Destiny (number 4)

Destiny is an upcoming action role-playing first-person shooter video game in a "mythic science fiction" open world setting.^[5] It is developed by Bungie and published by Activision as part of a ten-year publishing deal.^[6] The game will be released on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4,^[7] Xbox 360, and Xbox One^[8] video game consoles on September 9, 2014,^[4] with a Beta coming in the summer. The beta will be launching first on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.^[9] Bungie demoed live gameplay footage of Destiny at Sony's E3 2013 conference.

GAMEPLAY[EDIT]

Bungie has emphasized that the universe of Destiny will be "alive". Events may happen in-game that are not necessarily controlled or planned by the developer, which will help to create a dynamic developing experience for Bungie and a dynamic playing experience for gamers. The game's style has been described as an always-online first-person shooter that will incorporate massively multiplayer online game (MMO) elements, but Bungie has avoided defining Destiny as a traditional MMO game.^[11] Instead, the game has been referred to as a "shared-world shooter,"^[12] as it lacks many of the characteristics of a traditional MMO game. For instance, rather than players being able to see and interact with all other players in the game or on a particular server—as is the case in many conventional MMO games—Destiny will include on-the-fly matchmaking that will allow players to see and interact only with other players with whom they are "matched" by the game.^[11]

Destiny will incorporate a new game engine that allows global illuminations and real-time dynamic lighting to occur together. An innovation in Bungie's "hopper" technology, which has been the backbone for Halo's matchmaking system, will allow better player matchmaking in order to create a more natural experience in either cooperative or competitive multiplayer modes.^[13]

PREMISE[EDIT]

Destiny is set seven hundred years into the future in a post-apocalyptic setting following a prosperous period of exploration, peace and technological advancement known as the Golden Age.^[14] In a universe where humans have spread out and colonized planets in the Solar System, an event known as "the Collapse" saw the mysterious dissolution of these colonies, the end of the Golden Age, and mankind teetering on the brink of extinction. The only known survivors of the Collapse are those living on Earth, who were saved by "the Traveler", a white, spherical celestial body whose appearance centuries before had enabled humans to reach the stars.^[15] The Traveler now hovers above the last remaining human city, and its presence allows the "Guardians of the City"—the last defenders of the human race—the ability to wield an unknown power.

Upon mankind's first attempt to repopulate and reconstruct after the Collapse, it is discovered that hostile alien races have occupied mankind's former colonies and civilizations and are now encroaching upon the City. The player takes on the role of a Guardian of the City, and is tasked with investigating and destroying these threats before humanity is completely wiped out.

Characters[edit]

Destiny will center around the journey of the Guardians, the last defenders of humanity, set to protect Earth's last city. Guardians will be divided into three distinct races: Humans, Awoken, and Exo. Humans are described as being relatable, tough, and uncomplicated. Bungie drew its inspiration for the Human race from military, professional athletes, and action heroes. Awoken, described as exotic, beautiful, and mysterious, were inspired by fictional depictions ofelves, vampires, ghosts, and angels. Exo are described as being sinister, powerful, and tireless. Exo were inspired by the undead, Halo's Master Chief, and the titular character of The Terminator.^[16]

Players will also be able to choose a "class" to go alongside their race. There are three classes available to players in Destiny: Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans. Hunters are a reconnaissance-based class meant to be reminiscent of the classic "bounty hunter." Bungie cites as influences Star Wars's Han Solo and classic characters from old Western films such as Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name. Warlocks combine weapons with special powers from "the Traveler", and are meant to be a form of "space wizard". The Warlock class is influenced by the Star Wars series' Jedi Knights, The Lord of the Rings series' Gandalf, and The Matrix series' Morpheus. Titans, which favor heavy weapons and melee attacks and are intended to be reminiscent of the classic "future soldier", were inspired by Bungie's own Halo Master Chief, Stormtroopers from Star Wars, and other "space marines" from science fiction.^[17]

Playable characters will be a combination of a Guardian race and class.^[18]

DEVELOPMENT[EDIT]

The first known reference to Destiny was shown in Bungie's 2009 game Halo 3: ODST, in which a sign on a wall read "Destiny Awaits" and showed a picture of Earth with a mysterious orb floating nearby.^[19] Though several vague statements by Bungie employees in interviews and presentations from 2010 through 2011 were interpreted to be Destiny references, the next overt references to Destiny were not shown until Bungie's August 2011 20th anniversary documentary, O Brave New World, in which appeared several early environment renders, an environment editor named "Grognok", and a brief shot of actors performing a scene with motion capture equipment.^[20] At that time, the game was still known by its original code name Project Tiger, a term used by Bungie co-founder Jason Jones when discussing the game in August 2011.^[21] The game later became known by its working title Destiny.

On May 21, 2012, a publishing contract between Bungie and Activision was published by the Los Angeles Times. The contract originally had been entered into evidence under seal in Activision's lawsuit against former Infinity Wardemployees Jason West and Vincent Zampella, but was later unsealed by the judge in that case.^[22][23] The contract outlined an agreement between Bungie and Activision to develop and publish, respectively, four Destiny games, with the first to be released in the second or third quarter of 2014.

The first public details of Destiny were leaked in November 2012, revealing concept art and plot details.^[24] Bungie supplemented the leak with the release of further details, whilst expressing regret that details of an upcoming video gamehad once again been revealed before their planned release.^[25] In describing Destiny, Bungie's lead writer Joseph Staten stated that the studio was approaching the game with the intention of "building a universe" that would "take on a life of its own".^[26] Further information became available in February 2013, when Bungie released a video documentary revealing information on Destiny and some of the core ideas behind the game, including the company's "seven pillars" philosophy, identifying the seven underlying elements of the early development process that they adopted to make the game appeal to as wide an audience as possible,^[14][27] with particular emphasis on making the game accessible to casual, novice gamers and dedicated fans of the genre alike.^[5] The game was first confirmed to be released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 at the PS4 reveal event on February 20, 2013. Bungie also revealed that both the PS3 and PS4 versions will receive exclusive content. They later confirmed that the game would be released on Xbox 360 and Xbox One.^[28]

Also revealed were plans to incorporate social media into Destiny, allowing players to remain connected to one another even when offline. With the in-game universe being in a state of perpetual change, Bungie is exploring the potential of using a mobile phone application to update players about new quests and inform them as to what their friends are doing in-game.^[5]

On October 1, 2013, Bungie and Activision announced that players who pre-order Destiny on any platform at select retailers will receive an exclusive nine-digit code to gain access to the beta version of the game. Additional beta codes were also sent out randomly on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter during the week starting on October 20.^[29]

On December 6, 2013, Bungie confirmed a September 9, 2014 release date for Destiny.^[4]