this makes me happy :) (Destiny)

by electricpirate , Thursday, July 06, 2017, 11:12 (2492 days ago) @ kidtsunami

Great stuff in here, but Luke's point about having more challenging base activities, and even limiting weapon switching options in some instances sounds great to me.

One thing that's always bothered me in D1, it rarely stresses it's core systems enough outside of MP. Even in it's most difficult non raid challenge, Nigthfalls, you can kind of hang back, or sometimes you can use the skulls to generate amazing, 1 hit KOs. And that's fun, but it's not always super challenging! Because of the lack of challenge, Destinies systems sometimes feel a little underbaked, even though they are deep and rich. Instead the focus has been on these bespoke mechanics for various encounters (Raids, and some of the strikes). So much so that "New Mechanics" has become the calling card of good destiny content.

That approach has always been one of Destiny's biggest strengths, and biggest weaknesses. Bespoke mechanics helped drive the games identity when it seemed so vanilla, but they've made it harder to add more compelling content. Building new mechanics is extremely expensive in a big networked game like this, so relying on generating tons of new mechanics limits the games ability to scale.

Harder content, and (warning, incoming hot take) limiting player choice are the most cost efficient ways to generate new experiences. It's also more dynamic, and you can create content procedurally in a satisfying way.

A great example of this is Desktop dungeons (http://www.desktopdungeons.net/). DD mechanics are actually kind of bland. It's not really a kind of grand tactical game, it's very static. Each round is really an exploration of effective resource consumption. But good lord is it ever compelling. The way it accomplishes this, is through light proceduarality of content (Each dungeon is generated on fairly simple templates), and a difficulty level that forces you to master the ins and outs of each mechanic.

For example, it's not uncommon to have a level (~15 minutes of play) come down to a series of choices where you win with only one turn left for yourself. Getting there requires you to understand how each system works to gain tactical advantage. For example, you might need to get enough experience from the last 4 montsers by figuring out the correct order of spells to maximize the value of each one, while not requiring you to use a potion, because you know the final boss will require you to be level 8, and have 2 potions in your pocket, and you are level 7 with 2 potions. When you can push the difficulty right to the limit, each little wrinkle of the system suddenly becomes it's own entire bespoke mechanic.

Hearing them pushing in this direction makes me excited :)