Destiny, the new IP from Halo creators Bungie, is expected to be a smash hit for publisher Activision, and it is one of the front runners for the breakout new franchise for the next generation of consoles that will be released in November. Bungie's community manager David "DeeJ" Dague revealed on the PlayStation Blog that the game is designed to have players come back repeatedly to ensure a long life cycle for the game:
"Given the different ways of playing Destiny, and given the fact that the game is completely dynamic and will be different every time you experience it with other people, the amount of time that we'll be relevant to the gamers who decide to play it is something that we think will be a very long life-cycle. The idea is to create a world that you can visit over and over again."
Part of this replayability is thanks to the fact that gamers can start off playing the game solo, but can observe and seemlessly join other players if they so choose. Dague believes this feature will make the game stand out from other titles on the market:
"I feel that this is the aspect of Destiny that differentiates it from anything else that Bungie has ever created. This has been an idea that we've had for a very long time. This game has been built from the ground up to be social and cooperative at the same time as you go through that universe and pursue the story. If you're on your own, you may see a public event and decide that you want to jump in and participate in it, or you can bypass all of the actions over here and continue your own path. You're going to see other players participating in their own portions of the game and you can decide to participate or just go your own way. We're giving players the complete control of their experience with Destiny. They make decisions as to what they are participating in, they choose their path. But everything that they'll do will have them in this living social world where they'll cross paths with other heroes."
Destiny could be one of the biggest franchises of all time if it delivers on all of Bungie's promises, and the game could change the way gamers view the multiplayer experience. Look out for Destiny sometime in 2014.