Helldivers 2 CEO Johan Pilestedt Reveals One Pitfall of ‘maintaining the chaos’ of the Arrowhead Studios PlayStation Franchise

Helldivers 2‘s maker, Arrowhead Studios, has made its mark with the widely popular franchise. The games offer an intense cooperative experience that has garnered widespread acclaim.

With the recent release of the sequel, CEO and Creative Director Johan Pilestedt lets readers in on the challenges faced by the studio in transitioning from the original overhead-view gameplay to a third-person format.

Navigating Perspectives and Preserving Collaboration in Helldivers 2

While the success of the franchise has been met with overwhelming joy, Pilestedt candidly discusses the difficulties encountered in maintaining the crucial element of chaos that defines the Helldivers experience.

He delves into the pivotal decision-making process behind shifting from a top-down perspective to third-person, emphasizing Arrowhead Studios’ commitment to exploring diverse gameplay philosophies.

The transition introduced a unique challenge of diverging player perspectives, as each participant now has their own interpretation of the unfolding chaos. In a game that thrives on collaboration, the team struggled with ensuring that players felt the need to work together early on in the development process.

The solution, Pilestedt reveals, was by introducing dynamic gathering locations, or “watering holes,” strategically placed to encourage players to converge.

We created these locations dynamically by making the shared resupply stratagem, players dropping sample containers upon death, and through reinforcement Placement. I believe that a good co-op game forces players to play together, but a great one makes players want to play together. 

Pilestedt continues, saying that he wanted the game to feel like the player is venturing into a dark basement and needs their friend with them. This could only be achieved by “creating the sensation that no single person can do this alone.”

While the team initially strayed from the original Helldivers, there were several functions that they knew they wanted to include: the visceral, intense combat, and the haphazardness of friendly fire.

We always knew we wanted the juxtaposition between the fragility of humans with overpowered tools versus physically superior foes only vulnerable to heavy weapons. Feeling human is a key part to the Helldivers experience.

In the game, this resulted in a feeling of realism and immersion but also made for a ton of funny moments, like accidentally bombing your teammates (which most of us can relate to).

Pilestedt on Stratagems and Future Plans

The article then explores the development of stratagems, powerful tools inspired by real-world examples and pop culture references.

Arrowhead Studios adopts an iterative and sprint-based approach, constantly adding new stratagems based on gameplay feedback and designers’ creative ideas—mechs being one of the latest additions.

Pilestedt shares the team’s thought process behind the creation of mechs, with an emphasis on maximizing their believability within the Helldivers universe.

As the discussion transitions to the game’s future, Pilestedt hints at grand plans while keeping specific details under wraps to surprise and delight players.

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