An actual case study (Destiny)

by Kahzgul, Tuesday, June 07, 2016, 14:45 (2907 days ago) @ Cody Miller

I should start finding excuses to repeat myself and link to old content too...

Yes, because Naughty Dog's new game and its success where Bungie failed or Rise of Iron has been mentioned before in the context of Bungie's story goals. NOT.

Are Destiny's narrative deficiencies going to require repetition each time another studio publishes a successful game with a good story?

Maybe just write a shell script to do it, I don't know.

Possibly. In 2013 it had never been done. Now it has and we can see the decisions and design that led to it. We have an actual case study which surpassed even what I thought was possible. I think to compare is valuable.

... in 2013 what had never been done? Nobody had made a game with a better story than Destiny?

No, I think Cody's referring to comparisons being made between Naughty Dog's latest game and non-gaming story works.

Correct. Nobody had made a game that could live up to the goals Bungie stated in the portion I quoted.

Oh man, I don't know. Final Fantasy 7 and 8 had incredible stories. Chrono Trigger was amazing. The world and lore of the Witcher and Witcher 2 (both out before Destiny) is literally the stuff of legends though I'm unsure if that counts since they are based on literature and not the other way around. How do we feel about fully integrated worlds, like Full Metal Alchemist, which was conceived as a TV series and toy series and video game all at once? Silent Hill 2 still haunts me in ways that Destiny never will. Resident Evil was at the forefront of the resurgence in zombie pop-culture popularity.

And, let us not forget the 800 lb gorilla: World of Warcraft. Novels after novels, and now a movie.

There are games that have created worlds so compelling they spawned entire genres. I remember when FPS shooters were for PC only. The concept of a "console shooter" was a laughingstock. And then Halo came out. It was vast, fun, epic, and had so much depth and mystery that it, too, got the novel treatment and several films (if not a major theatrical release... Yet).

I believe that there are games that lived up to the goals Bungie stated. I believe Bungie has created some of those. Which is why Destiny missing the mark is so bewildering to me. The pedigree was there. The execution was not.