Topic includes: What is game balancing? Definitions of game balance Gamification Games design elements and principles PvP and PvE Corporative video games Practice Exercise Game balance principles Importance of game balance Goals of game balance

1. Game balance
Part 1
1
Game design specialization AFT: 735 Credit: 4 By Durgesh Pandey

2. Course overview
Through this course students can understand the concepts of game balancing for game design and development.
CO1 :: Analyze the game balance concept for game design.
CO2 :: Examine the fundamental concepts and game theory for game balance.
CO3 :: Point out the common types of game balancing methods for game design.
CO4 :: Develop the understanding for balancing a game.
CO5 :: Produce a balance design document as a case study.
Course outcomes
2
Core topic
1. Foundation of game balance
2. Common type of game balance
3. Key concepts of game balance

3. 1. Foundation of game balance
3
Topic includes:
1. What is game balancing?
2. Definitions of game balance
3. Gamification
4. Games design elements and principles
5. PvP and PvE
6. Corporative video games
7. Practice Exercise
8. Game balance principles
9. Importance of game balance
10. Goals of game balance

4. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.1 What is game balancing?
4
1.Lecture

5. What is game balancing
Game balance is a component of GAME DESIGN that can be defined as a
MATHEMATICAL-ALGORITHM model of a game's statistics, mechanics,
and relationships between them. As a result, game balance is changing
those to produce the desired experiences, which are usually good.
The impression and experience of players are usually the goals of
game balance.
5

6. What is game balancing
The art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for
entertaining, educational, exercise, or experimental reasons is known as
game design. In the guise of GAMIFICATION, aspects and principles of
game design are increasingly being applied to other interactions.
An algorithm is a continuous series of well-defined, computer-
implementable instructions used in mathematics and computer science
to solve a class of problems or conduct a calculation.
6

7. What is game balancing
Gamification is the strategic attempt to enhance systems, services,
organizations, and activities in order to create similar experiences to
those experienced when playing games in order to motivate and engage
users. This is generally accomplished through the application of GAME
DESIGN ELEMENTS and GAME PRINCIPLES.
7

8. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.2 Definitions of game balancing
8
1. Lecture

9. 1.2 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
9

10. ''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
10
1.2 Definitions of game balancing

11. “Game balancing is changing parameters of game
rules to optimize (multiple)balancing goals.”
-Vanessa Volz
11
1.2 Definitions of game balancing

12. “Balancing a game is nothing more than adjusting
the elements of the game until they deliver the
experience you want.’’
-Schell
12
1.2 Definitions of game balancing

13. “Balancing means adjusting game mechanics to
change the relative power of different tools, units,
strategies, teams, or characters”.
-Sylvester
13
1.2 Definitions of game balancing

14. “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.“
- Prof. Rollings.
14
1.2 Definitions of game balancing

15. ''Game balancing is game design with the purpose
of delivering the best User experience by means of
adjusting the game mechanics”.
-Miquel
15
1.2 Definitions of game balancing

16. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.2 Elements of Game Design
16
2.Lecture

17. Elements of Game Design
Game Design Elements Every game is built from the same five elements.
1. Story
2. Objective
3. Challenge
4. Interest
5. Fun
17

18. Elements of Game Design
Story : who, what, when, where, and why.
• Who are your characters?
• What are they doing and why?
• When does the game take place?
• Where are they?
Example: Pirates are searching for treasure in the 17th century in the middle of the
ocean for the love of adventure.
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19. Elements of Game Design
Objective is how to win!
Examples:
• Beat all the bosses
• Get to the final level
• Collect all the coins/special items
• Beat the other players to the finish line
19

20. Elements of Game Design
Challenge is anything that makes your objectives difficult to accomplish.
Examples:
• Enemies
• Obstacles
• Time Limits
• Keys/Locks
• Puzzles
• Mazes or Dead Ends
20

21. Elements of Game Design
Interest is any way you can add variety or immersion to your game.
Where to add variety:
• environments
• items/weapons/armor
• vehicles
• characters
21

22. Elements of Game Design
Fun is anything that makes your game entertaining, and enjoyable to play.
Examples:
• Special side missions/mini games
• Hidden items or unlockable
• Humor or jokes
• Impressive graphics or effects
22

