Bungie guy 1: hmmm should we choose "fun" or "addictive as shit" Bungie guy 2: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Bungie guy 1: yea you're right. Time to feed these desticles some heroin

There isn't a lack of story. That isn't the problem. The problem is how the story and lore are told to the player.

Bungie's current head of User Research. John Hopson(Head of User Research) holds a Ph.D. in Behavioral and Brain Sciences from Duke University and is currently the chairman of the IGDA Games User Research SIG. Before he was hired by Bungie in 2002, John wrote an article explaining formulas to get gamers addicted to games, which many were based on lab mice experiments. These formulas can be seen in Destiny to be an addictive game. The game is addictive because for some reason your brain wants to do this grinding even when you realize it's not fun and there's really no incentive to repeatedly doing it. [b]Create an environment that player wants to play in.[/b] Distiny environments are artfully crafted. Each planet give very immersive visual experience. The mob, bosses and their elemental shield the player is fighting against are different. [b]CONTINGENCIES AND SCHEDULES [/b]To keep lab rats interested in food and extend the supply of food on hand they limit giving food to the rat to certain circumstances, instead of every time he does what he's supposed to do to get food. [b]To keep player interested in the game, there is a progression path by levelling up to better character abilities for different character class, weapon, gear and engram received. There are daily actitives that reward the player if they complete them. Eg Heroic Daily story or Vanguard playlist, Vanguard and Crucible bounty and Public Event. To extend the gameplay time, players need to grind for different currency to acquire and upgrade weapons and gears. Eg Fraction Reputation and Mark, commedation, destination material, exotic shard, radiant/ascendard shard and energy, Mote of Light, strange coin, glimmer, experience. [/b] [b]RATIOS AND INTERVALS [/b]Talks about two different contingencies, fixed ratios schedules and interval variable schedules. [b]⦁ Fixed Ratio[/b]- Is a very distinct pattern that gives a burst of activities to do at a time but then followed by a long pause. For example, in RPG you try to level up by gaining experience but once you hit the new level you have to go get more experience to try to get to the next level. The "pause" is what keeps you wanting to push forward into the game, but if a "pause" is too long players will walk away. Some long pauses can be positive if it makes the gamer concentrate on another game feature that could get them hooked on. [b]Player progression in the gaining experience to unlock character ablilities and getting mote of Light to buy exotic engram from Xur and items from Speaker. Having factions to level up to reach a high enough level to buy certain items from that faction. Leveling up new weapons and gear can create this burst of activity of trying to work your way up to unlock new mods. There is a long "pause" as the player works towords the next level. Start a new character where you literally restart the cycle that will keep giving you stuff to grind towards. [/b] ⦁ [b]Variable Ratio Schedules[/b]- Is a set limit to reach before being rewarded but the limit is different everytime. The limit will be randomly generated each time and the gamer will not know the set limit before the next reward. This encourages gamers to play knowing they have a chance for good reward with the mystery of when and what you could possibly be rewarded.[b] The loot drop rate of being purple or yellow Engram and it being decoded into some Legendary or Exotic gears have some varibles component that dermine the final items you can get is unknown to the player (RNGesus). Repeat strike and raid multiple times to get a chance at the drop of the gears you wanted. Iron Banner Event are schedule at different time of the year to get player to participate. [/b] [b]SPECIAL CASES [/b]This goes on to explain other less common theories to game addiction that can be effective if used in the right way. [b]⦁ Chain Schedules[/b]- Activities that have multiple stages that normally have form of puzzles and timed based enemies. [b]Raids are the most challenging content in the game which include these elements. [/b][b]⦁ Extinction[/b]- Game mechanics built in to gradually reduce a spawn in the game after every time it is received or killed. This results to eventually receiving nothing and/or enemies stop spawning in. [b]Blue, purple or yellow engram drop chance decrease once it is received. [/b]⦁ [b]Avoidance[/b]- is where the objective is to do something so that something negative won't happen. He uses his evidence with lab mice to prove this will keep you doing something. The example is where the mice were "shocked every so often" but the shock would be delayed for 30 seconds if they pressed a lever.[b] When your level is below the level of the mob, there is a penalty to the damage done to the mob and increase in damage from higher level mob. Leveling up new weapons and gear to avoid this penalty. Avoid exotic gears getting obsolete by the reset, keep upgrading the existing exotic gears. End game reward cryptarch engram are taken away and available to new release DLC. Activities such as Weekly Strike/Nightfall mission are gated by the paywall of DLC. To avoid this reward or rewarding activity being taken away, player need to buy the DLC. [/b] [b]HOW TO MAKE PLAYERS PLAY HARD [/b]Here is where he brings in all of his theories on "what makes us want more in a game". He pretty much says the game needs to have his theorized aspects all tied into the game in the right amount of proportions. [b]HOW TO MAKE PLAYERS PLAY FOREVER [/b]Here he says games need to always have something new for the player to do and have a consistent rewards with constant probabilities.[b] Introduce new DLC periodically so that player can keep upgrading their progress and not fall behind new players. [/b]

This game is so much better without plot... it will take away from the pew pew pew. This game is a great shooter with a RPG style progression system. That alone makes the game extremely addicting and I will overlook the complete lack of story. Screw the story, it's all about the loot in Destiny!

I have never played a game for the story. Anyone who says they have is lying. Games are played for gameplay and obviously Bungie gets that.

People really need to open up a book if they are really playing a game for the story. I play a game for the game, and read books for the story. I like the lore in the game, a story would have made no difference to me. It just seems like a minor thing for people to whine about, but maybe I just don't get it. I have never played a game for the story.

To paraphrase [i]The Matrix[/i]: "The Skinner box has you." I'm happy for you that you continue to enjoy it; but after going through the same repetitive motions to level up another gun, having played through all the missions, strikes, and VoG; I paused the game and just pondered "What's the point"? Shooting mechanics, graphics, and soundtrack are easily the best parts of this game; but unfortunately that's it - zero immersion, zero ambition. I broke the addiction by bailing and playing what I consider to be a true AAA title, but keep track in forums to see if Bungie has done anything to pull this out of the fire. Unfortunately, this DLC doesn't convince me.