This is a matter of opinion (and I know I'm in the minority) (Destiny)

by Kahzgul, Thursday, May 28, 2015, 15:42 (3469 days ago) @ Ragashingo

But I don't count the grimoire cards as "backstory" in the game because they are not actually a part of the game. I know I'm in the minority here, but things like the Halo books I don't count as part of the Halo games (though they are in the Halo universe and are part of the cannon), and the grimoire cards are similar to me. Someone wrote some good stuff there, but none of it is actually in the game, despite being unlocked through gameplay.

But stuff in the Grimorie directly affects events in the game. The City still exists because The Queen of the Reef choose to intervene. Skolas, who appears in game, is introduced in the Grimorie. And that's just two recent examples. Rasputin, Clovis Bray, the Ishtar Academy, the loss of the Moon to Crota, etc, etc, ETC... are all filled in through the Grimorie. Bungie did a good job of revealing the past of our various HoW allies as well.

Frankly, you're being both stubborn and pigheaded. The information in the Grimorie is backstory by any reasonable definition, and that's not subject to "opinion" unless you wish to completely redefine words. To claim it isn't backstory only puts you in the minority because in puts you in the wrong.

You are completely right on all counts. I know I'm being stubborn and pigheaded here.

My opinion only comes into play at all on this in terms of how I feel about the implementation of the backstory.

I really don't understand why the grimoire isn't accessible in the game. It's all great story, but because it's not actually a part of the actual game and requires an additional program to read, I refuse to include it in what I think of when I think of "the game." I don't believe the website is part of the game, even though it has an effect on the game and the game has an effect on it. This is definitely me being a stubborn jerk about it. All I can say to that end is that, if I were on the design team here, I'd have railed against this implementation like a zealot (much as I'm doing here). It's not good design; it could easily be changed into good design; why not make it good design?

Text is cheap in terms of memory usage in a game, Destiny is already full of text-only elements (bounties, quests, etc..), we're making the grimoire art and text anyway... why not just have a guy with a deck of cards or a book in-game so players can access their grimoire at any time? Or add it to the pause menu. Have the Ghost display it. Let it be accessible with a D-pad button when you're in orbit. There are so many places it could go and instead it went on the web, totally separate from the actual game.

It breaks immersion and requires additional software, and those are two things I dislike very much about how it's implemented. I get that not everyone (or maybe anyone else) is bothered by this, but I am.