1.
Lesson 1: What is Game Balance
Third year course in Quality Assurance and Game Balance
Bachelor Degree in Video Game Design and Production
Third term, April 2019 Dr. Marc Miquel Ribé

2.
Lesson 1: What is Game Balance
Course Name: Principles of Game Balance
Lessons 1 to 4
Third term, January 2018 Dr. Marc Miquel Ribé

3.
"Sometimes when I consider what tremendous
consequences come from little things, I am
tempted to think there are no little things.”
Bruce Barton, American writer and politician
(1886-1967)

4.
Before moving on, I will make a confession:
When I was assigned this course some time
ago, I was not even able to give a proper
definition of game balance.

5.
Game balance is important but nobody has seen it.

6.
First: Game Balance is Game Design
I studied ‘game balance’ as if I had to do a research work, and I’ll share with you the
different angles I found.
I studied ‘game balance’ by researching three different places:
1. Industry related forums, blogs and conferences (gamasutra, GDC etc.)
2. Scientific papers
3. Books (popular and scientific game design literature)
Since you have already pursued three courses on game design, I think we will review
many of their concepts applied to game balance.
My approach is academic, not in the sense of difficult but of systematic.
Important Advice: read each Lesson twice before the next Lesson. Try to understand
everything or ask. I did the research for you, don’t waste your opportunity.
Game balance is applied game design. How can we research game design?

7.
1. Introduction
2. Problems or research questions
3. State of the Art
4. Theoretical Framework
5. Methodology
6. Case Studies / Data analysis
7. Conclusions
8. Appendix
We will study Game Balance as if we were researching it.
Research Structure

8.
What is Game Balance?
Why is it important?
1. Introduction

9.
When experienced gamers or game designers are playing a game, if they are doing
too well or too poorly, they will often comment on the game’s balance. This word is
important, but I fear it is often overused. (Schreiber, 2010)
IMBA!

10.
“This makes me the world’s only expert in trying to balance the Halo Sniper Rifle Sort
of a narrow expertise”
Jamie Griesemer: “Design in Detail: Changing the Time Between Shots for the Sniper
Rifle from 0.5 to 0.7 Seconds for Halo 3”
[http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012211/Design-in-Detail-Changing-the]

11.
• Is balancing a game a practical activity that you learn at work? Mainly, yes.
Every designer becomes an expert in their game.
• Is intuition the only way of balancing a video game or board game? No.
By learning how to analyze games, we can be better at balancing them.

12.
1. What is generally understood as ‘Game Balance’ in
board games and video games literature?
2. What are the different balance types?
3. What are the different methods employed to balance a
board game or a video game?
4. Can we systematize the process of balancing a game
with a document?
2. Problems or research questions

13.
Who studied Game Balance before?
Who has explained it to the world?
3. State of Art

14.
3.1 What is not Game Balance
What is game balance? This is a difficult question, let’s start with what is not game
balance. Balance is not functionality. Balance is not completion. Balance is not
usability/accessibility (Fullerton, 2014, p. 279)
• By functional we mean that the system
is established to the point where some-
one who knows nothing about the game
can sit down and play it.
• By complete we mean there might be
gaps in the rules that made sense on
paper, but when they are actually
implemented in the game, they lead to
irresolvable situations or gray areas.
• By usability we mean whether the
graphical interface is clear or not clear in
terms of useful information to ensure it
is easy to use.

15.
Balance is not quality assessment.
• Balance has to do with the latter phases of game design, but has nothing to
do with bugs or standards of quality.
• Balancing the game ensures it has a better quality, but not the kind of quality
related to QA.
• Balance is not a bug category that needs to be ‘detected’ and ‘solved’. But we
can detect balance problems by playing the game, just like testing (!).

16.
Balance is not exactly user experience. Typical questions of UX are:
• Is the story motivating enough?
• What are the main emotions the player feels?
• Are the controls naturally mapped to the actions?
• What sort of attention does the game require?
• Is the target player a kind of person who also…?
Then, e.g. adjusting colors to increase emotion is not balancing.
Color in games: An in-depth look at one of game design's most useful tools
[http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/HermanTulleken/20150729/249761/Color_in_games_An_indepth_look_a
t_one_of_game_designs_most_useful_tools.php]

17.
Likewise, adjusting narrative for a more thrilling UX is not balancing, either. We
are not going to change the narrative to balance a game. Balancing is not that.
Game balance is not UX.
However, one of the methods used to understand User Experience can also be
useful to understand the game’s balance, whether a game is balanced or not
according to the user.
Game balance has a connection with UX. The perception of the game balance.

