Game Development Reference
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new, expensive stat-boosting hats—dii c u lt to come ac ro s s i n nor m a l ga me -
play—will throw of Team Fortress 2 ' s balance.” 21 Although the “fairness
and balance aspect will sort itself out,” 22 the initial response is instructive
about how the community of players hold balance as sacred and fear that
the introduction of virtual item sales will upset one of the things appreci-
ated most about playing online games. Rallying players to protest the deci-
sion, one player argued that the introduction of virtual item sales threatens
the game, as items that were once rare become common. Even more trou-
bling to many was the fact that the players who get a newfound advantage
will be those who possess the ol ine wealth to purchase the previously rare
items, not necessarily the best TF2 players. Arguing that the introduction
of item sales commodifi es the economy, the rare hats needed to complete a
set bonus require players to either “PAY. (or get insanely lucky, which can
take months or YEARS.)” 23 The problem identifi ed throughout the discus-
sion was that players who paid for items were more likely to be successful
than those who did not pay. Players acknowledged that the game's pub-
lisher, Valve, deserved to make money for producing and maintaining the
game, but felt that those funds should not be generated in a way that could
upset the balance of the game.
Developers, players, and opinion writers all quickly realized that the
introduction of these items was noteworthy, largely because it would
change the balance of the game and how it was played. In releasing the FAQ
about the Mann Company store, the developers were quick to note that the
change would not impact balance in any meaningful way. The items play-
ers already had were being made more valuable and those that did not yet
have the items were of ered an opportunity to play in a more enjoyable way.
The development team clearly noted the importance of proper balance in
their missive to players and the players responded in kind. With both sides
acknowledging the importance of preserving the balance of the game, it
is plain to see how, in this case, balance functioned as an ideograph that
structured the discourse surrounding TF2 .
Although the fear of virtual item sales resided in the belief that it would
lead to an imbalanced game, there are other situations where aspects of
games fell far out of balance, resulting in substantial discussion about the
state of the game in question. In the case of Halo 2 ' s online play, the sniper
rifl e quickly became the exclusive weapon of choice for players seeking
the optimal means by which to dispatch their opponents. 24 The weapon
was so powerful that players used it outside of its original context, wad-
ing into close quarters combat wielding a weapon originally intended for
long-range, stealthy attacks. 25 The impact of displacing other weapons to
a single choice is limiting and substantial design resources are wasted, but
massive numbers of people still played Halo 2 online. Although this imbal-
ance did not necessarily hurt the game, the dynamic adjustment of players
and the concerns of designers illustrate how central the idea of balance is to
the discourse of video games. Halo 2 may have been fortunate based on the
 
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