The MMO shooter Destiny 2 further expands the social space with the Farm. CoD WW2 gets its own headquarters in the new game. But what are such places actually for? Why do shooters want social meeting points now?
A social space, a place to do nothing, in a classic shooter. What is the Farm in Destiny 2 for and why is it so important for the success of the game? What is so interesting about the concept that now even Call of Duty wants to build a headquarters for its soldiers? Let’s take a look at that.
Reason 1: The Farm as a Stage for Our Success
In online games, it’s about status: The achievements in the game should be reflected in your character. Here, the virtual world is no different from the real one.
In what we call real life, we show what we have achieved: my house, my car, my boat.
In MMORPGs like WoW it has been said for 15 years or more: my mount, my weapon, my level.
In shooters like Destiny, there are also these status symbols: Rare emblems awarded for special achievements, a special shader, or a rare weapon.
Players spend a lot of time perfecting the look of their character, even if some clearly identify as a noob with a pot haircut.
In “normal” combat, these subtleties get lost. Often one is alone or in small groups in instances of the world: No one sees what you have achieved. You cannot compare yourself to others.
What good is it to be the coolest guy around, but no one is there to admire you?
In other games, developers have long recognized this problem and created “rest zones.” This idea can also be found in Destiny: In the social space, first in the Tower, in Destiny 2 at the Farm, we have the opportunity to inspect and examine others.
Model: The Capitals in WoW
Our “achievements” in the game are displayed in these rest zones. Already in 2006 it was common in WoW for the strongest players on a server to pose in front of central places in the capital and showcase their character with all those items and status symbols that remained unattainable for the common “folk.”
Initially, it was enough to just have a particularly high level (“Oh, he’s already level 60”), later came particularly rare mounts (“Where did he get that from?”) or noble weapons with effects (“Have you seen his sword? It glows”).
Later, titles could be admired, which were awarded for certain achievements. The chief of Destiny 2, Luke Smith, is still proud to have become a “Scarab Lord” in WoW 10 years ago.
All these status symbols and the opportunity to showcase these and your personal style to the public increase the motivation to actually achieve these symbols.
Even Call of Duty has now recognized that such a place is missing in the game. For the 2017 version, CoD: WW2, a “headquarters” is now being established.
In Destiny 2, the Farm is significantly expanded compared to the old social space, the Tower. More activities, more space, more people.
Reason 2: Communication and Joint Activities to Strengthen Social Bonds
But a social space is for more than just showcasing achievements.
In shooters, it’s been a long time since it was only about shooting. Developers create spaces where players can meet peacefully.
They receive emotes to communicate with each other. Sometimes small happenings or events even emerge. The demand for these is so great that players organize them, even if the developer has not actually foreseen any opportunities.
In Destiny 1, a conga line sometimes formed spontaneously, marching off to the cliff of the Tower together to leap to their deaths. Macabre, but it shows the players’ need to experience something together with rudimentary means.
In Destiny 2, players will receive a soccer field. In the first part, there was only a ball placed in the Tower to see if the Guardians would make something of it.
Such things, no matter how silly they are, promote cohesion in the community and strengthen social bonds that often keep players tied to the game when the actual content of the game cannot.
It makes the games more than a game, it makes them a hobby.
Reason 3: Practical Reasons – MMO Elements Demand NPCs, They Need to Stand Somewhere
A practical reason for a social space is the growing “MMO elements” in shooters. With these elements like quests and weapons, such central places have almost inevitably made it into the games.
Anyone with quests and items needs quest NPCs and merchants who are centrally located.
Many central reward and quest systems in Destiny are represented in the game by specific NPCs: Xûr, the inventory system with post office or the Cryptarch only work with NPCs.
These functions could be managed through a menu, but NPCs make it more “personal.” A menu item representing a game mechanic can’t be hated or loved. Xûr or Rahool can be hated, and Guardians do so passionately.
Reason 4: Waiting Area Until It Starts
The growing instancing of games has increased the need for a waiting place. One does not travel to adventures; one waits to be let in and is teleported to the destination at the start.
While waiting for an “activity” to begin, players need a place to pass the time.
So far, this was in Destiny the Orbit, where players had to wait for the action to start. In Destiny 2, this will no longer be necessary, and players can also enter activities from outside the Orbit.
Therefore, the social space as a “waiting area for passing the time” will become even more important than in Destiny 1. Accordingly, the Farm will be expanded.
Reason 5: Microtransactions Become More Attractive
Developers benefit from social spaces not only through higher player retention but also concretely.
For another advantage of these social hubs: Microtransactions become more attractive and thus the revenue of the games.
Anyone who cannot earn a “special item” in the game due to lack of time or skill can purchase it from the cash shop: a rare skin, a special light effect like chromatin.
Such items are also referred to as “vanity items”. You buy them for yourself because you want to make your Guardian look especially nice, want to treat him, and enjoy it. Or you buy them for others to let them see what you can afford.
Emotes and thus “new ways to communicate” are also available for Euros.
Destiny has managed to be among the most profitable games even in 2016, when very few game contents were released – almost solely through such microtransactions.
We want to know from you in a survey: What is most important to you about social spaces?
How the individual games implement social spaces can be read here:
