Welcome to the most anticipated sequel in FPS history.
The power of Destiny has arrived. Bungie’s smash hit is coming back with a vengeance. Although the gaming company is keeping a tight lid on the release date, sources from the inside say it’s going to be better than ever.
So what does the maker of Halo have up its sleeve for the next installment of Destiny? Well, gamers and fans alike won’t officially know until the company announces the 2017 release date.
However, the rumor mill is spinning and here’s a look at what insiders say is going to make Destiny a hot ticket item:
It’s Moving to the PC
This is the hottest spin out there—and frankly—the one with the most truth. Since the debut of the game in 2014, hardcore PC gamers have been waiting for the opportunity for Destiny to be readily available to them.
In fact, this has been the request of some of the game’s most loyal fans. There are several reports that top-notch gaming companies: Vicarious Visions and High Moon studios were trying to get in on the PC concept.
The lucky gaming guru that’s most likely teaming up with Bungie is Activision’s subsidiary, Vicarious Vision. According to gaming blog, Kotaku, Bungie is pulling in the crème de la crème of the gaming industry on the Destiny 2 PC project.
In fact—rumor has it—that they aren’t just vetting High Moon studios but that they are already recruiting some of their top-notch designers to also join the project.
Jason Schreier, a writer for Kotaku, heard from numerous sources that the PC version was slated for a late 2017 launch. Truth? Speculation? Who knows? But seeing that very little has been revealed about Destiny 2 and its future PC run, this rumor is likely true. As it build’s suspense amongst its avid fans, it also peaks a new interest into the prequel.
Moving On: Bungie May be Developing New Characters
In 2014, Bungie announced that players would be able to keep their guardians and characters in the sequel. This scenario would be ideal for Destiny fans. Why? Because it means that the sequel is a continuation of the first game and less time is spent navigating through a character manifesto.
But what if Bungie changed their minds?
This idea doesn’t mean that Bungie is negating their promise—again this is all speculation. But according to Forbes magazine gaming contributor, David Their, this concept wouldn’t be a bad idea. A new design experience means evolving the characters from the old design.
Had Bungie not expressed that tidbit of information two years ago, the decision about the characters would have been a no-brainer. Mainly, because they could completely revolutionize the game and have to convert less of the old design module.
For now, it’s just a waiting period and Destiny fans will have to wait it out and see what happens to their warlocks and guardians.
The Sequel Will Be Fresh
Exciting new content and characters is bound to appeal to new and old Destiny players.
Although 2014 doesn’t seem like a longtime ago—in the tech world—it feels like a decade and Bungie knows it. As mentioned earlier, the software gaming company is in a bit of a pickle trying to fulfill their promise to the game’s fans by allowing them to keep—at the very least—their guardians.
However, with the likelihood of Destiny 2 coming to PC—it’s worth noting that the game’s old design will be completely scrapped. Again, Bungie is being tight-lipped on this issue, but it makes the most sense.
Mainly because PlayStation and XBOX are upping the ante with a new game console. The Playstation Neo and the XBOX Scorpio are arriving soon and that may force Bungie to do two things:
Complete a Full Overhaul
This is inevitable if the company wants to keep Destiny competitive in the gaming market. That means going to the drawing board and starting from scratch and changing everything from characters to color schemes.
The hard part for Bungee is trying to figure out what angle both Sony and Microsoft are leaning towards. Will the DLC look different? Is controller mantra remaining relatively the same? Will there be a 3 or 4 dimensional component? Will the interaction change?
Seeing that both Sony and XBOX aren’t sharing much about their product, it may mean that whatever Bungie is brewing in their lab will have to be shelved.
Replacing Destiny: Rise of the Iron
Destiny: Rise of the Iron was a snack for gamers, something to hold them over until Destiny 2 was released. However, it was also an opportunity for Bungie to fix what was and wasn’t working and decide whether or not they are going to wipe the slate clean.
The mistake most gamers made was carrying the assumption that Rise of the Iron was the sequel to the first game in the series—it wasn’t. Realistically, it was an opportunity for Bungie to fix security issues from the original game by tightening up firewalls and making it harder for hackers to break the code in order to make it compatible with PS3 or PC models.
Once Destiny 2 hits the stands, it is a likely concept that its predecessor will be a distant memory. Even more so if there will be a PC version available.
So what can be expected in the new design? What’s Bungie got up its sleeve? Well, that’s hard to determine when the company’s 750+ employees haven’t said a peep. It looks like everyone will have to wait until the company announces a release date.
What can be gathered—and obvious to gaming experts alike—is that in order to have a completely different gaming experience, there will be a massive change.
This realization leaves gaming operatives scratching their heads and wondering about Destiny 2’s direction. What can be deciphered is that overhauling the system and starting from scratch is likely the better option.
The Plot Is Changing
The secret to making an awesome sequel is making the game more versatile, user-friendly, and technologically improved from its predecessor. Sometimes that means redefining the plot instead of making it an extension. Why? Well there are two reasons:
Strengthens the Visual Effects
Awe-inspiring new graphics make interactive art.
For any video game, the important component is the visual effects. As time moves on and technology is constantly redesigned, hardcore gamers have an expectation that the software stays with the current climate.
For Destiny 2, new plot design is ideal—especially since there is a very good chance of it going to PC. Its last release made it available for PS4 and Xbox—however, redesigning and making something new means transferring less of the old software and an opportunity to expand its gaming console base.
Widens the Playing Field
The opportunity for a new plot offers also a longer gaming experience. Taking Destiny 2 fans on a new journey doesn’t necessarily mean they will be starting from the beginning. What it does do for Bungie is give them time to figure out a way to overhaul the old characters without isolating the new ones.
An Ever-Changing Plot Means an Ever-Changing World
Out of all of the rumors, this one is the hardest to pin down—however it’s probably the most exciting of them all. Destiny: The Rise of the Iron wasn’t the sequel. Really, it was to fix everything that was wrong in the first rendition and reboot the game altogether.
However, there seems to be a bigger plan for Destiny 2. Not only would the plot change, but also, the settings. There’s buzz going around that Bungie is developing a new concept with the setting—particularly focusing on the planets Cabal and Saturn.
What changes are coming to these two galaxy powerhouses? Well, no one really knows. However, there is a theory that Bungie will be making changes such as increasing population and outposts, in addition to developing more interesting quests.
The Rumor Mill is Benefiting Bungie
It’s worth noting that Bungie is well aware of the rumors and speculation. However, their choice to remain mum only fuels the curiosity of gamers all around the world.
It seems as though their last official statement on the matter happened back in 2014 when they hinted at the idea of a sequel. Although they’ve asked to make a statement about the release—to this day—they haven’t.
How does this work in their favor? Because it has allowed gaming and tech gurus alike to dig for any information they may find. They search high and low for reputable resources and based off of one statement almost three years ago, conjure up real possibilities for the game.
The gossip about Bungie’s plans has made it become a hot button topic in the gaming industry. All of the chatter pushed it into a highly-anticipated realm that Bungie has to be grateful for and turned the internet buzz into a fantastic marketing ploy.
The only factual evidence that is known is that a sequel is underway. Everything else is speculation and Bungie has greatly used this to their advantage. The late 2017 release date announcement shouldn’t be that far away—but again—that’s just a rumor.
Sometimes I'm not really even sure if it's me doing the writing, or I am just a channel for the stories themselves. Either way, I hope you enjoy both this work, and the many works to come, and remember, yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, but today is a gift, that's why we call it the present.
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