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Risk of Rain 2: Hallowed Concepts

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Released Steam's #1 Top Seller, with Very Positive Reception.​

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  • I worked on the design and implementation of the Playable Survivor: Enforcer.

Enforcer

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Impenetrable Tank

  • Familiar, but new.

  • Bastion of defense.

  • Ample firepower.

Returning, and Beloved

  • Enforcer is an returning character previously in the series. Bringing him to Risk of Rain 2 meant ringing true to the character that people love, but offering a new twist on the formula to fit in more closely in the sequel.​

The Problem

  • Enforcer has an impenetrable shield. This is essential to his character, and it was crucial that this was not compromised.​

  • However, with an impenetrable defense, must come some tradeoff, otherwise players will stay in their most comfortable stance, leading to less engaging gameplay.

  • In previous iterations, this tradeoff would be in the form of lower damage, but it was clear this was not going to fly in Risk of Rain 2's environment.

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The Solution

  • Allow Enforcer to have satsifying high damage that RoR2 fans crave, but limit his gun with an ammo and reload mechanic. This way, he can not simply hold primary fire forever.

  • Also, Enforcer reloads when entering and exiting the shield stance. This encourages players to actually leave their safety and firepower in order to be able to fire more.

Encourage, Not punish

  • With this new paradigm, and a few other changes, the problem of boring shield mode gameplay has been solved, by making the player's gameplay a more dynamic dance between stances. 

  • It was very important to me that this is accomplished not by limiting or punishing the overuse of the shield, but to rather to naturally push the player to use the shield less, with the promise of greater offense. 

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More to Explore

  • With the main throughline of the character established​. Ironing out the rest of his skills was a hugely collaborative and iterative process.

  • Tons of time and testing was put in to make sure all his skills felt crisp, flowed well, and offered interesting new possibilities to gameplay.

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