[i]“Death gives meaning to our lives. It gives importance and value to time. Time would become meaningless if there were too much of it.”[/i] ― Ray Kurzweil In MMO's of recent years the player is essentially promised that, regardless of their skill level, they will become all-powerful if they simply put in the time, and the player does not hesitate to put in several dozen hours per week in pursuit of this promised greatness. Eventually we acquire those legendary pieces of gear and hit that level cap. "WE DID IT!" We've finally arrived at the all-powerful, all-conquering state that we've wanted and worked so hard to acquire. The rush and feeling of accomplishment wears off rather quickly, however, as we then then look for ways to become even greater. The game devs recognize this and then release an expansion that promises to satisfy the players insatiable appetite for power, dominion, and accomplishment for a price. We buy it, hit the new level cap, and get the uber-mythic gear that is promised for slaying the final boss. Again, we rejoice, and again, the good feeling wears off. This addictive formula is everywhere in multiplayer gaming today. "Play more to unlock this or that. You will be awesome if you do". [b]The meaning of the entire experience is an empty meaning―an illusory facade catering to the insecurities of the human being.[/b] What if the focus of the entire video game was NOT to BECOME or ACQUIRE greatness for yourself or with a team of your friends but to EXPERIENCE another world and the way your presence and the presence of others in that world impacts others and, ultimately, the entire virtual universe? [b]What if the death of your game character carried with it the ultimate gaming penalty: 'Game Over'?[/b] What if there were no respawns, but only starting over from scratch upon death? No longer a race to the level cap, rare gear, or a grind through the game's story, the experience (you and your group's individual stories) takes center stage. The game would make you play smart and think first about how to not die rather than how to kill. "Be Brave" would have a whole new meaning, no? How rare and awesome it would be to see a high level character or to have been one yourself. The legacy and stories you would have to tell or experience with your friends like how you, time and time again, have just barely escaped death at several places in the solar system as you were saved by an unusual and lucky series of events. Afterall, it is these moments, through all our years of gaming, that we never forget and that keep us coming back. We all want to experience something awesome, unique, and totally unexpected in these games we play. We want those 'holy shit' moments that aren't scripted. Those moments you couldn't replicate or even think up if you tried. Those stories live on for years with you and your friends as you tell the story again and again, laughing about it until your side aches. It is these moments that make multiplayer gaming the joy that it can be. Not buying, unlocking or acquiring that shiny thing just out of reach. Eventually, however, you will die. Your enduring legacy, your rare or not so rare gear, and all you've achieved will be gone, but its not the end of the world because, knowing all along that once you die it's over, it was never really about acquiring or becoming anything. It was always about adventure, survival, and exploration of a virtual, yet, living and breathing universe where incredible things can and do happen, and we can share that experience with both our best friends and others we encounter along the way. [i]"We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time."[/i] ―T.S. Eliot Without the egotistic poison of "acquiring and becoming the best", I believe the MMO experience finds relevant meaning personally and socially. I know Destiny probably won't be like this, so this is more of a love letter to Bungie. I think they know what I mean to say. They will surely find an even better and deeper way to bring real meaning into the FPS, MMO, and overall multiplayer gaming world that I believe it severely lacks. EDIT: If players were too scared to explore on their own and forced to go out in groups it defeats the whole purpose. This is about a fundamental shift in the player and why they are playing a game. It's about no longer 'playing to win', but playing to have an experience in another world. [b]Sometimes you win, sometimes you fail. It's finally failing after an epic go you have with a character that gives meaning to all those wins.[/b] Being able to essentially record everything our characters do with video, stats, and screenshots through some kind of epic 'theater mode' would be key. After your character dies you're left with a story about a Guardian who came into the game world, did some crazy awesome stuff and found some amazing areas in an otherwise unexplored world before he was tragically ambushed, cornered, and killed by a group of Cabal. You could document the entire journey the character went on and share it with the world. Just imagine all the crazy stories and emotional tales. But without permanent death the whole thing doesn't even matter. The amazing things in games are then simply ground out. I understand wanting players of all skill levels to be able to enjoy the entire game you made, so I guess this requires a fundamental shift in the reason devs create a game in the first place. It is failure and death that gives meaning, not winning all the time. Game devs need to understand this. Video games have reached a place where they could potentially be truly amazing experiences. It is our own human insecurities that is holding video games back from true greatness. ***Please scan down for my other comments, as I make a few more relevant points that I would have liked to have had in the OP.***