bordering on too much analysis
Game theory offers an excellent tool for thinking about game balance: the Nash Equilibrium. Nash Equilibria tell us how often players should pick each possible strategy in a competitive game if they are playing optimally. But there's a problem -- describing how different options (characters, civilizations, etc.) in a game perform against each other in… Continue reading A better way to measure game balance using game theory
Age of Empires 2 has proven to be an extremely resilient game; despite being originally released before the current millennium (in late 1999) and having been essentially abandoned by Microsoft for nearly a decade, it remained popular, and, after two remakes (in 2013 and 2020), it is perhaps more popular than it has ever been.… Continue reading Age of Empires 2 is the weirdest game of rock, paper, scissors you’ll ever play
I've already looked at the best Pokemon types according to game theory, but when doing so, I only looked at the modern type balance, which began when the Fairy type was introduced in 2013. But, if you're an aging Pokemon fan (i.e. a Millenial) like myself, this is not the Pokemon type balance you grew… Continue reading The History of Pokemon Type Balance, According to Game Theory
Pokemon is famous for its rock-paper-scissors dynamics -- water type pokemon beat fire type pokemon, fire types beats grass types, and grass types beats water types. But the Pokemon type matchups are much more complicated than your typical game of rock-paper-scissors. Not only are there a ludicrous 18 different types of pokemon, but their matchups… Continue reading The Objectively Best Pokemon Type, According to Game Theory