Game Balance; A Blog Post

Game design, as we know it, is a delicate art. Or, as some might argue, it’s a bit like attempting to bake a soufflé in the middle of a spaceship while traveling through a nebula of pure chaos. There are a lot of things to consider—story, mechanics, player engagement, and of course, the all-important, oft-misunderstood, and frequently maligned concept of game balance.

Now, balance is one of those ideas that sounds so simple when you first encounter it. “Ah, yes,” you might think, “a balanced game is a fair game.” Well, in theory, yes. But in practice? 

Let’s take, for example, the humble RPG. A game where you can be a mighty wizard, a quick-witted rogue, or a hulking brute with the social graces of a brick wall. Each character has a unique set of abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. And, in an ideal world, these characters are supposed to complement each other in some way. A warrior needs a mage’s spells, and a mage needs the warrior’s brawn. Simple enough, right? Wrong.

What happens is this: the warrior gets too strong. The mage gets too weak. And suddenly, the rogue, who was supposed to be a stealthy sidekick, is now an awkward third wheel who can’t quite keep up with the drama of the other two. Enter overpowered characters—the game designer's worst nightmare. And there you are, stuck in an infinite loop of nerfing, buffing, and wondering why the tea is still cold.

The key to understanding game balance lies not in eliminating imbalance  but in creating a system where imbalance is part of the fun. After all, who doesn’t like the idea of a ridiculously powerful character going on a rampage, only to be tripped up by an accidental misstep or a well-timed trap?

It’s not about making every character equally effective—that would be like deciding every ingredient in a stew should taste exactly the same. Instead, game balance is about ensuring that each character, skill, or weapon has its place. In short: chaos, but manageable chaos.

So, if you’re designing a game, and the question of balance keeps you awake at night, just remember this: There is no perfect balance. There’s just balance enough—and even then, it’s probably going to break at some point. But that’s alright, because that’s where the magic happens.