You're as inconsistent as ever. (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Friday, July 10, 2015, 19:14 (3661 days ago) @ Avateur

Trying to avoid an argument over semantics here, but I think Destiny clearly does have "a story"... it just isn't well told. The lack of elements you are asking about (characters making decisions, motivation for their actions) does not equal "no story". It just explains why Destiny's story failed to captivate most people in any significant way.

But this is all part of the problem I have with way Bungie has addressed storytelling in Destiny so far. When I first played the House of Wolves missions, I had a moment where I thought to myself "this is better... we have some dialog between characters here." Then it hit me: Just how low has the bar been set if the simple existence of dialog between characters feels like an improvement? Before both expansions, Bungie has said that they are looking to improve the way they tell stories in Destiny, and both times I've gotten my hopes up. But these changes are so minimal, so elementary, that I can't help but walk away thinking "Do they believe this is enough?"

Here's the thing: I want to play the game that Bungie wants to make. The game they are passionate about. After playing (and loving) Destiny for close to a year now, I honestly believe that telling a compelling narrative is not something Bungie is particularly interested in right now. How could it be? We've had 2 $20 expansions without hearing a peep from our Guardians, our Ghosts, or any of the existing characters in the game. No cutscenes, almost no backstory (the trailers actually contain more story information than the expansions themselves). Just a couple new voices talking in our ears, telling us where to go next. And that's ok. It might not be to all of our liking, but if that is the direction Bungie wants to go, it is certainly their prerogative.

I just wish they would stop telling us that they are going to do better with storytelling unless they are genuinely committed to making real, substantial, meaningful improvements. At this point I would almost rather hear them say "storytelling really isn't our focus with this game".