Lucent Hive
First Person PVE Shooter + Action MMO
Playable in Singleplayer or Coop
Created as a Senior Level Designer for Bungie / Playstation
Available on Steam, PC, PS5, XBOX
Developed over 3+ Months
Tiger Engine
Small Team
5-10 minute runtime
This Level appears as part of the Destiny 2 Season 22 release.
Players engage with this level as part of the New Light campaign in game. If new or returning after a long period of time, players have the opportunity to play condensed levels that help get them up to speed on the story and lore of Destiny 2.
Level Flow
(1) Infiltrate the Apothecary Wing
(4) Breach the Inner Sanctum
(2) Investigate the Aberrations
(5) Fight the Elite Hive Ghost
(3) Proceed deeper into the Apothecary Wing
(6) Acquire the Memory Crystal
Production
One of my favorite tasks on Destiny 2 was to create the Lucent Hive level for the New Light initiative as part of the Rally team. The Rally team’s job was to make content for new and returning players (New Lights) who weren’t familiar with the current goings on of Destiny 2.
The Lucent Hive level was requested by my Design Director. We needed to create a level where players would get a distilled version of the story so far of how Savathun’s Throne World operated. I figured we could take some key elements from the Witch Queen campaign, place them over our signature combats and platforming, and serve up a fun, short experience that didn’t over stay its welcome.
> Destiny 2
The Witch Queen’s Aberrations
This is a New Light player’s first run in with the Witch Queen’s Aberrations. They’re large stone-like structures that contain Wisps of Deepsight. They can only be destroyed by Players using Hive Swords’ melee or ranged attacks. They’re supposed to be the manifestations of the Witch Queen’s powers in the Throne World. Hive Swords are dropped by Hive Swordbearer enemies.
Deepsight Platforms
Deepsight Platforms are paths that appear for players when a Wisp of Deepsight is interacted with. They disappear after a certain amount of time has elapsed. We use them to create agency and get players through spaces in a certain amount of time. They’re perfect for timing with traversal-based dialogue.
Hive Ghosts
Hive Ghosts are enemies that contain the same light that fuels Guardians’ Ghosts. When a Hive Ghost is dispatched by players, it leaves behind a Ghost that must be crushed. If not crushed, the Hive Ghost combatant will resurrect and the fight will continue.
The player takes on scores of Hive combatants in this very traditional Destiny 2 styled level.
1 set of combatants that breadcrumb the player into the first Aberration’s space
4 Combats with ascending difficulty where the player must
Clear the fodder enemies from the Aberration
Kill Hive Ghosts that spawn in to protect the Aberration
Pickup the Swords that the Hive Ghosts drop
Use the Swords to destroy the Aberration
Use the now active Deepsight Platforms to progress to the next combat
1 Final Combat encounter where the player fights defending enemies and an Elite Hive Ghost
