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<\/p>\nQUESTIONS, ANSWERS, AND ARRIVALS <\/h2>\n
Both Andrew and Brendan have been at Bungie for over seven years. During that time, they worked together on more than 10 raids and dungeons including King\u2019s Fall and Vault of Glass. When they started on the Prophecy dungeon, the team was searching for something art-driven and different.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe theme of new perspectives came from some early prototyping,\u201d Andrew recalls. \u201cAs soon as we started to experiment with rotating the game space, we knew we wanted to go off the deep end with an abstract style.\u201d <\/p>\n
The team started by aligning with the Creative Leadership team to figure out where the dungeon was going to take players. Andrew remembers being excited at the prospect of visiting Nine space. Placing the dungeon there would empower them to experiment with game mechanics and an art style that toyed with a lot of the rules within the Destiny universe. \u201cWe’re stepping into this simulacrum,\u201d Brendan said. \u201cThe Nine made a little pocket universe for us to explore.\u201d <\/p>\n
They went to Robbie Stevens (creative lead) and Tom Farnsworth (design lead) to start discussions on how to integrate the new dungeon into the existing Season of Arrivals story. Players already knew that the Pyramid ships were approaching, and the dungeon was the perfect opportunity to explore the question: What is the Darkness? In spite of all their research, the Drifter and Eris still don\u2019t know. So, when the Season began and the threat became imminent, players had every reason to search of answers \u2013 even if they\u2019re cryptic and lying at the end of a neon-fueled abstract playground. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting,\u201d Brendan said. \u201cThe Pyramid ships are here, and we have the sense that something awful is about to happen. What do they call those big cataclysmic events \u2013 black swan events. One that reverberates and changes everything. It feels like a sudden surprise in the moment but when you look at it in reverse you can see exactly how it was made possible.\u201d <\/p>\n
They wanted players to view Prophecy as foreshadowing. To be able to look back at this dungeon and realize that Bungie had been laying the groundwork for something massive the whole time. <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nFINDING BALANCE <\/h2>\n
With narrative direction and an excitement to push the limits of what they could do with the Nine realm, the team turned to the world-spinning prototyping that had captured their imagination initially. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s a happy accident when something works,\u201d Andrew said. \u201cWe definitely prototype really bold ideas and the ones that work well together end up together.\u201d <\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cWe start with these happy little accidents,\u201d said Brendan. \u201cThen we find out how to layer them on top of each other for a smooth experience. We start with the core mechanic in a safe learning environment. Then we add some difficulty, a twist or two, and tie it all together. It’s a solid method to make the whole experience feel cohesive.” <\/p>\n
The team took all the mechanics they had and then tuned them so that, when combined, they were difficult but still manageable. \u201cWe try to find out how many plates we get players to spin at the same time,\u201d said Andrew. \u201cWe keep layering, so by the time you get to the final boss you should understand exactly how this fight is going to play out just by stepping into the room and looking around.\u201d <\/p>\n
Brendan explained how he, Andrew, Darin Lantzy (senior technical designer), Matt Turner (senior world artist), and Ben Heider (test lead) sat in an office with a giant whiteboard and diagrammed everything they had. \u201cAll the mechanics and how do they work together and support each other. It all clicked. After about an hour, we had a design.\u201d <\/p>\n
Some mechanics, like rotating the world, were things that Andrew had wanted to do previously but didn\u2019t make sense contextually. \u201cWhenever we prototype different experiences, we end up with cool ideas that don’t always fit the theme \u2013 so I\u2019ll just save them for later. When Prophecy started, and we decided we were going to the Nine realm, I was like \u2018Oh hey, I’ve got this in my back pocket. \u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nNOW DO A BARREL ROLL <\/h2>\n
\u201cDungeons are not typically super mechanically complex because we want players to easily understand what\u2019s happening around them,\u201d said Brendan. \u201cSo, what Andrew did was super clever. He built a cube that players can activate to get teleported. Then the entire world turns, and the cube drops them into a new version of the world. So, players are now on what used to be a wall or the ceiling.\u201d <\/p><\/div>\n
The team went to Darin Lantzy and told him that he was empowered to do whatever he wanted to make the room spin feel cool. \u201cHe was super involved in prototyping,\u201d Andrew said. \u201cHe kept adding these effects to really sell the rotation of the world as you drop in and out of the teleporter.\u201d <\/p>\n
The mechanics were simplified to a single activation, but the gameplay that arose out of it was new and exciting. Brendan explained how suddenly the layout of every surface became relevant. \u201cIt creates these interesting combat encounters. It becomes more about how well you use the geometry and play in the moment rather than having the perfect build or perfect strategy.\u201d <\/p>\n
Geometry as gameplay is a central tenet of Destiny 2. Where players move and what weapons to use – building encounters where spatial orientation and player position are central to the experience means the team was able to leverage the best part of Destiny’s sandbox. <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nILLUMINATING <\/h2>\n
