The team behind Helldivers 2’s galactic war is about to double in size, from one to two, as Arrowhead is recruiting an extra pair of hands for game master Joel, the invisible composer of Helldivers 2’s metanarrative.
The new position published by Arrowhead has the same title as Joel, game master, but with a focus on “meta game design.” The next game master is expected to “run an engaging and evolving campaign by reacting, anticipating and challenging the players on a community-wide scale.”
As outlined by Arrowhead, the responsibilities are many:
- Runs the LIVE Galactic War Instance, making sure it’s correctly set up with Major Orders, Personal Orders, Modifier Effects, LAMS library, etc.
- Maintains “War Instances” on all backend environments and is in regular communication with the Backend Team.
- Observes community commentary outside the game with MarCom (marketing/community, maybe?) Team
- Inconvenient working hours are expected: Less so as our tools and automation improve, however the role of Game Master carries the need to do crisis management if necessary.
Take note of that last one: being on call to put out fires or react to unique player strategies, like the Martale Gambit, is built into the role of game master. No wonder Joel could use some help—no one mortal should have to carry the weight of a galaxy. Jobs that require springing into action at a moment’s notice: trauma surgeon, firefighter, air rescue pilot, Helldivers 2 game master.
The job listing also includes “specialized” responsibilities specific to new role, which may indicate which portions of Joel’s one-person-show he’s hoping to offload onto a new hire:
- Works with the feature owner to improve the Galactic War, and the Backend Team to improve the GM Tools which executes said Galactic War.
- Responsible for the Galactic War gameplay design and creates design briefs for systems and features related to the Galactic War
- Works with backend and gameplay coders to ensure design goals are met during implementation
- Close collaboration with UX/UI team to ensure Galactic War user experience can steadily improve
- Proposes a list of key telemetry needed to understand what the community is doing.
- Using telemetry, monitors community activity, retention, and the Galactic War.
If you see yourself in the role, know that Arrowhead is looking for “minimum five years experience in the games industry as a game designer on primarily live service or multiplayer titles.” They’re also looking for backend game design knowledge, systems design, and as a “bonus,” board game design experience. Oh, and you’ll probably have to live in Stockholm, Sweden, too, but a “hybrid solution” is possible.
As Arrowhead is hiring up for future chapters of the galactic war, it feels like its current chapter is slowly moving toward a conclusion. This week, the community is divided over finally unlocking those Anti-Tank Mines or saving children (a real toss-up), but on the horizon is an Automaton supercolony: Cyberstan.
