Destiny 2's Lead Concept Artist, Dima Goryainov, has provided some crucial insight into his approach to designing the game's Darkness technology and the ominous Pyramid ships themselves. While Bungie has provided plenty of context to the franchise's main antagonist over the past few years, much of the game's lore is still deliberately shrouded in mystery, with new reveals and developments coming in at a brisk pace.
Though the Pyramid ships have been quiet in Destiny 2 for some time now, this is bound to change with the release of the Lightfall DLC on February 28, when the Witness and its Darkness-infused forces will mount an onslaught on the metropolis of Neomuna. The new expansion pack is sure to bring plenty of new Darkness-focused lore with it, but the new interview underlines a few key concepts as well.
After the very first Pyramid was discovered during the Shadowkeep DLC era of Destiny 2, much of the lore-minded player base found itself intrigued by the mysterious new technology. According to Goryainov, who spoke with Wired in his recent interview, Bungie wanted to set the stage for a strange new cultural lens of the Darkness as a neutral force of the universe: "The aim of Pyramid tech was to suggest a culture that has existed long enough for art, technology, and science to converge and become indistinguishable from one another," he said. According to Goryainov, the current visual iteration of the Darkness looks the way it does because it's a direct representation of the Witness's understanding and mastery over it.
Even more curious was Goryainov's comment on potential future iterations of the Darkness: "Outside of the Witness’ influence," he said, "the Darkness may take on a completely different form and be used for a completely different purpose." This quote is especially noteworthy in the context of Destiny 2: Lightfall's new Strand abilities, which are supposed to be an entirely new and innovative use of Darkness that the Guardians will be the first to use in combat.
Destiny 2's paracausal Darkness forces have gone through quite the evolution over the years. The presented interpretation of the Darkness has changed alongside the players' understanding of the what and the why of it, and the appearance of the Witness as a veritable threat has turned things into overdrive at last, with more lore incoming than has ever been present before. While this does paint the Darkness in a fairly negative light, the fact that Goryainov mentioned its natural neutrality means that the future of Destiny could be very interesting indeed.
And, indeed, fans are bound to experience this strange, unprecedented future once Destiny 2's Light and Dark saga wraps up. The Destiny franchise will, indeed, continue once the clash between the two paracausal forces comes to a head, which suggests an equilibrium of sorts, with the player Guardians likely at the very crux of it.
Destiny 2 is currently available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Wired
