I played #destiny from the very beginning in 2014, in fact I had put in a pre-order in 2012 at GameStop, based on the concept art and the fact that it was Bungie, (like, the people that made all of the good Halo games,) and it seemed incredibly ambitious in the best possible way. Alas, Bungie did something unthinkable today, "hey, it's not done so we're not releasing it yet, sorry."
I had never had an online gaming account, but I happily signed up for XBox Live, and I was hooked from the first cut scene. Working second shift at the time, Destiny was my go-to after-work activity, and I'd usually play until 2am almost every weeknight.
Now I know the "hardcore gamers" in the walls are going to sneer and point out the the game was a bit empty in places, and there are surely valid criticisms of it, but I loved it, I loved everything about it, the co-operative PvE and the de-emphasis (I felt) of PvP, the settings, the story, the classes and their differing approaches (Hunter Mafia FTW,) all of it. When Rise of Iron came out, I bought an XBone for that alone. It was the rare game that just seemed to get better with every expansion, with stories and characters that you wanted to care about.
In that way, it was the best of Bungie. Like Halo, I felt like I was fighting to see what happens next, rather then as a flimsy pretext tying missions and firefights together. I felt like I was playing in a movie, in a compelling universe and with every other player in the world on my team.

1/2

#bungie #destiny2

And I think that gets to the game's appeal for me; it felt like a project, a collective endeavor being steered in its direction by the community as much as by Bungie, and that was entirely intentional. From the beginning, Bungie fostered and encouraged the players to form said community, and to be in dialog with the studio and each other.
Destiny 2 seemed more of the same, at least for a while.
But alas, everything has its end, and despite the relative quality of the expansions getting a bit flatter and some of the plotlines feeling a bit forced, it was still a pretty worthy game to just pick up, jump in and play.
When Bungie was acquired by Sony though, there was never any doubt about the future of the project, the only question was the timeline.
This of course was part of the incredible wave of consolidation that has swept the industry in the last decade, which was already a very bad situation for gaming, and now with the collapse of the PC building market driven by the insidious stock manipulation scheme known as ”AI" the future of consumer gaming is anyone's guess.
But I will always remember Destiny as a great experience, and it will forever be a good memory for me. I have no regrets, other than having never completed a Raid.
Others have called it their "third space," and while it wasn't that for me personally, I have tremendous respect and empathy for those who are losing an important social space. To an extent I feel that loss too, and even though I left a little early (I sold my Series X earlier this year) it doesn't entirely soften my sadness about it.
Godspeed Destiny, and Bungie. The magic is gone, but thanks for everything. 💜💙❤️

/eof