14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Bungie is putting the finishing touches on their upcoming Destiny, and the team says that all the areas that gamers will be able to explore in the first-person shooter are based in reality, even if the game uses a science fiction setting.
Jason Sussman, senior environment artist at Bungie, tells Gamasutra that “We're first and foremost grounding these spaces in reality. You know, ‘Okay. What would this look like in reality?’ We're using a lot of reference shots of dilapidated spaces or shelled-out spaces - whatever it is - and then we're taking that and amplifying that or raising it up another level, and adding that element of fantastic to it so it's not just ordinary.”
Destiny takes place on three planets and on the Moon, and despite the size of the game world, the developers are also creating spaces that gamers will travel through more than once as they seek out new missions to complete.
This means that, in addition to gameplay demands, they need to actively work to create beauty and clear landmarks that can be used for navigation.
Sussman adds, “For public events and the rare events that happen in these spaces. And there are tons of places to explore. And we're still having this happen within Bungie - we'll have guys jump into spaces and not even know they can explore down these hallways and it opens up to a whole 'nother area, and they're like, ‘What!?’ There are all these hidden secrets all over the areas.”
Destiny will be launched on the PlayStation 4 from Sony, the Xbox One from Microsoft and last-gen consoles on September 9, and the team has said that players who have a copy will be able to play as soon as the date switches over.
The first expansion for the title, called The Dark Below, is already in development and should be out before the end of the year, offering content that connects with the game world in interesting ways.
Bungie has said that it wants the game to be a reimagining of the first-person shooter experience which borrows some elements from the role-playing game and the massive multiplayer online genres.
The team has claimed that it has a long-term plan to continue delivering both paid and free content for Destiny and that players might be able to enjoy its lore and mechanics for 10 years.
