One of the challenges that video game companies tend to face in the modern age is that, because of the online presence of the said company and its employees, it can be difficult to figure out an effective communication strategy that involves transparency. In the case of Bungie, the developer behindDestiny 2, communication is often a multi-platform effort that involves both Bungie’s own website with TWABs and other posts, and also Twitter. Twitter proved to be a great way for Bungie to communicate changes and acknowledgefeedback and issues onDestiny 2mechanics, but it can also be overwhelming at times.
BecauseDestiny 2currently has a rather complex sandbox that’s made of hundreds of moving parts, it’s often onerous for Bungie to address all the changes in an extensive manner in patch notes or TWAB posts, and that’s when the developers' personal Twitter accounts come into play. Quite often, Bungie employees share crucial information about the way the game is designed or about what’s to come in the near future, which is what led to the recent debacle concerning an oldDestinyExoticcalled Twilight Garrison.
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Destiny 2’s Twilight Garrison Incident Might Impact Bungie’s Transparency
One of the sandbox developers forDestiny 2at Bungie shared comments via Twitter about the upcomingSolar 3.0 changesannounced in the TWAB, with many of the tweaks being about improving the gameplay loop of both Warlocks and Titans. A popular request ever sinceDestiny 2’s launch was that players wanted to see Twilight Garrison once again, this time adjusted for the current game, but still bringing the old item identity it had in the first title. Twilight Garrison provided Titans with a mid-air dodge ability that was extremely useful in both PvP and PvE for different reasons.
This type of ability eventually became part of the Warlocks' kit, especially so with Solar subclasses and their recent rework, seeing howDawnblade Warlocksare often all about in-air mastery and movement. Because of this, the aforementioned sandbox developer at Bungie did share a tweet stating that Titans won’t be seeing Twilight Garrison back inDestiny 2simply due to the fact that mid-air dodges define the Warlocks' identity, instead. On the other hand, the developer also pointed out that Titans already have a new form of in-air movement ability thanks to the various shoulder charge variants.
Regardless, this statement that was made to stay true to the principle of transparency was used by someDestiny 2playersto harass the sandbox developer on Twitter, eventually turning into the main reason this specific developer decided to back down on their own personal account. The Twilight Garrison incident shows that even video game companies as big and as communicative as Bungie can have their own transparency-driven statements backfire because of how individuals react to them. As such, it’s not far-fetched to think that other Bungie employees will hesitate to speak aboutDestiny 2changes or plans in the future, which does take a toll on the company’s ability to engage in conversations with fans.
This logic may also apply industry-wide, seeing how many developers end up preferring not to be as transparent as they’d like online in fear of community members reacting negatively or harmfully.Destiny 2was not always a game with lots of transparency on Bungie’s side, and it gradually evolved into one. Thus, it’s all the more important to set firm boundaries with all players in order to protect that transparency. Once again Bungie is already preserving its own clear lines of communication by having other employees speak up to defend their colleagues.
Destiny 2is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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