Damn, Marty was right:

Ok, this (hopefully) will be my last tweet on this.

I LOVE streamers and twitchers.

I was having a reaction to a streamer who was playing Reach for the first time but kept talking during the dialog and wondered aloud why he didn't know what was happening.

Peace.

— Marty O'Donnell (@MartyTheElder) December 5, 2019

And if he had just told that story, in that way, the first time around instead of trying to generalize, without irony, about narcissism and streamers, he'd have gotten a lot less pushback.

Just sayin.

A four word “story” in only the most literal sense. Nobody ever cried to that.

I bet you every cent I have that you are wrong.

A four word “story” in only the most literal sense. Nobody ever cried to that.

You don't have to cry. The poignancy of the image is the thing.

It's also six words, but I'm being pedantic. :)

That said, it al feels a little forced. I've been a little disappointed in how all of that works over the years with Destiny. Lots of "hey, go to this location and do all the new things!" Then "hey, now we're going to this location for all the things!" I get why it's that way from a development standpoint, but it is a bit jarring.

A four word “story” in only the most literal sense. Nobody ever cried to that.

That’s a big fat assumption. Depending on one’s personal experiences among other things, that story can be one hell of a gut-punch.

A four word “story” in only the most literal sense. Nobody ever cried to that.

The impact of the story is not from the word choice, it’s from everything that isn’t exposited. The reader’s inference and how they fill in the gaps with the most idealized details.
Much like this lore piece, where the Guardian that was once Uldren shares a lot about his character with just two words (supplemented by the narration of his experiences of the previous weeks).

Good storytelling is finding the most efficient way to deliver on an idea.

A couple we’ll-written lines of dialogue can tell us as much about the characters as pages and pages of written exposition.

A couple of well written lines of text can tell us as much about the characters as minutes and minutes of spoken exposition.

Very true. I should have just said “exposition”, lol

"Does this unit have a soul?"

Writing is hard, for sure. I can't imagine how it is in a multi-disciplined medium like computer games. You've got visuals, sound, gameplay, and everything else and it all costs money and time.

I suspect what we see is simply the result of decisions balancing all those things. Obviously, of course, but it reminds me to keep perspective. I'm certainly not in place to try making things like Destiny, so I won't be too hard on the ones that are!

A couple we’ll-written lines of dialogue can tell us as much about the characters as pages and pages of written exposition.

A couple of well written lines of text can tell us as much about the characters as minutes and minutes of spoken exposition.

Very true. I should have just said “exposition”, lol

A couple we’ll-written lines of dialogue can tell us as much about the characters as pages and pages of written exposition.

A couple of well written lines of text can tell us as much about the characters as minutes and minutes of spoken exposition.

I like the brevity of Destiny's lore entries. The flavor might get get lost in a proper novel.

You’d think with how much good stuff they can pack into such a small block, they could put that somewhere in the actual game’s storytelling. Wouldn’t need a novel to expand the world if they brought back Ghost’s scannables, or if they added more Ghost memories like the nine (ten?) that Eris gives us.

There was a moment in Reach that really jumped out at me when I replayed it last week. After extracting Halsey from her lab, Carter orders Jun to go with her. Halsey protests “I don’t need an escort.” Carter looks at Jun and says “We can’t let anything fall into Covenant hands.” and Jun replies “I’ll do what is necessary, sir.”

It’s moments like this, where Halsey goes from acting high and mighty and tough enough to take care of herself to realizing that her own Spartans are talking about killing her so she can’t be captured if the situation calls for it, that are completely absent from Destiny’s in-game narrative content. A couple we’ll-written lines of dialogue can tell us as much about the characters as pages and pages of written exposition.

I like the brevity of Destiny's lore entries. The flavor might get get lost in a proper novel.

You’d think with how much good stuff they can pack into such a small block, they could put that somewhere in the actual game’s storytelling. Wouldn’t need a novel to expand the world if they brought back Ghost’s scannables, or if they added more Ghost memories like the nine (ten?) that Eris gives us.

Really? It gains them nothing?

It gains them a massive audience who loves Destiny but might not buy a book for a countless number of reasons. It gives them a way to tell cool stories that would otherwise not exist.

I’m talking creatively.

And no it doesn’t. The stories could exist… as a novel. Or as told decently in a game. You lose a ton by going halfsies.

You gain a whole lot, too.

Creatively, the folks at Bungie (or contractors, however it works now) get to write cool short stories that they otherwise wouldn't get to, and they get an automatic audience of millions of players.

How much would it cost for Bungie to publish a novel, versus how much it costs to put these stories into the game?

I also want to point out that these stories are told decently in the game . . . in the form of short stories that you can read. Don't mistake my frustration with the presentation of the story of our Guardian (and everything surrounding them) as any issue with the storytelling of the lore books. The lore books are fantastic, and the game would be diminished without their presence. The game would also be far better if the core narrative of our Guardian was stronger in both presentation and writing.

Really? It gains them nothing?

It gains them a massive audience who loves Destiny but might not buy a book for a countless number of reasons. It gives them a way to tell cool stories that would otherwise not exist.

I’m talking creatively.

And no it doesn’t. The stories could exist… as a novel. Or as told decently in a game. You lose a ton by going halfsies.

It gains them a massive audience who loves Destiny but might not buy a book for a countless number of reasons. It gives them a way to tell cool stories that would otherwise not exist.

Sure. And I agree. I want it in game more than anything!

I actually prefer the way it is.

When I'm playing a game, I want to play, not listen to someone talk or watch a long movie.

When I want to experience a good science fiction story, more often than not I'm looking to read.

To me, Destiny strikes a perfect balance between its loose narrative and gameplay. The focus is on the fun, but there's just enough story to get me interested in more, along with the tidbits of lore that drop along the way.

And I gotta say, the lore is really, really good short science fiction. I read a lot of "years best" anthologies, and a lot of the lore books would fit right in, even without any context. It's hard for me to imagine change in format would result in an improvement in quality.

Why make the game at all then? Turn the lore into a novel and call it a day. Doing it this way gains them nothing over just making a book, or just making a game and telling their story audiovisually.