Back Rank

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Back Rank was as enjoyable as it was stressful, as it being my first major foray into this type of project. Deciding enemy spawn amounts and rubble placement seemed simple enough going in; but after viewing the multitude of strategies players employ to get to their goal brought forth the ugly truth about balancing. To equate to chess, your enemy (player) is always three steps ahead of you. 

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What spawned from this struggle however was a design practice of not punishing different strategies, but rewarding the gameplay you want the player to experience. Yes, a player could simply put eight rook towers next to each other and apply a massive slow to every enemy unfortunate enough to walk by, but the players who saw the hard ninety degree turn and made the optimal choke point with it had a glimmer in their eyes. A eureka moment of conquering the design of the level and beating their enemies (and the designers by extension).