Even if I am myself somewhat dissatisfied with the latest episodes of Destiny 2, Despite its time-gated character, this does not mean that the idea as a whole has to be abandoned. Actually, quite the contrary, as Bungie asserts that there is still a ton of content to come. However, what shape may it take on?
Although the details are still unknown, Bungie's Destiny 2 game director Robbie Stevens, expansion lead Catarina Macedo, combat area lead Ben Wommack, and a few other crew members were interviewed by Edge magazine and GamesRadar. As expected, there are several details Macedo revealed that are significant overall and in relation to two forthcoming Episodes. For instance, even if the Witness is no longer alive, we now know that the Pyramid group, the Dread, is here to stay:
Wommack said, "The Dread are in the Destiny universe to stay." We don't want to create a new unit and have you never see it again, which is another reason why it might be challenging to design them at times.
The episodes of Destiny 2 are just the beginning
Undoubtedly, the whole Edge report is filled with fascinating details, but of special relevance is the fresh perspective on Bungie's thoughts on Episodes.
"We've established what Light and Darkness are, so the Echoes are really our way to kind of break some of the rules that have been pretty static for a while," Stevens said to Edge. "It allows the wielders of the Echoes to do things that wouldn't be possible otherwise." "At the end of the ten-year journey, we really wanted to make sure that The Final Shape had a lasting influence. Thus, the focus of year 10 is mostly on the fallout from that battle.
Bungie was hesitant to abandon the core of The Final Shape and go on to other promising endeavors, as Stevens elucidates. Therefore, episodes are meant to serve as the much-needed bridge into "the next era of Destiny." Stevens states that "Episode One: Echoes is meant to send a clear signal that this isn't the end to players, to everyone who loves Destiny." It's a fresh start.
Although the first Episode's introduction, Echoes, was undoubtedly stronger than previous ones, I'm still not sure that these releases vary much from the Seasons. Practically speaking, Bungie continues to mostly depend on time-gated content to sustain high levels of engagement over extended periods of time, and the details of how a season develops are still somewhat unclear to us.But Stevens is certain of the Episodes' worth: "We're focusing a lot of year 10 on these individual Acts so you know exactly where to go and exactly what to do when you're chasing this loot," he says. We're thinking about accomplishing this in a number of different ways. We'll be combining many of the methods we've used in the past over the course of the next year or so, but in all honesty, a lot of it will simply come down to a lot of things that will happen in year 10 first. Much of it builds upon the Onslaughts and the Coils.
So apart from the time-gates, it seems like Bungie is listening to the appropriate community comments when making decisions. Again, however, we will have to wait and watch how everything plays out; after all, we've been here before, and this wouldn't be the first time that the post-launch material of Destiny 2 falls short of the phenomenal heights of its corresponding yearly release.
According to Stevens, "everything that comes out in year 10 is the catalyst for what happens next in Destiny 2." Additionally, a few of those threads will continue in the future. However, what I really want to emphasize is that we're moving away from Destiny 2's linear storyline, or what we internally refer to as "TV-show storytelling," and toward these more stand-alone experiences and Episodes that are simpler to pick up and play. Therefore, to appreciate that narrative and that experience, you don't need to be aware of everything that occurred immediately before.
Stevens claims that Bungie is now eager to explore "the universe of Destiny in general" and move away from this kind of linear narrative. I think it's encouraging that Stevens took extra care to avoid giving away too much.
Hence, even if Bungie's current version of Act-based Episodes falls short of what they had promised to be, there are still things to look forward to.