tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post7333638958702807537..comments2023-09-27T07:39:16.056-07:00Comments on Gone Gaming: Balancing a gameColdfoothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11636345146138362966noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-62583699220767413312011-01-17T09:54:06.461-08:002011-01-17T09:54:06.461-08:00A friend and co-worker of mine teaches a class on ...A friend and co-worker of mine teaches a class on boardgame design. We played a game together that he created which was pretty great that had a tutorial version. The tutorials version took 15 minutes to play and introduced in a simplified way the core mechanics of the game. <br /><br />It gave a slightly skewed picture of the way some pieces worked, but it was easy to re-adapt my mindset in the full game.<br /><br />Of course, playing with the game's designer also helps.Karen Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-15340715609901527542007-09-23T19:07:00.000-07:002007-09-23T19:07:00.000-07:00Well, I'm not saying the above mentioned balance m...Well, I'm not saying the above mentioned balance mechanisms are terrible. I feel they are over-used and often a resort of poor playtesting. They <I>can</I> be used well but are often used to slack off on better blance type things.<BR/><BR/>I think one of the key complaints I have about situations I described would be games that are really not feasible to play your first time through, until everyone learns the value of all the various objects... having starting advice for a "first time through" type thing might be useful.<BR/><BR/>(Like in Princes of Florence... sure the Jesters are nice, but most people bid them up a bit. If they go for like $500 in the first round, thats far too cheap, but how would new players figure that out?)Dr. Matt J. Carlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05966076479843177377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-41100177252425624482007-09-20T18:59:00.000-07:002007-09-20T18:59:00.000-07:00: )Well, I have a boardgame I'm designing as a sid...: )<BR/><BR/>Well, I have a boardgame I'm designing as a side project (though it's kind of on the backburner for the moment), so it's always interesting to me to learn about as many game design ideas as I can.<BR/><BR/>Obviously playtesting reveals imbalances... but what I'm kind of wondering is, are there any specific game mechanics you (anyone reading this) can think of which tend to add balance to a game, besides the ones described in the post? I.e. <I>good</I> ones? : )Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-56802317254086578482007-09-20T14:06:00.000-07:002007-09-20T14:06:00.000-07:00Elias, the simplest way is balance games without r...Elias, the simplest way is balance games without resorting to the things Matt discussed is for the designer to do his job in the first place and make sure balances are already there. For example, let's look at Princes of Florence. I'm not one of those people who think that the Jester is way more valuable than any other item, but for the moment, let's say this is a universally accepted fact. In that case, the designer probably should have toned down the ability of the item, or given it a higher minimum bid, or included a VP penalty for it at the end of the game, or even omitted it entirely. There's several million ways you can balance things in a game, but first it takes hard work to figure out what the proper balance SHOULD be.<BR/><BR/>Of course, you can take the Eon position ("balance is boring") and have unbalanced portions of your design. But you should really let new players know that this is the case and recognize that it can be a potential problem even if everyone is so informed.huzonfirsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12857915477472022870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-80438532256569415292007-09-19T21:39:00.000-07:002007-09-19T21:39:00.000-07:00Oh, sure. Make me do the work! ;) My main point ...Oh, sure. Make me do the work! ;) My main point was to talk about games where one aspect or another is generally held (by the gaming community) to be over or undervalued according to the rules as written.<BR/><BR/>I'd like to see more pre-valuation added into the picture by developers/designers in order to help the valuation "learning curve" that new players must otherwise go through.<BR/><BR/>Beyond that, I'd have to think awhile to give you a good answer. (Other than massive playtesting to find balances...)Dr. Matt J. Carlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05966076479843177377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-8583470635949634862007-09-19T06:43:00.000-07:002007-09-19T06:43:00.000-07:00For the most part you haven't provided alternative...For the most part you haven't provided alternatives to these techniques. What do <I>you</I> think are good ways to balance games without using the methods you describe? How about for longer games, like an hour or two, or more?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com