23. Elements of Game Design
Class Activity:
Choose a board game and play and find these elements and discuss
1. Story
2. Objective
3. Challenge
4. Interest
5. Fun
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24. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.3 Player versus player
24
3.Lecture

25. 1.3 Player versus player
Player versus player (PvP) refers to a game that is designed for gamers to compete
against other gamers, rather than against the game's artificial intelligence (AI). PvP
games generally feature an AI that acts as a second player if the gamer plays solo.
• PvP is often controversial when used in role-playing games because sometimes AI is
present.
• PvP can even encourage experienced players to immediately attack and kill
inexperienced players.
• PvP is sometimes called player killing also.
25

26. Player versus player games
• Shadow fight arena
• Shadow arena
• World of warcraft
• Counter strike
• Guild wars
• Dota
• Destiny
• Half-life
• Star wars galaxies
• Among us
26

27. Player versus player
PvP elements are also incorporated into PvE games, such as role-playing games (RPG).
Hybrid games engage users in several different ways by creating games within games
operating under different gameplay mechanics.
The purest form of a PvP game is a fighting game that pits one player against the other
until one is victorious. Other genres that depend on varying levels of PvP elements
include:
• Racing games
• Exercise games
• Party games
• Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
• Strategy games
• Puzzle games
• Musical games
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28. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.4 Player versus environment
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2. Lecture continue

29. 1.4 Player versus environment
Player versus environment (PvE) refers to a video game in which gamers compete
against the game’s artificial intelligence (AI), rather than other gamers.
The term PvE is usually used in the context of online gaming to separate PvE
multiplayer role-playing games (RPGs) from player-versus-player (PvP) real-time
strategy games.
Player versus environment generally involves the gamer fighting AI-controlled
opponents of varying difficulties while progressing through the game’s storyline.
Because many online games are PvE massively multiplayer online role-playing
games (MMORPGs), PvE games are also referred to as player versus monsters
games.
29

30. Difference Between PvP and PvE
In PvP, the main enemies are controlled by humans, whereas in PvE,
the main enemy is the environment, the computer-controlled
enemies, and the game itself.
In general terms, PvP is more aggressive and competitive, while PvE
encourages cooperation with fewer opportunities for trolling or grieving
(sad feeling ) other players.
30

31. PvP and PvE Events
PvP events usually pit players against other players. This can be in
dedicated battlegrounds, set tournaments, and arenas, or as combat
within the larger game world.
In PvE, these events are more targeted towards a group of people
fighting boss monsters, or working together to accomplish a goal
without human-on-human combat.
31
Difference Between PvP and PvE

32. Due to the increased scope of MMO games versus regular games, they
tend to have a wider focus when it comes to PvP and PvE than other
gaming genres.
Rather than dedicating themselves to entirely one or the other, MMOs
generally offer both, but in different quantities .
Selecting the right type of combat for you depends on whether you
prefer a more aggressive PvP setting, where everyone can potentially
attack you, or a more relaxed PvE experience that lets you cooperate
with others against the evil AI.
32
How Do massively multiplayer online MMO Games Approach PvP and PvE?

33. Pros
Some players consider being able to play with no risk of random player
vs. player combat a pro. You can level and train skills without
interruption. If you are a casual player who just wants to play the game
and train with less interruption, then PvE REALMS may just be for you.
Cons
Some players like the thrill and risk of random player vs. player combat,
and would consider PvE REALMS to have a difficulty that is too low.
33
Pros and cons of PvE

34. 1.4.1 Realms (Area/Server area)
34

35. A realm (area) is an instance of the World of Warcraft game world. Realms are
hosted on physical devices called servers. For this reason, the terms "realm"
and "server" are often used together.
In simple language:
A realm is a game world that exists only for the few thousands of players within
it. Each realm is a complete version of the game world, but each realm has its
own player characters who are tied to that particular realm.
• You can interact with all the players in your realm but you cannot interact
with players in other realms.
• Characters also cannot normally move between realms.
35
1.4.1 Realms

