Thoughts on the VoG *rant/spoilers* (Destiny)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Thursday, October 09, 2014, 08:21 (3940 days ago) @ Postmortem

I played The Last of Us on easy. It was intense, frightening, and emotional. I played it on the hardest difficulty for a little bit just to see the difference. It was intense, frightening, emotional, and frustrating. Crank up the difficulty, and (for me) it's just cranking up the frustration.

You obviously cranked it up too far. I can't disagree with your personal experience, but I know you're a better player than me, and for me, the one time I played the Last of Us on easy, it lacked challenge and therefore tension, which negatively impacted my experience of the story.

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Might be that I'm coming across as a little spoiled here, but I'm a story guy. I'd prefer that my story not be locked away behind insane difficulty. I'm not really complaining so much as just reflecting on how I felt about the experience I had, and thinking what would make me - personally - happier in the future. I acknowledge that it wouldn't be best for all, and might not be best for the game. You can be damn sure I'm still going to push through any future raids so I can understand more of the Destiny universe. :)

I'm a story guy, too! I don't know how much story was actually in the Raid, though. I think I'm starting to understand what Deej meant when he continually talked about fans creating their own stories. There are things that happened to us, the players, that I'll always remember from that raid.

We're probably closer to being on the same page than we realize.

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I don't think Bungie should down tone their raids. I think they just need a middle ground. Maybe it's just as simple as making future strikes have more gameplay content similar to what the raid threw at us. If the game were made to cater to me (and yes, I know it's not) the raids would be much easier and offer no rewards, but have a difficulty modifier that increased the recognition that people got for completing, that way any of the world building content wouldn't be blocked off from weaker players, but people would still be able to Become Legend by turning up the difficulty to what it was designed for. I understand that not everyone will agree with me, I'm just putting my thoughts out there.

I think Cody makes some good points about challenge vs. difficulty. I'll leave that subject to him.

Don't get me wrong, I love playing cooperatively far more than playing solo! There's a great dynamic that gets going when you're shouting battlefield tactics to your teammates and attempting to execute plans. The biggest reason I play story and more immersive experiences solo is because when I play with other people, I inevitably end up feeling rushed. I'm taking my time, walking slowly, looking in every corner and admiring the atmosphere, while everyone else rushes ahead. Dear Esther was a nearly perfect game for me, because it moved at my pace and was more about exploration. Skyrim and Fallout 3 were great for the same reason. I spend more time just out walking around in those landscapes than looking at enemies, and oftentimes avoid enemies to try and keep things peaceful. That's just not the way that most players play, and it makes me feel like I'm holding people back or that I can't experience the game I want. That's frustrating. That's really the biggest reason I don't play with people often. I don't like it, but I'm set on having the experience I intend on having.

Like I said, we're probably closer to being on the same page that it first appeared. One of the frustrations with Destiny is that I know it's better with friends, but it's not always better for all the things I like about games. (Of course there's less of that stuff [narrative] on the surface of Destiny anyway, and that's an issue.) Sounds like we should play together more often.

All that said, the Raid forced actual co-op play, which is another thing I love, and it's a thing that's hard to find. What forced it was the challenge aspects, and I'm grateful it exists as it is.