Want vs Need (Destiny)

by kapowaz, Thursday, July 31, 2014, 10:01 (3550 days ago) @ marmot 1333

I'm not trying to be combative, but some of your (kap) posts on these topics come across as entitled. I guess I just want to say: You want this information, but you don't need it.

I'm having a hard time separating me, the messenger, from me, the gamer here. I'm trying to write stuff like this from an abstract, impersonal perspective: it's not so much what I personally want, it's what I think a lot of players would benefit from. So, if I'm coming across as entitled, that's probably just me putting myself across poorly. The only thing that I feel entitled to, as an adult with finite income and time to invest in games, is that whatever I choose to invest isn't treated with indifference.

But going back to this concept of want vs need, I find that a spurious argument, given that we're talking about an entertainment medium. Ultimately everything is a ‘want’ from that perspective, to some degree. That said, there are certain subjects where there is synergy between Bungie's goals and the desires of their target audience, and these tend to be in areas to do with setting expectations. It benefits both players and Bungie to be clear about what the game will entail, and what it won't.

The risk in not being clear about things like this, is that fans always tend to end up speculating. There are examples of this scattered all across this forum, and if the speculation is what embeds itself in the collective psyche of players, then Bungie might find they're fighting an uphill battle dispelling the myths. Perhaps those myths were more alluring than the reality? As I've said before, I don't want people to fixate too much on the level cap specifically as it's only an example of this kind of behaviour; there are plenty of others.

I think there are plenty of positive examples out there of how game developers can engage with their respective communities so as to share their thinking on direction and how they want to build games, without them spoiling the experience or encouraging an entitled mindset amongst the players. It would be great to see Bungie rise up and join this illustrious group.