Adjust numbers so the loop feels right. Game feel is math.

Game balance isn't about making everything equal — it's about making everything FEEL right. Watch how professional designers think about balance as a process, not a formula:

Perfect Imbalance — Why Unbalanced Design Creates Balanced Play — Extra Credits (7 min)

Extra Credits explains why perfectly balanced games are actually boring, and how smart designers use small imbalances to keep the game interesting. The key insight: balance is a moving target, not a fixed point.

Discussion after watching: Think about your game right now. Is anything too easy? Too hard? Too fast? Too slow? You don't need a formula to answer this — you need to PLAY and FEEL. That's what balance tuning is: play, feel, adjust, repeat.

Today is not about code changes or new features. Today is about numbers. You play for 5 minutes, observe, then adjust ONE number. Play again. Observe again. Balance is iterative, not immediate.

This is the scientific method applied to game design. You will change exactly ONE number, THREE times, and document every result.

Round 1:

  1. Play your game for 2 uninterrupted minutes.
  2. Write down: What feels WRONG? (too easy, too hard, too fast, too slow, too boring, too chaotic)
  3. Pick ONE number that might fix it.
  4. Change ONLY that number. Write down: "Changed _______ from _______ to _______"
  5. Play again for 2 minutes. Did it improve? Write: Yes / No / Partially.

Round 2: Repeat with the same number or a different one.

Round 3: Repeat one final time.

Your tuning log:

Round What felt wrong Number changed Old value New value Result
1
2
3

Why only one number? If you change three things and the game feels better, you don't know WHICH change helped. Scientists call this "controlling variables." Game designers call it "not breaking everything at once."
Ami — Combat Tuning Levers

These are the numbers you can adjust:

  • Encounter chance — base value 0.01
  • Enemy power range — currently 5–20
  • XP reward multiplier — how much XP per win
  • Risk escalation speed — 0.01 per frame
Ida — Economy Tuning Levers

These are the numbers you can adjust:

  • Job cost/payout ratio — how much jobs cost vs. what they pay
  • Interest rate on debt — how fast debt grows
  • Debt cap threshold — currently -50
  • Tier unlock thresholds — Ami: 50, 150 / Ida: 100, 300

Follow this loop exactly:

  1. Play for 5 uninterrupted minutes.
  2. Ask yourself: Did I die too often? Did I feel no danger? Was debt too easy to manage? Was bankruptcy constant?
  3. Identify ONE number to change.
  4. Change that number only.
  5. Play again for 5 minutes.
  6. Compare: did the change help?
  7. Repeat if needed (maximum 3 tuning cycles).
  • Play for 5 uninterrupted minutes
  • Write down what feels wrong
  • Identify ONE number to change
  • Change that number only
  • Play again for 5 minutes
  • Compare: did the change help?
  • Repeat if needed (max 3 tuning cycles)
    •
    Checkpoint

    Loop feels tense but survivable. Not too easy, not too hard. Death/bankruptcy is possible but not constant.

    No adding new systems to fix balance. Adjust existing numbers ONLY. No new mechanics.

    Changing multiple numbers at once — you can't tell what helped. Change one variable, observe the result.

    Adding new systems instead of tuning existing ones — the temptation to "fix" balance with a new feature is strong. Resist it.

    Not playing long enough to feel the change — 30 seconds is not enough. Play the full 5 minutes each cycle.

    Giving up after one attempt — balance tuning takes multiple cycles. Three is the minimum.

    This is the scientific method applied to game design. Change one variable, observe the result. Ask: "Which single number changed the feel most?" That number is the most important lever in the system.

    Enforce the tuning log. Kids will want to skip writing things down and just tweak numbers randomly. The log is the point — it teaches systematic thinking. If they resist, say: "How will you know what to undo if it gets worse?"

    Resist the urge to help. When their game feels broken, let them sit with the discomfort for a minute before suggesting a fix. The moment they identify the right number to change is the learning moment — don't shortcut it.

    Compare afterward. Have both children show their tuning logs to each other. Ask: "Did you both struggle with the same kind of problem (too easy? too hard?) or different ones?" This builds meta-awareness about their design instincts.

    Tomorrow: We subtract — removing confusion makes your game clearer. You tuned the numbers today; tomorrow you clean the code that holds them.