Helldivers 2: Bureau Terminal Case Study
A concept mockup of what the Bureau Terminal in Helldivers 2 could look like.
Tools
Figma, Photoshop, Unreal Engine 5
Helldivers 2 is a live-service, co-op PvE game built around ongoing war progression. Inside the player hub (Super Destroyer), there is a 'Bureau Terminal' that is currently unused (placeholder content).
I decided to design and implement the UI using some of the same layouts and elements that already exist in the game to retain design consistency while keeping in mind that the terminal would be a modular feature hub that would be easy to expand with future updates. It can include a wide range of menus but for this case study, I decided to explore only three menu mockups.
The terminal having intel on galactic campaigns, enemy types and weaknesses and historical campaign data, will be very beneficial as it would reduce onboarding friction, support mastery (especially in high-difficulty missions) and it also just reinforces the world building and thematic tone of the game which many players (including myself) would very much appreciate.
NOTE: All lore, key statistics and images were collected from Helldivers Wiki and Helldivers Companion App respectfully. Each UI element was re-designed using Figma and Photoshop and implemented in Unreal Engine 5.
The 'War Mechanics' menu would include all the broader information a player would need to know about the galactic war progression system that goes on through 'Liberation Campaigns and 'Defense Campaigns. For example; priority planets to focus on in certain major orders for more strategic value.
The UI would include key highlighted texts and image examples with specific icons to help players know and remember what strategic prompts to look out for in the galactic map.
Learning this information could help in motivating more players to align themselves with global objectives. It would reduce the "wasted effort" on low-impact missions which happen quite often in the game and it would hopefully encourage a better sense of shared war effort.
Many players struggle with different enemy types (especially when attempting high-difficulty), some players even choose to completely ignore certain factions entirely due to how difficult they find them.
Skill is important but having in-game information like the mockups shown below, would be very beneficial especially to new recruits and even veterans as it would help in boosting loadout variety and how to effectively counter certain enemy types (by learning their weak points) leading to a better overall combat experience for players.
This is where all major events would be recorded for the Helldivers to view at anytime. I am sure veterans would enjoy reminiscing all the battles they took part in, recruits would be in awe of all the battles that their fellow players experienced and this would boost morale for them to participate in future major events accomplishing the sense of roleplay in the game.
As a last idea for this case study, I think it would be very well received if we got more weapon and stratagem statistics. Pairing these stats with knowledge of enemy health pools and weaknesses would definitely help players make better decisions on their loadouts depending on the threats they are going to face in specific missions.
Thank you for your time.
