Game Balancing & Flow

•Agenda

Game Balancing & Flow

•Introduction

Optimal game balancing?

• Placed elements in the flow diagram• Adams´ & Rollings´ elements

Low

Low

High

Highabilities

Anxiety

Boredom

1

2

3

Challenges

4

The dynamic elements

1. Provide a consistent challenge2. Provide the player with a perceivably fair

playing experience3. Avoid stagnation4. Avoid trivialities5. Allow setting of difficulty level

(Adams & Rollings 2003, p. 272)

Low

Low

High

HighAbilities/skills

Anxiety

Boredom

1

2

3

Provide a consistent challenge

Provide the player with fair playing experience

Avoid stagnation

Avoid trivialities

Allow setting of difficulty level

Challenges

Low

Low

High

HighAbilities/skills

Anxiety

Boredom

1

2

3

Provide a consistent challenge

Provide the player with fair playing experience

Avoid stagnation

Avoid trivialities

(Allow setting of difficulty level)

Challenges

How and why is the placement of the elements changed?

How and why is the placement of the elements changed?• Different player types – different situations• Every player contains elements from each player type

The Dream Scene

• Straight storyline• Forced to pick up a gun and kill

his colleague

The Fair ground-level

• Find your associate• Ghost town-alike scene• Moving objects, strange sounds• No enemies!

Low

Low

High

Highabilities

Anxiety

Boredom

1

2

3

* Explorer

Challenges

The Explorer

• Not disturbed by enemies• Many things to explorer• Only exploring the surroundings• Experiencing the level as fair• Not stagnating

Low

Low

High

Highabilities

Anxiety

Boredom

1

2

3

* Explorer

Challenges

The Achiever

• Chaotic• Many things to investigate• Feel a consistent challenge• New way to solve a level

Low

Low

High

Highabilities

Anxiety

Boredom

1

2

3

* Explorer

Challenges

* Achiever

The Killer

• Fair play experience• “You can fool some of the people all of

the time, and all of the people some of the time” (Adams & Rollings p. 276)

• Provides an atmosphere, that appeals to the killer

• Shooting as a reflex• Challenge will fall during the level• Only make this scene once

Low

Low

High

Highabilities

Anxiety

Boredom

1

2

3

* Explorer

Challenges

* Achiever

* Killer

Low

Low

High

Highabilities

Anxiety

Boredom

1

2

3

* Explorer

Challenges

* Achiever

* Killer

Summary• Why and how are games balanced to match certain player types?

–Bring and keep