Chapter 17
Fine-Tuning Balance, Testing, and Problem Solving
Most of a system designer’s time is actually not spent designing. Most of a system designer’s time is actually spent tuning, testing, and problem solving. This chapter discusses some of the specific methods that make this very large task more manageable.
Balance
Balance, in terms of game design, refers to massaging game data so that players feel that they have agency. Throughout a game, you want a player to constantly consider questions such as these:
Does my RPG hero use a sword or an axe?
Does my racing car use front-wheel or rear-wheel drive?
Does my farmer plant corn or wheat?
In a good game, the answers to questions such as these are not always obvious. In addition, different ...
Get Introduction to Game Systems Design now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