18.
CLASS QUESTION: Any of you can tell me a game which is ‘broken’?
- What happened?
- What was the effect on gameplay?
- What was involved in it exactly?
Balance has to do with mechanics and parameters, again game design.
There is no difference between understanding game design and game balance.
There is no single recipe to balance. You need to study the game as if it was a
‘system’ and find the right ‘treatment’ for a particular kind of game.
Not even doctor Mario
has the magic pill!Can we give a definition of game balance yet?

19.
As it happens with many terms, there is not a single definition, neither one which
stands out in front of the rest. I invite you to review my sources to create this course. I
will cite them often and discuss their ideas.
• Adams, E. (2014). Fundamentals of game design. Pearson Education. Chapter 11.
• Adams, E., & Dormans, J. (2012). Game mechanics: advanced game design. New Riders. Chapter 8.
• Costikyan, G. (2013). Uncertainty in games. Mit Press.
• Fields, T. (2014). Mobile & social game design: Monetization methods and mechanics. CRC Press.
Chapter 9.
• Fullerton, T. (2014). Game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games.
CRC press. Chapter 10.
• Oxland, K. (2004). Gameplay and design. Pearson Education. Chapter 16.
• Schell, J. (2014). The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses. CRC Press. Chapters 10-11.
• Sylvester, T. (2013). Designing games: A guide to engineering experiences. " O'Reilly Media, Inc.".
Chapter 6.
• Rollings, A., & Morris, D. (2003). Game architecture and design: a new edition. Chapter 5.
• Selinker, M. (Ed.). (2011). The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design. Part 4.
• Schreiber, I. Game Design Concepts [https://gamedesignconcepts.wordpress.com] (Level 16).
There is not any book entirely dedicated to game balance yet.
3.2 Definitions of Game Balance

20.
Some definitions of Game Balancing
“Game balancing is not just about modifying one element of a game. It’s about finely
tuning all the elements to work together as a collective unit, much like a beautifully
tuned car. ” Oxland (2004)
“To be enjoyable, a game must be balanced well—it must be neither too easy nor
too hard, and it must feel fair, both to players competing against each other and to
the individual player on his own.“ Adams (2013)
"Balancing a game is the process of making sure the game meets the goals you have
set for the player experience: that the system is of the scope and complexity you
envisioned and that the elements of that system are working together without
undesired results. [...] When we talk about balancing the dynamics, we mean the
forces at work when your game is in action." Fullerton (2014)
“Game balancing is changing parameters of game rules to optimise (multiple)
balancing goals.” Vanessa Volz (2016)

21.
“Balancing a game is nothing more than adjusting the elements of the game until
they deliver the experience you want” Schell (2014)
“Balancing means adjusting game mechanics to change the relative power of
different tools, units, strategies, teams, or characters”. Sylvester (2013)
“To achieve this aesthetic purity, the design must be balanced. A game without
balance is untidy and ugly, flaws that are reflected in the experience of playing it. An
unbalanced game is less satisfying.“ Rollings et al. (2003)
“Game balancing is game design with the purpose of delivering the best UX by
means of adjusting the game mechanics (rules, parameters, randomness, etc.)”.
Miquel (2017)

22.
3.3 The five questions of Game Balance
Now we should be have a ‘short answer’ to the five W questions (what, why, who,
when, where) and the additional how.
• What: structural state of the game defined by its mechanics, component
parameters and rules. The game balance can be ‘well balanced’ or ‘imbalanced’.
• Why: to deliver the best gameplay with game mechanics (momentary definition to
extend later). Game balancing has “purposes” or types that depend on the game.
We want to balance for longevity, for the game to last, for the people to enjoy it.
• Who: everybody should be interested in the game balance but mostly decision-
takers: game designer, UX and producer. They should share a ‘vision’.
• When: Before the ‘design freeze’ at the end of beta. Post-release & DLC. After you
have a good set of core mechanics.
• Where: Company lab, open beta testing, consultancy companies labs.
• How: (1) analyzing the game structure and (2) playtesting to understand user’s
perception and the outcome of their play (i.e. winrate), etcetera.

