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Imagining Destiny as a Fantasy Game

Posted May 2024

Introduction

Any long time Destiny fans will know, the the game started its life as a fantasy game. According to Chris Barrett (Art Director for Destiny 1), the direction for the final game clicked once the idea of mixing fantasy and sci-fi was explored:

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'What does a buried tomb look like in this futuristic setting? What does gold look like next to an assault rifle?'

Destiny Early Concept Art

Despite loving the art direction of Destiny, I've always found the prospect of Bungie working on a fantasy game fascinating. After all, it's been almost two decades since Bungie parted ways with the Myth series following the release of Myth 2 Soulblighter in 1998. Everything since then has been science fiction (Halo from 2001 to 2010, Destiny from 2014 to present, and Marathon v2 as the studios next major project). 

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The desire for Bungie to make a fantasy game isn't just down to art direction but also linked to gameplay potential. Imagine a third person action game that controls like Destiny does when you activate your super - swordplay, spear throwing, whips, bows and a range of spells - Destiny already has the bones of a medieval fantasy RPG as it exists now. I don't think it is hard to see the potential!

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One image that really captures what could have been is the fantastic piece of concept art by Jaime Jones shown below. 

Jaime has worked on a variety of titles in both the film and gaming industries and I would definitely recommend checking out his work if you're a fan of fantasy and sci fi. 

Destiny Giant Toad Concept Art

The World of Destiny

If you've played a Destiny game or even just seen gameplay, you'll know that players are treated to some gorgeous locations, with my personal favourites being the Cosmodrome, Moon and Dreadnaught from Destiny 1. If you're in any doubt that a Bungie fantasy game would hold up, then look no further than the following pieces of concept art (also by Jaime Jones). 

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Despite being a different genre, I feel that the recognisable elements of Destiny are retained. You have points of interest in the distance, vast cities bathed in light, and looming towers just begging to be explored.

The Heroes and Villains of Destiny

So now we know what this world looks like, but what about its inhabitants? Fortunately, there are a few pieces of publicly available art to give us some ideas. The image below shows a trio of enemies which many have speculated to be what lead to the Hive faction. Left is a sorcerer or sorceress (a Hive Witch), centre is a black clad swordsman (a Hive Knight), and right is a hulking creature (a Hive Ogre). You can see how these creatures likely evolved into the ones we know today when you look at the concept art from further into Destiny's development shown below. 

Destiny Fantasy Enemy Types
Destiny Hive Ogre Art
Destiny Hive Wizard Art

As mentioned earlier, Bungie already has a series of successful fantasy games in the Myth RTS series (first two games developed by Bungie and the third by Mumbo Jumbo). The trio of nasties below are all enemy units from Myth 1 and 2. The ape like Ghols (far left) would be a fun melee enemy to engage with in an action game like Destiny, then the tougher enemies like the Trows (centre) and Myrkridia (far right) would require some strategic play with your companions, similar to a fireteam taking on a boss in modern Destiny.

Myth Ghol Art
Myth Trow Art
Myth Myrkridia Art

As with modern Destiny, a theoretical fantasy Destiny would have a range of locations to house the various enemy factions. The concept art shows coastal regions, vast cities, grasslands, deserts and dense forest swamps. I find the concept art below particularly interesting as it hints at ideas of what could have been.

 

There's a tiger for a start, could this have ended up as some sort of pet or companion system? Could these tents and buildings hold merchants for trading loot?

 

The second image shows a female figure with creatures gathered around her. Is this some sort of ritual which served as inspiration for the Hive rituals in modern Destiny?

 

Then there's the swamp itself, which could house anything from goblins, ghosts and even giant toads if we go off the old concept art. 

Wrap-up

Sadly, this is everything I've been able to find relating to pre-science fiction Destiny, although I'm sure there is a lot more that isn't available to the public, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for tweets from Bungie artists. I do think that Bungie could make a great fantasy game if they focused on exploration and combat, which I feel are some of the strongest elements of Destiny as it exists currently. For now though, the studio will be moving on to Marathon v2 after Destiny The Final Shape releases next month. 

 

 Until next time...

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