David “DeeJ” Dague is leaving Bungie and the Guardians of Destiny 2. He was the voice of the company to the fans for 9 years, rising from Community Manager to Communications Director and shaping a community. Many players have their own memories with DeeJ and are now saying goodbye.
This is what DeeJ says: Dague announced his departure in the weekly blog post “This Week at Bungie”. He says:
- he started at Bungie on November 7, 2011
- his last day will be November 6, 2020 – that’s a solid 9 years
DeeJ shares that in one of his first jobs, a mentor advised him: “Always craft yourself out of the job and replace yourself with someone better. The most significant sign of success is when you build something that works well in your absence.”
At Bungie, he succeeded in that. In many ways, the community managers who follow him now are better at understanding players than he was. He leaves Bungie after 9 years as an even bigger fan than when he arrived but will remain loyal to Destiny 2 and play “Beyond Light.”
DeeJ dies a thousand deaths in legendary live stream
These were his great moments at Destiny: In the history of Destiny, DeeJ is mainly known as the host of the live streams. Later, he sat comfortably in a studio, chatting with Bungie employees and playing host. Nothing went wrong: The information came across the screen in well-measured amounts, no millimeter too much was revealed.
In the early days of Destiny, however, the streams were not as sophisticated as later and were indeed live. They were still experimenting.
The most legendary stream took place on May 6, 2015. Bungie introduced the “Prison of Elders”, a new activity in the 2nd DLC “House of Wolves”. In the studio were DeeJ, streamer Professor Broman, and developer Matt Sammons, the lead designer of House of Wolves.
We live-ticked that back then on MeinMMO.
The stream was delightful from the start: Broman was way too loud and sounded like he was shouting all at once. This earned strange looks from DeeJ, who was known for his quiet, reserved manner.
In the beginning, the atmosphere was fantastic; DeeJ quoted Star Wars, and Broman was practically melting. Everyone had a great gaming mood.
But apparently, they totally underestimated how difficult the “Prison of Elders” was. The trio was constantly dying, DeeJ was eternally dead in front of thousands of viewers, and you could see live how DeeJ struggled and tried to stay professional while selling this experience to the fans.
Back then, it must have been a torment for DeeJ; afterward, he never touched a controller live again, but in retrospect, the stream was a fantastic memory: you could empathize so well with DeeJ in that situation.
In the later streams, during Destiny 2, the wrath of the fans often was directed at DeeJ. He had to sell Destiny 2 as a great experience, even when the game was in poor shape for months.
Especially, the loot was considered far too poor and boring in Destiny 2 for a long time. Destiny 2 was described as a “Token Simulator”: you had to collect boring coins, which you could then buy something with later.
The loot problems became particularly evident in a stream at the end of 2017 when DeeJ wanted to promote a new activity on Mercury in the DLC “Curse of Osiris.”
After completing the event and standing in front of the chest, DeeJ said: “He had promised that this would be the event with the best reward.” He apparently expected the loot rain to start, with great items pouring out of the chest.
But the reward from the event was “Two Token and a blue” – just junk. That became an iconic phrase in Destiny, and the scene immediately became a meme.
The way DeeJ moderated it, first being euphoric, then saying nothing, quickly distracting, and you could almost hear the teeth grinding, made it the second legendary streaming moment for the head of the community team.
“The end of an era”
This is how players are now saying goodbye to DeeJ: Besides these official moments, many players have had personal experiences with DeeJ over the past 9 years. He was at every expo, responded on Twitter, and addressed issues and complaints.
Especially for content creators, DeeJ has been an important anchor in recent years. On Twitter, several well-known players and streamers thank him:
- DrLupo calls Deej a “pillar of the gaming community”
- Gigz says this is the “end of an era”
- Broman calls him a “true friend and leader”
- MesaSean thanks DeeJ for giving him a chance in October 2014
- Angry Joe says people don’t know how much crap you have to listen to in that position. He has a lot of respect for DeeJ’s work
- Gladd thanks DeeJ, saying he showed them the light and led so many charges
Thanks for showing us the light – in the past, during the present, and for the future, even during tough times. You’ve lead many great charges for us Guardians.
— Gladd (@Gladd) October 16, 2020
I’m sure you’ll carry this same energy going forward, to wherever you step foot.
Thanks for nerding out with us all!
There are warm words from the developers at Bungie as well:
- His predecessor and boss, Eric “UrkMcGurk” Osborne, says he could not wish for a more noble or better man by his side
- His successor Cosmo describes DeeJ as a mentor from whom he has learned so much
Even the Xbox account bids farewell to DeeJ: See you in Europe.
DeeJ also responds here with a quote from popular culture, as is his style: Have Elite controller – will travel.
In an interview, DeeJ once explained how he sees his role in Destiny 2, how to work in community management, and how difficult the role as a liaison between players and developers can be at times. In his own way, he summed it up:
Destiny 2: We listen to players, but we don’t let ourselves be ridden like a pony
