Some thoughts, then some questions for all you DBOers (Destiny)

by slycrel , Thursday, March 31, 2016, 16:37 (3253 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Don't peel back too many layers. A magic trick is never as fun to watch if you fully understand how it works. =)

If you do want to truly understand and go down this rabbit hole, I recommend reading The Art of Game Design. You can find it as a PDF out there or pick it up from amazon or something. See page 102-103 for some standard enticements in game design.

I think the light level and loot system are about giving destiny meaning. Cyber made the comment Tuesday night "What made Halo 3 so popular for so long for their online multiplayer?" I think for Halo 3 that is a very carefully crafted eco-system/sandbox that people enjoy playing in. The rewards for playing multi-player Halo aren't loot or levels. They are more social and competitive in nature. Which appeals to some, but not others. Destiny is shooting for a different (more diverse) audience.

We know destiny is meant to "be a hobby". Part of the design is to entice you to play. Part of that enticement is an artificial economy, with artificial scarcity, and RNG based rewards, to make players do things an average of n times. If you're not a PvP person, destiny with no RNG would be a really short game. Different aspects of destiny appeal to different players. Look at PoE or Trials as an example. Some would rather die than play trials but love PoE. Others hate PoE but love Trials. Those are two very different games within the same game engine and universe. Bungie has done a great job of taking a common denominator (player avatars + equipment) and making a number of different sub-game types with them.

This is why they bounce back and forth between PvE and PvP centric updates. This is why they release light level stuff dropping in all areas (Trials, IB, KF, PoE, Strikes) To try and keep everyone happy doing what they want to be doing.

Through it all though, the "progression" needs to be largely tied to your avatar. That's where the MMORPG stuff comes in. Reputation, glimmer, weapons and armor, consumables. Light level, both for yourself and items, is a way to give meaning to the time you've spent playing destiny. And just like real life, spending lots of time in some areas only gets you so far, while in others it gets you way further ahead. That's part of why micro-transactions are such knee-jerk to many. It's like paying to get into a different bracket as opposed to playing to be in a different bracket here.

Interesting stuff, and I've got plenty more to say on all this, but I should also work. ;)