Diversity & Colour in This Generation

[Sheikah]

No other game has had me playing as much as Destiny. To the people saying it's a let down, let someone who has actually played it loads tell you otherwise. There's a massive following on this forum - more people still playing it right now than I'd say are playing the new Monster Hunter that came out just the other week.

 

Also @Ronnie, Watch Dogs is also on Wii U, don't forget.

[Ronnie]

No other game has had me playing as much as Destiny. To the people saying it's a let down, let someone who has actually played it loads tell you otherwise. There's a massive following on this forum - more people still playing it right now than I'd say are playing the new Monster Hunter that came out just the other week.

 

Also @Ronnie, Watch Dogs is also on Wii U, don't forget.

 

Destiny should have been much bigger given all the hype. Every review suggested what a let down it was and how barebones and grindy it felt. The post-release DLC is helping though.

[Sheikah]

Destiny should have been much bigger given all the hype. Every review suggested what a let down it was and how barebones and grindy it felt. The post-release DLC is helping though.

 

Not every review at all. Would you like my review? I'm guessing you're taking numbers again to try and make a point, while not playing the games yourself?

 

Eurogamer were very positive about the game, and have it pinned as a 'recommended' game. I actually couldn't agree more with their concluding remarks:

 

But in the white heat of the Strike playlists - or in Heroic mission runs with a friend, or in the unheralded arrival of a public event whilst tooling around in Patrol - Destiny blazes a clear trail through the middle of the desolate no man's land that, for years now, has segregated the bombastic emptiness of shooter campaigns from the frenetic slaughter of multiplayer. And it does so with a poise and depth that its few peers - games like the charming but scrappy Borderlands and Far Cry - cannot match; a poise and depth that will keep people playing it for years.

 

And you know what? Ridiculous numbers of people still play the game, 6 months on. It's unprecedented for this type of game - you'd normally expect far fewer people to be playing so long after launch.

[somme]

I wasn't that into Destiny at all and I'm still not. But then again I'm not really a fan of shooters, and yet somehow the PS4 remains my favourite console since the N64. Probably says something, that does.

[Jonnas]

A note about Destiny (and MMOs in general): they really are designed to "hook" the player with seemingly-minor things, such as they way characters level up, or how quests are given. That's how World of Warcraft got such a loyal following, and no doubt it caused Destiny to have such a large following despite the bare-bones main game.

 

And if you're criticising Destiny for being barebones in its base game... World of Warcraft is the same thing. I don't like either, and I'm not defending either, but we should really clarify what we're talking about, as Destiny is an MMOFPS. I wouldn't be surprised if, in the future, it got the following that WoW has gotten, either.

 

(So yeah, Sheikah, it's not that unprecedented. This loyal "hooked" fanbase was the intention from the beginning. The opiate analogy is spot-on, too, as WoW has been accused of the very same thing)

[Sheikah]

@Jonnas not true, it is unprecedented because those examples are subscription based point and click MMORPGs. This is a game with no subscription (the types of games less supplemented with content) and an online FPS. The gameplay is completely different, ergo it's a different type of game, ergo me saying "it's unprecedented for this type of game to stay popular so long" (I believe the point you were challenging) holds true.

 

My point was with regards to getting people to play an FPS on a console for so long. I suppose the closest thing to this is Borderlands, which had online co-op, loot and was an FPS, but that's seen nowhere near the playtime for me even though you could spend ages getting multiple high rank weapons on that too. Destiny may also have EXP as the driving force, but most of us on the forum enjoy playing it while we voice chat with one another. The raids have been spectacular, like nothing in a console game thus far. In terms of a co-operative experience it really delivers with the raids, and I can tell you we enjoy them not just for the loot! The game does get frustrating when you don't get the loot you want, and hardcore players are running out of content, but I don't see why we should suddenly re-analyse the game that has brought us a hell of a lot of fun in the hundreds of hours before that.

 

It feels a bit silly arguing this with (some of) you guys anyway, because you don't really know if the gameplay is any good or not. It seems to me like people are very receptive to the cons they've heard while seemingly ignoring the pros of this game (of which there are many). Try before you slag off, etc.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Sheikah

[Daft]

The biggest games of the last twelve months.... 4 FPS, 3 third person action games and a racing sim. Diversity!

 

Does it matter that the big games are catering toward the broadest demographic? There are plenty more niche titles that provide pretty amazing experiences like Never Alone, Apotheon, Hohokum and Transistor.

 

How does it effect your enjoyment how 'big' a game is?

[Ronnie]

Does it matter that the big games are catering toward the broadest demographic? There are plenty more niche titles that provide pretty amazing experiences like Never Alone, Apotheon, Hohokum and Transistor.

 

How does it effect your enjoyment how 'big' a game is?

 

I see your point I guess. Nothing against the amazing indie titles like the ones you mentioned, a lot of them are outstanding games. I just think it would be nice to see the huge AAA budgets applied to something other than a FPS/cinematic 3rd person action game. But those are what the western world wants so that's where the investment is. Anything else is deemed too risky so it's up to the indies to provide the variety, and a great job they do of it too (in general).

[Jonnas]

Jonnas not true, it is unprecedented because those examples are subscription based point and click MMORPGs. This is a game with no subscription (the types of games less supplemented with content) and an online FPS. The gameplay is completely different, ergo it's a different type of game, ergo me saying "it's unprecedented for this type of game to stay popular so long" (I believe the point you were challenging) holds true.

 

@Subscription: The "Skinner Box" techniques work regardless of subscription, so I feel like this is a fairly minor distinction to make (and don't you need to have a subscription to PS+ to play it online anyway? At least on the PS4? I remember some hubbub about that)

 

@Other FPSes: Feel free to make that comparison then, but I wouldn't compare WoW or Monster Hunter to single-player RPGs or Adventure games, either. MMOs are fundamentally different from single-player experiences.

 

Either way, I'm not arguing anything for or against gameplay, as the presence of Skinner Box elements isn't a criticism nor a praise. I can believe the raids are fun, as the original criticisms were directed towards content and nothing else. I'm just saying that Destiny is a bit of an odd duck to compare with other console games. The only console game I can think of that should be compared to Destiny is Monster Hunter.

[Sheikah]

It's not the same type of game though. One is an FPS, not supplemented by subscription funded content, the other is a subscription based MMORPG. I don't see why you're really finding fault with what I originally said.

 

From what I can tell, your argument hinges on them using drawn out tactics to make people play for so long. In actual fact, it's just a really fun game to play with friends. People buy the DLC because they want to do the raids - the content. Because it's largely a pretty fun game.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Sheikah

[Jonnas]

From what I can tell, your argument hinges on them using drawn out tactics to make people play for so long. In actual fact, it's just a really fun game to play with friends. People buy the DLC because they want to do the raids - the content. Because it's largely a pretty fun game.

 

...And it is fun thanks (in part) to those tactics. It's not one or the other, Monster Hunter uses similar stuff, too. It's mainly so that the game stays fun over an extended period of time, and to avoid the boring parts feeling like a chore.

 

Either way, I'm not defending a big point, here, just adding something to your "opium" comment, because Skinner Box elements have been compared to drugs, (An exaggeration, of course, they can't make a game popular by themselves, they're just part of the design) and are often used in massive multiplayer games like this.

[Sheikah]

It's fun mostly because it's actually fun. To me, and I know to quite a few others on the forum, loot is a bonus. You play for the social element, anything else is gravy. It has a really quite long main game before you even need to think about buying DLC (largely due to the raid).

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

Funny ole argument.