Unit 72 Assignment 1
Game Design: What’s in the Game?
Chosen game: Destiny
Destiny, a game that is a bit “hit and miss” with a lot of people, a lot more was promised and a lot less was given.
The visuals are very nice and all color schemes fit their environments (fitting the story) but I think that Destiny fell far short of what it could have been due to the release on the PS3 and Xbox 360, the environments are fairly large but not that interesting.
And before you start a mission you are orbiting a planet but for some reason you always land in the same spot, most of the environmental layouts are re-cycled throughout the game which is bad level design as players want variety.
The gameplay itself is excellent, it feels fluent and smooth.
Visuals
The game visuals are a similar style to that of Halo and although the game only runs at 30 frames per second instead of 60 which ideally it should on the next-gen consoles and pc, the game still runs smoothly, my biggest problem with the visual aspect is the field of view is quite narrow and can feel disorientating at times.
Heads-up display (HUD)
The main HUD elements consist of your shields/health bar, weapons and ammo and the motion sensor. Shields and health only appear when the player is taking damage so it doesn’t clutter the screen, it is also split into three sections the first two are shield levels and the last section is the player’s health, a similar look to the halo shield bar. The motion sensor is in the top left of the screen but it doesn’t show the player exactly where the enemy is as it is split into segments to keep the player guessing but at the same time giving them an idea of where the enemy is. Weapons and ammo are displayed in the bottom left of the screen along with grenades, ability and the super attack. The fact that the HUD displays all the information you need while minimizing clutter is very user friendly.
Player vs. Environment
The A.I. in Destiny is excellent and actually believable as in other games then the A.I. shoots at a player and the player goes behind a wall to flank, the A.I. seemingly knows where the player is at all times, Destiny’s A.I. is different in the fact that once the line of sight is broken the A.I. doesn’t know where the player is just where they were so the player can actually flank
Player vs. Player
This aspect of the game is fantastic and works surprisingly well considering the fact that you can get an attack that instantly kills anyone. The gameplay flows smoothly and is very entertaining. But on the other hand there is no matchmaking search structure, so you and a bunch of randoms can get pitched against a team of six friends, so it feels like you are fighting a hopeless fight against a team sponsored by Razor while your team is in the corner eating crayons. Also there is no way to make a private/custom game with your friends.
Loot and rewards
The loot drops and the “reward” system is completely unstructured which is extremely aggravating because a player could perform very well and get virtually nothing, while a player could perform very badly and get some amazing loot. If a player wants some food gear, they would have to grind the game to try to get some decent items.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack in Destiny is phenomenal; it was composed and directed by beloved Halo soundtrack creator Martin O’Donnell and co-writer Michael Salvatori with help from C. Paul Johnson and Paul McCartney. Martin O’Donnell’s music in Halo was always something to remember and suited the situation perfectly, Destiny is no exception. It has the right pace, beat and vibe for the situation. Every good game needs a good soundtrack as it gives the player a sense of emersion and creates an atmosphere which is very important to keep a player interested for example, it would be no good turning down a dark hallway in a horror game and jazz music starts playing, the music needs to suit the situation otherwise there would be no point in having the music.
Story
Destiny’s story is really quite pathetic, most of the story is given to us in the opening cut-scene, the majority of the missions consist of you defending your ghost against waves of enemies while it opens a door, the story just doesn’t have much depth and there is very little emersion. And the companion that you are given is called a “Ghost” which is voiced by Peter Dinklage, as good of an actor he is in Game Of Thrones, his voice acting in Destiny is very dull, either he didn’t enjoy reading what he was given or the material was so shallow that the couldn’t get into it.
Controls
Destiny’s control layout is very similar to that of Halo; this comes as no surprise as Bungie (the developers of Destiny) also created the Halo series, so anyone who has played a Halo game will feel right at home with the in-game movement and general feel of the game, people who have played a Call of Duty game will soon feel comfortable as the basic controls are the same.
jpinnington 