Helldivers 2 paves the way for D&D-style game masters

Main points

• The success of Helldiver 2 and the advent of social media were unexpected, and it made me wonder why.
• That’s probably the craziness of the third-person perspective and the game in general. But it could also be because of Helldiver 2’s game master, Joel, who modifies the game’s difficulty and events to influence player engagement.
• The concept of a D&D-style game master like Joel may be a more common element in game design in the future — not unlike how Fortnite has made the battle royale mode a reality in several games, including Call of Duty: Warzone The mainstream approach is no different.

Seven years ago, PUBG: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite debuted, prompting game studios to replicate their success. This has led to great games, like Call of Duty spin-off Warzone, but also terrible imitations. Even a game as unexpected as Civilization 6 is launching its own Fortnite-style battle royale mode that involves shrinking the player’s safe zone.

Elements of popular video games have been copied over the years, such as Dr. Mario replacing Tetris with little colorful pills. Arrowhead Games’ Helldivers 2 could be the next product to spark copycats due to its unexpected success. Game sales are steadily increasing, and more and more players are being drawn into the galactic war. It got me wondering what makes Hellraiser 2 stand out, and what aspects of the sci-fi shooter other studios might look to adapt.

“Helldivers 2” becomes a popular video gold work

Popular on Steam and social media

The initial success of Helldivers 2 caught Arrowhead Games off guard, with concurrent players on Steam peaking at over 458,000 just two weeks after launch, overwhelming the servers. While player numbers remain strong, surpassing Call of Duty and Fortnite, it pales in comparison to Palworld, another popular video game of 2024. The number of concurrent players on Steam briefly spiked to over 2 million before plummeting to less than 100,000.

Helldivers 2’s third-person perspective makes the game even more exciting, allowing players to watch the action from their own perspective, which is a big reason why so many people are talking about it and sharing clips online.

Helldiver 2 remains so successful because it’s all over social media. Picture this: Super Earth, a place that’s supposed to be a utopia, but whoops – it’s actually an over-the-top fascist society where players are unsuspecting cogs in a giant, ridiculous war machine, dueling against bugs and mistakes . Robots in a conflict that makes you ask, “What are we fighting for?” Gamers are here for it, turning their crazy in-game antics into viral video gold. Helldivers 2’s third-person perspective makes the game exciting and allows players to view the action from their own perspective, which is a big reason why so many people are talking about it online and sharing clips.

Helldivers 2 has a D&D-style GM

Joel is a true mastermind

Helldivers 2 is a PvE third-person online shooter that pits players against a common enemy. Fight on multiple planets with multiple enemy types and different environments. This also happens to describe about a thousand other games. So why does Hellraiser 2 perform so well? I’ve played this game for dozens of hours now, and I believe that’s down to the joy of Galactic Warfare and Arrowhead Games employee Joel, who is the master of the game.

Every player in the game is dedicated to the common goal of winning the galactic war for Super Earth. This objective is depicted on a map that players can access via their Destroyer Starship. The map is centered on Super-Earth and is surrounded by different areas. In these sectors, players actively engage in combat as Helldivers. Each planet displays a liberation percentage, which is affected by player successes and failures.

This is where Joel comes into play. He is a true employee of Arrowhead Games. Arrowhead Games CEO Johan Pilestedt recently revealed Joel’s existence in an interview, emphasizing the immense power he has to modify the difficulty of individual games. While this has little impact on individual players’ gameplay, it contributes to the broader narrative unfolding in Helldivers 2.

For example, a planet called Malevelon Creek became so popular shortly after the game’s release that players nicknamed it “Robot Vietnam.” Joel plays a vital role in ensuring that players ultimately lose the battle on this planet by increasing the difficulty of the game. As a result, Robot Vietnam is now dominated by robots and players can no longer play on that planet until they liberate other planets.

Additionally, Joel keeps players interested and increases engagement. Recently, the game introduced a new strategic item called the Patriot Exoskeleton Suit. It’s a huge set of armor – but it doesn’t usually get added the way most other games add new items. Instead, in order to use new strategies, players must band together and quickly free Tianquan (a key planet for exoskeleton production) from the automatons’ attack. Plenty of games give players goals, but I don’t know of any recent game that allows nearly all players to work toward such a single goal at the same time.

Helldiver 2 knock-off version coming soon

Have a Game Master Resume Ready

If you’re wondering what universes would be suitable for a game similar to Helldiver 2, I have some ideas, and so do others. As fans on Reddit have mentioned, Star Wars is the most obvious choice, with the Empire and Stormtroopers being ideal stand-ins for Super Earth and Hellraiser respectively. I personally wouldn’t mind playing Marvel’s version of Hellraiser 2, which puts players in the role of faceless Shield Troopers facing off against the worst in the MCU.

However, these games may find it challenging to recreate Hellraiser 2’s satirical success with IP-driven monetization.

One element that’s likely to be replicated in Hellraiser 2 in the future is the use of a Dungeons & Dragons style Game Master. These apply to games like Helldivers 2, as well as any other game that could benefit from having one person manage a narrative involving thousands of players simultaneously. It’s a key factor in making Helldiver 2 more fun, and making the entire universe more interesting to me.

Let’s be honest, Game Master can enhance almost any game, so while Fortnite has spawned countless versions of the battle royale game, Hellraiser 2’s lasting influence may be Game Master. It could encourage designers of new games to hire people dedicated to enhancing the player experience. Game Masters can prevent games from becoming monotonous by tailoring the in-game narrative to what players are currently interested in. They can create an important storytelling moment. Helldivers 2’s Joel even uses events to maintain the game’s popularity on social media.

We can look back to Helldivers 2, the game that made Game Masters a thing.