Balancing games is an incredibly challenging and demanding process, requiring extensive playtesting, data analysis, and lateral thinking. Any game that allows players to take control of statistically differing forces will undoubtedly have balancing issues – this rule is so engrained in gaming culture that many gamers accept that balance is impossible, and that ‘balanced balance’ is the real issue. There are numerous games that are credited as being poorly balanced, though Gas Powered Games’ 2009 release Demigod is commonly sighted as one of the worst among new releases. At release, the game featured eight heroes, each with differing skill sets, skill trees and available items.
Resources dramatically change the way that gameplay progresses, and is a large factor of the game’s poor balance. The most profitable way to obtain resources is by killing other Demigods, which four of the eight Demigods are designed to be more efficient at (a major balance issue in itself). Inevitably, the Demigod slaying Demigods will be richer than their swarm focused counterparts, allowing them to purchase an excessive arsenal of power-ups and remove any semblance of challenge. While this balance issue is arguably a result of strategy employment, the game’s underlying mechanics do nothing but encourage this type of play. Demigod has failed to recognize that the key to balance is offering players the ability to make strategic decisions on an equal playing field.
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