Well we all know that Bungie has been planning on this game for some time, although official name may be something else. One thing that caught my interest in research was SonicJohn's article on how it was made. Prepare for Long Long Post [b][u]Halo Era[/b][/u] Now the testing could have begun then, but when did the original idea was brought to existence. A rumour i think i heard was that discussion on it had begun during halo 2 era. Now there are couple of reason i believe this. Mainly that Halo 2 as the Vidoc proposes was supposed to be the final act, but due to timeframe and problems it was extended. This brings the point. If it was supposed to be the final game, were they planning on a new IP and did they start building the core ideas of it then. Next if it did start during Halo 2 era then the theory and the basics of the gameplay from then till ODST would have been finalized. They would have written the rules, controls etc. and went over the gameplay for some time. Now from here i believe Bungie Studios may have taken these basic written gameplay ideas and began to implement them in the games ODST and Reach. Where they began to test how users will interact in different gameplay styles. Now the problem for me is that when looking at some pics i noticed a pic that pointed to Destiny sign on top of a hallway. Now one thing i want to know is when was that taken. Reason i want to know is if it was taken during ODST and Reach era, this may be where a subsection of Bungie had left the main team to build on the engine. Start the programming and basics of it. These programs would later be used by the main team to test on the other engine of the halo games to see if it worked. This may be why the animals failed to be able to work etc. The new engine could also be based on the halo engine, not specifically but there may be similarities, to both of them. Although they are two different engines. This may be why certain problems in Reach with the animals could have made them rethink the basic engine and edit it to make it more flexible. [quote] SonicJohn Valve's was basically metrics and heart-rates and brain-waves. Bungie's was "we generally just ask them what they thought". I found this to be an interesting difference in approaches between the two teams. Valve, on one hand is more focussed on the science of play, whereas Bungie are more focussed on the community and thought of play. [/quote] [b][u]Activision Bungie Deal[/b][/u] Now another thing i want to talk about is the Activision and Bungie Partnership. Did this occur right when Bungie's contract with Microsoft was about to expire, and another question is whether Activision immediately took them in. Why i ask these question is because of two things. If Bungie was looking for a new contract why would Activision hire them straight away, and quite early at that. The deal is a bit interesting as i do not think Activision has had any other deals like this. The reason why i say this is that i have a feeling that when Bungie did their interview the basic design of Destiny may have already been made. And when they presented this, this actually interested Activision alot. And if the deal occured really fast, then i believe that Bungie had already got started and the initial viewing of the game was really impressive and out of this world. Another thing is why did Bungie choose Activision, well the main reason would be due to the deep pockets of Activision, true they have run the COD series to the dust but they are doing business, and not only that i must say that the new COD game is quite better than the old one, that is in campaign basis. True it feels like an expansion pack but they do know how to make sales and keep improving it, to make it feel fresh and not make the addictive feel die. Bungie's choice in Activision for me is due to the money. Bungie would also get info of other tools that are little less available and learn how to implement them, considering how Blizzard has some really interesting games, that could be very useful in helping make the new game, as well as the other developers. Another reason is Activision long standing deals and ability to attract huge sales with many games. This has led them to be one of the forefront publishers able to negotiate with all parties Microsoft and Sony alike. Activision sales have also given them a huge leg up in the world in game publishing, that Bungie's deal would allow them to sell their game everywhere with little to no problem. Another thing CrazySnipe pointed out below is the Activision Press conference. One of those conferences where Bungie will get full premier and ability to create excitment and explain their new game. Plus due to the COD marketing this could bring in some larger news sources. [b][u]Going Dark[/b][/u] So a question would also be asked why go dark. Now the reason of this well there are many, and one would be how much it may change the industry, which could be why Activision took an interest. Overall i believe that Bungie also went dark for another reason that what they were doing was so fundamentally different and new that if anyone got wind of it they could use it and sell their own product that is similar than this. Another could be as someone posted below with the huge amount available and how they wanted to see what their engine was capable of before releasing it. This could also be due to time frame. Another thing is that if anything is cut in this game the next one which is sequel is likely to consist of the very same thing that was cut. So that even on release day they will be still building it into the game. And another thing there was a point of the engines being able to be flexible for both consoles present and next gen. This may mean they may be building a tech allowing them to allow both users for both consoles to interact with each other whether you console is new or not. The above and many other ideas could also be really important, and also not wanting people to know what they are planning so that they start making their own products based on their ideas, they have kept it quiet. Plus so that by the time a sequel is made the next company that enters this field will be forced to release the first at the same time as Bungie makes their second. Letting Bungie be dominant in this genre of gaming. [quote] SonicJohn Regarding content and possibility of sequels. I foresee support and DLC being the major pillars for Destiny. If it's going to be a sandbox game as I've come to the conclusion of then I believe that Bungie's quest for "balance" may be made possible by making the code able to support things such as new weapons, new vehicles, costumes, whatever. Halo couldn't do that because of how it was originally made to function. Map files and all that. That's why I believe it'll be a sandbox and open-world exploration FPS. I think Bungie's felt so restricted from their whole "loading maps" thing that they want the experience to be streamlined. [/quote] [b][u]Conclusion[/b][/u] All in all i believe for some reason Destiny to right now be in full swing in production. And soon info shall be released, this year at least. More to be added soon. Additional info thanks to crazysnipe xguena insaneAssass1n9 GPK Ethan [Edited on 02.15.2012 2:22 PM PST]