Further light has been shed on the mysteries of the Helldivers 2 universe, in which those titular heroic troopers spread Democracy to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, crushing both Bugs and Bots under polished jackboots. What insidious intelligence directs these loathsome foes of Freedom and Liberty, you ask? An Arrowhead Game Studios employee named Joel.
Joel is Game Master, a job and title very much inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, but on a massively multiplayer scale, and he works ceaselessly to help shape some of the incredible, emergent moments which have made the game such a hit. In an interview with PC Gamer, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt explained:
"We have an actual person with the job title of Game Master, and we have a lot of systems built into the game where the Game Master has a lot of control over the play experience. It's something that we're continuously evolving based on what's happening in the game. And as part of the roadmap, there are things that we want to keep secret because we want to surprise and delight."
Trying to capture some of the collaborative magic of tabletop gaming, Joel can give a player access to a particular stratagem in the middle of the mission, potentially turning the tide of battle entirely. But apparently, the role extends as far as more significant narrative events, like the recent and cowardly surprise attack from the Socialist Automatons, which transformed an unnamed backwater into the community's first baptism of fire: the tragedy that befell the forces of Super Earth at Malevelon Creek, where defeat at the hands of the Automatons has already become the stuff of legend, dubbed "Space Vietnam" by the community.
So, expect more of these "setpieces" to occasionally occur in response to player actions and Joel's whims. Pilestedt said that "[Joel] had to get up in the middle of the night to give the Automatons a bit of reinforcement, " which is truly incredible.
What do you think of Arrowhead's approach to emergent gameplay? Should we redouble our efforts to spread Democracy and make Joel sweat slightly? Remember the fallen heroes of Malevelon Creek in the comments section below.
[source pcgamer.com]
Comments 26
...and where is the connection to Machiavelli?
@ZhuckelDror There isn't one, but it's a cooler adjective than cunning, or opportunistic
Ohh how would I love to play that game if it has singleplayer...
@djlard It has single player…you won’t have as much fun but you can play it entirely solo.
@ZhuckelDror apparently, if you have the power to add surprise Strategems to players' arsenal you're considered a follower of the father of modern politcal theory.
@djlard it would totally defeat the object of a game build for multiplayer co-op. There's loads of SP only games but very few well executed co-op games like HD2, so I hope they never try to force it to be SP too.
This is all fine and dandy, but I've played one level 6 Bot mission... Legions upon legions of them were marching on me from all directions ALL the time, with constant barrage of lasers, rockets and grenades (where with bugs you can at least RUN). Now I'm seriously curious about difficulties 7, 8, and 9
Looking to hook up for Helldivers2 - HotstuffFred
@Prime_Objective think it's more to do with difficulty setting. I'm at level 12 playing on medium, and it's never really been too crazy.
Best Gamemaster was Sir Patrick Moore!
Truly inspired!!! That is all
@riceNpea Loads of singleplayer sci-fi bug shooting ??? OK there is Serious Sam. What next?
@djlard didn't say that though, did I? You're twisting my meaning to suit your point. Go and play Fallout if it helps.
@djlard I seriously hate mp games , haven't played one properly since the first gears (I'm not a fan of people in general) but I love this game , ive had nothing but good experiences with it , I got help when I just started now I help others, it's great id seriously consider it , its an mp game for those that don't like mp 😁 just turn off crossplay , pc player cheating is rife and could ruin your game.
@GZoo try an escort mission on challenging with the bots, its a hilarious , panic inducing frantic mess 😂
@Prime_Objective yeah the bot missions are nuts 😁
@Prime_Objective I am now at Level 32 and do Level 8 missions as my standard. On the bug side, it is nuts. Literally maybe 30 seconds of non-fighting in a whole 30 to 40 min campaign. It is awesome, but stressful. Level 8 and 9 with the Automatons is so ridiculous, no matter how seasoned it truly is near impossible. The issue is how many titans they spit out. Last night, on the bug side, there were 4 titans all in the same location at the same time. For Democracy!
@ZhuckelDror Helldivers 2 is a direct result of the Prince's influence
Lost Planet 2 walked so Helldivers 2 could run. Yeah, I said it.
@Shushibda I didn't play multiplayer since Diablo 1.
@riceNpea Fallout - "bug infested" game. 😀 Nice one... 😉👍
@djlard 👍😊
@Jettstyles I think on Suicide Mission the bots are actually easier to deal with than the bugs. The tanks are much easier to kill than the massive bile spewers. In fact most of the large bots go down easier than the large bugs. It's only on extraction that the bots and their laser fire proves more difficult.
Does anyone know, are the events in the first game tied to this one? I might go back to the first one if it does to kind of explore the lore a bit more.
@Jill_Sandwich
The amount of lore in these games is close to zero.
@djlard I’ve had a great time playing with randoms not talking at all. You don’t even have to play with them. But the game pushes you to want to do so
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