Hello, everyone! Here comes a new blog post. Today we will be discussing a very interesting topic related to game mechanics. What do you think every game should have? What do users complain about most often? What can turn a good project into trash? What is, as they say, difficult to find, easy to break, and impossible to perfect? The answer to all of these questions is game BALANCE! Yes, balance is the most difficult and unusual part of game development.
And now we’re going to talk about just that: what is game balance? What balancing methods are used in most games? We’ll find out why this is the most difficult and time-consuming stage in game development, and answer the main question: is it possible to achieve perfect balance in a game?
If you want to absorb all this information in a simple and relaxing way, click on the video and enjoy!
What is game balance?
First, we need to try to understand a little bit about what game balance actually is. Balance in games is a very subjective concept. You can try to answer this question yourself. What is balance in games?
Well, if you dig around on the internet, you can find many definitions that say that BALANCE IS THE TOTAL OF NUMBERS IN A GAME THAT DESCRIBE ITS STATE. In turn, these numbers are aimed at calculating the equilibrium (balance) in the game. But we can’t calculate numbers in all games. There is indeed a mathematical aspect to balance, but it is still based on understanding the subtle nuances and interrelationships between the elements and mechanics of the game. You need to feel which elements can be changed, which should not be changed, and how much they need to be changed.
Balance is one of the most difficult stages. Every game has a huge number of different details that need to be balanced. A competent game designer must determine which elements of the game need to be balanced. They must skillfully change them until the desired result is achieved. Let’s also take into account that the game development process takes a long time, and everything can constantly change along the way. Something will be added today and removed tomorrow. And all of this needs to be constantly balanced.
The task is to find the very subtle balance between a complex and simple, fast and slow, fun and serious game. You need to find the golden mean.
We should also mention the most important people on this journey: the testers. It is only thanks to playtests that we can identify all the flaws in the game. Just imagine how many playtests are needed to identify all the flaws, then fix them, and start all over again. And so it goes throughout the entire development process. I think we have answered the question of why this is the most difficult and time-consuming process in development.
Now let’s move on to another question. How are games balanced? We have already established that game development is a long process. This is because a game consists of a large number of game elements and mechanics. But if we just throw them into the game, we will end up with something unplayable. There must be a balance between mechanics and within them. To achieve this, a large number of methods have been identified. Let’s go over the most important ones, without which no game can exist.
Fairness above all else
First on the list is the search for fairness and equality between players. This method is essential for games that involve competition. As the name suggests, we are talking about the balance between conflicting parties. Undoubtedly, we all need balance in a game. It is important for everyone to feel equal to those they are playing against.
And one of the easiest ways to achieve a certain degree of fairness in games is by creating a symmetrical game.
In simple terms, we need to provide all players with equal conditions: the same amount of resources, position on the map, and abilities. Incidentally, this is the method used in most traditional games, such as checkers, chess, and backgammon.
We can be absolutely sure that everyone has the same conditions at the start of the game. But even in simple games, there are pitfalls. Take chess, for example. Do you think the game is balanced? Many would say yes, but no. After all, someone has to move first, and that is already a slight advantage. In this situation, we can turn a blind eye to this, as the advantage of the first move will quickly be leveled out. But it is still there.
Yes, it may seem that symmetrical games are easy to balance. We just make the opponents identical in everything. But, as we know, there must be variety in games. We must be able to have different experiences in the game.
Let’s take chess again. Although it is symmetrical, each piece has its own characteristics and rules that need to be balanced correctly. The same applies to the board, which is 8 by 8 and is balanced for the duration of a game and its strategy. Imagine a 16×16 board with only pawns, even though the sides are equal and there is a semblance of balance. But it’s no secret that it would be unbearably boring.
But, as we know, most of the games we play are not symmetrical. They are asymmetrical: everyone has different resources, different abilities, different territories. Now the task of balancing has become several times more complicated. But, in turn, we get a lot of variety. New opportunities open up for us, such as:
- Simulating reality—for example, we want to recreate a historical battle that could not have been symmetrical a priori.
- Giving the player a large number of ways to explore—we can play the game in different ways. For example, we start playing a strategy game and choose the “Alliance” faction, which is famous for its military technology. We have our own resources and our own army. And in the next match, we choose “Expansion,” which is more focused on science. Although the goal is the same everywhere—victory—the strategy for achieving it will be different.
- Personalization—adding the ability to customize your character to suit yourself. For example, choosing the skills and characteristics that we like.
- Creating interesting situations — let’s be honest, only asymmetry can give us different situations in which we have to think about how to get out of them and what strategy to resort to in case of what.
So, we’ve learned about symmetrical and asymmetrical games. Balance in symmetry seems straightforward: we create equal opponents and spice things up with interesting mechanics. But what should we do with asymmetry? Here, to balance the opposing sides, we’ll resort to a type of balance called “power.”