Balancing a game is one of the most complex pursuits in game development - especially when you’re dealing with a cast of completely distinct and diverse characters. So how do devs do it?

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Have Mark talk at your studio, university, or event - https://gamemakerstoolkit.tumblr.com

Sources

Jeff Kaplan | Battle.net Forums
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20757706588?page=2#post-24

Jaime Griesemer | GDC 2010
(“Design in Detail: Changing the Time Between Shots for the Sniper Rifle from 0.5 to 0.7 Seconds for Halo 3”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012211/Design-in-Detail-Changing-the

Rob Pardo | GDC 2010
(“Making a Standard (and Trying to Stick to it!): Blizzard Design Philosophies”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012291/Making-a-Standard-(and-Trying

Kosuke Yabuki | GDC 2018
(“ARMS: Building Mario Kart 8 Insights into a Showcase Nintendo Switch Fighter”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024907/-ARMS-Building-Mario-Kart

Akali’s win rate has plummeted—here’s why | Dot Esports
https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/akali-win-rate-plummeted-league-of-legends

Developer Update - Symmetra Redesign | PlayOverwatch on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elN-QGyToxM

Leroy Athanassof & Geoffroy Mouret | GDC 2018
(“Intelligent Game Design on Rainbow Six Siege”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1025323/Intelligent-Game-Design-on-Rainbow

Stefan Engblom | GDC 2017
(“Quest for the Healthy Metagame: Balancing Cards in Clash Royale”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024272/Quest-for-the-Healthy-Metagame

Analysis: Why We Should Buff More Than Nerf | Core-A Gaming on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsC8io4w1sY

Epic pulls overpowered Infinity Blade from Fortnite, says it ‘messed up | Polygon
https://www.polygon.com/fortnite/2018/12/14/18141134/fortnite-infinity-blade-removed

Live Gameplay Q+A Issue #1 | League of Legends Boards
https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/xwOObpq2-live-gameplay-qa-issue-1-feat-feralpony-smashgizmo?sort_type=recent

Find out more

Developer Insights: Arena Balance Through Science | Hearthstone
https://playhearthstone.com/en-gb/blog/22788308/

Rock Paper Scissors - A Method for Competitive Game Play Design | Gamasutra
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130150/rock_paper_scissors__a_method_for_.php

The Unbalanced Design of Super Smash Brothers | ForrestTheWoods
https://medium.com/forrest-the-woods/the-unbalanced-design-of-super-smash-brothers-3fbc9b346e15

Games shown in this episode (in order of appearance)

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (Infinity Ward, 2016)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment, 2016)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Sora, 2008)
The King of Fighters XIV (SNK, 2016)
Tetris 99 (Arika, 2019)
StarCraft II (Blizzard Entertainment, 2010)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Sora, 2018)
League of Legends (Riot Games, 2009)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal, 2015)
Street Fighter V (Capcom, 2016)
Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games, 2017)
Splatoon (Nintendo, 2015)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 2017)
Hearthstone (Blizzard Entertainment, 2014)
Halo 3 (Bungie, 2007)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, 2007)
The Walking Dead: 400 Days (Telltale Games, 2013)
Arms (Nintendo, 2017)
Dead or Alive 6 (Team Ninja, 2019)
Halo Wars 2 (343 Industries / Creative Assembly, 2017)
Pokémon: Let's Go Eevee! (Game Freak, 2018)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt, 2015)
Life is Strange 2 (Dontnod Entertainment, 2018)
Team Fortress 2 (Valve Corporation, 2007)
Clash Royale (Supercell, 2016)
Dota 2 (Valve Corporation, 2013)
Fortnite (Epic Games, 2017)
Killer Instinct (Double Helix Games, 2013)
Rocket League (Psyonix, 2015)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward, 2009)
Monopoly Plus (Ubisoft Pune, 2014)
Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment, 2019)
Prismata (Lunarch Studios, 2018)

Music used in this episode

Race Driver GRID, ARMS, Wii U System, TowerFall Ascension, 3DS System

Other credits

The Simpsons © Fox

KatEvolved VLADIMIR vs KATARINA (MID) | KDA 7/2/5 | NA Challenger | domisumReplay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkh53h3eTGQ

*NEW* Fortnite - Complete Guide on how to MASTER the INFINITY BLADE! | postboxpat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86HXUpRMyNk

6 Kill Game | Free To Use Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege | Freedom GamePlays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KO0sIXc_0U

Normal match in DOTA 2 as Zeus | bravenetcowboy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoGc8eqo1Xo

Jason, The Undefeatable Giant Hog Deck Montage | Clash Royale Tournament Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF2sOErNRZo

DOMINATING Halo 3 Team Snipers Gameplay | Domey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAlUyCaLmA4

Shuffle V - Vinnie (Ice Climbers) Vs. ZeRo (Meta Knight) - Grand Finals - SSBB VGBootCamp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvpJvi5xIj4

G2 (Perkz Akali) VS PVB (Zeros Jayce) Highlights - 2018 World Championship Group D6 | OPLOLReplay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw8DEQIPvQU