Halo did it. Bungie forgot how. (Destiny)

by Riceamike, Wednesday, October 08, 2014, 13:24 (3698 days ago) @ dogcow

So the question is, how do you entice people to play a level a second or tenth time without introducing the loot fun killer? Is it possible to reward the player without it becoming a distraction to the fun of the level/gameplay?

You make the levels varied enough to allow for different types of gameplay, opening up the game's sandbox to allow players to try different avenues of approach to complete a mission. You give the player an end-goal, and for the most part let them figure out how to get to it. Silent Cartographer is the perfect example of what made Halo great. It was a level that can be approached in numerous ways, a large open space with allies and enemies going at it with eachother and varied encounters that make the player try different ways to beat it.

Destiny is a tunnel. Nothing you do in the strikes isn't what you're supposed to do. Aside from breaking the game by pushing Atheon off a cliff or launching the Psion Flayers off the platform, nothing you do is ultimately up to you. There are small vehicle sections in SOME strikes that end and it is impossible to bring your vehicle with you. In Halo, there were many sections, but if you managed to do it you weren't punished for it.

Jason Jones said he didn't put incentives in the Halo games, but in fact he did. He really, really, did.

The Bungie that made the elaborate method of flying a Pelican or Phantom in Reach must not be the Bungie that made Destiny.