Destiny 2: Season of Defiance

General Information

Role: Activity Designer

Genre: MMO, FPS, Live Service

Engine: Proprietary Bungie Engine

Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Developer: Bungie, Inc.

Release Date: February 28, 2023

Tools

Overview

Season of Defiance was my second full production cycle for a Destiny 2 season content release. I served as the feature owner and activity designer for Defiant Battleground: Orbital Prison as well as the activity designer on the boss encounter of the season's exotic mission: //NODE.OVRD.AVALON//. During this production cycle I concepted the Battleground then iterated on and finished both it and the exotic mission boss encounter.

Responsibilities

Served as feature owner for a Battleground:

  • Created and pitched Battleground concept
  • Wrote and maintained detailed documentation
  • Held and communicated vision for the feature
  • Served as point of contact for the feature

Took encounters from concept to polished final product:

  • Designed, scripted, and iterated on activity flow
  • Designed, scripted, and iterated on combat encounters
  • Designed, greyboxed, and iterated on multiple original combat spaces
  • Ran regular playtests to receive feedback and identify risks and issues
  • Polished features and fixed bugs

Collaborated with other disciplines:

  • Worked with the World Art team to create original combat spaces and modify existing ones to best fit the combat and gameplay present
  • Worked with the World Art team to find creative ways to reuse spaces and reduce scope
  • Coordinated with Tech Design, VFX, and Audio to request assets necessary to create the intended experience
  • Worked closely with the Test team to ensure a high level of quality
  • Collaborated with Production to plan features, cost tasks, and identify risks
  • Interfaced with leadership to pitch concepts, receive feedback, and address concerns

My Work

Over the course of this production cycle I was responsible for one battleground and the boss encounter of the exotic mission. Battlegrounds are activities with high replay value, significant enemy density, multiple mechanics, and various levels of player selected difficulty. Exotic missions are complex end-game missions that incorporate unique narrative content, require advanced skill to complete, feature multiple levels of player selected difficulty, and reward a valuable exotic weapon.

Defiant Battleground: Orbital Prison

Defiant Battleground: Orbital Prison features the guardian using the powers bestowed on them by Mara Sov to traverse the ley lines up to an orbital prison ship to rescue captured civilians. It is the third battleground in a set of three for the season which all feature the guardian using these powers to rescue civilians captured by the Witness' forces. This battleground is an escalation both in terms of the extent of the players' Awoken abilities and the lengths taken by the enemy forces to keep the prisoners secure.

The battleground begins on the earth with the player opening a portal to access the Ascendant Plane. The first encounter sees players defeating a Taken encampment in the Ascendant Plane and clearing its corruption by destroying blights. From there players can make the final leap into orbit and enter the prison ship. Once discovered the ship enters a lockdown which must be hacked to override and players defend the Ghost as it performs the hack. Finally, players must defeat the commander of the forces on board using their awoken power while in a hanger where air support can assist their enemy.

//NODE.OVRD.AVALON// - Boss: Brakion

//NODE.OVRD.AVALON// is the exotic mission for Season of Defiance and I worked on the boss encounter at the end of the mission. This encounter reprised Brakion, a giant Vex boss from a sunset strike in a new environment combat scenario. Players find Brakion in the Vex Net having followed clues laid out by Asher Mir, a lost guardian. During the encounter the fireteam pushes Brakion up through a set of three arenas toward a giant lake of radiolaria, with each arena shrinking in size and increasing the risk and intensity of the battle.

During the first section Brakion teleports from corner to corner of the arena forcing players to stay mobile to stay safe and do effective damage. The second section features a triangular shield from the referenced strike which must be brought down for a timed damage phase by solving a puzzle mechanic used earlier in the mission. The passcode must found in the arena and shapes destroyed in the correct order to bring down the shield. The last arena is much smaller than the first two and when Brakion reaches a low enough health it enrages, chasing the player around the space in a hectic final stand.