???
GDW: So you use the data to determine whether the imbalances are perceived or real.
RP: Yeah. We??™re not slaves to it though. It??™s just one of many tools we use. You have to have an intuitive
sense of it also. Luckily the game balance guy on War III is a really good player.
We also have a group of top-level players that send us feedback directly. Like if we see something
like the Undead hammering the Humans in a peculiar way then we might gather replays from toplevel
players and look at exactly what they??™re doing.
GDW: Sounds like there??™s a symbiotic thing going on between the fan community and the development
team. For example, you hired the Web programmer from the fan base.
A Conversation with Rob Pardo 303
304 Chapter 10: Functionality, Completeness, and Balance
Programmers have created many clever ways of
coding their computer-controlled characters. In fact,
there are many books just about programming game
AI. What is important for you as a designer is not how
the characters are coded but that they can be tuned
to provide a balanced and satisfying experience.
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