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Bungie’s Deej on Destiny: Excellent storytelling started in “The Taken King” continues in “Rise of Iron”

Speaking with Bungie’s David ‘DeeJ’ Dague at Gamescom, the Community Manager asserted that the same high-quality storytelling found within Destiny‘s “Taken King” expansion will be found within “Rise of Iron”.

“‘The Taken King’ did a great job of telling a story,” DeeJ said, acknowledging fans’ displeasure with the game’s overall narrative since launch.

“It reinvented the player experience after year one,” he continued. “We did the same thing with the April update. The Destiny player experience is in a place we like right now. We feel that the community’s happy with it, also.”

“Rise of Iron”, available from 20 September, keeps a tight focus on proper storytelling.

“We can take old story heroes and we can bring them to the forefront and make them the central figures of a new tale,” DeeJ said of Destiny‘s Iron Lords and their lore.

“‘Rise of Iron’ is an awesome story. I love the story that we’re telling in this game,” he continued. “I love the themes of honor and redemption, and a character who becomes a heroic knight, and honoring the memories of fallen heroes, and you’re following in their footsteps to destroy an enemy that they sacrificed themselves to contain, and taking their rank and becoming an Iron Lord yourself.

“All these regal themes really play to my heart. It’s Shakespearean, the story that we’re telling,” he continued. “The themes, the anthems, the new music…”

The introduction of SIVA also means familiar elements of Destiny become mysterious — and terrifying — once again.

“The Plaguelands is a spooky place,” DeeJ said. “It doesn’t just feel like Russia with snow — it is a landscape transformed and tainted by this outbreak of this technological plague. The Fallen are nasty, the Fallen are more ruthless and more dangerous than they’ve ever been. That’s immediately apparent when you first engage them. They have some surprises up their sleeves.”

DeeJ also thinks the expansion may make campaign players of player versus player (PvP) Guardians.

“The ability to take that flair of Iron Banner and extend it into a story campaign is something I’m really looking forward to,” he said. “Because people in the Crucible have explored the ideas of becoming an Iron Lord and honoring Lord Saladin and then getting these weapons with these regal names, that are named after these fallen heroes. To actually immerse yourself in their legacy is something that I think players will really come to enjoy.”

“Rise of Iron” heads to Xbox One and PS4 later in the week. Destiny has already been updated in preparation for the new content.


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Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.