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All Hail Joel, the Helldivers 2 Developer Steering the Galactic War Like a D&D Dungeon Master
29.02.2024 - 10:43 / ign.com / Johan Pilestedt
The timing couldn’t be better. Just days after the Helldivers 2 community mourned the loss of fan-favourite map Malevelon Creek, it has emerged there is a single developer at Arrowhead pulling the strings of the galactic war like a D&D dungeon master.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt pulled back the curtain ever so slightly on Helldivers 2’s hugely popular meta narrative that sees the forces of Super Earth (players) battle against alien bugs and bots for control of the galaxy, revealing a developer called Joel is steering the ship from behind the scenes.
"We have an actual person [Joel] with the job title of Game Master," Pilestedt said. "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."
Ever since launch, Helldivers 2 players have wondered to what extent community actions direct the “liberation” of the galaxy. While players can see the status of planets and even sectors change as they play, and can even see their tiny positive contribution when they complete operations, what’s clear now is Joel is the brains behind the ongoing campaign, and even steps in to change things when they go in unexpected directions.
"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," Pilestedt revealed.
The Helldivers 2 community has reacted to this revelation in typical fashion: by memeing the hell out of it. And, coming so soon after the shock fall of Malevelon Creek, Joel is now in the firing line. Players had wondered why the planet, dubbed ‘Space Vietnam’ by the community, was miraculously made available to play again after it had became inaccessible by falling to the Automatons. Perhaps that was another middle of the night alarm for poor Joel.
“I lost 30,000 troopers in Malevelon Creek and the Game Master just fucking watched.” pic.twitter.com/VT97bdYP7o
Joel when he sees Helldivers have reached a 99.97% conquered status on Malevelon Creek pic.twitter.com/QMoPVWwawY
Helldivers 2’s galactic war is a single, ongoing meta narrative fans have had fun role-playing with since the game's explosive launch. Currently there are no meaningful rewards directly tied to the liberation of sectors (all players get 12,500 Requisition if eight defend campaigns are won against the Automatons, but that's not much of an incentive), so it’s all just a bit of fun.
But
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