Helldivers 2
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Game: Helldivers 2
Job Title: Lead Level Designer Studio Project at Arrowhead Studios |
Engine: Proprietary / Non Standard
Release Date: 8 februari 2024 |
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Helldivers 2 is a co-op extraction shooter. Four players crash-land unto a procedurally generated battlefield, resolve their objectives and extract. The player is given orbital cannons, friendly fire is on, reinforcements are always ready.
Kill the bugs, wipe out the bots. Modular Kit Design: When the opportunity arose I spearheaded the development of several modular kits. I built mock-ups, tested them thoroughly, reviewed them with other designers and disciplines and would support the artists responsible for creating them directly. These kits focused on creating more vertical environments to allow the team to create different experiences, with lessons learned from my time with Bethesda's modular kits to make them kitbash-friendly for even wilder applications. |
Helldivers 2 Gameplay Trailer
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Levels:
I also mocked up what could be a few hundred locations, a selection of which were taken into production. These were made either by quickly sketching a series of potential locations while in trains unto a tablet or by speedbuilding mock-ups in 4 minute sessions per site. Sketches would often result in more intricate designs, but took longer to make and develop. The best were taken into production, either by myself or another Level Designer if they wanted to claim a design.
Major Challenges:
To make better levels, several challenges had to be overcome:
Managing a team:
When I joined the Level Design Team had been without a dedicated Lead or Senior for a prolonged period of time.
To improve and maintain the quality of our work I organised review sessions in which the team could share suggestions, process feedback for levels, and share new discoveries.
To improve the working environment for the team I created batch-programs to simplify daily processes and make obscure executables more accessible. I also visualised our milestone deadlines in auto-updating Google Sheets for a period, as our work was not fully documented in Jira at the time. Lastly, the team was divided across several features, giving members of the team an area of focus, ownership and responsibility based on their strengths and interests.
In a relatively short amount of time output, morale and the working methodologies had improved, allowing us to settle into a routine.
The team was primarily composed of junior and intermediate level designers who punched well above their weight. I was lucky to have them and proud of what they accomplished. They have taught me a wealth of lessons I will hold onto for the future.
I also mocked up what could be a few hundred locations, a selection of which were taken into production. These were made either by quickly sketching a series of potential locations while in trains unto a tablet or by speedbuilding mock-ups in 4 minute sessions per site. Sketches would often result in more intricate designs, but took longer to make and develop. The best were taken into production, either by myself or another Level Designer if they wanted to claim a design.
Major Challenges:
To make better levels, several challenges had to be overcome:
- What makes fighting bugs different from bots, how do we emphasize the difference and create environments which plays to their respective strengths and weaknesses?
- And how to create strong level design which can be approached from any direction.
Managing a team:
When I joined the Level Design Team had been without a dedicated Lead or Senior for a prolonged period of time.
To improve and maintain the quality of our work I organised review sessions in which the team could share suggestions, process feedback for levels, and share new discoveries.
To improve the working environment for the team I created batch-programs to simplify daily processes and make obscure executables more accessible. I also visualised our milestone deadlines in auto-updating Google Sheets for a period, as our work was not fully documented in Jira at the time. Lastly, the team was divided across several features, giving members of the team an area of focus, ownership and responsibility based on their strengths and interests.
In a relatively short amount of time output, morale and the working methodologies had improved, allowing us to settle into a routine.
The team was primarily composed of junior and intermediate level designers who punched well above their weight. I was lucky to have them and proud of what they accomplished. They have taught me a wealth of lessons I will hold onto for the future.
Developing Heavy Firepower
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My favourite item to have worked on is the SEAF-Artillery. It is an optional feature the player can stumble upon and if reactivated, calibrated and loaded will be linked to the player to fire at will.
To see it in action watch this 2 minute coverage on Youtube (timestamped) or read the section below.
The gun can be prepared with five munitions, which the player can source from the surrounding environment. Each munition has its own effect, and the order in which the gun is loaded will be the order in which it will fire with one munition (effect) per fire request (Total of five requests) Aside of giving the player a powerful boon, they need to memorise the munition order becomes vital to using the gun. The players are given a short warning of the incoming munition's identity after use. By randomising the munition types, amounts and locations, the player can sometimes be surprised with an extremely powerful arsenal. The chance of high reward makes it an item few players want to pass up on when spotted. |
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It was a blast to collaborate with the artists on this feature which resulted in:
The Helldivers 2 community has embraced the workhorse of the Super Earth Armed Forces, and I couldn't be happier about it.
- A big striking gun for the player to look out for in the field
- A new modular kit we could embed the gun into which also offered a reusable fighting position to be used elsewhere
- The ready rack to deliver the munitions into, and offer the player a glance at the load-order
- Six munitions, which we could scatter in the immediate surroundings for the players to find; The more powerful munitions being harder to find
The Helldivers 2 community has embraced the workhorse of the Super Earth Armed Forces, and I couldn't be happier about it.
Responsibilities include:
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Level & Mission Design
Lead Level Designer
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