bit of doubt as to whether or not Bungie knows where this current story is aimed to go.

---

Aside from story, Bungie has taken hits over criticism on their handling of Destiny’s social aspect and the PvE (Player vs. Environment) portion of the game. Billed as a social shooter, Bungie has repeatedly stated their plan aims at Destiny to be played with friends and other players – while running a mission, you can come up on an area where there are other players roaming the environment. Yet, there is a minor problem with this – Unless they are in your fire team or private party, you cannot communicate with them whatsoever, aside from the generic options the game gives you – sitting, waving, pointing, and dancing. This lack of in game communications, which Bungie has stated comes from their attempts to keep the game friendly for all, creates a void, empty feeling in the world. Even the social hub, The Tower, lacks any voice communication, again mimicking that empty feeling while you roam the quiet halls. In their attempts to sterilize the world for everyone, Bungie forgets the fundamental basics of the world “social” – communication.

PvE in Destiny consists of two components – Raids, which require six players to journey through complex challenges and bosses, and Strikes, which put three players through a small mission leading to a boss. Currently, there is one raid accessible in the game and five strikes (Six if you have the Sony consoles). The problem with PvE in Destiny arises with the limited selection of options – you are simply replaying the same missions over and over again with little challenge, in search of specific types of armor to boost your level higher. Of course, the fundamental flaw is that this is all randomized. Fighting a level 25 boss has just as much a chance of giving you the item you need as a level 12 boss. This choice to randomize the potential for item drops making the post-game tedious and frustrating, hurting players who don’t have a ton of time to play the game for hours on end to grind for gear. PvE players also suffer when it comes to special events, such as the Iron Banner last weekend. In order to get some of the best items, it forces players to compete in PvP matches for Crucible Marks - meaning if you are set against this, you have no opportunity to fully enjoy an event.*

* More on PvP in Part 2

---

Project Oversight is an editorial look at some of the gaming industries biggest releases and their flaws, addressing the criticisms surrounding various problems in the game and/or series. Part 2 of Destiny, aimed at PvP, the Marty O'Donnell Controversy, and the Future of Destiny, will be available soon.

thoughts on the Reddit AMA?

I'm inclined to believe it. Enough of it lines up to what we know is missing in Destiny, and it explains a lot. However, as the person who held it remains unconfirmed (Likely due to fear of a lawsuit), it is understandable to remain skeptical.

Good read. I'll be waiting for the rest.

Thanks. Assuming I don't get too busy, it should be up later this week.

Will Destiny's community be addressed in this project?

Perhaps. I'm currently working on the rough outline of where the next piece is going to go, and there is areas where the community can be discussed.

So, I am going to propose something here.

I'm currently doing the write up for the next section of Destiny - originally aimed at covering PvP, Marty O'Donnell, and the Destiny community.

However, I'm going to be honest. Destiny's multiplayer is by far one of the most forgettable PvP experiences I have ever had the misfortune of playing, and that is translating to it coming off as poor in the writing. So, I am likely going to gloss over PvP for now and focus on more important issues for the game.

If anyone has concerns or would like me to cover PvP, let me know.