Another prototype that excited the team involved fighting with actual light and shadow. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever used light as a game mechanic like this,\u201d Brendan said. \u201cLike actual volumetric lights or anything like that as a mechanic.\u201d <\/p><\/div>\n
The core concept was thematic and straightforward: players use the light and shadow in the game to succeed. \u201cWe wanted it to be a simple concept to explain,\u201d said Brendan. \u201cYou could see someone doing this fight and you would know how to do it in 30 seconds.\u201d <\/p>\n
Players would kill an enemy and depending on where the combatant was standing, they would drop a different type of mote. Enemies dropped dark motes while standing in the dark and light motes while standing in the light. Even though the mechanic sounds simple on paper, it was visually confusing and somewhat frustrating since players can\u2019t really reposition enemies. <\/p>\n
While testing, Ben Heider suggested making the dropped mote type rely on the position of the player instead of the enemy. Even though it was subtle change, the whole encounter shifted. \u201cSuddenly the player had more agency,\u201d Brendan said. \u201cWe made that simple change, played it the next day, and wow \u2013 it was a million times more understandable.\u201d <\/p>\n
Those kinds of pleasant surprises come about a lot during the process. It isn\u2019t unusual for a team to come up with a cool idea that seems impossible, only to have an embedded tester come back with a solution. Bungie’s testers are integral to the process and bring with them invaluable insight in determining the kinds of challenges a design will face, both in production and in the hands of players. <\/p>\n
But even when something ultimately doesn\u2019t end up working, Andrew\u2019s prepared to take the idea and put it in his back pocket for later.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nGALLERY OF THE NINE <\/h2>\n
In addition to unique game mechanics, there was clearly a distinctive art direction that the team leaned into for Prophecy. Madison Parker (senior lighting artist) made reference to an artist named James Turrell that the team looks to for inspiration. His work explores the interplay of light, color, and architecture and his focus on bold color, shape, and really simple forms that match well with the Nine\u2019s aesthetic. <\/p><\/div>\n
Knowing that the theme lent itself to the abstract, they wanted a progression of shape and color that would transition as players traveled through the dungeon. \u201cWhen you start, everything looks soft and then progressively get very angular,\u201d Andrew said. \u201cRound shapes sunset and become spheres with lines in them and then become a flat line that a monolithic square rises from, that then collapses into a triangle. If you look at the shape language from one encounter to the next, you will see this progression from soft to hard to angular shapes as you traverse the Dungeon.” <\/p>\n
There were so many fantastic artists that contributed to the look and feel of the dungeon. Brendan recalls thinking of Andrew as a production designer on a movie \u2013 organizing pages and pages of brutalist architecture, moods, screenshots, and lighting concepts. \u201cAndrew had this vision and this plan for Prophecy. I just watched in awe as him and Matt Turner (senior artist) built these shapes \u2013 it was so cool to see them come together.\u201d <\/p>\n
What resulted is very much an art-driven dungeon that doubles down on the Destiny 2 brand of geometry space as gameplay. <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nTIME TO PLAY <\/h2>\n
The whole team is incredibly proud of how Prophecy turned out. At the time of this article, the dungeon has been live for a few weeks and players seem to be having a blast. Prior to the quarantine, it was a tradition for everyone to gather in the Bungie theater, order queso, drinks, and pizza, and watch players dive in for the first time. <\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe World’s First race is obviously a big deal,\u201d said Andrew. \u201cSo, our whole team and a bunch of partners get together in the theater and root on the teams.\u201d For Last Wish, there were still people in the studio at 5:30 a.m. Dungeons are a little faster, but everyone still gets together in the theater to watch players experience it for the first time. <\/p>\n
Despite having to work from home, the team was still watching, \u201cA bunch of us got together in a video conference call to watch the launch,\u201d said Andrew. For a team intimately familiar with every aspect of the dungeon, there\u2019s a special joy that comes from knowing when players are about to experience something special for the first time. \u201cWe\u2019re on the edge of our seats, ready to cheer,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s akin to griefing the new player with content you\u2019ve played already \u2013 a spoiler-free twist to share with friends. The Raid and Dungeon team knows that this is something of a tradition in gaming. Shared moments that build memories that endure long after the final boss learns the error of their ways. <\/p>\n
True to form, Brendan shares a gaming experience that many can relate to, \u201cYou know the Sparrow run in Scourge of the Past?\u201d he asks. \u201cWhere two people have to hit the buttons together? I was always the raid-dad making sure everyone was ready. Coordinating everything and not really paying attention to Andrew on his Sparrow \u2013 aiming at me. As soon as I say \u2018go\u2019 he just charges right at me and kills me every single time.\u201d <\/p>\n
Halfway through the story, a smile that can only be conjured from fond memories forms on Andrew\u2019s face. He quickly composes himself before responding, \u201cThat’s not true. I’m hyper-focused and never goofing off at all.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Prophecy dungeon is live in Destiny 2 and free for all players. Jump in today, take in the sights, and drive carefully. <\/p>\n