Earlier today, original Halo developer Bungie finally revealed the first video documentary (or ViDoc) of their next game, Destiny. Ever since splitting from Microsoft and finishing up their work on Halo, Bungie's been quiet about what exactly they're working on. So...what is Destiny?
In terms of story, the video doesn't go into much detail, but it does shed some light on the overall setting of the new game. Years ago, during the "Golden Age", mankind traveled the stars, spreading their influence throughout the system. That in, until an unknown force almost brought them to the brink of extinction. At that moment, a being known only as "The Traveler" sacrificed itself to safe humanity. Now, generations later, mankind is finally re-expanding...but that expansion has reignited old conflicts. Now, as a soldier possessing some of The Traveler's powers, it is up to the player to make sure that humanity prospers once more.
Ok, so there are definitely some similarities between Halo and Destiny's story, at least on the surface. The key differences take a little longer to ferret out - this world is much more fantastical than Halo's somewhat toned-down sci-fi. Everything from the color palette to the architecture is much more exaggerated. On top of that, the few moments of in-engine footage reveal that the scale of these worlds is absolutely enormous - miles upon miles of terrain spread out in every direction.
When it comes to gameplay, the video is even more scarce. We've known that it's a first-person shooter for some time now, but whether it falls into the Halo or Call of Duty mold is something we'll still have to wait on. Even so, a few possible clues are presented during the video: a number of different soldiers appear on screen in a manner similar to a class selection screen - is Bungie going to experiment with a class-based shooter, a la Team Fortress 2? Again, only time will tell, but it's still an interesting notion.
So, how did Destiny's reveal go over? Well, it's certainly not a big reveal, at least not on the public's side - a single YouTube video consisting mostly of concept art isn't going to wow everyone - but it's a nice sign that we'll perhaps see more of Destiny at this year's E3 conference. You can judge for yourself after watching the video right here.
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