Game Informer released a [url=http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/12/09/revealing-the-details-of-destinys-competitive-multiplayer.aspx]video interview[/url] today focused on details of Destiny's competitive multiplayer. One of details touched upon in the interview was how in-game chat is going to be handled. It was stated that the in-game chat will by default be restricted to just the fireteam with which you entire a game. For example, if you enter the game with one other friend in your fireteam, they will be the only one you can chat with by default, regardless of how many other people are on your multiplayer team. The purpose of this set-up is to, at least by default, keep your experience the one you have chosen, undisturbed by the ragers, the whiners, and other players you may not want to deal with. Chatting with your other teammates (the other fireteams) will require the use of your platform's own chat functions, like XBL's party chat. Granted, this short interview blurb might not cover the full scope of the chat functions. However, if we were to assume that what was said in the Game Informer interview does indeed cover the extent of how chat functions in Destiny, I believe that this is a very bad idea that will work against Bungie's professed desire to bring teamwork and cooperation to the forefront of Destiny. To begin, I have always viewed the likes of party chat as a double-edged sword. When it was first introduced on Xbox 360, I was extremely excited to finally have a way to talk to a group of only my friends rather than having to listen to some of the unsavory people and conversations that frequently came about in game chat. It was a much more fun and friendly environment to play in. Eventually the people I played and chatted with most started playing less and less. I found myself desiring to go into game chat to perhaps meet some new people to play with, or at least to be able to converse about the game. But I found that no matter what game I played, nearly every lobby I joined was deathly quiet. I personally attribute this to party chat. In general, the people who do still use mics when playing a game are nearly always in party chat. There is no more desire to socialize in public matchmaking--why bother talking with strangers when you can just chat with established friends? Back to the situation of Destiny. I don't take issue with defaulting to fireteam-only chat. What I do find problematic is the idea of having to use the built-in chat functions of XBL or PSN to communicate with players outside your fireteam. Think about all the steps you would need to go through just to chat with the rest of your team (at least for XBL, which I have experience with. PSN may be easier or harder.): bring up the guide menu; start a party chat; invite your own fireteam; find your recent players and determine which of them are currently playing on your team; send all of them invites; and then wait to see if they accept. And because of the nature of Destiny being always connected, this is all happening with the game world occurring around you. On top of that, you would have to create a new party for a new set of players for every single game. That's [i]insane[/i]. [i]No one[/i] is going to want to go through that much work just to chat with people outside their fireteam. At this point, we can't be sure if this applies only to competitive multiplayer or whether it applies to all multiplayer functions throughout Destiny. If the latter were true though, it would make the problem many, many times worse, since all those other multiplayer situations are cooperative and greatly encourage teamwork and socialization. Imagine having to set up party chats every time you entered a public event. The tediousness of the process would kill any sort of cooperation in the game. So my ultimate point about this system: while the goal to keep strangers from ruining your experience by abusing the chat function is admirable, the process be which this is achieved ultimately works completely to the detriment of the cooperative spirit Bungie is trying to foster in Destiny. My proposed solution: have separate "fireteam" and "team" chats available, or if Bungie insists on using each platforms built in chats, at least make the process of creating a team chat streamlined. You can still start players in fireteam chat, but make it easy as a push of a button to start or join a chat with the rest of the team. For example: I enter a matchmade game with my fireteam. I decide I want to chat with the rest of my team. Just as I could easily and quickly bring up the scoreboard and mute a player in Halo, allow me to use one button to quickly and easily switch to an established team chat, or if using XBL or PSN chat, create and send invites for or join a party chat. If I don't want to chat, I can stay in fireteam chat. If I want to chat with the whole team, I can easily switch to team chat. If I then decide I don't like the people I'm chatting with, I can just as easily switch right back to fireteam chat. This allows for the customization of user experience without making the process a hassle, preventing others from being able to ruin your experience without stifling community interaction. TL;DR: [spoiler]Based on the information known at the time of this post, the process of being able to speak with more than the 2 other people in your fireteam is rather arduous, possibly restricting the amount of socialization possible in Destiny. The process just needs to be streamlined so that switching from fireteam to an "all-team chat" (and vice versa) is quick and easy. This will promote socialization while still allowing each player to have an undisturbed experience if they so choose.[/spoiler] Whether or not what I've suggested is possible, I don't know. I'm not professional developer (yet). Not to mention that for all we know right now Bungie might have a solution already (with all the smart cookies up in Bellevue, I think it more than likely). I'm just calling it as I see it with what we do know. If any solution is possible, though, please attempt it. If your goal is to foster cooperation and socialization and the growth of the community in Destiny, the current chat function will only work against it.