“We called it the Traveler, and its arrival changed us forever.”
Today, I need to tell a story, to ease my mind from the terrible affliction thrust upon me today. Today, my favorite game died forever. I realize there are worse things in the world, and I realize I am perhaps being dramatic over this, but I cannot resist sentimentality.
If you know me, you probably know my favorite game is Bungie’s Destiny 2. I was first introduced to the original Destiny way back in the day, probably around 2014 or 2015, when I watched my brother download its massive file onto our Playstation. As it downloaded, the screen transitioned from picture to picture, filled with concept art of worlds upon worlds filled with mystery and beauty. Then, I remember laying on the carpet of our upstairs play room, reading cards of lore on a laptop while theorizing with my brother as we attempted to untangle the mysteries of this vast world we had stumbled into. That was what first entranced me: the lore of the game. Tales of a long-forgotten halcyon age, one-off mentions of magical ruins, eldritch alien terrors, and a silent machine god. That was Destiny to me, and it was the first world I fell truly in love with.
I don’t think I even really played it at all until well after the second game’s release, around 8 years ago. And when I did, I understood why it was so beloved. Yes, the lore of the game still had my heart, but its gameplay was a revelation. But I won’t talk much about that, because I know that would bore most people. The game continued on, and so did I, sinking hours (probably too many) into it. It had its ups and downs, both story-wise and in other ways. Eventually my brother stopped playing, but I didn’t. I couldn’t imagine any other game I would love as much as Destiny. But eventually, the game became less up-and-down and more stuck. Bad decisions were made, resources were mismanaged, and the game stopped being given the love it deserved by its creators. Players left slowly, then in hordes. Then, today, its creators announced that they too would be leaving it behind.
I guess I won’t explain the entire story of the game, even though I kind of would love to. But I don’t really want to talk about all of the details of timelines and names. Instead, I want to tell the story Destiny has been telling since 2014. It is a story about hope. It is about Light and Darkness, and a champion (that is, the player) who binds them together and triumphs even in the bleakest of moments.
It begins with two stories of reformation; one, a prologue to the story in which astronauts encounter Mars being terraformed by a strange mechanical god named the Traveler, and two, the resurrection of the player from a long-dead body, resurrected by the power of that god, hundreds of years after that fateful terraforming. The Traveler wields the Light, a power which transcends the physical rules of the universe. But the Light forgets, so the resurrected player (now called a guardian) has no memories of their previous life. In that lack of memory, however, they are given a chance. A chance to be reborn a hero, to become legend. The chance to bring hope to the remnants of a dying civilization, over and over again.
Despite everything thrust at the Guardian by enemies of the Traveler–alien gods, robotic armies, planet-eating ships–the Guardian continues on. It’s their destiny to do so. But now, it seems that time is coming to an end.
When that announcement was made, I was floored. I then went home and booted up the original Destiny, which I haven’t touched in ages, and started a fresh account to experience the beginning once again. Endings bring us back to beginnings, but beginnings cannot take us to the end. Endings are earned only by time.
It seems rather poetic that this incredibly important piece of my life is coming to an end right as the rest of my life is starting. I graduate soon, and I just signed onto a new job. Most, if not all, of my friends are leaving me in one way or another. My sister just moved out, making me the only kid left at home. So it is true that all endings are beginnings, but I don’t think I’m quite ready for this bitter end. How do you say goodbye to a piece of your heart? I have to ask this constantly as I prepare for graduation, and now, to say goodbye to the game I love. Everything in life seems to pass, so I can only be thankful for the time I had.
I just wish it didn’t have to end. I’ll have more to say when I graduate, so look out for that.
