The pace of a game is very important for balancing it. There are numerous games gone bad simply because the developer tried to change the pace to something the game was not meant to do in the beginning.

Generally there are two paces: A fast-paced game and a slow-paced game. A fast-paced game will feature units that have high attack and low health, and often high speed as well. In a fast-paced game, things die really fast, and if you are not paying attention you could lose the game in a matter of moments. Matches usually don’t last long either. Fast-paced games promote rushing, going on the offensive, and generally, it’s not a big problem if you lose units: As long as the opponent loses more units. Of course, this is a big generalization. Another fast-paced game is Counterstrike: However, because most players will die in one hit (or slightly more), the game is instead about being sneaky and camping.

Micro and Macro are both important in fast-paced games, though micro-management is more important. Because usually, if you can win a small skirmish, you will have a big advantage over the enemy as you can now keep attacking him. This does not mean the macro-game is to be neglected: If you are able to simply fend off enemy attacks, and build up a better economy, you might be able to steamroll him.

Another important feature of fast-paced games is that a small mistake can cost you the game. If you accidentally make a mistake, and the enemy capitalizes on that, it’s possible for all your units to be wiped out, and subsequently lose the game.

A slow-paced game usually features big and bulky units. Matches can last quite long, and unlike fast-paced games it’s instead focused on consistency. If you manage to outplay the enemy for a long time, you will end up getting an advantage, and you’ll be able to slowly wipe him out. The gameplay is focused on macroing, and slowly gaining an advantage over the enemy. While rushing is definitely a good strategy (you could harass the opponent before he gets his defenses up), it is not as lethal as in fast-paced games.

Note that a lot of games are actually a mixture of the two. Especially in RTS, which have multiple phases, the pace can change from phase to phase. A game could be fast-paced in the early phases, with units doing a lot of damage but having little health. But then it could change to a slow-paced game at the end (which usually happens), with a lot of big units with monstrous health. It’s not easy to define a game as 1 of the two, though sometimes it’s quite clear.

An example of pacing gone wrong is Guild Wars. It started out as a fairly slow-paced game: Character deaths weren’t too common, and characters couldn’t do a lot of damage. However, as more and more skills were being added, old skills were also being buffed, and after some time everybody could suddenly pump out much and much more damage. Of course, to counter this, healing was also buffed, but the health bars stayed the same. Eventually, this screwed up the entire game, and multiple game mechanics needed a complete overhaul.

Again, I hope you enjoyed reading this, and that you look forward to the rest of the parts.