One of the most challenging things for the development of any multiplayer shooter is the act of balancing and patching parts of the game; after all, there’s always a risk you end up damaging part of the game for some, in an attempt to fix it for others.
Specifically, in unique cases like the co-op PvE combat of Helldivers 2, an interesting balance needs to be made so that players are still satisfied with the balance of weapons, while ensuring every playstyle has its pros and cons.
Previous patches of Helldivers 2, however, have already undergone extensive scrutiny within the community. Patches such as the unofficially named “Buff Everything” patch from nearly a year ago were highly controversial, as it made every gun much more powerful, essentially devaluing the high-ticket items.
However, recently, through the community Discord, Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani addressed one of the most interesting issues regarding balancing and updating the game – that a significant portion of players are a silent majority, simply playing the game for enjoyment and not engaging with the broader community.
Understanding The Silent Majority Of Players
The fact that a significant portion of gamers play for fun and don’t engage in deeper discussions about the game is an important one, but something that is definitely underestimated. For one, this means that your average player may not actually agree with the loudest opinion being expressed by a community.
As Jorjani shared on Discord in response to a community question, “the vast, vast majority silently play the game – they don’t post here or on reddit… sometimes it overlaps with what influencers or people say in social media- often it does not.”
This means that, to properly change and influence a game, and get the prevailing opinion, that doesn’t always mean what the top-upvoted comment or post on Reddit says, or what the loudest, most bombastic content creator is expressing in their latest video or stream.
Think about the recent balancing of games like Battlefield 6. Whereas streamers and competitive shooter fans may have disliked the fact that EA removed the excessive movement mechanics, it was probably a better call for the greater community.
An average player, for instance, may not care what weapon is OP, and how buffing other guns may make the strongest weapons less resilient; instead, they simply care about having a good time, and being able to use whatever weapon they want to take down hordes of arachnids.
But, Jorjani further shared that although they “track suggestions everywhere… right now Reddit aint half bad – their upvote system does a OK job.” So, even though there may be opinions shared elsewhere that don’t get a big voice, it seems that for Helldivers 2 at least, a common community sentiment seems to be shared.
But, going into the future of multiplayer gaming, especially for the patches of other, more competitive games like Overwatch or Call Of Duty, maybe this is a good reminder that the loudest streamer, or highest upvoted Reddit comment, may not always be what a majority of players actually want.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
