Imagine you’re dropped into a chaotic battlefield, guns blazing, and suddenly everything feels just right – the action, the challenge, the thrill. That’s what Johan Pilestedt, director of Helldivers 2 at Arrowhead Game Studios, aims for in his games. But he thinks many game developers get it wrong by focusing too much on balance.
According to Pilestedt, who spoke with GamesRadar+, perfect balance is a myth. It’s like chasing a mirage – it looks appealing from a distance, but when you get closer, it vanishes. He believes that instead of pouring all their energy into achieving balance, developers should focus on making their games fun from the start.
“Balance is just a myth,” Pilestedt says. “Fun is what matters most, and balance comes second.” He thinks many modern game designers are too obsessed with balance, spending way too much time tweaking and adjusting. “If you try to make a game successful just by balancing it, you’re doing it wrong,” he warns. In his opinion, balance should account for only about 5% of the game development process – the rest should go into creating an engaging experience.
Pilestedt’s approach might seem counterintuitive, but it’s rooted in his belief that over-balancing can suck the excitement out of a game. “Balancing isn’t game design,” he explains. “If you balance everything, the game becomes boring.” His goal is to create games that are thrilling, not just perfectly polished. And if that means embracing a bit of chaos, so be it. After all, as Pilestedt puts it, “if you balance out all the chaos, you’ve made an uninteresting game.”