Balancing a complex strategy game where a multitude of systems are interacting with each other is a delicate challenge. Players construct buildings, research technologies, appoint administrators in their realm; their realm consists of regions and provinces, with various buildings, edicts, and specialisations. The player's characters have skills, traits, relationships... all of these features are interconnected with each other, and while it is important that each system is balanced in itself, most importantly, this orchestra of systems in the game as a whole delivers a compelling strategy experience.
Leif Walter, senior game designer at Creative Assembly, will discuss various examples from the development of A Total War: Three Kingdoms to highlight the design paradigms which had a major impact on the balancing, and to discuss the lessons learned in the process.
Leif Walter
Having studied mathematics at University, Leif entered the video games industry in an unconventional manner after working at a military research facility. He worked on A Total War: Three Kingdoms from 2016 until its release in 2019, where he focused primarily on the overall campaign design, campaign balancing, and user experience.
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