23.
Some advices on ‘When’ to balance
Make Time for Balancing Your Game. Balancing a game is hard work, and this also
means you should leave time in your schedule -- preferably, a lot of time -- to
balancing. Teams will almost always have a "polish" phase, in which bugs are fixed,
graphics are tuned up, and other details are addressed, and in this phase is where
most if any of the real balancing will be happening.
Balance in Beta and post-release. Once the game runs well and looks nice, most
developers will just ship the game, regardless of the state of balance. Don't do this!
Make sure your game is as balanced as possible before it reaches your players. Yes,
you can (and should) release frequent balance patches later on, but releasing a game
that's clearly imbalanced from the get-go sends a very bad signal, especially to more
seasoned players.
[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134768/understanding_balance_in_video_.php?print=1]

24.
So the first step is to recognize that imbalance really is a bad thing, and the second
step is to make balance a true priority in development. The fighting game tier system
is the players' attempt to mitigate problems that should have been solved by the
development team. Gamers community discuss about balance, prevent some of the
discussions by studying current ones.
Since balance is something that can make or break your game -- especially in the long
run -- then you should keep balance in the front of your mind at all times during
development. When adding a new ability for a character, ask yourself "would that be
hard to balance?"
Remember that each new element you add to a game exponentially increases the
difficulty of balancing the game, because you have to balance that element against
every other element in the game.
Be Wary of Shortcuts. Changing the game in a particular place may have effects on the
entire game. You need to understand the entire game, and better, test it.
You need to plan some time ahead dedicated to balancing the game.

25.
What are the main Game Balance concepts?
4. Theoretical Framework

26.
4.1 Game as Systems
Before understanding ‘the balance types’ we need to revise the main game
characteristics.
Games are systems (sets of interacting or interdependent component parts forming a
complex or intricate whole).
Game systems are information, sometimes available sometimes unavailable, about
how the system is connected.
Mechanics show the way the system nodes’ connect with each other. Mechanics can
be discrete or continuous (like math) depending on how they can be explained
numerically.
Dynamics is how we can interact with the system by using mechanics in specific ways,
developing strategies and persisting with them.
Game systems have final states. This is usually the ‘main mechanic’ or the defining
game mechanic. The game’s uncertainty disappears and the game is solved, finished.

27.
Mechanics can be related as a mesh or have a hierarchy.
Smash Bros:
• Non-zero sum game and simultaneous gameplay between 2 or more players.
List of Mechanics (one per line):
• Wipe the other opponents from the scenario and win the game. (MACRO)
• Inflict damage raises the enemy % damage. (MACRO)
• The % damage relates to how easy characters fall of the scenario. (MACRO)
• Objects can be applied to a player or against the other players. (MICRO)
• Players have different ‘damage’ attacks and physics characteristics. (MICRO)
• Scenario has physics which relate to the player physical characteristics. (MICRO)
• etcetera.
o Core mechanics could be understood as MACRO level.
o The rest of mechanics could be seen as MICRO level.
Balancing a game is more related to the micro than the macro.

28.
The term mechanics has come to indicate many different types of underlying
relationships between entities in games. Here are different types of mechanics that
you might expect in a game:
• Physics. Game mechanics sometimes define physics—the science of motion and
force—in the game world (which can be different from the physics of the real
world).
• Internal economy. The mechanics of transactions involving game elements that
are collected, consumed, and traded constitute a game’s internal economy.
• Progression mechanisms. In many games, level design dictates how a player can
move through the game world.
• Tactical maneuvering. Games can have mechanics that deal with the placement of
game units on a map for offensive or defensive advantages. Geographical
mechanics.
• Social interaction. Until recently, most video games did not govern social inter-
action among the players, apart from prohibiting collusion or requiring that
players keep certain knowledge secret

29.
Fig. Dormans (2012; p.12)
To be good at the game, you
must first understand ALL its
mechanics.
So, depending on the game…
Balancing will imply, tweaking
the mechanics and changing
the rules that affect each of
the mechanics types.
Strategy:
space and tactical
maneovering mechanics.
Action/RPG:
economy mechanics.
Think of the mechanics
hierarchy.
Macro and Micro.

