What an odd and off-putting way to officially reveal such a massive and potentially significant game. After a few rather minimal leaks, Bungie's supposedly grand debut of their latest sci-fi shooter opus, Destiny, felt more like an amalgamation of a few more mysterious leaks than an event that might truly generate some hype for their new multi platform action title. All the developers did was insist they were accomplishing a bunch of wildly ambitious game design feats, bringing only concept art and a short, insubstantial gameplay clip in tow to back up their claims.
Even within what details they did reveal, there exists a distinct lack of clarity. The game is said to have many MMO elements, for example, including "raids" and what have been described as player hubs. This would all, of course, demand some intricate server setups on Activision's part, yet subscription fees were immediately deemed out of the question, though no alternative revenue stream was brought up. While I'm quite confident that some other form of monetization would need to be utilized (perhaps micro transactions or a heavy emphasis on DLC), it's a bit odd to get no indication whatsoever of what that might ultimately be. Sure, such a detail might seem a rather mundane and unappealing point to speak on at a buzz-building reveal, but knowing how the game might operate from a business standpoint would've at least done something to establish a clear identity for a game that - based on Bungie's odd demonstration - doesn't seem to really have one.
This uncertainty further extends to the game's design foundations. Simply put, the game's colossal aspirations go far beyond those of any FPS or even console MMO that has thus far been made. While I would love to believe that a shooter could pull off potentially large-scale and entirely emergent online gameplay, huge open worlds, space travel, and class and loot systems that don't tamper with frenetic shoot-em-up mechanics, the thought that a game could come out of nowhere and revolutionize seemingly every last facet of its genre without any remotely similar FPS titles to draw from from is pretty preposterous. If any studio can pull all this off well, it's probably Bungie, but the fact that they've put forth such monumental goals for themselves without giving the press any indication of their success in meeting them is worrisome indeed.
Frankly, the Destiny reveal had a suspicious quality to it that reminded me of the audacious interviews given by Peter Molyneux before the release of the original Fable. In fact, Bungie cofounder Jason Jones is reported to have claimed that "if you enjoy shooters, Destiny will be the best game you've played," a quote that's troublingly similar to Molyneux's claim that Fable was "gonna be the best game ever." If Destiny ends up being anything close to what Bungie says it is, then it may well be the most significant, forward-thinking shooter to come along in years. But the extremely ambitious nature of the concepts they laid out, coupled with the lack any sort of substantiating proof makes their big reveal feel pretty disingenuous. Not delivering on overblown promises is one of the worst and most easily avoidable mistakes an artist can make -- we all know how Molyneux's boasts turned out, after all. In the cases of a few recent and notable releases, developers have resorted to PR smoke and mirrors in order to convince potential customers that the experiences provided are far more fleshed out than they truly are. I sincerely hope that's not the case here, but Bungie didn't exactly provide the level of reassurance that they should have.
They did, however, provide pre-order availability. I think I'll hold off on that for now.