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How balanced should a game be?
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<blockquote data-quote="GMMichael" data-source="post: 6344311" data-attributes="member: 6685730"><p>Sadly, I need more explanation. What's "equal" in terms of character design choices? You sort of hit the nail on the head earlier by mentioning that "balanced" isn't "equal in single combat."</p><p></p><p>"Balanced" should mean that two characters present the same amount, wait for it, of FUN to the players. Now the focus shifts discreetly toward GMs. If GMs design their games around combat, then players looking for non-combat fun simply won't find any - regardless of how "balanced" their characters are.</p><p></p><p>Now, without further ado, my answer to the question: how balanced should a game be?</p><p></p><p>All players want to have fun. That's why they're playing games. So I really don't care if one character can destroy a TIE-fighter single-handedly (or empty-handed); that could be really fun for one player, and completely boring for another. A game system needs to present the POTENTIAL for all players to have fun equally. To do this, since a game can't be good at everything, the game must be forthcoming about what sort of game it is. This is to help players realize what they're getting into. For example, the 3.5 PHB spends 150 pages (out of 320) talking about combat and spell-casting. What would you guess THAT game is about? So if a game says "I'm about combat and spells," then all players interested in a combat and spellcasting game should be able to have similar amounts of fun while playing that game (and following its character-creation rules).</p><p></p><p>tl;dr</p><p>How balanced should a game be? Balanced enough for all players to have similar amounts of fun.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="GMMichael, post: 6344311, member: 6685730"] Sadly, I need more explanation. What's "equal" in terms of character design choices? You sort of hit the nail on the head earlier by mentioning that "balanced" isn't "equal in single combat." "Balanced" should mean that two characters present the same amount, wait for it, of FUN to the players. Now the focus shifts discreetly toward GMs. If GMs design their games around combat, then players looking for non-combat fun simply won't find any - regardless of how "balanced" their characters are. Now, without further ado, my answer to the question: how balanced should a game be? All players want to have fun. That's why they're playing games. So I really don't care if one character can destroy a TIE-fighter single-handedly (or empty-handed); that could be really fun for one player, and completely boring for another. A game system needs to present the POTENTIAL for all players to have fun equally. To do this, since a game can't be good at everything, the game must be forthcoming about what sort of game it is. This is to help players realize what they're getting into. For example, the 3.5 PHB spends 150 pages (out of 320) talking about combat and spell-casting. What would you guess THAT game is about? So if a game says "I'm about combat and spells," then all players interested in a combat and spellcasting game should be able to have similar amounts of fun while playing that game (and following its character-creation rules). tl;dr How balanced should a game be? Balanced enough for all players to have similar amounts of fun. [/QUOTE]
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