Helldivers 2continues to capture the hearts and minds of players across the globe (yours truly included). The bombastic fast-into-the-action gameplay keeps us coming back for me, even after tragic losses like just barely failing at our prolongedDefend Campaign against the Automatons. Despite these losses, Helldivers continue to push back against the enemies of Democracy. Though could there be a man on the inside? A lone Helldiver working against the whole?
Helldivers 2 Needs More Overpowered Weapons (Skip The Nerfs)
I’m tired of seeing the same meta loadouts, but nerfs aren’t the answer.
Not quite. That’s a bit too adversarial a relationship to ascribe to this figure, but in a recentPC Gamer Interview, Helldivers 2 devs revealed there is a singular Game Master named Joel who is orchestrating the ebb and flow of conflicts across the galaxy. Is he responsible for our recent failings at Malevelon Creek, or are players to blame? A bit of both, of course, though it’s a little more complicated than simple arbitrary decisions.
Helldivers 2
Joel Is The Game’s Dungeon Master
As revealed in thePC Gamer interview, Joel is a member of the development team for Helldivers 2 whose role is to act as a kind of D&D Dungeon Master, with the entire galactic war effort acting as his homegrown campaign. This isn’t to say he’s completely at odds with the players. On the contrary, he’s acting as anygoodDM should — his interests are in making a fun and engaging narrative with plenty of player involvement, rather than dictating events or outright trying to defeat players.
The game has only been out for less than a month, but we’ve already seen him in action. When Helldivers were devoting so much attention to pushing the Terminids back on the eastern quadrant of the galaxy map, Joel decided it was time tolaunch a major Automaton offensiveto draw Helldiver attention toward the western front.
There have been some sudden moments where maybe one planet was too easy or one was too hard and [Joel] had to get up in the middle of the night to give the Automatons a bit of reinforcements so the players don’t take [the planet] too quickly.
-Jonah Pilstead, Arrowhead CEO.
This isn’t to say Joel is outright deciding how a campaign or planet will go. The interview specifically calls out how Joel is responding more to events in the game, making macro decisions of how entrenched enemies are on given planets — really responding to what players themselves are doing.
I Played Helldivers 2 As A Pacifist, And Everyone Was Chill About It
Hacksaw Ridge, Super Earth style.
Joel: Friend Or Foe?
The concept of not just utilizing an AI director, but actual humans making some of these decisions, wasintroduced prior to the game’s release, but it wasn’t quite made clear exactly how that would manifest. Likening Joel’s role to something akin to a D&D Dungeon Master paints a much clearer picture. His role here isn’t to try to ‘kill the players’ (though plenty of bad DMs do seem to make that their goal). Players are going to die plenty without Joel’s direct interference. He’s not quite adversarial, but instead closer to a storyteller.
Players are going to die plenty without Joel’s direct interference.
While some DMs tend to get a little too railroad-y with the content they’ve prepared, a good Dungeon Master has loose plans, which are then changed or impacted by player choice. With Joel using organic fun as the guiding factor here, that opens up plenty of opportunity for dynamic and spur-of-the-moment developments. Paired withArrowhead’s internal roadmap, we’re in store for a variety of newShip Modules, weapons,Stratagems,enemy faction(s), and mission types to enjoy.
Players have even been calling for Joel the Game Master to become amore official figure within Helldivers lore, showing just how receptive and excited players are to the prospect of this kind of hands-on guidance and direction toward the ongoing war effort across the galaxy.
Joel the Game Master is, for the most part, seen as a benevolent figure, and while his decisions might result in plenty of Helldiver defeats over time, every decision seems to be made with fun considered first and foremost, which is the best way to approach creating content for a live service game with such an enthusiastic community.
Helldivers 2 Review: Freedom Never Sleeps
Liber-tea never tasted so good!
What’s your favorite Stratagem in Helldivers 2?