30.
4.3 Game Balance types (or purposes)
“Game balancing is game design with the purpose of delivering the best UX with
game mechanics (rules, parameters, randomness, etc.)”. Miquel (2017)
balance |ˈbal(ə)ns| British English - Oxford Dictionary.
1 [mass noun] an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to
remain upright and steady: she lost her balance and fell.• Sailing the ability of a boat
to stay on course without adjustment of the rudder.
2 [mass noun] a situation in which different elements are equal or in the correct
proportions: the obligations of political balance in broadcasting| [in singular] : try
to keep a balance between work and relaxation.
How do we apply this concept to game systems?
Easy…

31.
As I said, easy…this depends on how the system is defined and what encompasses.
1. We study the balance in the system: Player vs Game (i.e. PvE)
2. We study the balance in the system: Player vs Player in the game (i.e. PvP)
3. We study the balance in the system: Game vs Game
Then, depending on the game, the best gameplay will require different balance types
i.e. to balance for difference purposes.
In other words, as Rollings (2003) puts it, there are 3 broad types of balance:
• Player/Gameplay (sustained uncertainty, or mainly, challenge)
• Player/Player/Gameplay (player equality)
• Gameplay/Gameplay (no dominant strategies)
Other authors like Schreiber and Adams (2014, p. 325) also convey that balance is
divided into these types. The names and details change, but purposes remain the same.

32.
Schell (2014, p. 172) proposed “twelve common types of game balance”, but they
do not follow the concept of balance. Some of them are:
• Head vs Hands
• Competition vs Cooperation
• Short vs Long
• Rewards and Punishment
• Freedom vs Controller experience
• Simple vs Complex
• Detail vs Imagination
In short, games can exist (and provide amazing experiences) without the need to
balance all this. Instead, it is necessary that we balance the other three types.
By balancing the game we need to guarantee the following three aspects. These are
the main game balance types or purposes:
1. Sustained Uncertainty
2. Player Equality and Equity
3. Non-dominant Strategies

33.
EXERCISE: Where do the three purposes apply to the following games? Remember:
1) Sustained Uncertainty, 2) Player Equality, 3) Non-dominant Strategies.

34.
4.4 Absolute, perceived and output Game Balance
How do we know if a game is balanced?
It is not always trivial. Chess, for example, it seems balanced because it is
symmetrical. However, it is not entirely balanced: it has been observed that there is a
slight advantage to going first (player equality).
Perception of the game balance is not the same as the output balance. Output
balance is calculated with the number of times a player or strategy wins. But neither
of them is not the absolute game balance itself.
We call it absolute balance because its balance state is independent from playtesting
generated data – it is calculated mathematically. Our playtesters can have an
assessment of the game balance, but we may fail.
We can only understand its absolute balance using math.
Let’s put an example of a game…

35.
Monty Hall Problem: Probability and Human Psychology Biases
In the game, you’d be given a choice of three doors, and they would actually call
them Door Number 1, Door Number 2 and Door Number 3. They’d give you a door of
your choice... Behind one door, you’re told, is a fabulous prize like a Brand New Car.
Behind the other doors, there’s no prize at all, no nothing, those other two doors are
worthless. Except the goal is to humiliate you, so they wouldn’t just have an empty
door, they’d have something silly-looking back there like a goat, or a giant tube of
toothpaste, or something... something that was clearly not a Brand New Car.
So, you’d pick your door, and Monty would get ready to reveal if you won or not... but
wait, before we do that, let’s look at one of the other doors that you didn’t choose.
Since Monty knows where the prize is, and there’s only one prize and two doors you
didn’t choose, no matter what he can always reveal a door without a prize. Oh, you
chose Door Number 1? Well, let’s reveal Door Number 3 to show you that there was
no prize there. And now, being the generous guy he is, he gives you the chance to
trade your Door Number 1 for whatever’s behind Door Number 2 instead. And here’s
where we get into probability. Does switching doors increase your chance of
winning, or decrease it, or is it the same? What do you think?
Schreiber (2012) (gamebalanceconcepts.wordpress.com)

36.
The real answer is that switching increases your chance of winning from 1/3 to 2/3.
This is counterintuitive.
Behind door 1 Behind door 2 Behind door 3
Result if staying at
door #1
Result if switching
to the door offered
Car Goat Goat Wins car Wins goat
Goat Car Goat Wins goat Wins car
Goat Goat Car Wins goat Wins car

