Destiny 2: "I Hope People Complain About How Much Story We Have"
"We're learning from and listening to all the feedback we got on Destiny 1, and we're applying it."
One of the most heavily criticised elements of Destiny was its story, and that's nothing new for Bungie games, as people didn't always love Halo's story, either. Now, senior narrative lead Jason Harris and cinematic lead Matthew Ward have talked about how the story for Destiny 2 will be more of a focus compared to the original.
"Destiny 1 in a way was foundational," Ward told IGN. "It was meant to set up the world and ask a lot of questions, but not necessarily deliver too many answers. But leave enough out there for us to build upon."
Destiny 1's DLC, including House of Wolves, Rise of Iron, and Taken King did not focus much on the mysterious Traveler, but Destiny 2 will, Ward said. While he didn't give away any specific details, he and Harris promised Destiny 2 will have a lot of story baked into it, so much that fans might take issue with how much story there is.
"We're learning from and listening to all the feedback we got on Destiny 1, and we're applying it," Ward said. "I hope people complain about how much story we have. That'd be the Reddit thread I'd like to read. 'Too much damn story [makes angry typing gesture].'"
Harris said in the interview that Bungie "spent a lot of time" world-building for the Destiny franchise overall. He added, "I can't emphasize enough that we are now ready to tell stories in this world. Big, expansive, cinematic stories."
"I think players are ultimately going to see a wide variety of story channels, an eclectic number of outlets to see story infused throughout the game; top to bottom, soup to nuts. There is story everywhere," he said.
Destiny 2's beta starts on July 18 for PS4 and July 19 for Xbox One, first for people who pre-order the game. It then opens up to everyone on July 21, wrapping up on July 23. The beta will be available on PC later.
The beta lets you try the opening story mission, called Homecoming, as well as the Inverted Spire Strike mission. In Crucible, you can try two modes, Control and Countdown. Additionally, the new social space, The Farm, will be playable for a period of time.
Some services won't be online yet, however. The beta won't support Destiny 2's Clan features, character progression won't be representative of the final game, and characters will be wiped before the game is released. If you participate in the beta, you will get a special emblem.
The full version of Destiny 2 launches in September for PS4 and Xbox One, with a release on PC to come in October.
Recently, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said Destiny 1 didn't release content fast enough to meet players' expectations. To address this, Activision is bringing in more studios to work alongside Bungie on Destiny 2.
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