I've thought about this before, and I think if I didn't like it, I'd probably stick around for the community. However, it would have to be REALLY bad for me not to like it- I am not all that picky about games.

I've been thinking about this just now, in fact.

I think that, even if I don't like the game itself at all, the story probably will be engaging enough to keep me around here anyways.

Go back and look at some of the early posts of HBO. There were some people who didn't like Halo when it was announced, and some that really didn't like Bungie being bought by Microsoft. Then look at the forum after each of the Halo games were released. There were people that really didn't like each game. Some still hung around, some moved on to other things. I think it will be the same with Destiny. I think it'll please most of the people here. It might not appeal to others. So goes the ebb and flow of the community.

If you think about the Halo games, and the people making Destiny, could it really be bad?

The answer is "no"

Like I posted in my forum tips and tricks thread, all I personally hope is that DBO is, at the very least, an optimistic place until Destiny arrives. Because this isn't Halo, and I don't think it should be defined by the same standards. Destiny should be given a fair shot by the most jaded and pessimistic, by the Halo-haters and the Halo-lovers. There's no classic original to compare it to here - this is the first of a brand new thing. And if some folks end up being disappointed, but still enjoy the community, I hope they can find a way to still have fun with DBO without filling the boards up with negativity. That's what I mean by my title: there should be some positive reason you're here, right? Why else would you be here? If you hate Destiny, love the community.

I like 343 and while I didn't hate Halo 4, it also didn't hit the chords that define the Halo universe for me. So while I love HBO, I find myself posting less because, even though I often agree with some things said, I just don't want to join those hate-bandwagon threads. The constructive criticism is great, but then at times there's just avalanches of rants and venting, and I don't see where that benefits anybody. Instead, I've focused on classic Halo, good Lore debates, and having fun with the community in Spartan Ops.

If those kinds of rants and raves do happen here in the future, I hope at least it happens based on Destiny's own goals and merits - and not because it isn't Halo.

What if it ends up like lost planet? I have that vibe coming from it...

There's zero point in setting expectations now when we know almost nothing about Destiny. Let's wait until we've at least seen something about it.

-- Steve doesn't see the point in stampeding this early; it'll tire us out before the thing gets released.

Every Bungie game with the exception of ONI has been pretty damn good. Thats good enough for me.

I hate to quote Michael Pachter, but all over Bungie's 360 titles have sold over 6 million world wide (I think). I know they are all Halo games, but thats a great track record

This the internet; I'm sure everyone will be mature and civil as they express their displeasure.

Hopefully, since Destiny will be something new, and apparently pretty innovative, it should be shielded from the old "I just wanted the old game" curse. If Destiny fails, it'll probably need to fail pretty spectacularly to get a really negative reaction round these parts.

Okay, I'm way oversimplifying here...

Or a job? Or what if I never even pass my PhD? Oh my god, what if the monkeys rise up and take over the world, what if the postman's late tomorrow and I don't get the box set of Jericho, what if Commander Shepard gets kidnapped by batarians in a hundred odd years time and no one saves the galaxy from the Reapers, what if me and my friends never get past that damned ghost castle in Super Mario Brothers, what if they find the bodies in the fireplace, what if they don't, what if Destiny is the greatest game ever but a cat steals my opposable thumbs so I never get to play it, what if I go mad with power, what if I have already gone mad with power, what if the voices are true, what if I type what if so many times it starts to lose its meaning, what if the angels fall, what if a sphere appears in the sky, what if . . .

With what little information we have on Destiny I look at it this way: This is the game Bungie went independent for. This is the game that they gave up Halo for. This is the game that they shopped around and got a three game contract for. Just given that I can't imagine that Destiny, whatever it is, will be a flop.

What it might be is a game that you personally don't want to play. Maybe someone doesn't like shooter, or RPGs, for me it's dual stick shooters like Geometry Wars. I can't stand the constant maneuvering and the constant aiming. They just aren't for me. If Destiny was somehow a really big Geometry Wars clone I wouldn't buy it or play it but I'd stop back here every once in a while to check the story.

Seriously, what if the game is not fun?
What if you don't find it enjoyable?
What if its just not your kind of game?

Then next year's DBOBP would be in serious danger.

I've been a Bungie fan since Marathon 1 was released for Mac, so let me give my 2 cents about Bungie and Bungie fandom:

First of all, the reason I love Bungie is because they make games that they want to play, and since they are gamers, that usually means games that gamers want to play. Does that mean it'll necessarily be the genre or setting that you love? No of course not, but I have very little doubt that the game will be high quality and enjoyable.

Secondly, even when I haven't loved their new game, (Myth is probably the only series I never got completely into, strategy has never been my favorite genre) I appreciate the community of fans. Back when Bungie.org was bigger I was there every day even during the long periods of time that they didn't release a game, and even if I stop playing Halo games I'll probably still visit Halo.Bungie.Org because Bungie fans (in general) are awesome people.

So stay if you like the community, or stick with the Halo community, or leave altogether, I'll still be here.

You know, I don't think this is a problem we should really worry about. If you don't like a game, you usually don't play it that much. The problem solves itself.

Sure, it may be hard to leave the community behind that you have enjoyed in the past, but you necessarily have to leave. You can still enjoy playing games with the community that you do enjoy (presuming there are any games worth enjoying).

There are also plenty of other enjoyable hobbies out there, and tons of people to enjoy them with. Do what makes you happy, rather than forcing yourself to do things that don't. Sometimes you just need to move on.

