An Essay On Balance

Fully titled “Balance: Rejecting the Myth of a Singular Balance in Favor of a Three-Pronged Approach to Optimizing Game Design,” this essay presents a framework for refining games through both text review and playtesting.

Balance is often misunderstood. It is obsessed about by audiences with a narrow view of it, while it is completely disregarded by others who might seriously benefit from considering it more fully. Written for the Game Design Essay Jam on Itch.io, this essay is meant to be applicable to any game, and is more about the approach than any specific mechanical techniques.

Special thanks to Rebecca Gold for proofreading/editing, and to my patron Imran, in conversation with whom most of these ideas were further developed.