(Image credit: Arrowhead)
Long before Helldivers 2 captivated audiences worldwide, its director had to passionately advocate for a game design strategy he believed would one day bring them immense success.
Speaking at GDC, Johan Pilestedt, director of Helldivers 2, recounts that one of his “best moments in video games” emerged from a debate with CTO Anton Stenmark. During the development of Magicka, the spellbinding series preceding Helldivers, Pilestedt insisted, “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 let it vanish. Can we at least make it bounce up?”
Stenmark replied they could, but “it’s just a single physical projectile that’s gonna land somewhere, it’s never gonna hit anything.” Yet, for Pilestedt, that potential was enough: “But it might for one in 100 million, it’s fine.” This led to the implementation of Magicka’s innovative feature.
Two months later, the feature proved its worth. Pilestedt narrates watching as Magicka’s play-testing manager fired a rock, launching it toward a foe before starting to “flee in panic. And wouldn’t you know it, the rock flies back, striking him on the head with a cascade of blood. That’s when I realized, ‘this works. We’re gonna be rich someday.'” Pilestedt notes this was the turning point in convincing the rest of the studio that this ‘it could happen’ design philosophy was incredibly potent.
Ultimately, time validated Pilestedt’s vision. Helldivers 2 thrives on the unexpected, with its enjoyable chaos stemming from incidents like explosions sending players flying or grenades boomeranging back. Such unpredictable hilarity sparked word of mouth that powered the game’s tremendous success. While the journey hasn’t been without hiccups, Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 has indeed been a smashing success. Perhaps, it all started with that single rock.
Despite the initial frenzy, Helldivers 2’s director once advised players not to rush to buy until server stability improved, which led to an amusingly frank call: “I got a call from PlayStation asking what I was smoking” just five minutes later.
Stay tuned for weekly updates, community stories, and more as the incredible journey of Helldivers 2 continues.