RPGs are all about barriers (Destiny)

by Fuertisimo, Sunday, January 25, 2015, 07:26 (3382 days ago) @ Durandal

I don't know man, anyone who's played video games before should have been able to see most of the problems coming a mile away, much less people who are supposed to be some of the most talented game designers in the world.

I don't know what the problem is exactly, maybe its structural, maybe it's hubris, believing they could do things their own way without learning from all the games that came before them, maybe whatever overhaul in the game that came a year from release threw everything into disarray and they're just scrambling to get things right again. I don't know.

I suspect a big part of what's going on though is their attempt to compensate for the low level of content. By throwing in as many grind elements as possible it gives people a reason to keep playing the game (they need to keep as many people as possible playing and interested in the game in order to sell the DLC). If Destiny didn't have the grind elements that it has, people would finish the game in 15 hours and wonder what the fuck else all is there to do? However I think they definitely overdid it and are struggling to find that balance.

Ultimately it looks like financially they're in the clear, so they have time to try and figure this stuff out. Hopefully Destiny 2 will be heavier on the content, lighter on the grind.