In my opinion, this console generation has lasted so long that many developers are focused too much on making their game look good rather than play good. I just hope Bungie doesn't fall into this trap.

This actually worries me a lot.. not that the game will suck [I trust Bungie to make a quality game] but that it won't be a game or genre type that I can enjoy. I'm not a fan or RTS or some such.. and it would really disappoint me not to enjoy it.

What would that mean for me? Probably not buying on zero day but waiting and trying a second hand copy down the road.

I'm fully prepared for it to.

The answer is simple. I will simply transition from being a lifelong Bungie fan, to being an ex lifelong Bungie fan.

There are lots of great games out there to play, so nothing is lost if it sucks. Just move on.

What if it's so great that we play and play and don't eat and then die. That would suck.

Yeah I said it

Seriously, what if the game is not fun?
What if you don't find it enjoyable?
What if its just not your kind of game?

This is the first brand spanking new Bungie franchise for me, so I am excited for all the community aspects and possibilities, yet nervous that the game may not be my thing.

I wonder what someone who has been through this before thinks (looking at you Kermit, Louis Wu [LOL @ Wouis Lu], Mig)...

After all, there are a lot of people on HBO that don't like Halo 4 that hang around still. Would you or I do the same with Destiny? I think I likely would just because I like you people :)

Nah, Destiny won't suck because I was upgraded by the Liberian with the same force-powers as Darth Didact, and I've been beaming don't-make-it-suck instructions to Bungie ever since.

Yeah I said it

Seriously, what if the game is not fun?
What if you don't find it enjoyable?
What if its just not your kind of game?

This is the first brand spanking new Bungie franchise for me, so I am excited for all the community aspects and possibilities, yet nervous that the game may not be my thing.

I wonder what someone who has been through this before thinks (looking at you Kermit, Louis Wu [LOL @ Wouis Lu], Mig)...

After all, there are a lot of people on HBO that don't like Halo 4 that hang around still. Would you or I do the same with Destiny? I think I likely would just because I like you people :)

This is my first new Bungie franchise as well. I'm not sure what to expect.

It sounds like it will be somehow an FPS, and I think it's extremely unlikely that I won't enjoy the moment-to-moment gameplay of any Bungie-developed FPS, so I'm optimistic on the game mechanics.

On the other hand, I've played MMORPGs before, and I really don't want to get sucked into that again. If Destiny requires the sort of time commitment traditionally needed to do well and keep up in an "MMO" game, I may not be interested. I'm also not really into PVP combat anymore, so that's a possible pitfall. It remains to be seen how much PVE (player-versus-environment, as in not fighting other players) and PVP there is, or how those concepts even apply to Destiny (if at all). So, we'll see.

Regardless of what happens with Destiny, remember that HBO is still there, at least for the time being. There's likely to still be a fair number of Halo enthusiasts there.

I'm going to try not to think of that anymore than I already have. My love/admiration/loyalty to Bungie began the second I popped Halo: Combat Evolved into my Xbox and that was three years before I even fell madly in love with the Haloverse as a whole.

If it does suck, which I doubt considerably, I'm not going to stop playing the game or leave the community. ODST and Reach weren't all that fun [for me], but I still kept coming back. Its going to have to be REALLY terrible for me to drop everything.

Nevertheless, I have the utmost confidence in Bungie in delivering a rich universe for us to dive into.

I suggest you get a coke, some ice and flipflops.

Relax, put ya feet up, tape a smile to your face :)

And leave your doubts and paranoid thoughts behind.

I was introduced to Halo:CE shortly after it was released, by a friend in school. Before that, I had hardly played video games. Suffice to say, I fell in love. To me, this past decade+ with Bungie have been like finding and getting to know a new best friend. Sure, there are people who have known Bungie longer, who have been there since it's infancy and are more familiar with it than I am, but everything I have come to know about Bungie I have loved. The feel of their games, their attitude, their personality (yes, Bungie has a personality), everything about Bungie I have come to love. And that love makes me more excited and more terrified for Destiny. I'm not sure what I'll do if the game isn't my cup of tea; I'm gonna wait to see the game before worrying about that. But Bungie will always have my love and support.

Honestly if it sucks then so be it. However I can say that I've loved and I mean loved every single damn game Bungie has made. Even those that others aren't so keen on. So the odds of me not loving this game are going to be very very slim.

Horrible, awesome, somewhere in the middle - I'm just excited to see what it is. Evolution, man. It's exciting.

;)

I'm gonna be honest. I will be hanging around HBO more than DBO.

I am a Halo fan. I have never been so enthralled by a universe or series before like I am with Halo. It is because of Halo that I know what I want to do with my life career wise. I doubt Destiny will have the same effect on me. That said though, I love these people, and this community so much that even if I despise Destiny (Incredibly unlikely) I will still poke my head around here often and as always be dedicated to HBO.

I'd like to think that even if I don't like Destiny, I'd still stick around to see what others think about it. We're still bungie.org, and even if I don't like the game itself, I do like the community. I don't enjoy Halo 4 very much, but the community itself is worth more to me than a single game I might not enjoy.

So sure, maybe I won't enjoy Destiny, but I definitely love this community and I'm sure Destiny will have something that I like. Hell, I enjoy Spartan Ops even with all of its flaws. How could a Bungie game be an outright complete failure in attracting me to it in every way, shape, and form? Well, hopefully I don't ever find out. :P