The balanced game challenge

Video games that have overpowered weapons, puzzles that are too hard, no challenge level, or cause a specific race or player type to die or win too often are unbalanced. This makes gameplay frustrating. Today I'm taking a look at how this can be avoided by game designers. 

Courtesy of Game Skinny

Video game design starts with a core mechanic and then gets balanced out. An unbalanced game is not an enjoyable experience. Two-player games are balanced when no one has an unfair advantage. Single-player games deal with whether the challenge is correct for the audience. The best games have challenge and balance. The best game designers know who they are aiming at, whether they are aiming at the competitive gamers or the average population. 

Single Player

When games get harder as you play that is because they know your skills rise as you play the game. They need the pacing to match your challenge level. When the challenge level matches the age range you are aiming for they call that balanced. This is why games take time to come out after they have been playtested. If only a few testers are available they aim for the middle ground.

Making a game too hard or too easy is always an issue. You have to know your audience's age and gaming level. You can even add a level choice like Herinteractive does. Portal, for example, comes with no instructions other than the pictures and the robotic voice that awakens you. This is aimed at adults. Nancy Drew games sometimes have Nancy herself state the obvious or what you need to do next as if she is talking to herself, thus we can assume the game is aimed at younger players or accommodates for the younger players.

Courtesy of Herinteractive

In this case, it has to do with a balance of choices. Objects should all have uses. If one thing you read about in the game never happens it doesn't need to be in the game at all. Situational knowledge without the situation is useless. Basically, the ability to choose what tools to use should end in using them at least once in one or two situations. Other than that, balance is less of an issue in single-player games. 

In mystery games what I find is that the balance of puzzles and dialogue is often discussed among us players. At the end of the day, however, we all like different puzzles, different plot depth, and different amounts of necessary dialogue. It is hard to please everyone. You can't. 

Asymmetric Games

When a game has multiple starting and ending points you have an asymmetric game. This means resources and starting points are not going to be entirely equal. Games where one player begins are asymmetrical. Some games unbalance it on purpose, but if you don't intend to do that it is best to balance an asymmetric game. Symmetric games are when players begin on even ground. 

Courtesy of Rumble Games

Playtesting is harder to do in this category, but what can be done is making sure resources can be shared amongst players or that two resources are worth the same thing. This can't always be done. Sometimes different rules apply to different groups. There are different and conflicting goals, as well, so extensive playtesting is needed on these games. It can't be impossible for one side and easy for the other. 

Strategy also has a place here. One strategy can be better or worse than another. Balance is having different strategies that are powerful and leaving the strategies ignored by playtesters out. Trading card games need a balanced system, where something can be countered. The same goes for weaponry and money-making in games. When all this is balanced out battles are more fun to play and farms are more fun to make a profit from.  

The two basic goals related to game objects boil down to not making the object too weak and not making it too powerful. Adding drawbacks to a certain object or benefits to that same object is one way this is achieved. There has to be some challenge or players will get bored. On the other hand, it can't be too hard to play and end in rage-quitting. When given the choice of making a weapon too powerful or too weak the game developers may choose weakness so a player can't dominate everyone else. Through math and formulas game creators work out if the cost is equaled out. Excel sheets are good ways to do this. 

Rock-paper-scissors is a good way to explain how some games balance out. Element A beats Element B, Element C beats Element A, and Element B beats Element C. When a player chooses to be an archer, for example, they get benefits that a foot soldier doesn't get. When I choose a river farm in Stardew Valley I lose land to plant crops and gain a fishing spot. My husband chose a forest farm, so he gains more hardwood in the long run. They are different and have different advantages. To make a long story short, your choices have a counter to them. In battles this is vital. Stardew is not a battle situation, but it does affect your farming focus all the same. 

Why Games Get Updates

Speaking of Stardew Valley, developers can tweak games after release. "Nerfing" or lowering the power of a weapon is one thing a designer may do, as well as adding elements and taking out objects that no one seems to even use. Stardew Valley has had many updates and fixed many bugs that players used to exploit. Not that it stops people from breaking into game code or modding the game (it hasn't), but it does reflect that game designers pay attention to mods that come out and videos that show you how to exploit bugs in the game. Multiple players post these online. Developers are watching for this.

When players say something is OP (Overpowered) they do care. If one type of player is constantly winning or constantly losing it is a major problem that needs to be addressed. Also, if no one is using a specific object at all for a long period of time it may be unnecessary. Unnecessary game objects disappear and OP objects get downsides added. OP strategies may also get the same treatment as the OP objects connected to them. 

Courtesy of Twinfinite

Adding objects, maps, or characters can also happen in updates. Stardew used to only have the standard farm and now we have many farms to choose from. Many mods were added to the original game after they became popular. Looking at the list of mods online will tell you that directly. Videogame designers do care about what we like and think, so don't be afraid to give review feedback on what you'd like to see. 

https://learn.canvas.net/courses/3/pages/level-12-dot-0-game-balance

https://www.gamedesigning.org/learn/balance/

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6400/understanding_balance_in_video_.php?print=1

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/game-design-deep-dive-crafting-mystery-through-gameplay-in-i-nauticrawl-i-

Single Player Game Balance – Celia Alexis Wagar's CritPoints