Game Balance can make or break a game, and nothing is worse than a game where high level players are allowed to pwn low-level players, and prance around like they're hot stuff and everyone else is a 'n00b'. But how can we, as programmers, thwart this evil?

To start off, all Game Balance issues are inextricably linked together. That is to say, the problem with one character lording it over another character is a simple issue of Resources, Skills, and Timing, and those are the basic aspects that need to be well-balanced in any game. We're talking Verb-Token Action-Reward/Penalty here. We're talking about what makes a game fun.

Obviously, it's no fun to die, repeatedly, to characters who are obviously in a better-off position than you. And a new player should be warned before they are about to enter any sort of arena where they will be put into such jeopardy. But can the arenas be split so that the higher-level characters are not allowed to interact with the newer characters in the same way? Many games have done such things. MapleStory and StarSonata have "Tutorial Worlds" where you learn to play a game before venturing into the main area. Star Sonata only allows PvP in certain areas, and only allows new characters to attack certain players or NPCs if the "Safety device" is turned off.

Now, as far as Resources go, the most commonly overlooked resource (especially in PHP games like Ogame.org), is Player-Time. In a real-time game, the player doesn't have infinite time in the game, so not only is time a resource, but it is a limited resource. In a non-real-time game, time isn't limited, but the player's time is! This imbalances is essentially another version of the too expensive/too cheap imbalance, except the cost associated with the choice is less tangible. A good example of this imbalance is present in Starcraft with the Zerg race. Although the Zerg race units are more or less balanced by cost compared to other races, they are much easier to produce and use in terms of player time. In large part due to this characteristic, the Zerg race was the dominant race in tournaments and competitions for roughly 6 months following Starcraft's release.

As players improve in Skill, the relative effectiveness of game choices may change. If one choice is easy to use well, and another is extremely difficult, then an expert player would have an obvious advantage with the more complex choice. This is a common trap for game developers, since most are closer to the "Expert" side of things, and as a result often lose sight of the new player. On the other end of this equation, is the fact that "evolving" gameplay with regards to skill is generally considered a good thing. It is important to be aware of this balance.

In a player vs player game, some sequences of actions or choices can result in one player being guaranteed an advantage over the other. In addition, as a player's character improves in skill, they may easily outclass a new opponent. Friendly agreements might be made to "Go easy" on the new player, and in fact, this may or may not be beneficial or even agreeable to both parties. It is then up to the game developer to implement a system wherein higher-skilled characters are given other gameplay initiatives, other modes of play, other opponents, and other arenas, and access to play against lesser characters should be restricted in some way. In a multiplayer game, unfair situations are best avoided, and are a crucial piece of the play balance puzzle.

There are, therefore, five major steps in the process of balancing your game, be it online or single player. These are; Brainstorm, Design, Macrocalibration, Microcalibration, and Complete...

Brainstorming is seperate from Design, as they are complete opposites. Brainstorming creates new ideas, and Design destroys them! You may want to put everything in your new game, but you'll never get it released if you do. Design carves away all the fluff from your otherwise awesome game. In Macro-calibration, you design object types, names, and appearances, as well as create the various actions and methods of which they will be capable, and make sure that the actions and methods generally do what they are supposed to do. This part focuses on making the game Playable, and determining the amusement value. Micro-calibration is where the specific values for all the characters and actions should be tweaked to exact measures, which makes the game look professional, and this is where Beta Testers come in handy... Most pay to play subscription games are still in this phase. Completion finishes up those last touches to the graphics and audio, releases the game for public consumption.

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I actually propose a PvP Game Balancing system like GameFAQs has set up. Their system uses Karma. New subscribers start out with 10 or 11 Karma points, and work their way up or down as they follow or break the rules.

Positive karmatic system:
Users who sign up on the site are sent an e-mail message. The account exists, but in an inactive state. People who use a Free email system, or popular services such as AOL or WebTV are filtered through with lower karma and therefore lesser volume of posts per day, for the first few days. Other users with regular emails are given only a 24 hour period of decreased posting, with twice as many messages per day as their Freemail counterparts. This has had a positive effect on the community, for reasons I am not at liberty to discuss.
After the preliminary wait period, a user is given the ability to delete his or her own messages. For every day of logged activity, more karma points are added, and the user unlocks new features; More new threads can be started, more messages posted per day, the ability to request Moderation, and to see one's own posting history become available. Once a character reaches a "regular user" status, and completely unlimited posts open up, and advanced thread search functions. This level is akin to 2.5 months of constant activity on the discussion boards, talking about videogames.

Titles awarded for higher Karma(days of constant activity):
* (150) Veteran(5 months)
* (350) Legend(1 year)
* (700) Elite(2 years)
* (1000) Icon(3 years)
* (1500) Idol(4 years)

Specialized Categories:
* VIP - Associated with Developers
* New Moderator - Assigned to a specific category of marked messages.
* General Moderator - Can handle all marked messages.
* Specialist Moderator - Can handle all marked messages.
* Lead Moderator - Handle some administrative duties.
* Administrator - Review and ban users, Control the boards.
* Data Administrator - Account used for Coding/Testing of Boards

Precautionaries:
Users are allowed to suspend their own accounts if they suspect hacking, or otherwise close or reopen their account for any implied purpose

RuleBreakers:
Those with negative karma (or worse, warnings!) can only post a very small amount per day, and posting new topics are pretty much out of the question. Repeated TOS offenses can get a poster Reviewed, Suspended, or Banned.

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However, the way I propose the system is more like as follows;

An unskilled character or society with no skills or coherence has "0 Karma"

A primitive character or grassroots gathering has "1 Karma"
An agricultural character or society with established roles has "2 Karma"
A midaevil character or society has "5 Karma"
A blue-collar character or industrial society has "7 Karma"

A middle-class character or nuclear-powered society has "9 Karma"
(This is about the last point where a society will interfere or war with aboriginal cultures)
(As such, this should be the cut-off point between these players and the next...)
(These players may interact with those higher or lower.)

A scientific character or wireless society has "10 Karma"
A mentally adept character or fusion-powered society has "30 Karma"
A space-travelling character or interplanetary society has "60 Karma"

A technocratic character or interstellar society has "90 Karma"
(This is about the point where a society will cease interference with lesser cultures)

Computer-oriented cultures, skilled in robotics and electronics - 100 karma
Cloaking cultures, skilled in subversion and espionage - 200 karma
Mapping cultures, obsessed with discovering and mapping the galaxy - 300 karma
Shapeshifting cultures, change their appearance on cellular levels - 400 karma
Holographic cultures, living in a dream world - 500 karma
Interdimensional cultures, capable of interacting with other planes - 600 karma
Altering cultures, moving planets and stars - 700 karma
Intergalactic cultures, moving beyond planets and stars - 800 karma

Noncorporeal Cultures, moving beyond physical form - 900 karma
(This is about the point where a society will cease interference with physical cultures)

Omnipotent Cultures, Capable of just about anything - 1000 Karma
(These are the Moderators and Administrators.)

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Coming soon; Other tenets to Online Game programming; Game Replay Value: scripted or Random?, Online Technologies: Choice of Coding Language, and Dynamic Content: Patches vs Updates.