Before you lynch me, I know Destiny is a primarily-FPS shooter with only certain elements of MMORPG games. However, once you watch this video and realize just how much of a "Theme Park" (as MrBtongue calls it) that Destiny is, you can realize just how much these MMORPG aspects can be capitalized on for stunning effect. One thing that I want everyone to know that this guy made me realize was that companies will never be able to create content as fast as their playerbase will consume it. I repeat: [b]Video game companies will never be able to create content as fast as their playerbase will consume it.[/b] This is important in what I'm going to say, and before I continue let me say that I'm fully aware of how ambitious this sounds. And yes, everything below is all my idea, so it's not like it won't have problems. [b][u]Primary Strategy (And TL;DR): Turn Destiny into a crazy awesome game consisting of being 30% theme park, 30% sandbox, and 40% FPS.[/u][/b] [u]Step 1: Take notes on what makes sandbox games good.[/u] If you haven't seen the video, or dropped it because of too much Michael Jordan, I'll just tell you the basics of what a sandbox can do over a theme park, the latter of which being exactly what Destiny is. Basically, instead of the game having predetermined battles such as our own raids or strikes, a sandbox just creates the world, establishes the limits of what the players can do within that world, and let them run wild. In Eve Online, the game uses these features to stunning effect, making what were entire societies complete with their own cultures, ideals, and people. "How can this be applied to Destiny though? Right now, it's a classic good guys vs. bad guys routine with the Guardians against the Darkness!" I hear you say this. However, this can all be solved by doing one main thing: Adding Faction Wars. [u]Step 2: Add Faction Wars.[/u] It's certainly easier said than done, but Bungie did say they were going to do this a while back even if that's a story for another day. Here's my idea: Each of the Factions can take control of parts of the accessible planets, and can compete between each other in various ways. For us, it can be by pitting Guardians against each other. We already have enough funfunfun in the crucible so it is possible. "But dude, don't you know how little space the game actually occupies? Super Mario 64 has more land mass than Destiny!" I hear you say. And it's true - if we were to politically chop up the land in the current Destiny the whole thing would feel cramped. This is why the best answer, and perhaps the most taxing on Bungie, would be to do this in a sequel to Destiny. By then, technology would probably be more advanced, making it evermore easier for Bungie to make not only one part of Earth, but to make 2, even 4. If they're all [b]at least[/b] the size of the Plaguelands and feel worth controlling, then with some sort of area control system there could be precedent for a great amount of sandbox conflict. Of course, this would also be applied to the other planets currently available, as well as any that may be added later. If we have, say, 7 planets/moons/dreadnought-esque places to fight over, then that makes for upwards of 28 potentially unique areas of conflict. "But!" I hear you say again. Jesus, let me talk. "What about what Destiny is now? What about the Darkness? The sense of Us vs. Them? I loved that" Me too. And in my concept, there is indeed space for it. [u]Step 3: Don't forget to keep certain Theme Park elements from current Destiny[/u] Indeed, the whole idea of the Light vs. the Darkness would be completely undermined if we turned this whole thing into what thus far seems like a ripoff of Eve Online. Now I'll try to explain what I think should be done to keep that ever-important aspect alive in my Destiny. - Step 3a: Have a mediator - The United States Military's four main branches bicker a lot. The Army and Marines are always at each other, and the Navy and Air Force are just kind of made fun of for certain reasons I won't go into. None of this really diminishes the fact that, at the end of the day, they all actually really appreciate each others' place in the military and would certainly have each others' backs in wartime. This is also what Faction Wars should be, and the best way to make sure that Guardians both have a sense of identity and loyalty to their Faction whilst also being totally rad with raiding with another Faction's members is to have a 3rd party mediator. Who should this be? I don't really know which one particularly but I do know a lot of good examples. There's the Speaker - everyone likes him and his accent, unless you wear mustard and follow the grand warlock Osweat- I mean Osiris. There's the Vanguard, whom everyone has allegiance to right now whether they like it or not. There's the City and its people - They are literally the reason why Guardians get out of bed in the morning. Lastly, there's the Traveler. Like the Vanguard, there's really never any not following the Traveler (unless you're part of that one secretive lore faction that hides away and curses its light and only has, like, one Hunter cloak), as it's the source of everybody's fancy space magic. - Step 3b: Incorporate the Darkness - There's a lot of ways to incorporate the Darkness. If, say, a Faction-controlled land gets attacked by the Darkness there can be an event where the Guardians of that Faction have to fight it off. There could - and should - be raids still, which many have testified as being some of the most fun they've ever had in a game, and is most certainly one of the primary reasons why so many of us have stayed for upwards of 3 years now. There is, of course, strengthening the narrative of the Light vs. Dark battle. Bungie has consistently improved their ability to tell a story with likable characters in the world of Destiny, and I'm actually a little bit excited at how it'll be presented in Destiny 2. [u]Final Step: Keep it FPS.[/u] Destiny's gameplay has some of the crispiest, cleanest, most well thought-out and most satisfying features this side of Call of Duty. I may be overexaggerating a bit, and it may still have a lack of balance even in lieu of a pretty good update, however this doesn't take away from the fact that the entire thing runs smooth as butter. If you compare this to, say, a free FPS game like Warmerise where not only is the balance all over the place but the gun, vehicle, and overall movement mechanics feel dull and choppy, I think that Destiny is just as much underrated as it is overrated regarding its gameplay. Also, if Destiny were to turn into some weird pseudo-Mass Effect shooter I would probably send my brain through a wall, as I can easily recall some of my favorite moment being just not, or even more, impactful just because it was done in FPS format. I know I'm keeping this step light on words, but ultimately, it's one of the most important, as Destiny would be a totally different, and possibly totally shite, game if it wasn't taking the FPS route. [b]Congratulations, you made it to the bottom. Also, a second TL;DR:[/b] I know a lot of this is just me spitting out my ideas, but I honestly feel like the current situation with the Live Team constantly trying to keep up with our complaints for more content is not only inefficient but incredibly exhausting for both sides. One of the reasons why giving the game sandbox elements would increase replayability is because it puts the responsibility to make change on the playerbase. Factions Wars is not only a sound idea - even if it requires polishing - but is also being implemented in another just-released AAA game: For Honor. I can explain it, but this post is long enough already, so just check out what I mean yourself. Overall, what do you guys think? You interrupted me enough already, so let me hear your thoughts. I like my idea, even if it has problems, as it addresses an elephant in the room that was so big only a few people knew it was there, like that crappy godzilla movie where the camera pans out at the beginning and everybody's standing in his footprint: The inefficiency of the Live Team setup.