Marathon may be made for PvP fans, but Bungie says there’s still plenty for the rest of us

marathonBungie’s upcoming extraction shooter has been officially reproduced via Saturday’s stream from the developer’s main office in Bellevue, Washington.

As part of the press and creator preview event, Bungee flew to Washington, spending around six hours in the game, watching the public event early and talking to some of the creatives who are trying to bring it all together more than the game’s September 23 release date.

I spent about 20 minutes talking to Joe Ziegler, marathonGame Director, Game Director, and Game Play Director Andrew Witt. We talked about how they define bungee games, who the studio is targeting with such ambitious PVP titles, and what they learned Destiny 2Success and failure in the live service space.

(Editor’s note: This interview has been compiled for clarity and brevity. )

passthecontroller: Bungie is best known for filming popular PC-only genres and bringing them to the console masses. and marathonyou are trying to introduce people to this yanki, strange, beloved extraction shooter genre by injecting talent from a wealth of studios and a wealth of money. As this is the latest genre, you’ve tried to bring to new players, but what are the challenges that come with a leap towards consoles and an entirely new customer pool? Sounds like an exciting and difficult battle.

Joe Ziegler: Yes, that is, definitely. I had someone I worked with at another company who said, “The impossible is a possibility of my favorite kind.” It’s not something that’s actually impossible, but I think doing the difficult stuff really makes the job exciting. And with regard to this particular challenge, the way we approached when we were actually talking about it – when me and Andrew joined the project about two years ago, do you think we were really focused on what we were really going to experience here?

For us, we weren’t trying to create a extraction shooter as a concept. What was the way to create a session-based survival experience? Looking for the thrill of going out there and trying to survive a truly, really dangerous and tough experience, but do you have a great story to live and talk about it? Some of the extraction rules we use have really helped us to make it happen, but for us, it was usually about driving a narrow definition of what we are trying to build more than anything else. Yes, we’ve really focused on the kind of team-based survival experiences above all else.

Andrew Whitt: And there are many works that we discussed a lot. Bungee games are expected to see what action games are, right? We talked a bit about it. That’s a big part of DNA. And you have a survival action game or an FPS action game, and what does that mean? What is that bungee version? (…) And for this game, when we talk about the survival part of it, there are usually two parts where people lean forward and feel it. The first one, how does the gameplay experience give you tension? When people are nervous, they often talk and naturally people are communicating, as it is a team play game, and that’s a good thing.

Another part of that is how do you scare people a little? (…) And the great moment you extract, and it feels like a Bungee action game moment.

So we had a lot of conversations, What is the Bungie version? Do you meet this measure and expectations? And do you think we had a “very scary hill to climb”? I think it’s the right phrase we probably agree with.

Ziegler: But I think some of it is kind of a grasp. How can we extend the definition of what Bungee is doing and go beyond that idea, Ah, for 10 years we’ve been focusing on massive experiences and such,right, Hey, we actually want to do that. We’re also looking at how we can create a kind of sandbox PVP experience that’s tense. And its marriage is just an extension of the ideas of what we can achieve.

I think it’s interesting to see the game become more segmented over the years. As they grow older, there are more pockets that people can fill. Everyone played halo. Destiny is a fierce but small pocket of the internet, but still very successful. marathon It’s clearly pushing further towards that niche but pacionating each other, and that strict A path for new players. I did not play the extraction shooter before I deliberately looked marathon Because I wanted to experience onboarding genres. Kevin Yannez (the runner team lead was there so I was able to learn pretty quickly. marathon And then the second half of the day as one of my commanders, former Destiny Developer. But for those who have not benefited from Kevin –

Ziegler: (To wit) Should I ship it with Kevin?

wit: We had that conversation. (smile))

Kevin in every box is extremely helpful! But what do you think about introducing something very unfamiliar to many people who aren’t? Tarkov Shikos? What is the process of bringing Bungie’s audience to? marathon Also, while attracting new group of players?