37.
4.5 How do we balance a game?
According to Schreiber (2010), in general, there are three ways to balance games:
1. Use math. Study the mathematical relationship between elements, the curve cost of
an RPG, the probability of each strategy, and make sure they are balanced.
2. Use your instincts (intuition). Change the balance in the game until it “feels right”.
3. Use playtesting. Adjust the game based on the results of playtests, where the players
can tell you their perception of balance.
4. Use data and metrics (I would add this fourth). Adjust the game based on the
winrate that each character obtains. This gives you the ‘output balance’.
• Math is hard, and it can be incorrect. If your formulas are wrong, everything in the
game may be off a little bit. Some really strange abilities or game objects may not
have any math to them if they are too unique, requiring other ways of balancing.
• Intuition is vulnerable to human error. It is also not absolute or reproducible;
different designers may disagree on what is best for the game. This is particularly
dangerous on large team projects, where one designer may leave in mid-project and
another cannot take over.
• Playtesting relies on the quality of your testers. Testers may not find every balance
issue with the game.
• Obtaining data is also expensive. You need to code in order to track specific metrics
and also do the playtesting.

38.
How do we know if a game is balanced? (Again)
• If you want to know whether a game is structurally balanced, you need analyze its
structure by means of a mathematical model (calculating probabilities, mainly).
• If you want to know whether a game is perceived as properly balanced or not,
you need to do playtesting.
• If you want to know whether a game is close to structurally balance without being
100% certain, you can obtain data from players’ game interactions trust statistics
and data analysis. Creating a mathematical model may be too complex for certain
kind of games, you can estimate whether it is properly balanced or not by studying
the interactions and data analysis (e.g. metrics such as: number of victories,
number of events, time dedicated by each player, etc.)
Most of the times the perceived balance is very close to the absolute balance.
Then, who cares about the absolute balance? E-sports, perhaps.
Very competitive games.

39.
Two questions for you:
• Q1: Which games are not possible to balance mathematically?
• Q2: Which games are not possible/necessary to balance at all?
Remember the three balance types or purposes while you try to answer the
question:
1. Sustained Uncertainty (Player-Game)
2. Player Equality (Player-Player)
3. Equivalent Strategies (Game-Game)

40.
• Q1: Which games are not possible to balance mathematically?
• Q2: Which games are not possible/necessary to balance at all?
Remember the three balance types or purposes while you try to answer the
question:
1. Sustained Uncertainty
2. Player Equality
3. Equivalent Strategies
• We have many games that are not possible to balance ‘mathematically’.
• Sustained difficulty (or to put it simply, difficulty) is impossible to balance in many
games with non-usual skills.
• Creative and strong-narrative based games are not possible to balance.
• Symmetrical games (PvP) do not require balancing for player equality.

41.
4.7 Typical Game Balance experiments
Problem-Statement. What is the core user experience of your game and what do
affect it? An out-of-balance game is a problem that will benefit greatly from a clear
problem statement. Many designers end up making a mess of their games by
jumping in with balancing solutions before they have thought clearly about what the
problem really is (Schell, 2014).
• First of all, state the problem you want to solve and its balance type.
• Second, you need to be aware of the different objects and systems in your game
and their relationships. You should already have done this during your initial
design of the game, of course, but it is easy to forget the big picture when you
start focusing on small details. There are two things in particular that you should
return to first, whenever you make changes to your game:
Look at the interconnections between systems. If you change one thing, you should
know what other things will be affected. Individual game elements rarely exist in a
vacuum, and changing one thing can have ripple effects throughout the game. By
being aware of the relationships between systems and objects, it becomes easier to
predict the second-order effects of a mechanics change.

