Court case reveals video game's troubled creation

A Guardian gets amongts the action in Destiny.

Destiny's story underwent "substantial" changes just a month before its original release date, according to court documents.

A filing from Martin O'Donnell's recent suit against Bungie contains some fascinating insights into the development process of the game.

"Although Destiny was planned for release in September 2013, the story was substantially revised beginning August 2013, requiring a new release date of March 2014 and edits to much of the work previously completed," says the document.

Head writer Joe Staten ceased his 15-year involvement with Bungie a month later, moving to Microsoft Game Studios.

Bungie's modified release date of March 2014 was also missed, with the game eventually launching a full year after its intended street date.

The scattershot story elements of Destiny have been among its most-criticised ever since release, with many speculating its un-engaging narrative was the result of incertitude and last-minute rewrites.

Destiny gets a 2.0 update today, making significant changes to levelling and weapons, as well as swapping out Peter Dinklage for Nolan North as the Ghost.

The update comes in advance of the release of expansion pack The Taken King, which among other things aims to improve the game's storytelling.

- Gameplanet.co.nz