All-new details, concepts leaked for Bungie’s ‘Destiny’

There's been plenty of speculation surrounding Destiny, Bungie's follow-up game to the Halo franchise, but today a batch of new materials leaked to the IGN giving fans insight into the game's story and concept.

Although the document was brought to light by a reader, Bungie has confirmed that it was prepared by an advertising agency and "represents an outside look at Destiny's plot, key values, and more."

It begins with a story overview which you can read below.

Our story begins seven hundred years from now in the Last City on Earth, in a Solar System littered with the ruins of man’s Golden Age. A massive, mysterious alien ship hangs overhead like a second Moon. No one knows where it came from or what it’s here for, but only that it’s our protector. Meanwhile, strange, alien monsters creep in from the edge of the universe, determined to take Earth and the Last City. We are young ‘knights’ tasked with defending the remains of humanity, discovering the source of these monsters and – eventually – overcoming it.” Elsewhere in the document, the massive alien ship is referred to as “the Traveler.

Elsewhere in the document, Bungie co-founder Jason Jones describes, "Destiny is designed for your inner seven year old. We want to make it feel like a mythic adventure."

Destiny is described as "fun and accessible to all," with an aim to "create a universe as deep, tangible, and relatable as that of the Star Wars franchise."

Anytime you relate something to Star Wars, you're setting yourself up for some lofty goals. If any studio can pull this type of thing off, though, it's Bungie – the developer of Microsoft's now iconic franchise Halo.

In terms of gameplay, Destiny is "social at its core," offering a "world to explore with friends, both old and new."

The document was also said to include a Destiny logo along with Xbox 360 and PS3 icons, as well as the URL "Destiny.com" which currently leads to a password-protected site.

Bungie has responded since the leak, updating their blog with one piece of concept art; IGN has several more through the link above. Bungie also wrote, "Go ahead. Take a peek. It’s alright. We weren't quite ready, but we will be soon, and we can’t wait to finally show you what we've really been up to. Stick around, we haven’t even started yet."

Maybe Bungie will get started at the Spike VGAs on December 7? Given the project's expected launch next year and the timing of the leak, Destiny seems primed for a VGAs reveal. Host Geoff Keighly certainly seemed to have a suspicious reaction to the leak, tweeting, "Well that just happened."

We can't wait to hear more! What are your initial thoughts on Destiny?