Destiny 2 brings back its probably most important PvP activity with the Trials of Osiris. Our author Schuhmann looks at the presentation of the announcement: It is really amazing how well Bungie manages to do that.
I love Bungie’s ViDocs. At first glance, it always looks like they just want to convey information. Upon closer inspection, these videos are beautifully staged and composed.
They use Bungie’s staff like in a TV series for specific functions and to convey emotions.
In the beginning there was Luke Smith
This is how the video begins: The new video “Trials are coming back” starts with the Yoda of Destiny, Luke Smith.
At the beginning of the video, you can only hear his voice while the image is still black. A caption reveals: The interview was recorded back in August 2019.
Smith, the “bearded nerd next door,” talks for about a minute about how he already knew that the Trials would come back before his friends did back in Destiny 1. Although he didn’t tell them, he insisted on playing 3v3 PvP constantly with his 2 buddies.
Later he says: That became “our thing” every Friday. It was sweaty, it was stressful, it was a lot.
Smith says: “Right now, in this moment, we miss it. I know we miss it. I KNOW we miss it. We will get it right.”
This is the purpose of this section: Smith’s job is to reflect the emotional impact of the Trials: What does it mean for the individual player? What great memories do players associate with the Trials? He emphasizes that it is not just a “one-man thing,” but rather what bonded him and his buddies together.
Activities like the Trials are the social glue from which Destiny derives its magic. Smith had already identified this as the core of Destiny back in 2015.
5 years later, in 2020, Smith has become a central figure in the “Destiny” mythos. His presence in the Osiris trailer signals: This is important. We take this seriously.
At the same time, Luke Smith is also the “bearded nerd” next door and represents, even though he is the boss, always the “hardcore” player who plays with ambition and truly understands gaming. After all, some of the best moments in Destiny come from him. Although he also had to face his share of the low points in Destiny, which makes him a controversial figure.
Bungie shows skins and excitement
This is the middle part: The middle part of the video is dominated by skins. The legendary Osiris skins with the Egyptian look are shown repeatedly.
Speakers and faces switch frequently. The most work is done by Destiny 2’s main villain Lars Bakken, the “Creative Lead” and longtime PvP boss.
In January 2016, Bakken managed to single-handedly kill the PvP of Destiny 2 – which was pretty cool.
A lot revolves around the Bungie testers who are already playing the Trials. The images show how much fun the mode is and how exciting the action is.
In this section, the employees slip into the typical “Bungie-awesome” tone:
- Trials are something that “really is hard,” and you have to be “honestly good” at it, they say
- The developers emphasize how important Trials are for Destiny 2 and that they know: “We have to get this right.”
This is what the middle part accomplishes: Here, hype is mainly created.
Bungie emphasizes how great the feature is, how much time they put into it, and how much fun it is.
If you are good, everyone will see it
This is the end: Around minute 2:50, the final part begins. Here, Lars Bakken introduces the maps where the games are played:
- Cauldron
- Exodus Blue
- Anomaly
And some of the best rewards from Destiny 1 are coming back.
Bakken says: “If players play flawlessly, there are armor and weapons that glow. If you see someone in the Tower wearing that, everyone will know they were flawless in the Trials that week.”
This is what the ending accomplishes: It clearly plays with the players’ egos and presents a great reward.
Video about Trials consists of 98% emotions, almost no information
This is the interesting part of the video: The interesting thing is that except for a short section around 3 minutes when Bakken briefly presents maps and rewards, no information is conveyed at all.
Trials don’t need to be explained, there are no innovations to be described, it is enough to convey the message purely emotionally.
Bungie’s “Rising Star” makes a brief appearance
What else stands out? It is interesting how Bungie selects its staff. While most of the time two established figures are speaking, Luke Smith and Lars Bakken, whom players have known for a long time, Bonnie Burton is briefly seen at the end. She gets to say that a “top PvP activity” is coming back.
Burton is one of the interesting figures at Bungie that hasn’t been seen much. She was 12 years old when she became the first professional female gamer in Major League Gaming. She played Halo back then.
Later, Burton studied, came to Bungie, and rose through the ranks in no time. She was the Test Lead for live updates and is now the Producer for seasonal updates and events.
Burton was selected by Forbes as one of the “30 under 30” in Games. We might see her in a few more videos about Destiny 2.
I look forward to the next ViDocs. No matter what Bungie announces – just the way it’s done is always worth a look.
