I can easily buy something very unusual and outlandish about the world you're setting your story in. But give me a reason to. If Destiny is full of ancient mythology and gods and junk that I typically have no interest in at all, I will care if it has a cathartic point. I absolutely won't care if it's just there for the sake of "worldbuilding".

That's where I draw the line, anyway.

Destiny will be the proving grounds, though. Maybe I'm really a fan of neither :(

But I'm very optimistic :)

I'm not in particular a big fan of magic in a sci-fi setting either, but that's because I prefer my sci-fi hard.

I like that the game is mostly limited in scope to our solar system, that's a touch more realistic, but the FTL space fighters, the space-magic, etc. just tickle me the wrong way.

I think the space magic and soft science fiction will grant a lot more creative freedom - you're not after all restrained by the laws of our universe as we know it, but it may come at the cost of internal consistency. Time after time I find this to be the case when magic comes into play, because it is 'You can do anything' power and that is a very easy tool to misuse.

Generally I tend to agree, but I allow for leeway where it's set up properly. After all, any sufficiently advanced technology seems like magic. I'd be willing to admit that whatever unusual "powers" the Travel assigns to Guardians would seem to the less-advanced human culture like magic without actually contravening the laws of physics as they exist in the Destiny universe.

I like that the game is mostly limited in scope to our solar system, that's a touch more realistic, but the FTL space fighters, the space-magic, etc. just tickle me the wrong way.

I think the space magic and soft science fiction will grant a lot more creative freedom - you're not after all restrained by the laws of our universe as we know it, but it may come at the cost of internal consistency. Time after time I find this to be the case when magic comes into play, because it is 'You can do anything' power and that is a very easy tool to misuse.

I was a fan of Bungie quite awhile before Halo. I was interested in Halo first because it was Bungie, and then because of what I saw. If Bungie hadn't been the one making Halo, I don't know what it could have been, but it's very likely I might never have played it.

I'm interested in Destiny right now because it's what Bungie is doing. I like what I see so far. I suppose something might happen to lessen my interest over time, but so far that has yet to happen to me with a Bungie game since Marathon 1.

I feel the same, and your experience mirrors mine precisely.

Halo is pretty much my favorite game series of all time. All things considered, Bungie is by far my most favorite developer, and they mean more to me than just Halo. I love Oni. I love Marathon. I've never played Myth. And I seriously, seriously can't wait for Destiny.

Seriously?

Myth is awesome. Find a copy on Ebay, load up the updated Myth 2 engine from playmyth.com, and give it a go. You won't regret it.

Plenty of time for Destiny. It awaits. Somewhere in the heavens. Or something.

I've already addressed this concept in a previous post within this thread.

I am aware of the... similarities. My perception has to do with presentation. "Magic" triggers the fantasy genre in my mind. "Magic" exists in sci-fi, but it is never specifically referred to as "magic". ME3 is a good example of this.

So you're against genre mixing? Is Star Wars science fiction or fantasy, do you think? Or is this really just semantics?

There was a mix up between what was reported on a few journalistic websites and what Bungie has actually quoted so far. I'm sure this will happen several times. I am only human.

Sure, it's inevitable. So far I think nobody at Bungie has said "magic"-- I think IGN may have started that, but if not, it was inevitable it would. I believe the ViDoc talked about Guardians being able to wield "some of the Travelers awesome power" or some such thing, which probably means things from a gameplay perspective that are like ME's biotic powers or Bioshock's tonics and plasmids. None of which were ever really called "magic" even though they are, from a gameplay perspective, functionally inseparable from how well implemented magic systems work in games that feature them, like the Elder Scrolls series. If one doesn't enjoy RPGs with fantasy settings, that's cool, but if one did, but avoided a game because one doesn't like the word "magic" that just seems a bit odd, especially since you can easily, if you like, play a game like that while never using any magic of any kind, if one so chose.

I personally don't like the term, "Magic".

That just struck me as sort of weird. Just sayin'.

That's why I speculated that the cause was a topic banned on the forum. Is that the case? Is there a root for your dislike of magic, or at least your dislike of the word?

That is not the main point of this thread.

No, but I addressed that in the subject. And threads never go offtopic. Never.

The point of this thread was to gauge an idea on what folks here thought about regarding what the article asked: Bungie? or Halo?

I was a fan of Bungie quite awhile before Halo. I was interested in Halo first because it was Bungie, and then because of what I saw. If Bungie hadn't been the one making Halo, I don't know what it could have been, but it's very likely I might never have played it.

I'm interested in Destiny right now because it's what Bungie is doing. I like what I see so far. I suppose something might happen to lessen my interest over time, but so far that has yet to happen to me with a Bungie game since Marathon 1.

"I don't like magic" just seems to me like a very odd position.

Everything we know about the universe seems to indicate that faster than light travel does not exist. Yet games like Halo feature this. When it needs to be explained, you get a bunch of psuedoscientific jargon.

How is this distinguishable from "magic"?

Does it matter, when your Spartan turns invisible, that the fictional reason is fictional science instead of fictional magic?

Does the writer or the OP play Mass Effect? Does it affect one's opinion of the game if "biotic powers" were suddenly called "magic"?

I'm given to wonder if this position is informed by a topic that I assume is verboten on this board...

I've already addressed this concept in a previous post within this thread.

I am aware of the... similarities. My perception has to do with presentation. "Magic" triggers the fantasy genre in my mind. "Magic" exists in sci-fi, but it is never specifically referred to as "magic". ME3 is a good example of this.

There was a mix up between what was reported on a few journalistic websites and what Bungie has actually quoted so far. I'm sure this will happen several times. I am only human.

I personally don't like the term, "Magic".

That is not the main point of this thread.

The point of this thread was to gauge an idea on what folks here thought about regarding what the article asked: Bungie? or Halo?

Everything we know about the universe seems to indicate that faster than light travel does not exist. Yet games like Halo feature this. When it needs to be explained, you get a bunch of psuedoscientific jargon.

How is this distinguishable from "magic"?

Does it matter, when your Spartan turns invisible, that the fictional reason is fictional science instead of fictional magic?

Does the writer or the OP play Mass Effect? Does it affect one's opinion of the game if "biotic powers" were suddenly called "magic"?

I'm given to wonder if this position is informed by a topic that I assume is verboten on this board...

This analogy is awesome.

I'm hoping Destiny is to Bungie as Achtung Baby was to U2. That's what we need, man.

Oh, MacPhisto, Jr., you do make me smile. Yes. Here's hoping.

Sorry, long time lurker. I always wondered if your screen name referred to ZooTV. I hope the game is that awesome too. Time to innovate!

Haha. I kinda forgot that IS where my name is from.

To Russia, I give you capitalism. Now you can all dream of one day being as wealthy and glamorous as me.

I'm hoping Destiny is to Bungie as Achtung Baby was to U2. That's what we need, man.

EDIT: God, now I'm so fucking jazz'd.

It's starting to show up more in games, with stuff like Mass Effect and Borderlands, and helps mix up the tradition of just having guns. We'll see later on, but I doubt it'll feel out of place.

I look forward to seeing were this will go.