36. The game world is duplicated (mirrored) across multiple realms to prevent anyone realm
from becoming too crowded (and thus overwhelming the server), to provide for better
connection times (by having players connect to local servers), to allow for localized
communities based on language (for example, French speakers on realms in France), and
to appeal to different play-styles for different users.
Four types of realms:
• PvE - Player vs. Environment.
• PvP - Player vs. Player. Automatic PvP flagging while in contested zones with 5 min.
expiration timer when leaving those zones.
• RP - Roleplaying Realm with PvE and rules. Additional behavior and naming rules
apply.
• RP-PvP - Roleplaying Realm with PVP flagging rules while in contested zones.
Additional behavior and naming rules apply.
36
Why Realms?

37. Class activity: Watch the gameplay of these games
• Guild wars
• Dota
• Destiny
• Half-life
• Star wars galaxies
• Among us
Download the Shadow fight arena and play this game and discuss the unfairness of that
you feel.
37
Activity

38. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.4.2 Cooperative video game
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2. Lecture continue
4.Lecture
1. Foundation of game balance

39. The cooperative video game is a video game that allows players to work together as
teammates, usually against one or more non-player character opponents. This feature
is often abbreviated as a co-op.
• It may casually and less technical any play that involves working together rather than in
opposition.
• It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player
versus player or deathmatch.
• Playing simultaneously allows players to assist one another in many ways: passing weapons or
items, healing, providing covering fire in a firefight and performing cooperative maneuvers such
as boosting a teammate up and over obstacles.
• In its most simple form, cooperative gameplay modifies the single-player mode of a game,
allowing additional players, and increasing the difficulty level to compensate for the additional
players. 39
1.4.2 Cooperative video game

40. • Co-op gaming doesn't typically refer to sharing input devices or using multiple
controllers connected to a single console, but may more casually infer it.
• Universally, co-op tends to imply gameplay over a network, with co-op players joining
an existing game running on a game server via local area networks or wide are
networks.
• Due to the complexity of video game coding, co-op games rarely allow network players
and local players to mix.
• Exceptions do exist, however, such as Mario Kart or Call of Duty Black Ops, which
allows two players from the same console to play with others online.
• Co-op gameplay has been gaining popularity in video games in recent years, as
controller and networking technology has developed.
40
Cooperative video game

41. • On PCs and consoles, cooperative games have become increasingly common, and
many genres of games including shooter games, sports games, real-time strategy
games, and massively multiplayer online games include co-op modes.
• Co-op gaming can also exist in single-player format, where the player works alongside
their previous plays in order to complete an objective.
41
Cooperative video game

42. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.4.3 Four parts of co-ops game
42
2. Lecture continue

43. 1. GATE
In a Gate co-op design, the players don't have to collaborate with each other until a gate
blocks both of them. It's a pretty classic design. It relies on good communication with
the team to know who is going to do what and when.
How to identify this type:
If one player can complete the challenge for the other team members but is blocked
until everyone is ready to continue (moving to a specific location, pressing the "A"
button, etc...), you have a Gate co-op design.
Example: Splinter Cell Blacklist
43
1.4.3 Four parts of co-ops game

44. 2. COMFORT
In this type of game, even though the players are a team, one super player can
theoretically do the job.
This is the most used co-op design: it relies on having a challenge mechanic so incredibly
hard that having more than one player is a necessity.
Raids in MMOs are most of the time designed for a well-prepared team, but there are
always players that find a way to solo them.
To work, this kind of design needs to be associated with a good difficulty balance,
allowing the players the freedom to collaborate as they want to complete the challenge.
44
Four parts of co-ops game
Example: Left for Dead

45. How to identify this type:
You have to select the main challenge mechanics of your players and remove it. Those
mechanics can be a timed challenge, invulnerability, or a homing one-shot kill. If a single
player can finish your challenge, you're probably designing a Comfort co-op experience.
Example: Left for Dead
45
Four parts of co-ops game

