Back before Bungie and Activision split, the latter used its diverse catalog of studios to help the former with work on Destiny 2. Now Bungie is going it alone and those studios that once had to serve as a type of unsung hero can work on their own projects.
Among those Destiny 2 helper studios was Vicarious Visions, whose work had largely consisted of console ports before Activision acquired them in 2005. After that, the studio took on similar work but for Activision franchises like Guitar Hero and Skylanders. Then, when the studio was tasked with assisting Bungie, Vicarious Visions took on many of Destiny 2’s seasonal and DLC content, even delivering some memorable experiences like the Menagerie.
Although Bungie never drew the line between what was its own content and Vicarious Visions’ work, many Destiny 2 players felt like the helper studio oftentimes had a better handle on the game than its main developer. So, when Activision and Bungie split and Vicarious Visions had to step away from the franchise, there were legitimate concerns from the player base.
Vicarious Visions Found Success With Remasters
On the bright side, Vicarious Visions has had an opportunity to further cement itself as a developer to watch thanks to the Crash Bandicoot remasters. The studio was entrusted with a beloved property and by most accounts did it justice.
It makes sense, then, that there are rumors that Vicarious Visions is being handed the reins to the Diablo franchise and heading up work on the Diablo 2 remaster. Nothing is official – and likely won’t be until Blizzcon, at the earliest – but the source has delivered accurate info in the past.
When it comes to making a remaster there is the hope that the developer won’t tinker too much with the source material, but Vicarious Visions has a unique opportunity here. Because of its experience on Destiny 2 and the feedback it heard from players, the studio could further improve the loot system in Diablo 2 for the remaster.
Although many games have tried to emulate it, Diablo has long served as the gold standard when it comes to loot games. Even when Diablo 3 struggled to find its footing early on, the developers eventually settled on a system that satisfied players. Namely, the developers decided not to worry about holding anything back from players and giving them all the loot they could handle.
The thinking was that if players were going to put the game down, the developers wanted them to do so with fond memories of their experience. If so, then they would be more likely to come back when new content was added or an event went live. Loot systems that are stingy, like Anthem, have a harder time bringing back lapsed players.
Diablo 2 Remaster Can Show Destiny 2 How to do Loot
Right now, Destiny 2 is struggling with rewards, to the point that Bungie had to dedicate a whole blog post to discussing how it plans to improve its systems. Many D2 players feel like the game doesn’t provide enough incentive to complete basic activities and even then, the loot isn’t particularly noteworthy. Only recently have the issues come to the surface, but many have felt loot needed improving back before Vicarious Visions left.
Assuming that Vicarious Visions has taken on development for Diablo 2 Remastered, the studio can decide what type of loot system it wants to deliver. Should it be generous or stingy? How rewarding should activities be? These are some of the answers that Vicarious can answer and they should be informed by the developer’s work on Destiny 2. In essence, they can show Bungie how a loot system should operate right out of the gate.