Lots of people, myself included, are expecting Destiny to be quite a game. While this may be slightly irrational based on the scarce amount of information we have on it thus far, I think it's a safe bet considering the developer we're dealing with, and the basis and idea of the game of which we do know. But what things can Bungie do that will make this game BIG? When you look at World of Warcraft, it's big thing was both it's open world and the popularization of massively multiplayer gaming. EVE Online has its unique economic system and large-scale space battles. Bioshock has its interest and cerebral concept and period setting. Halo has an epic story, fun, simple arena gameplay, and the faceless character which it is easy to put yourself in the role of. So, what can be Destiny's [i]thing[/i]? Since it's a game on the scale that it is (being interplanetary and whatnot), I think one [i]thing[/i] could definitely be the sheer size of the world. I'll copy and paste a post from the thread that inspired this one to explain that.[spoiler][b][[/b][url=http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/11/dfda00860c2fb9fd3d17030d5a70c2c1.jpg]Pic 4 Reference[/url][b]][/b] To be honest? If we're being ambitious and going with the "Bungie needs to make an absolutely amazing video game to even come close to following up Halo" mentality, I'd like to see 50 - 100 mi^2 of explorable land per planet. In reference to the picture above, assuming there's 7 planets explorable in this game (which I think is highly likely), that would put Destiny at a world (in total) with an area almost 9 times that of Vanilla WoW (80 mi^2), 75% bigger than Just Cause 2 (400 mi^2), and being just around 100 mi^2 larger than Test Drive: Unlimited (618 mi^2). In my opinion, this could be one of many "big things" that could push Destiny from "oh look... a Halo MMO" to something that could be really popular. e: That doesn't include all the Space areas you can travel through in your customizable ships, so keep that in mind. Also it doesn't factor in any aerial travel one could have on any given planet. However, I don't feel like measuring game worlds in volume (nor does anyone else, according to Google), so we'll stick with 700 mi^2 + Space for now.[/spoiler] The next possible [i]thing[/i] could be the customization: [spoiler]Customization is rapidly becoming something that developers are finally realizing that players want, and want a lot of. We've already (I believe) heard confirmations on customizable gear (I'm assuming this includes armor), and customizable ships. At the very least, talk of "[url=http://www.bungie.net/7_New-Beginnings/en-us/News/News?aid=10308]creat[ing] a character[/url]" and being able to "[url=http://www.bungie.net/7_New-Beginnings/en-us/News/News?aid=10308]grow and customize it over time[/url]". With the (perceived) ease with which incredible amounts of customizability are implemented in a game (given that "customize modes" don't seem nearly as labor intensive to build as whole cities and planets), I think we have a good chance at seeing an amazing amount of customization with this game. If it gets to the point of superfluity while still being incredibly fun, I think this could definitely be a major selling point of the game. Who's with me on customizing the colors of the screws and bolts in your armor?[/spoiler] The final [i]thing[/i] I'll put forth in this OP (I might bring some up in the comments, too) is cross-platform play: [spoiler]Before you tell me how implausible it is, how Microsoft and Sony wouldn't allow it, how, if there was a PC version, their users would dominate, or how I'm a stupid dingus moron idiot poop face for even mentioning this..... I know. I've taken all of this (particularly the last one) into account before typing this out. Despite the opinions of some, I do put quite a large amount of work into almost all of my threads. Allow me to spell this one out in a point/counterpoint manner. If you feel I've inaccurately represented the "point" side, please let me know. [u]Point[/u]: PC users would dominate play in cross-platform combat. [u]Counterpoint[/u]: I'm envisioning a system of cross-platform play that is entirely cooperative. Remember those "raids" we've been hearing about? I think situations like that -- large battles between AI and users on an epic scale -- could very much be assisted by cross platform play both to increase the amount of people involved in the raids, as well as to mingle the two (or three) communities. I'm not sure how voice chat would work, perhaps it would go through a Bungie-hosted voice server or a Bungie-hosted, client-run voice chat program in the game (like Teamspeak) so that the two (or three) platforms could all talk to each other without the consoles' differences in code or whatever interfering. Either way, I think this could be a really cool, harmless way to integrate a system like this into the game. [u]Point[/u]: Sony and Microsoft won't allow this to happen; it hurts their respective brands. [u]Counterpoint[/u]: With the next (next) generation of gaming upon us, consoles and their manufacturers have to be prepared to do something new. Last generation had the introduction and popularization (and misuse of the idea of) motion controls, the mass popularization of the FPS with Halo and CoD, as well as the introduction (of sorts) and popularization of open-world, sandbox games (Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, more GTA, Saints Row III, etc.). This next generation's gotta do something different, and, if last generation is any indication it seems like the first thing it's doing is tablet play along with a console game. That next thing, in my opinion could very well be the hyper-popularization of cross-platform play. Think about it, game controller manufacturers (mainly from the 360 side, I don't see many for the PS3) already sell different controllers that help you get a leg-up on your competition. Why not also have consoles advertising that buying 720 or buying PS4 will, in some respect, give you a leg-up on the other console's competition? Car companies do this. Sports accessories and apparel companies do this. Why not game console manufacturers?[/spoiler] So, to reiterate, what do you think could be the major [i]thing[/i] that puts Destiny on the map? What'll be its major selling point other than (what will hopefully be) the first widely successful console MMOFPS (I know it's "Shared World", but that's just because of the console's limitations when it comes to the MMO- part of that genre name). Please leave your ideas in the comments. Your Friend, Extra Z e: formatting fixed.