In the MMO shooter Destiny , there is an increasing focus on events; the Sparrow event next week could just be the beginning. Instead of just a shooter, they want to deliver a vibrant world, a hobby.
Behind the scenes, a transformation is underway at Bungie, whose effects we are slowly beginning to feel: First with the cash shop, then with the Festival of the Lost, and now with the Sparrow Racing.
The live team for Destiny is supposed to keep players engaged, providing them with new experiences. They create the patches, set the Iron Banner, work on events, and want to bring more life into the game.
The live team was expanded throughout year 1 as Bungie increasingly understood what they were actually developing and what kinds of structures they would need. They realized: it’s not enough to release a DLC every 4 months; we must also bring life to the world in between.
Destiny wants to be a hobby
Jason Jones, the head of Destiny, also begins the video documentation that introduces the live team with the phrase: “In the past, we made these linear shooters; with Destiny, we want to create a vibrant world.”
Luke Smith, now reintroduced as Creative Director, states that they want to create a world that players can return to, to experience things that weren’t there before.
They want to be a vibrant game, a hobby, adds Matt Priestley as the new face. He is the producer of the live team.
Community is becoming more important
And this idea of delivering a hobby seems to be generally the funnel that led to year 2. The community is becoming more important, and their feedback is crucial. After all, the wonderful community keeps many players in Destiny, drawing them back regularly. They want to create focal points where players can come together and experience these things together.
“We looked at the Tower and asked ourselves: Why don’t we have unbelievably cool holidays? Why don’t we take the mask from the first year of Destiny and make something bigger out of it?” they later ask.
They will take into account the community, listen to them: What they like, we will build more of. What the community doesn’t embrace, we will revise or discard in order to invest the energy into something else.
The upcoming Sparrow event is the first example of something that came directly from the community, something that many wished for in forums. They took that and are now able to deliver.
Is this a replacement or a bonus for the “normal” content?
Mein MMO suggests: At the moment, one question is the crux: “Are you doing this in addition to the game content that we want? Or is this the “replacement” for it?”
Because if all of this is additional and a pure bonus, an extra, then no problem at all. Then instead of a “blank” December, you have a December with Sparrow Racing, as long as another team continues to work full steam on the “core” of the game, on the shooter action.
But if players feel like the next raid, the next DLC, or even just the next strike is being pushed back by a month, a week, or just two days because the developers are creating fun and colorful events, that would be a contentious issue. At the moment, we just don’t know what influence the certainly sensible restructuring has: Do the “DLCs” suffer as a result?
At the moment, there is unfortunately this impression, as no further DLC has been announced. Bungie is dampening the good mood that the events in Destiny should actually radiate for parts of the community.
In other words: They can build the vibrant world, but the shooter Destiny should not suffer as a result. And if Destiny players are waiting for content but only hear about events, this impression arises, and a negative reaction from the community follows.
On Tuesday, December 8th, the December patch is coming with 15 exotic items, changes to weapon balance, and the Titans. We will be detailing the Sparrow Racing and the changes to the cash shop in the coming days.
