What is Game Balancing? - An Examination of Concepts

Abstract

Balancing is commonly considered critical to any game’s success. However, there is no consensus on what “game balancing” actually means. This paper examines fourteen publications by experienced game designers and other renowned authors. The results of a formal semantic analysis of the respective authors’ reflections prove that no two authors share identical understandings of “game balancing.” Their differing concepts of the term are analyzed and discussed in order to identify key aspects, similarities, and differences. Contrary to what one might expect, concepts such as fairness, flow, or user satisfaction are identified to be important, but no central or fundamental concepts for the definition of game balancing.