Of all games to have been announced for the upcoming PS4 and Xbox One consoles, undoubtedly one of the most important for fans of science-fiction and first person shooters will be Destiny. This game will mark developers Bungie, who are responsible for the Halo universe, and publishers Activision (Call of Duty) teaming up to make their first concerted foray into the next generation. Which is surely enough to give any gamer chills.
Bungie has emphasized that the universe of Destiny will be “alive”. Events may occur 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.
Set seven hundred years into the future, Destiny takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting following a prosperous period of exploration, peace and technological advancement known as the Golden Age. In a universe where humans have spread out and colonized planets in the Solar System, something 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 Traveller”, a white, spherical celestial body whose appearance centuries before had enabled humans to reach the stars. The Traveller 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.
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. Instead, the game has been referred to as a “shared-world shooter,” as it lacks many of the characteristics of a traditional MMO game. For instance, rather than players being able to see and interact with others 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.
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.
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.
Daniel McDonald
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