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Game Development vocabulary · Gameplay & Game Design

Balance

Meaning in game development, with examples

/ˈbæləns/verbCore term

In game development, balance means: To adjust numbers and rules, such as damage, costs and cooldowns, so that no weapon, character or strategy is too strong or too weak compared with the others.

In Turkish: dengelemek, denge ayarı yapmak

How it is used

Also a noun: game balance, a balance patch, balance changes. Competitive games keep being balanced long after launch. Designers use spreadsheets and match data to balance, and players say a character is overpowered (OP) or underpowered.

Example sentences

  1. We need to balance the sniper rifle; it wins almost every long-range fight.

  2. The next patch is mostly balance changes for the three new heroes.

Common collocations

  • balance a weapon
  • balance changes
  • balance patch
  • game balance
  • well balanced
  • nerfTo make a weapon, character, ability or strategy weaker in an update because it is too strong. The opposite, making something stronger, is to buff it.
  • patchAn update released for a game after launch that fixes bugs, improves performance, changes balance or adds small features.
  • difficulty curveHow quickly a game gets harder as the player progresses. A good curve rises steadily with short breaks; a bad one has sudden spikes or long, boring flat parts.
  • cooldownThe waiting time after a player uses an ability or item before it can be used again. It stops players from repeating the strongest action all the time.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Gameplay & Game Design

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