I do believe TTK was a step up in story, as do most people. But that doesn't change the base game being a dreadful mess in the eyes of most folks. So with that said, if you ask somebody what they think of Destiny's story, you are most likely to be told either: A. It is a poor story. B. What story? Neither answer does Destiny much credit. So why do people think the story is bad? Well, you'll probably be told about how the story is all in Grimoire Cards on the website which is bad, or that there's no character development... or really characters at all that are really involved in the story. But these are surface issues, whereas the underlying theme of the problem is so easy to fix it astounds me that the community, including myself, has failed to make the distinction for so long. ...Why? That three letter word is the very heart of the problem. 'Why.' Somebody in the forums asked me the other day to explain why Halo: CE had such an amazing story. So I started thinking about what changed between Destiny and Halo: CE that made Halo: CE, a game where you were given very little information about things just like in Destiny, have a good story. Was it nostalgia? Well it was certainly a possibility I considered. But no, that did not end up being the answer. While nostalgia is important to take into consideration when determining whether [i]gameplay[/i] is good, it is not really that big a factor in saying why a [i]story[/i] is good. Why? Well, a story doesn't change quality over time. A good story has always had the capacity to reveal itself. So Halo: CE had a good story back then, and there are no real changes to story mechanics or story technology (note: Not a real thing, and that's the point) that can degrade that widely accepted opinion. It is now that I would like to bring us back to that mysterious three letter word: Why? Am I asking why Halo: CE's story was good? Am I asking why Destiny's story was bad? No, neither. Instead the point of this question is... to simply ask why do we bother? And that's the crux of the problem: Why are we bothering? Allow me to explain. In Halo: CE, we are gifted with a magnificent world and a magnificent universe. What is this Ringworld? Why are we here? Why are these aliens chasing us? What is going on? These are questions largely left unanswered. In Destiny, we ask ourselves... Why are we here? Why is this 'Darkness' chasing us? What even IS this 'darkness?' Why are we fighting worlds away from our own? Here, too, we are given precious little answers. Yet Halo: CE is marked as a great achievement in gaming narratives, while Destiny is scorned for its inability to entice anybody with its in-game narrative. So we're brought back again to: Why? Why is this? Well my friends, the answer is the obvious one I can't believe we never really expounded upon. The distinction between the games. The distinction in the very nature of storytelling. The distinction of... [b]why are we doing what we are doing?[/b] In Halo: CE you are faced with an alien horde. Mysterious though it is, your objectives are clear: Escape with an AI so the aliens cannot destroy Earth. Save your people on this ringworld. Save your Captain. Stop the aliens from activating the superweapon. Stop your Captain from unleashing an unfathomable threat. Activate the superweapon. Destroy the superweapon. These are steps- goals- in each mission. your objectives are never confused. Your purpose is always clear. While the world around you changes (in part due to your own actions) and much of it is a mystery, you are fully aware throughout the entire game EXACTLY why you are doing what you are doing. There is no mystery in the actions of the Chief because they are fully explained. Given that we know our goals, the world around us never once develops into an irritating pile of questions, but instead a mystery we are slowly trying to unravel as we bumble around foolishly on our own. We don't know [i]why[/i] anything is happening to us in the game. But we [i]do[/i] know why [i]we[/i] are doing what we do. Destiny. Mysterious world. Many questions. It certainly carries a similar mystical quality to it that leaves people wanting to know more. But instead of enticing us to discover it, instead it becomes frustrating because there AREN'T any answers in the game. On the surface this appears to be because the answers are in grimoire cards on Bungie.net. But yet again, this boils down to what we know about what we are doing: Why are we [i]really[/i] alive again? Why are we trusting everything we're told without any explanation? Why am I going planet to planet based on utterly vague information? Why is this Traveler so trusted that we dedicate our very lives to it? WHY won't you tell me about the great battle, Speaker, instead trying to garner sympathy by withholding important story elements and instead talking about children crying? So many questions. Some are touched on, but those and so many more are largely left unexplained. We have no context for our actions. We do not really know [i]why[/i] we go mission to mission. And that's the distinction between Destiny and Halo: CE. Our steps are logical in Halo: CE. We know why we act. Our steps are random and unexplained in Destiny, and that leads to frustration even though the worlds of both Halo and Destiny are so strikingly similar in overarching theme. But rather than criticize and leave it at that... is there a way to fix Destiny's story? Of course. You've probably already guessed. Just... tell us why. In TTK, we know why we are going to Phobos. We SEE the Taken appear and we know why we are working to take down the Dreadnaught. We know why we need an invisibility power for the ship of Eris because the game SHOWED us what happens to those that are seen. We know why we need to be 'Ascendant,' because we were shown, and we are told what makes hive 'Ascendant' in the first place. We are told where Oryx is and we go find him. We know why we are trying to forge a sword- because we got it from Oryx's. Why why why why why why why! We know answers in TTK! That's all Bungie has to do! They don't need to unveil all the mystery of the world. They don't need to change the flow of their universe. But they need to explain to us, the player, WHY we are doing what we are doing. Because THAT is what keeps a story from plunging down the toilet. THAT is what keeps a player entertained. And THAT is why Halo: CE had a good story, and why the base Destiny did not. I sincerely hope Bungie follows the examples of their past positively, and I firmly believe they need to continue to work to improve their storytelling abilities to the level they had years ago. That is how they expand the world of Destiny to the point where it bypasses one of its greatest flaws. That is how they get players invested enough to actually discuss their story regularly. And that... is what we should all be hoping for. [i]Why[/i]? Well... I'll just hope you've figured that part out by now!