Bungie explored 'straight-up' fantasy and modern day settings for Destiny

Destiny, Bungie's upcoming mythic sci-fi shooter, could have taken place in a number of different settings, including "straight-up fantasy" or something "a bit more modern," writer and designer director Jospeh Staten told OXM.

Speaking with the publication during a recent interview, Staten explained that the team explored several different options in pre-production. The game's current mix of science fiction and fantasy ultimately won out because it "gave us this freedom," Staten said.

"You saw small things like the prevalence of cloth in the game, a lot of characters have capes or cloaks and the combatants have cloth as well," Staten said. "Fantasy brings us this texture that we can wrap around sci-fi, which is really appealing, especially if you're an artist who's just been stuck making straight up space armour for ten years. A bit of cloth is very refreshing."

Destiny was officially announced in February. Players will take on the role of one of Earth's remaining survivors following an interplanetary apocalyptic event. Although the game does not yet have a release date, it's expected to launch for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360.