[i]TLDR/Thesis;[/i] Destiny will be revolutionary, but it will not dominate the world. Bungie needs to cross all platforms, bring all gamers into one universe, make petty platform arguments moot – that is what the people want most, that is what will lead us to servitude, and we will not even realize it. [i]Disclaimer;[/i] This is an obvious ramble, but hey - I felt like typing tonight. Also, I know little to nothing about the game industry. Multi-platform is a game on multiple platforms, while on a cross-platform game players can interact in the same game on multiple platforms. Cross-platform games have been tried, but never resulting in overwhelming success, so this post tries to take the concept a little deeper. Bungie makes great games, there is no denying it. Their last non-sequel game, Halo: Combat Evolved, was rushed to meet the Xbox launch and yet, was evolutionary for its time. With the recent announcement of the release date, I now have an optimistic sentiment growing for Destiny. I foresee it changing the gaming landscape through a multitude of aspects: beautiful competitive balance of classes, abilities, gear, and FPS skill, seamless matchmaking, alluring replayability, and generally speaking, doing what every breakthrough game does - by providing us with innovative and expansive ways to have fun. But does Destiny have the chops to dominate the world? While I will give my mind, body, and soul to it for months after being released, my feeling is no. At nine months out anything said is peer speculation, but luckily this is a forum and we are allowed some leeway. In break room discussions at my job with fellow programmers, in chats with friends through every medium, on Internet forums far, wide, and nearby – new life has been given The Great Debate within the last several months: Where will I spend the majority of my gaming money and time in the near future: PS4, Xbone, a new PC rig, Wii U, mobile, etc.? Well, I’m primarily a console gamer and for the first time in recorded history I am on the Console War Fence. On the Xbone side I have loyalty and familiarity, whilst in PS4 land I see novelty and hardware superiority. Are these the driving factors that will sway me to a decision? Having gave much critical thought and a philosophy of sorts to my gaming experiences over the last decade, I have come to the conclusion that what I am playing and which platform I am playing matter little with respect to whom I am playing. Extrapolating my own views onto the entire gaming population is obviously delusional, but all gamers have one thing in common: we are all human. And humans are primarily social creatures. Science stipulates it is one of the reasons our brains are so oversized – to handle the complex and idiosyncratic social structures of our day-to-day life. Yes, gamers game for different reasons, which is in part what makes it difficult for a game to be considered a success. So I understand that those who play to physically be alone, those who just want to blow stuff up, and those who never log out of single player campaign can be considered the exception to this post’s thesis. Yet, as each cycle of releases comes and goes, the amount of games that are primarily multiplayer continues to expand. This begs the simple question: What’s next? My instincts tell me games will soon exist that are the epitome of cross-platform. Of course they are playable in the richest form on PC and powerful next-gen consoles, but lower in the food chain, browser, mobile, tablet, and older generation consoles have their own limited versions. At all levels of platforms, players can interact in one form or another within each game. They will team up. They will compete. They will share experiences. They will be apart of one self-contained universe within each game. Then my relentless imagination conjures up absurd notions like “cross-gaming”, (like Dust and Eve, but executed better and with more than two games) and it is there I have to draw the symbolic line of ramble post scope. A well-executed cross-platform title is waiting to be the weapon that Bungie uses enslave us. It will be useless to escape its devastation. The temptation of playing with not just your PC or Playstation or Xbox friends, but the entire gaming universe will be unbearable. Through word of mouth, the truth will spread further than any other game due to the sheer amount of conversations in all mediums to be had sharing and reliving experiences recently occurring and long since passed. The game will be perfectly balanced and perform flawlessly on all platforms, removing our need to squabble over who is playing on what and why I am right and you are wrong. I envision hosting a single game LAN of epic proportions with PCs, PS3s, PS4s, 360s, and Xbones while those slightly less serious are partaking on their smartphones and tablets in a more casual and yet vital fashion that affects the outcome of the skirmish or event. This weapon is coming and there is nothing we can do. Sure, maybe cross-platform gaming is not that monumental. This is just one gamer’s opinion in an endless sea of possibilities. However, it is what I believe because I know why I game. On the dark side, I know why I have been so cynical of the game industry and developers for the last several cycles – the rehashing of titles and rushed product development leading to the lack of replayability in mainstream games. I love game studios and their creative genius so stepping onto the proverbial limb and into a realm unknown to me, I look to the corporations and blame them for their meddling. Their risk adverseness, unwillingness to pursue joint ventures, and greed for an attractive bottom line leaves them sorely shortsighted in an industry that strives off of innovation, collaboration, and vision. I rest assured though. I know the future is unstoppable and that one day a game that transcends platforms will be released by a studio with the resources and virtuosity necessary. A studio that forms a community from all walks, unrivaled in mass, dedication, and servitude. A studio that ends us unknowingly. A studio named Bungie.