42.
• Third, it is time to experiment with rules, players characteristics and object
characteristics which are involved.
You may want to experiment with one entity after creating a mathematical model or just
by having the intuition it is the right one to experiment with. These rules are proposed by
several authors (Schreiber, 2010; Adams, 2014; Schell, 2014).
1. Make one change at a time. We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. If
something breaks after making a change, you know exactly why. If something breaks
after making ten changes, you don’t know which change (or combination of changes)
caused it.
2. Use the Rule of 2. Suppose you have some number in your game that you know is
too high, but you don’t know how much. Maybe it’s just a little bit too high, or maybe
it’s quite a bit off. In either case, cut it in half. Likewise, if you have a value that you
know is too low, regardless of how much too low it is, double it. If you aren’t 100%
sure of what the correct value is, double it or cut it in half. This is the “Rule of 2.”
3. Consider suppressing. Sometimes, if the aspect does not serve a key purpose in the
essence of the game, deleting it may be an option to try (Sylvester, p. 167). If you do
not notice that the game gets worse, you made the right choice.

43.
5. Methodology
We answered Research Question 1 and 2 in the previous sections
(State of Art and Theoretical Framework).
RQ1. What is generally understood as ‘Game Balance’ in game studies
(board games and video games) literature?
RQ2. What are the different balance types?
We will answer Research Question 3 by developing a Case
studies analysis in order to deepen into the different methods
employed. Finally, we will answer Research Question 4 by
proposing a game balance working document.
RQ3. What are the different methods employed to balance a board game
or a video game?
RQ4. Can we systematize the balancing process with a document?

44.
6. Case Studies
We will look into six to ten case studies for each of the three
balance types (uncertainty, player equality and equivalent
strategies).
For each of the case studies, we will analyze and discuss the
following elements:
• Context
• Problem for UX
• Elements involved in the game system
• Balance type
• Method to study it
• Possible design solution
• …

45.
Case Study: Clash Royale's card balancing guru leans less on metrics, more
on design intuition
“We don’t really have a process. It’s like random chaos,” he laughed. “That’s pretty
much how it sometimes feels.”
Engblom explained a baseline rule that Clash Royale’s design follows: for every level
gained, players gain 10 percent damage and 10 percent hit points. “This means all
interactions remain the same at all equivalence levels,” said Engblom. But perhaps
more importantly, “This helps keep me sane,” he said.
Perceived balanced matters more than ‘output’ balance to Clash Royale’s designers.

46.
When dealing with card design and balancing, Engblom said there are three
guidelines he and his team follow: fun, variety, and freshness. All changes, whether
it’s nerfing a unit or adding a new one, need to serve at least one of these categories.
Make everything FEEL overpowered. The emphasis here is on the word “feel.” This
can be achieved in a few ways, such as through a game’s art style. But from a
balancing perspective, in order to achieve this feeling, each card needs to have its
“moment” -- a clear purpose.
Everything needs a counter. Then counters to the counters. That’s where the
metagame evolves. This doesn’t only contribute to the game’s fun, variety, and
freshness, but it also takes some pressure off of the designers.
Make new cards meaningful. New cards need to serve a purpose, he said. Don’t just
release a new unit so you have something you can charge players for.
Keep old cards relevant. The introduction of new cards doesn’t mean that old ones
should become useless, Engblom stressed, and to “stay true to the soul of the card.”
[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/294174/]
[http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024272/Quest-for-the-Healthy-Metagame] GREAT VIDEO!

47.
Case Study: Balancing Hearthstone
"The real goal at the end of the day is people having more fun playing Hearthstone,”
Ayala said.
“Game balance is not necessarily that you want all the classes to have a 50% win
rate. Game balance is more that you want there to be a balance of strategies for
people to play, a balance of fun things for brand new players to do versus fun things
for master level players to do.”
"We don't do it to shake things up. We change things because we think there's a
problem."
"Because perception's really the most important thing. It doesn't matter if
something's a 65% win rate if everyone's having a good time. Because that's making
the experience worse, and that's the thing you change. The metrics don't really
matter, but you should still use them to understand more."
Perceived balanced matters more than ‘output’ balance to Hearthstone designers.

