Okay so for a long time I've been wondering this one thing, and now that I've read enough material I am pretty sure I can firmly say this.
Why is the item lore team not used more?
As we all know the main story of Destiny 2 is a cookie cutter action film, but that's in the past.
When I started going through Forsaken the story started in high action, with wonderful flavor while rampaging through the Prison of Elders. There was humor, there was action, there were stakes and there was loss.
But right after the Prison sequence the story fell flat on it's face and shot itself in the foot.
Why was Cayde-6 killed again? For the commercials? There's literally no reason for that.
Uldren's plan was obvious from the first cutscene with him, he became an uninteresting thrall.
I though I had lost the magnificent storytelling from the start of the expansion, but no, I found it again.
Hidden deep in the exotics.
How many of you even know that every exotic has a lore tab? Even some cosmetic exotics like Sparrows. (Haven't changed from Warrior's Steed just because it's lore is so good)
Well let me tell you, I want to play the Destiny that those exotics tell, a gritty, grimdark version of Destiny with black humor attached.
Some of my favorite lore tabs that I recommend going through are:
Gunslinger
Defender & Striker
[ These three subclass lore tabs tell Destiny in such a way, that our do goodie Guardians actually feel alive, like they have emotion and how they handle life in a different way ]
Insurmountable Skullfort
Heart of Inmost Light
[ As someone who has gone through some really hardcore stuff in my life, I can relate to the Titan, and this tab makes me feel proud and at home when I use Heart in game ]
Actium War Rig
[ Lord Shaxx is actually the best written guardian and I don't know why, but I love it ]
Polaris Lance
The Colony
[ This one tab tells so much about Veist as a company, I already enjoy using their products, but the grim background makes it even better ]
Ursa Furiosa
[ She is a beast, this tab has more character than Zavala and Ikora combined from two games ]
One-Eyed Mask
Eye of Another World
Lunafaction Boots
Knucklehead Radar
Foetracer
Fighting Lion
Lucky Pants
[ Cayde-6 was a well written comedic relief, kinda bummed to see him go for no reason ]
Cerberus +1
[ Gives good reason for the weapon to exist and an emotional bond to it ]
Crimson
Riskrunner
Two Tailed Fox
[ This lore tab is just an opening to an anime, like seriously I have a couple of friends who want TTF just for the meme of it being an "Anime Opening RPG" ]
I have not even read all the lore in the game, but seriously, use these writers, let them tell a story.
And if the rumors are true, that Destiny 3 is all about the Darkness, with all the hints to in in D2, these people have more than shown the possibility of a grimdark and compelling Destiny universe.
P.S: Here's who my guardian was based on the item and class lore after I finished Forsaken, totally not the person I thought he was, but it was a dark and delightful surprise
(Insurmountable, Striker, Warrior's Steed, Crooked Fang etc)
[spoiler]Who knew, that the one man who saved the world from a Cabal Warlord ascended to a guardian, a Hive Worm God, a Vex infestation in a grand simulation, and from a Taken plot involving Awoken regals was actually a psychopath.
You don't believe me?
Well let me tell you he was brutal, he didn't care as long as he got his hands on his enemies, he crushed heads with glee, went in without thinking and just slaughtered anything in his way. Mute, but once the words came out he said something simple, that one idea running in his mind was just another target.
Would you even believe he a had a poisonous killer animal as his pet, but implanted in his weapon? Absolute madman I tell you.
You'd wonder how his Ghost could bear what he raised into the world again and again.
And I don't think he did, I think his Ghost just got traumatized like a child when he saw his own "Guardian" silently slaughter innocent Fallen, but it knew the man only thought about how much fun he had ripping those heads off.
His Ghost must have felt like the victim of physical defilement, chained onto it's "best friend", feeling like he could be helped, feeling insignificant by his side, but fearing how the world would lash out if he ever said anything about his own thoughts. After all he was a Ghost, his job was to bring back the one who protected the world.
But at what cost, his own sanity.
The new world hailed the Titan as a hero.
But in the Golden Age he would've been a criminal of the worst sort.[/spoiler]
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Edited by RPColten: 12/11/2018 10:31:50 PMThere is a difference between short stories that require minimal build up and contextual relevance, and a screenplay that juggles both in-universe relevance and moments that promote player agency. Not to mention that the entire writing department is almost 100% working together, it's just that there is more freedom when it comes to writing short story style narratives that don't need to mesh perfectly with the existing narrative so long as they just take context of in-universe expectations into consideration. Edit: Also, a lot of the people who were the writers during Taken King and Rise of Iron are still the writers for Forsaken. Heck, Michael Zenke the narrative lead was a senior writer during Taken King. I think they're okay. (This actually makes a lot of sense considering the context of the Dreaming City and Oryx.)