One highlight in the somewhat bland storytelling (Destiny)

by electricpirate , Friday, July 25, 2014, 11:39 (3778 days ago)

So, the Destiny Beta is decidedly light on Story. Whether that's due to it's Beta nature, or flaws in Bungie's storytelling, (probably a mixture of the two), the game mostly just plops you in and asks you to care instead of showing why you should care. It's not great at this point honestly, but I want to highlight something it does well, that Bungie hasn't necessarily always done well; representing the story of the game through it's mechanics. Speficially the respawning system in Destiny

Destiny sets up respawning with a little explanation, but it tells us a tremendous amount about this world. Here's how the respawning system works, When you Die, your ghost appears, as an exploded circle, and you have to wait some period of time to respawn, or someone has to come respawn you. Destiny contextualizes this in the first minute of the game, when your ghost finds you, and revives you. You are informed that you already dead, and the ghost takes that exploded form as it resurrects you.

It's quite brilliant really, because now this purely formal thing that exists to allow the action to move forward (When you die, your allowed to respawn not far, or have a team-mate respawn you) suddenly shines this light on the world; and gives context for your actions. It's not just a piece of "Oh videogame logic" like the Halo respawning system, instead it's a rule built down into the core of the game.

In the second mission it deepens that meaning. As you near the final encounter, Ghostian lanister warns you that you can't respawn here due to the encroaching darkness. Limited respawning is a mechanic designed to make the game harder at points, but by putting it in a narrative context, it makes the world feel more sinister, and lets you know that something dangerous is coming. It's smart storytelling for games, as it brings interesting info into the world just through it's rules. IT's also far more effective than some dude standing in front of a big machine telling you about space magics.

Dear Bungie, more of this, less masked dudes talking at you.