Until now, little has been known about Bungie Software’s upcoming space-epic Destiny. In a large press event held early this week, studio co-founder Jason Jones, the mind behind the Halo series, officially introduced the world to the studio’s new first-person franchise coming to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and “future-generation technology.”

Destiny is set far into the future, taking place after an apocalyptic event has changed the world forever. Humanity is on the brink of extinction, but a mysterious vessel known as The Traveler has stepped in to save the dwindling race. The moon-sized white globe hovers above the last great city of mankind, which is also the only safe place on the planet. However, as humans have once again taken to exploring the vast solar system, various alien races have come to Earth to eliminate the humans and claim the planet as their own.

Players are tossed into the game as a Guardian, humans that are chosen to wield the power of The Traveler, in order to defend Earth from the alien menace.

Restructuring Console Gameplay

The 360-person team at Bungie is looking to revolutionize console gaming through this new project, seamlessly integrating a multiplayer aspect into the campaign experience and giving players the ability to team-up or go solo at any point they wish. Jones threw around the term “shared world shooter” to describe the format of the game, explaining that the title is similar to an MMOFPS where other players inhabit the same world, but there is never a need to partner up if you prefer to play alone.

It is through this new gameplay system that Bungie will tell it’s tale, but narrative director Joseph Staten is more focused on how players will be shaping the world. “One lesson that’s critical is that the most important stories we tell aren’t going to be told by us,” Staten said. “They’re going to be told by players – their personal legends built from shared adventures.” The term “shared adventures” most accurately describes the journey players will be taking, as Destiny allows for the opportunity to help other players in the world who may be in the middle of an intense firefight. You may even find yourself close to death, only to be rescued by some mysterious player who just happened upon the scene.

With Destiny being built from the ground-up for cooperative and social gameplay, Bungie is offering plenty of content for those who prefer the multiplayer aspect. The game will feature party-based scenarios, as well as large “raids” that will have huge groups of players fighting massive battles. In order to make the world feel truly alive, there will be no main menu to access the game. As soon as you boot it up, you will be in the world ready to explore.

Character Progression and Exploration

The setting of Destiny allows for much more than just exploring a single planet, and players will have access to their own ships used to travel from world-to-world. These vessels can be upgraded throughout the game, and it was suggested that space combat may play a part in exploration.

Of course, Destiny is all about the characters. As a Guardian, your character can harness the power of the mysterious traveler, gaining access to new skills and magic-like abilities. There will be several classes available to players, including the Titan, Hunter, Warlock, and Vanguard classes.

It is very easy to compare the character progression structure to Borderlands. Characters in Destiny will gain experience points to level up and gain new skills, while searching every inch of the world to uncover new and better weapons and armor.

With all of the details revealed about Bungie’s huge project, no gameplay footage was shown, nor were any official screenshots. Unfortunately, it looks like Destiny may not be released until 2014, but we’re sure to hear more at this year’s E3 conference. Until then, check out the game’s introduction trailer below: