But pre-launch marketing narrative is nothing if it is not carried through in the final product. The Division has to rely on more than environmental story-telling to build a house as solid as the foundational context they’ve created in their trailers. Where Destiny fell short was hiding their greatest lore-based content behind Grimoire cards that couldn’t even be accessed via the console. Rather, players had to learn about the world via the Destiny app installed on their smart device. This isn’t to say that a story should be spoon-fed at all times to whoever is playing, but that it should at least be readily accessible on the device the game is being played on.
To its credit, the narrative for Destiny got much better in its subsequent expansions, but by the time some of these expansions released, much of the good will among fans had already been lost.
The Division must come out of the gates with a compelling enough story on the surface to drive players deeper into the lore. That desire should be generated not by a sense of it being incomplete, but by creating a world worth knowing everything about. Future expansions should do just that, expand upon the narrative that has already been built, rather than using them as a means of playing catch-up where the story-telling lacked in the base game.
This style of game relies heavily on the constant desire for the next piece of loot. Destiny shipped with a large assortment of weapons and class-specific armor meaning that there was always a gun or an item the player was working towards. In that sense, Destiny created a great sense of replayability and forward movement. Unfortunately, it often resulted in the kind of grind that left players feeling like their tires were spinning. Weak drops after defeating large bosses, the bottom member of a losing multiplayer match would somehow pull the best piece of loot, and engrams would often times yield a reward in a lower tier than the engram itself.
The Division needs to find how to make the loot system seem random while also giving people the sense of accomplishment. Progress is everything when it comes to a game that wants to hold the attention of its player-base for months post release. Where The Division seems to have a head start is in the number of items that can be customized. With dozens of wearable items and a weapon modification system that seems reminiscent of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, there will be no shortage of items the player will hunt for to hone in their play style.
Ultimately, what The Division has to do is what Destiny learned to do so well in its year and a half since launch: listen. Listen to the mistakes that Bungie made and do what it takes to avoid them. Listen to what fans truly want out of a open-world third person shooter RPG. Listen to what gamers who purchase your product say in their honest feedback post-release. Make a product that is continually evolving and constantly trying to do right by its fans.
Despite Destiny’s fair share of issues, they delivered a product that was fun enough to carry it through to the Taken King, where it made right many of its wrongs. No such guarantee of a faithful player base willing to look over a multitude of sins exists for The Division. The product that launches in March has to be able to stand on its own without the promise of future redemption. A stumble out of the gate can be disastrous.
How do you think The Division will fair during its year one? What mistakes are you hoping it can avoid? Leave a comment below.
Check Out More:
- The Division Won’t Feature Brooklyn in the Base Game
- The Divisions Multiplayer Completely Changes at Level Cap; “Near Infinite” Build Options
- Microsoft Announces New Xbox One Bundle Featuring The Division