46. 3. CLASS
In this game, a defuser is alone with a bomb while the expert has the manual to crack
the bomb. To defuse the bomb, the team needs to communicate about the puzzle they
are facing.
The defuser and the expert each have a unique task to do and they cannot switch until
the party ends.
In a Class co-op design, each player has a unique setup whether that be skills,
environment or handicap. To succeed, each player needs to complete their task. Most of
the time, communication is essential, especially when they don't share the same
environment.
46
Four parts of co-ops game
Example: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

47. How to identify this type:
It can be tricky to identify if you're designing a Class co-op game. It's not because you
have a warrior, a ranger, and a wizard (yes, I'm looking at you, Gauntlet) that means the
game is Class co-op. The mechanics in your abilities must match the challenge in the
level design: Only the thief can reach this level to open the door? You have it. The wizard
can heal and jump on the back of the warrior while they cross a lava floor? Now we're
talking.
Example: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
47
Four parts of co-ops game

48. 4. JOB
When we talk about a Job co-op design, specialization is nice to have but it's far from
mandatory.
In Portal 2, the robots Atlas and P-body have the exact same skill sets. That allows the
players to choose who is going to do what, depending on their own skills or on their
preferences. Having the same abilities don't define this genre.
It's the need for the player to unlock each other. To be able to complete the level, a
robot needs to create a path for the other and vice versa. No one can reach the next
door by themselves.
48
Four parts of co-ops game
Example: Portal 2

49. How to identify this type:
Basically, if you're not designing one of the other atoms, you're in a Job co-op design.
The players must be able to switch their tasks anytime to unlock their progression.
That means 2 fundamental things:
• Players' basic abilities are enough to complete any task.
• One player cannot complete all the tasks at the same time
Example: Portal 2
49
Four parts of co-ops game

50. 1. Foundation of game balance
Let's take a simple situation to
design these part of the co-ops
50
2. Lecture continue

51. Situation: The players have to bring a broken car into a closed garage.
1. Designing for the Gate: The garage door only opens if 2 players lift the door. Once
done, they have to push the car together.
2. Designing for the Comfort: The garage door can be opened by one player and the car
can be pushed by one player.
3. Designing for the Class: The garage door can only be opened by a locksmith and the
car can only be driven by a pilot.
4. Designing for the Job: The garage door will close if a player doesn’t keep it open and
any player can push the car.
51
Example

52. Problem 1: Knowledge Mismatch
Maybe you are making a strategic game, where players must think and solve a problem
together, Short hypothesized. "Well, if one player knows a lot more than the other, this
becomes less fun than playing alone.
Problem 2: Skill Mismatch
When someone is better than you in skill, that is even less fun. Everyone on the team
resents this, the stronger players and the 'weak link.
Problem 3: Public Humiliation
Some people genuinely don't want to play with others. They just want to be left alone
because they find the idea of making mistakes in front of others embarrassing.
52
Problems with co-op game design

53. Problem 4: No Protagonist
You're not the protagonist anymore. At best you and your friend are the protagonists, at
worst you are one of many.
Problem 5: Jerks
There's an instant problem in putting even two people together. and They're not always
nice to each other, even when you want them to be.
53
Problems with co-op game design

54. Activity: Create at least 2 situation according to co-ops parts and discuss.
1. Gate
2. Comfort
3. Class
4. Job
54
Class activity

55. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.5 Principles of game balance
55
5.Lecture

56. 56
Principles of game balance
Game Balance is a crucial component of game design and development. The crux
of balancing a game is not to allow domination of a particular game character or
strategy throughout the entire scope of a game.
There is no practical application of what is known as a perfectly balanced game
design where there is no clear dominance of one character or plot over another.
In reality, there is a subtle amount of imbalance that is always naturally
incorporated in the system. Whether it is a single player game or a game comprising
two or more players, game balance comes in as a deliberate method to add
challenges to add to game complexity.

57. 57
Principles of game balance
There are several game developers and designers in the market creating unlimited
numbers of games. Most of these games heavily attach themselves with the
aesthetics of it such as the audio-visual experience the game provides.
Game balancing is a critical component of the game development process along
with gamification which lends the final finishing touches to your game.
Important Principles for Game Balancing
1. Fairness
2. Stability
3. Engagement

58. 58
Principles of game balance
1. Fairness
A game is fair if both or multiple parties playing the game stands an equal chance of
winning. This deals with the notion of probability. However, since most games could
have an inherent first mover advantage, it is the role of the designer to come up
with design components that allow either the weaker player to start first or allow
for reinforcement learning to remove any bias.
For example, the weaker player gets access to certain resources that could be more
powerful than his opponent.

