(Image credit: Arrowhead)
Long before Helldivers 2 rose to international acclaim, its director was deeply engaged in a debate with his team over a design philosophy he believed in wholeheartedly. Speaking at GDC, Helldivers 2 director Johan Pilestedt recounted how a pivotal moment in his career originated from a dispute with CTO Anton Stenmark.
During the development of the sorcery-based series Magicka—a project Arrowhead Studios undertook before Helldivers—Pilestedt remembered saying, “If I shoot a big rock at a foe and it doesn’t kill it, we need to do something with the rock, you can’t just make it disappear. Can we make it bounce into the air or something?” Stenmark responded that it was possible, but asserted, “It’s just a single physical projectile that’s gonna land somewhere, it’s never gonna hit anything.” But Pilestedt was undeterred, believing that “it might for one in 100 million, it’s fine.”
Two months passed before this concept yielded results. Pilestedt shared how he witnessed Magicka‘s play-testing manager launch a rock, scramble away in panic, then amusingly watch as the rock boomeranged back, striking his head. This led to a cascade of blood, prompting Pilestedt to think, “This works. I think we’re gonna be rich someday.” This incident convinced the studio of the power of an ‘it could happen’ design approach.
Indeed, Pilestedt’s vision proved accurate. Helldivers 2 thrived on spontaneous in-game chaos, from explosions catapulting players to grenades inadvertently bouncing back. Such chaos catalyzed widespread word-of-mouth, significantly boosting the game’s popularity. Despite some launch challenges, culminating in prudently advising players not to purchase until servers stabilized, Helldivers 2 emerged as a major triumph for Arrowhead. When Pilestedt was questioned by PlayStation’s representatives about his unconventional advice, he humorously retorted, sparking a renowned story within the gaming community.
Ultimately, the story of that single rock and Pilestedt’s commitment to unexpected outcomes became a cornerstone of enduring success for both Helldivers and its creators.