48.
It's clearly not all about perception, however. Ayala said if players are complaining
that a certain card or strategy is too powerful, but the metrics say it's not nearly as
dominant as the complaints make it seem, the team is likely to stay on the sidelines.
"It leads us to believe that maybe it'll be a problem that solves itself," Ayala said. "We
can see the data that says this is countered by these five things, and the players will
probably figure out the problem on their own. "
"When we look at data, player feedback, and use our own expertise and feel like we
get into a situation where something's either so powerful that it's not going to go
away or there's a strategy that's not necessarily powerful, but just really not fun and
it makes the experience worse, that's when we go in and make a change.”
REMEMBER: Core of the User Experience -> Type of Balance (Strategy Equivalence) -
> Micro mechanics -> Experiment -> Perceived balance
[https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-05-11-balancing-hearthstone]

49.
7. Conclusions
• We revise the answers given to the research questions.
• We remark the contribution of this research in relation to previous
research studies.
• We explain how we think the case studies we analyzed cover a
wide-range of ‘balancing situations’.
• We highlight the usefulness of our document.
• …

50.
Balance Design Document (BDD)
8. Appendices

51.
8.1 Balance Design Document (BDD)
I told myself: be bold, try to set a full methodology for balancing any game. In fact,
several authors like Schell (2014) and Adams (2014) defend the importance of
documenting the model of the game and keep records of the changes and the
experiments.
In this sense, I propose creating a Balance Design Document (BDD), which is a
complementary piece to the game design document and the art bible.
• It is created at the Alpha phase and like the other docs, the BDD should be
maintained on an internal Web site and kept up to date throughout the project,
even after the release.
• It also serves the purpose to help the user experience design-takers (UX
professional, producer and game designer) to look at the same direction.

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Balance Design Document (BDD) outline:
SECTION 1. Project Overview
1.1 Game title and one line description
1.2 Game categories (genre, structure and information).
1.3 User Experience type (competitiveness, social fun, etc.).
1.4 Team personnel (including contact information for each individual responsible for
influence on balance: e.g. user experience, game designer, producer, community
manager).
SECTION 2. Game Analysis
2.2 Core mechanics, loops and key events (brief description of the most relevant game
design aspects and how they are linked together)
2.3 Challenge elements definition (types of challenge and skills, elements which introduce
difficulty, etc.)
2.4 Randomness elements definition (elements which are introduced randomly and their
frequency, etc.)
2.5 Diagram and simulation (core mechanics represented graphically, either with a static
or a dynamic diagram which allows to simulate game play – e.g. Machinations:
http://www.jorisdormans.nl/machinations).
2.6 Formal model (maths and probability for previously defined elements in 2.2)

53.
SECTION 3. Balance Types
3.1 Sustained uncertainty: target (sociological profile and level of skills) and current
mechanisms employed (game structure and mechanisms employed to guarantee this
balance type)
3.2 Player equality: current mechanisms employed (game structure and mechanisms
employed to guarantee this balance type)
3.3 Equivalent strategies: current mechanisms employed (game structure and
mechanisms employed to guarantee this balance type)
SECTION 4. Balance Experiments
One subsection for each experiment aimed to modify, delete and introduce game
elements.
4.1 Experiment 1
4.1.1 Current situation (dynamics/metagame)
4.1.2 Change proposal (new element and its relationship with the rules, mechanics,
balance type affected, etc.)
4.1.3 Playtesting planning (player profile involved; number of participants; dates; length;
complementary methods such as interview and measuring metrics; etc.)
4.1.4 Data analysis (qualitative and quantitative) and conclusions
4.1.5 Implementation
4.1.5 Iterations and data updates

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SECTION 5: Historical Data
5.1 Community data for current and previous versions of the game (opinions, tiers lists, etc.)
5.2 Prequels
5.2.1 Experiments in prequels
5.2.2 Changes from version X to version Y and balance types discussion
5.2.3 Changes from version Y to version Z and balance types discussion
5.2.4 Changes from version Z to version Ç and balance types discussion
…
SECTION 6. References and Bibliography
6.1 References (same genre games, problems and achievements)
6.2 Bibliography (used throughout the document)
6.3 Tips and Guidelines (metrics, in-house methods, etc.)
There are two main reason to do this document:
1) The more you know your game, the easier to detect imbalances.
2) The better you do the experiments, the less you will need to repeat them.

55.
Lesson Concluding remarks
1. Keep in mind the three purposes for which we balance games:
sustained uncertainty (basically, difficulty), player equality, equivalent
strategies.
2. Finding the ‘right’ balancing for each purpose depends on the game.
We need to analyze the game, playtest, analyze the data.
3. Sometimes unbalanced games are fun, which means that balance is
not a final solution in all situations. Still, to motivate players in different
senses we need to balance games.
The next three lessons will be dedicated to each of the balance types.