Ziegler: When we think about it, I think it really depends on how we cut Bungee viewers, right? Because in many ways we aim for it. When we think about the experiences we are creating, it’s because it’s a game that is very PVP-focused. And the difficulty is that in some games they are opt-in or opt-out. In our games, you cannot opt ​​out of the PVP experience. So, if you’re a player who enjoys bungee games but doesn’t enjoy PVP, it probably isn’t a game for you. However, if you’re a Bungie player who enjoys PVP games, especially Sandbox Survival and Sandbox PVP games, you’ll probably really enjoy this game. You will find a good way.

And I just understand that some of it is not taking marathon And then, “This is now Destiny 3Then change that. We are really looking to the future Destiny 2 And they are trying to work with players on how it evolves and changes. And we’re really focused on PVP, and we’re chopping something else to live for another player who really focuses on the survival experience of PVP sandboxes.

So, are you mainly looking for PVP lords here? Or, where do you think they overlap with something like a fateful audience? Personally, I say I haven’t spent much time with the Crucible (Destiny PVP) these days. But when they were offering great PVE rewards through the melting pot, Mountaintop, Recluse and more – I spent time doing good things. I’m finding marathon It’s scratching that itch, and the booty side I want to interact with the PVP and improve my skills. And when you look at the contract and secret metagame, there are plenty here for people like me who tend to avoid the many big PVP games that come up every year.

But if you haven’t played for hours, I don’t know if I was expecting it or not marathon It re-energizes that part of my brain. What do you think about reaching players you might love so much? marathonbut is it scary because of how intense and sweaty it is on that face?

Ziegler: Yes, no, to be fair, I don’t know if our game is just for sweat. I actually fully agree with you on that aspect. When you think about PVP vs. PVE, that’s what you’re probably saying if you’re against having a complete PVP interaction, it’s probably not your game. If it’s okay with PVP and enjoying the other elements, then you’re actually driving it. And I think some of it has a contract system that exists in the game. (…) I think we’re a little more focused for those players. How do you generate the right kind of new user experience? (Solo Tutorial) is right in front of you and you may have experienced it today. It actually helps you learn some of the basics, but we also have a new user agreement where we are actually continuing to do some sort of transladder repeatedly to understand how you achieve your goals in the game. (…) I want to be more accessible to these types of players sitting on the fence.

wit: Bungie is really good about providing fantasies and multiple aspects from the gameplay aspect. Explore, all of that is still part of this game. It’s a very brutal environment where you have to be on your toes and you have to play tactically, and it’s a very tense experience where everything there’s hostile to you, and you have to play it to be on your toes. But those works are for the peak you’re talking about.

Ziegler: I think one thing we noticed is that we realised that it is a really good trigger for learning for many players. Many people approaching the extraction shooter game think your goal is to take all the fights you see and have to try to survive. But reality is part of a survival game, knowing which battles you actually want to play, whether you are trying to avoid battles you don’t want to hug, or escape the threats that exist in the world. Sometimes you are a college student running from a serial killer, and sometimes you are a hunter.

Seasonal reset is controversial in other extraction shooter games, but I certainly can see the argument in their favor. After running the live service series for many years destiny and Destiny 2What has Bungie learned about managing live content models? When removing everyone’s cool stuff at the end of the season, have you learned that it can help excite enough players to come back for the next season?

Ziegler: When you think about destiny, there are clearly two different games marathonright?

Ziegler: And Fate is about this idea that I am constantly moving forward, getting better gear, getting better weapons and things like that, growing stronger and stronger. And that’s the appeal of the experience, and keeping driving like that. On the other hand, for us, we think about what we are aiming for. marathon What you really achieve is to have a kind of continuous survival engine that always changes its shape. So, with each season, you not only experience the exact same thing in the same way as a new time, but also experience another way of experiencing new content on that journey, for example.

For us, it leans towards what it means to be a kind of seasonal reset game, making each season feel like its own experience, allowing each season to move forward that way. That being said, we want to make sure you are commemorating those seasons. So we get what you can hold at the account level that may be more beauty-oriented or title-oriented, bring them into the new season, i was there. I’ve accomplished this. And that’s about creating resets for them.

(Disclosure: This article is based on a marathon A preview event will be held April 2-4 at Bungee HQ in Bellevue, Washington. Bungee provided polygon travel and accommodation for the event. You can find Additional information on passthecontroller’s ethical policies can be found here.))