The new MMO shooter The Division has similarities in gameplay to Destiny . However, The Division takes a completely different approach that stems from Tom Clancy’s worldview.
Currently, an interview is circulating in the German gaming press, conducted by a British site with the developers of “The Division”. The reporter noticed during his gaming session how much “The Division” targets Destiny players: The loot system, the shared-world experience, the mix of player-versus-player and player-versus-AI, as well as the downfall of a civilization. All of this is shared by The Division and Destiny. But one thing distinctly sets The Division apart: everything is more serious, darker, and harsher than in Bungie’s successful shooter.
There are hardly any differences between a raid and a clearance sale
Even the IP developer from Massive, Martin Hultberg, supports this thesis: “Our scenario is based on reality. We don’t have aliens, no monsters, no zombies. The Division is rooted in a real threat scenario.” The developer uses the term “A clear and present danger,” the title of a Tom Clancy political thriller. The novel was adapted into a film called “The Cartel” starring Harrison Ford.
One feels a commitment to Clancy in The Division, not wanting to carry his name in the title just for the sake of the name and advertising impact.
While Destiny’s nebulous backstory revolves around “hope and trust”, The Division takes a cynical view: our society is consuming itself. Capitalism and consumer addiction become the threat that leads to our downfall.
At Massive, they looked at images of actual shopping frenzies on Black Friday and compared them to looting during disasters. There seemed to be little difference. People fought to the blood over a console controller during a special promotion; it was totally insane, says Hultberg.
That’s why The Division starts on a Black Friday …
Therefore, civilization in The Division also goes under on a Black Friday, the day when Western civilization has celebrated the shopping frenzy like no other day. And our own money becomes the medium of the plague.
For The Division, the aim is to give death significance and that in a medium where dying and starting anew is part of the players’ everyday life.
In Destiny, players fight over items, in The Division, survivors fight for resources
The difference that Massive hopes for: In Destiny, players scramble for loot. In The Division, survivors will fight for the last resources. For items they need to survive. That turns humans into beasts.
An example of this “trust no scenario” and “every man for himself” are the Dark Zones, where players can turn from friends to foes in seconds.
