The #1 thing I was most excited to hear about Destiny in the past 1-2 years, was that they were going to make it social. I love the social aspects of the game so far, but so much more could easily be done with this.
FPS is awesome, but FPS games die! A newer, cooler, prettier game comes out and everyone jumps ship. However, games that are heavily social can last forever. Since Bungie has said they will carry this game on for 10 years, I would think that they want to retain players. I play several social online games that are 10+ years old and growing in popularity.
Some suggestions:
1. Object manipulation and/or building. The ability to move or construct things is HUGE when it comes to socializing, on a psychological level. It's great to be able to make and/or change things in a way that others can see, and add to, or destroy.
2. More Gestures that can be swapped/applied to the directional buttons as hotkeys (other than point, wave, dance, sit) and/or selected from a menu.
3. Social areas, with fun social tasks. Like mini-games at the tower, an arcade type of thing with maybe air hockey, or bowling, idk.
4. Some sort of personal customizable area, like the inside of your ship or a living space, that you can store items and invite friends to. The Tower is touted as a place to regroup and plan, but a personal space would be a nice addition to this. Particularly if the much desired PROXIMITY CHAT is enabled!
5. Non-FPS game modes. Some users have suggested Sparrow races, which would be super fun if you could shoot down opponents. That's a great idea. I know this is an FPS game, and I'm a HUGE Halo fan, but throwing some fun variety in can only make this a better game. It would appeal to a wider audience, and sell more copies.
Additions like this, complementing a growing free-roam enabled Explore mode, will truly make Destiny a timeless classic that will thrive for the next 10 years. I believe Destiny can be Bungie's flagship game and drown Halo in it's popularity. There is so much more potential here. Don't get me wrong, Destiny is amazing! However if you think about it, it's like a half-assed RPG with great FPS elements and I'd LOVE to see Bungie go all out with the social & RPG elements.
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I'm with you buddy totally! I find that every single word in your post is illuminating, social it's a huge part during the lifespan of an mmorpg.