Bungie, Deej; I've made many threads and posts in my time here on B.net. Some of them have been well articulated and intellectually stimulating, others have been brash, brazen, and downright rude. All of them have been about Destiny and/or Halo (back when Halo was a Bungie thing). I've made both types of posts as my emotions about the game have traveled their roller-coaster path, and the threads and posts have gone along with that twisting and churning. But I feel that emotion and have that depth of inner turmoil because I care. I care about who Bungie used to be, who they've turned into, the games they've made in the past, and the game that they're trying to perfect now. So in my trawling of the internet, I came across a very, very interesting story on techspot. The author details a change in the very culture of Gaming, Gamers, and those who make and support the games that we all love and play. Here's a link to the story about the [url=http://www.techspot.com/article/950-those-who-play-only-one-video-game/]Gamers who only play one game[/url], and how this is now just a trend, but a quickly growing culture within the larger Gamer culture. It's definitely worth a read, because I realized while reading it, that this is the same direction that Bungie alludes to want Destiny to be for its Gamers. Blizzard ~ 'World of Warcraft' Riot Games ~ 'League of Legends' Wargaming.net ~ 'World of Tanks' These aren't just games. They're cultures in their own right. They're games that are not even primarily a product, they're a service to the Gamers that kill hour after hour inside their richly living worlds. And by your own admissions and descriptions of Destiny, you want your game to be as much a service to us, a culture; as you want it to be a top-selling product. But those three companies do something that Bungie has really quit doing. They communicate with their customers in ways that Bungie has stopped doing. While Bungie puts up walls so we only have one go-between for the Gamer-Developer conversations (DeeJ), the three companies above are breaking down walls. They're continuously opening newer and more direct lines of communication with their consumers, gamers, and fan base. But above all, they're doing what it becomes more and more apparent Bungie is not doing. They're really listening and implementing the Gamers ideas directly into the games. While we hear all the time on this site about how much Bungie is listening, there's nothing to show that you really are. Where these other companies make it very, very apparent that their gamers are being proactively listened to, with Bungie (and the Activi$ion suits in the office drowning out the community...), we have given you literally hundreds of different ways to make the game better; but there is little tangible proof that any of it is being heard or even seriously considered. Gamers are more and more picking one game and that is then "their game". As Gaming as a hobby/lifestyle/culture becomes inevitably more and more expensive, Gamers are more apt to pick one game, and just stick with that game. If you are very serious about Destiny (because if done correctly, Destiny can last for far longer than a mere 10-year cycle), if you are still very serious about and love your Community (and you haven't let Activi$ion's money murder that love in its sleep...), then things need to change. Read the article. Pass it around the Bungie office. get someone to stand up on the desk that has the unconscious form of an Activi$ion Exec. strewn across it (because we all know that's the only way to get an upper-level executive to shut his cake-hole), and read the article out loud to all Bungie employees if you have to. But look at what these companies are doing. They aren't [b][i]just[/i][/b] raking in the cash. The cash is a side-product of what they do for their Communities [i]through[/i] the medium of their games. If you want Destiny to be a success. If you want Destiny to become its own culture within the larger Gamer culture, if you want Destiny to be that [u][b]one game[/u][/b] for many Gamers, then you as a company need to change and start doing what these three companies are doing. Remember this phrase, Bungie? "Per Audacia ad Astra" It is still possible. You can even go beyond the stars to that fabled dimension beyond the horizon. Destiny has that promise; but only if you as a company listen, change, and change the way you present Destiny to your own Gamers. The stars are calling, Bungie. Are you going to take this game and your Gamers seriously enough to get to those stars? ____________________________________________________________ If anyone in this community agrees with me, agrees with the story I linked above, and that vision and promise for Destiny, spread this thread. Copy/paste it on other sites. Send it in PM's and e-mails to Bungie themselves. Hell; send it to Activi$ion if you think it will help. But nothing will change unless we, as a Community (a family), actually become the catalyst of that change. But if nothing else, get the word out. Of what Destiny was supposed to be, what Destiny is right now; but also that with three great examples listed above, what Destiny could one day be. Sincerely, The Vampire, Nox. Edit = link fixed... ________________________________________________________________________ Edit 2: Here is a great complimentary and additional post from Freestylek1ng that further illustrates the issue that Bungie is creating for itself. Thank you for all of your support, this is turning into a potent endeavor! Keep it going! [quote]It's unfortunate that it has come to the community being forced to essentially beg for some sort of insight and window into the current development plans for Destiny. I find it hard to believe that Bungie doesn't realize things need to change. Professional and user reviews for the game and the DLC specifically have been subpar at best, and even the most dedicated players can list off endless problems at the drop of a dime. It's not even the fix most people are looking for at this point it's the acknowledgment that these are problems and are going to be addressed with future updates. Look at IGN's endless posts about the game. Even the staff members there who play the most continually say that the game is a mess right now. DeeJ's idea of caring and thoughtful posts are only going to get him so far, and I think a little humility would go a long way toward gaining the trust of the community back. Look at Randy Pitchford from Gearbox (Borderlands). I know their jobs are not the same, but that's even more impressive that he responds to user feedback directly, and lets people know what they're working on, what they are not planning on implementing at that point in time. I'd say a fair ammount of the player base only continue to play because of the potential of the game, but that potential is starting to look like a huge missed opportunity.[/quote] Edit 3 = link to this thread on [url=http://www.gamespot.com/forums/games-discussion-1000000/bungie-i-think-i-figured-out-what-destiny-needs-fr-31806712/#1]Gamespot[/url]. Edit 4 = link to this thread on [url=http://www.polygon.com/forums/destiny/2015/1/21/7865705/bungie-deej-what-destiny-and-its-community-needs-from-you]Polygon[/url]. Edit 5 = And now; as if these three companies weren't jackhammering Bungie hard enough already, Wargaming.net just announced that "World of Tanks" will be coming to the Xbox One this year. Not only that; but people who had the game on the 360 will not only keep the progress that they had in the 360 version of the game, but there will be cross-generation play between the 360 and the One. They're dedicated enough to their Community, Bungie; that even though they're making the move to the newest generation of consoles, they still refuse to alienate even a small portion of their player-base. They're coming to the One, Bungie; and more of your players will leave when they do. Get your priorities straight, ActiBungie. If you don't, then you won't have a player base to market to for the next 9.5 years. Bungie, you could have done this for the same reasons that Wargaming.net is able to do this. All of the information for the game is saved on servers. It should have been this way, but you guys don't care. Whereas Wargaming.net has the best interests of their player base as their primary concern (and because of this, their Gamers are willing to spend ungodly amounts of money on the game), you and Activi$ion have your goddamn pocketbooks as your primary concern and can't figure out why people are leaving this game (Destiny) left and right. [url=https://games.yahoo.com/news/world-tanks-comes-xbox-one-112131786.html]Link to article about Wargaming.net's announcement.[/url] [url=https://games.yahoo.com/news/world-tanks-heading-xbox-one-123947888.html]Another link to the bit of Wargaming.net info.[/url] (there, double verification per journalistic standard. :P)