59. 59
Principles of game balance
2. Stability
A typical game should ideally start out with negative outcomes at the start,
somewhat better results as the game progresses and better than that as the game
advances. This makes the game stable through the different stages of it being
played.
3. Engagement
A critical component of a balanced game design is in keeping the players engaged.
Engagement is accomplished through inserting randomness in strategies offered
through different stages of a game. Also, the game needs to allow for multiple
strategies that a player should have disposable at any point of time

60. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.6 Importance of game balance
60
2. Lecture continue

61. 61
Importance of game balance
Game balancing is a crucial component of any game design and needs to be
separately addressed for each and every game.
The concept of game balance heavily relies on the subject of Game Theory and
deals with conceptual understanding of probability theory, Nash equilibrium and
Pareto efficiency.
While the end result looks an interactive environment with a certain placement of
objects that come up with a visual appeal, there is a lot of effort that goes into
balancing a game which results in the ultimate gaming experience.

62. 62
Importance of game balance
Importance of game balance in single User Games:
Often you would see that as the game advances, the complexity of the game increases. This allows
the players to adaptively learn to overcome challenging obstacles.
The term for such a technique where the complexity advances as the game level progresses is
called pacing. However, an interesting challenge facing any game designer lies in coming up with a
game balance that caters to all of the game’s player base.
Each player is different and unique with respect to gaming experience. While some players might
find a level pretty easy to complete, others could find the same extremely difficult to accomplish.
If the gamers are segmented based on age groups, similarly, the gaming experience and complexity
levels would be different. The real challenge therefore lies in the game developer’s striking the right
balance in the game so that it does not get heavily biased towards one particular genre of player

63. 63
Importance of game balance
Importance of game balance in multi-User Game Balance
In games which are played by multiple users, there is always an asymmetry that is inevitable. In
reality finding games which are absolutely symmetric is hard. What is meant by symmetry in the
gaming parlance refers to players starting out with exactly the same level or set of resources.
However, the case of multi-user games introduces a very interesting perspective about game
balance.
In a symmetric game where both players start out with the same set of resources, the primary
question that would arise is the need for game balance. Although in such a scenario, both players
or more than two players start out at the same level, however, this does not imply that the notion
of game balance does not hold true in this situation.
Consider the situation where there is a first mover advantage inherent in the game design such that
whoever starts out first and plays the initial move stands a slightly better chance of winning the
game. Therefore, game balance becomes extremely critical even in the case of multi-user games.

64. 1. Foundation of game balance
1.7 Goal of game balance
64
2. Lecture continue

65. 65
Importance of game balance
While every game has its own list of reasons for why people play them, there’s one
overarching theme that unites all games as an interactive medium: meaningful decisions.
If we were to start removing meaningful decisions (or appearing to remove them), players
will quickly feel like they’ve lost the ability to exert control over outcomes in the game.
When that happens, they’ll get frustrated, bored, or both. After all, why would anyone put
in the effort to play something when what they do doesn’t seem to matter?
At the same time, if we add too many decisions, the game will become needlessly
complex. More complexity means more development resources must be dedicated to
balancing, bug-fixing, and properly teaching this complexity to the player, as well as
designing clever and user-friendly ways to integrate these decisions into a cohesive and
satisfying gameplay loop.

66. 66
Importance of game balance
If we keep adding decisions beyond what’s
reasonable for the given assortment of
mechanics and systems, complexity will
eventually outpace efforts to manage it,
leading to balancing nightmares, high entry
barriers, and frustrating chunkiness that
collectively drop the number of meaningful
decisions the average player makes.
So, in the most abstract sense, the
overarching goal of game balance is to
maximize the number of decisions up to a
point where adding any more would
generate more complexity than
meaningful decisions.

67. 67
Class activity: Play any online or offline game and find the game elements and challenges
of the game.