The art of engagement (Criticism)

by Claude Errera , Thursday, December 20, 2018, 11:55 (1952 days ago) @ Cody Miller

I see where you're coming from. I even agree with the underlying premise - that if you're not enjoying the activities for themselves, the game feels like a series of chores.

Ultimately, though, I think I lean more towards the view espoused by Cheapley and Cruel - that the game, right now, is fun, and even though I'm being guided to tasks that I might not have picked (or in an order I might not have picked), I don't find those tasks to be 'chores'.

And I agree wholeheartedly with Cheapley that it's a bummer that you don't feel the same way.

I don't think it's perfect, by any stretch. I'm still finding myself annoyed by the extra steps required on the Ada quests - at least 3 times (in each quest), I have to stop playing and return to Ada to basically have her bless my progress. That's an utter and complete waste of my time. And now that I've done it on 3 characters, in three separate forges, I'd love it if I never had to do it again. (I know, though, that next week, I'll be doing it again. 3 times. And that's irritating.) The Gateway Between Worlds quest that pops every week on the Dreaming City makes me go do the same thing every time - visit the Oracle - but there, I get a new story snippet each time. And it's once (per character per week), not 3 times.

But in the grand scheme of things, that's a minor irritation (for me) - in general, I'm enjoying almost all the things I'm doing.

I realize it's not, for you - and that sucks. The spectrum of players is so wide now, though, that I'm not sure you can please everyone any more. There's a point of view (you've expressed it yourself, I think) that 'the grind' was re-added solely for the streamers, and it alienates everyone else. But I don't think that's true. They're the most vocal proponents of a system that requires a large time investment, yes... but I think there are a lot of people who enjoy that investment. Unfortunately, that investment is at direct odds with the desire of another subset of the player base that simply wants to run around and do stuff, and not feel like they're on a hamster wheel. (Let's be clear: I think that the concept of a hamster wheel is not universal; it's felt most by people who don't want to be on it. The perspective of folks who enjoy playing more does NOT include the idea of a hamster wheel.)

::shrug::

It's possible that Destiny is just not the game for you any more. It clearly was, once - but it doesn't sound like you've had fun in a long time. And that sucks.