If you asked me to list PC gaming's contributions to the hobby in general, it wouldn't take me long to come across the emerging gameplay, the hallmark of immersive simulations and other PC-centric genres where a developer creates a sandbox , which is deep enough to celebrate authentic player freedom and creativity – Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the recent emerging gameplay champions, as is the successful co-op shooter Helldivers 2.
Speaking to PC Gamer Editor-in-Chief Evan Lahti, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt revealed that both games were inspired by a similar source of inspiration: tabletop RPGs.
“We all imagine it together and then talk about it like it’s real life,” Pilestedt said of the unlimited magic of games like Dungeons & Dragons. “We can joke about it decades later: 'Remember when you blew me up with that spell?'
“In this game we tried to imagine it, but it's still the same close-knit group that had the experience together. And it will be something that connects the four who were there with a very special moment.”
Pilestedt points to a memorable instance he had with his group when he landed a recoilless rifle hit on a rag doll that flew into the air, almost as if he was shooting a clay pigeon, sending it flying in a different direction. “We’ll be able to tell that story over and over again when we drink beer.”
Helldivers 2's weapon design serves as the main starting point for this celebration of creativity and freedom: “We tried to at least be authentic, if not realistic, and celebrate the differences in weapon systems in the way things turn out can,” Pilestedt said of the weapon mechanics.
“We believe that if we do that, things will inevitably become cinematic and immersive, rather than capturing this behind a cutscene. Let the player do the action and you’ll see what happens.”
Pilestedt cited two weapons in particular as good examples of this ethos: the arc gun and the railgun. The former is capable of firing extremely damaging shots, but can also be somewhat unpredictable, simulating the movement of electricity in real life. Pilestedt called it “fickle” and said the team wanted it to feel like playing with electricity – while also warning players against doing that in real life.
As for the Railgun, Pilestedt explained that its “unsafe” mode came from the team's theorizing about how the future weapon would work and how future soldiers could jailbreak and jerry-rig the thing. With the weapon loaded you can normally only charge up to 50% energy, but when operating in unsafe mode you can fire even more powerful shots at the risk of overwhelming the gauge, resulting in an instant and very deadly explosion – another example of this slapstick, emerging, tabletop style, Arrowhead prices.
It's exciting to see systems and player-driven design like Helldivers 2, Baldur's Gate 3 or the recent Legend of Zelda games achieve such explosive success after more limited, cinematic design seemed to take over for much of the 2010s. The best might be yet to come, and Arrowhead keeps those priorities front and center as it continues to refine Helldivers 2.
