Bungie States Destiny was once "Third-Person only.”

[VinWarrior]

 

In a recent interview with Game Informer, Bungie technical art director Ryan Ellis said that at one point during the development of their upcoming franchise, Destiny, the game was going to be strictly a third person shooter.

“We actually at one point were third-person only,” Ellis said. “There are some third-person elements in the game still. That’s important for gameplay, but also to show off your cool moves and show off the cool armor that you get. We wanted to make an amazing action game, and we decided first-person was the right place to do that.”

If you’ve watched any of the gameplay footage, you’ve seen that when a character does certain moves, the camera zooms out to third person briefly so the full effect can be seen. It’s similar to assassinations in the last few Halo games, which employ a similar tactic.

 

It’s understandable why Bungie ultimately decided on keeping the game first person. If Destiny is going to be some form of a cross between Halo and Borderlands, it’s probably likely for the best to keep the FPS tradition alive with the new amalgam. Halo players are likely going to expect Destiny to feel somewhat familiar, and as we’ve learned from Borderlands, when you spend ages trying to find an awesome weapon, you want an up close and personal view of it at all times to inspect and admire it.

 

Still though, It is understandable as to why third person was considered. It’s not only guns that the player can collect in Destiny, it’s armor as well. But what’s the point of collecting cool armor if you, the player, can only see it in a menu or loadout screen? Rather, it’s your enemy who will see how incredible you look most of the time, rather than you getting

a view yourself.

 

I will also say that despite the idea that first person games are more immersive and characters more understandable because they “put you in the shoes” of your hero, I’ve grown far more attached to characters who I was actually able to see at all times in third person games. Whether it’s Commander Shepard from Mass Effect or my amazing self-created protagonist from Saints Row, those are characters I grew to love. Yes, partially because of the writing of each game, but also because I was constantly exposed to them via a third person view. It’s harder to get attached to a character you rarely see, hence why Master Chief and I don’t exactly have the same sort of bond.

 

RPGs in general are pretty well served by having a third person view as the focus is always on collecting bigger and badder weapons and armor. The Elder Scrolls, for instance, usually lets you switch back and forth between first and third person at your leisure. Dark Souls is third person, same with The Witcher, and so on. But these mainly focus on swordplay, which is easier to manage in that view.

 

Destiny is sort of a genre crossing game. It’s a hybrid of FPS/MMO/RPG and probably a few more acronyms past that. Given its core DNA from Halo and Borderlands, however, first person probably was the right path to go down, despite the disadvantages it can bring. I’d look forward to the game in any format, but I think Bungie has earned our trust at this point with a ten year blockbuster like Halo, and for sure know what they’re doing.

 

Source: Forbes

Edited January 1, 2014 by Edward Kenway

[Jack Of Harts]

Awesome article, definitely an interesting read. It's understandable why Bungie went with first-person instead; Because a lot of people play FPS, and they wanted the game to feel familiar to those people. Keep up the good work, Vin.

[ShockGazm]

I can see what directions they were going in, Third-Person would've been interesting but nowadays a lot of games are FPS, no point changing the recipe.

Edited January 1, 2014 by ShockGazm

[The Stig]

Couldn't they have just done what Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas did, and have it be a hybrid/fusion game with first and third person viewing at the press of a button? It worked quite well in those games, I don't see why it wouldn't in Destiny...

[Ranger Intel]

Destiny would look like a 3rd person game. One similar to Mass Effect. Good article.

[joshyzburton]

I like the fact that bungie was trying different things-but its the perfect game for first person veiw

[Ranger Intel]

I like the fact that bungie was trying different things-but its the perfect game for first person veiw

 

True. It seems like the gameplay would work out better in first person, especially when you want to see all the weaponry.