Unevenly Matched Opponents
Such characters locking horns in the context of games have been with us for many centuries. This is a historical fact. Although the underlying unfairness of such contests has, for the most part, been readily acknowledged, the standard response has always been that the less skilled players should grin and bear it. The principal reason given has been that, players generally improve their gaming skills over time by confronting better skilled players and learning from such encounters. If this learning process were to involve some ignominious defeats, well, it would be a reasonable and, perhaps, unavoidable price to pay to
improve one's gaming skills.
PGF isn't unlike many other games when it comes to the issue of unevenly matched opponents. In principle, the setting up of scenarios for ideal competitive play is, most certainly, a laudable objective. As already mentioned in the immediately preceding post, such an endeavor would be no picnic; nevertheless, it would certainly be something extremely desirable to eventually achieve. However, the actual modification of an ideal competitive play scenario's parameters and specifications to take into account "perceived" or "objectively documented" differences in player skills so as to re-introduce balance and excitement into gaming is an entirely
different matter....
i) First and foremost, even if there were no downside to doing so, one would need a very sophisticated calibration scale to match players ratings differences with, say, specific "re-balancing" Prestige and / or Experience settings. From where I stand, this looks like a technical
pipe dream, plain and simple !
ii) Even if such a technical fix were feasible, I'm of the opinion that its ultimate effect would be
detrimental to gaming quality. Although the fix would conceivably introduce balance in the short run and, hence, some transient enjoyment, it would impede players' skills improvement and, hence, deliver an indirect but powerful blow to their gaming enjoyment down the line.... You see, I'm also of the opinion that players generally improve their gaming skills over time by confronting better skilled players and learning from such encounters ! Given an appropriately well thought out and fostered
friendliness & education gaming culture, these uneven matches shouldn't leave any appreciable bitter residue behind...
Historically, the above caveats have led some hobbyists and play clubs to adopt a "
concurrent, mirrored gaming system".
In a concurrent, mirrored gaming arrangement, each player tries his hand at leading each one of the two sides in two separate games conducted more or less simultaneously under as many identical conditions and settings as practically possible.
In my opinion, concurrent, mirrored PGF gaming is very desirable for the following reasons:
1) Ever since the beginning of competitive gaming among humans, a certain time-honored, gentlemanly tradition of giving one's opponent a "second" chance at play has developed over time; the tradition's practical manifestations exhibit considerable resilience and staying power from chess to poker to backgammon and so on. Clearly, such gentlemanly ways have a lot to do with
friendliness. At a minimum, there's a recognition that lady fortune is a fickle ally and, hence, everybody should get a fair chance of being bestowed upon with her favors... Concurrent, mirrored gaming addresses such concerns head on ! It also does so in a most efficient manner.
2) Many scenarios involve combat where one side is attacking while the other one is grimly hanging on to fewer and fewer objectives as the game unfolds. Although the defender may eventually prevail by hanging on to that last precious objective, his psychology of being pushed to the wall and witnessing the wholesale decimation of his units can be problematic, to say the least. This represents a tangible threat to
friendliness. Concurrent, mirrored gaming seems to be what the doctor would order here... For starters, the concurrent, symmetrical experiences of the two players won't allow either an attacker or a defender type of psychology to rigidly set in. Moreover, such experiences are bound to put a "human face" on all forces on the battlefield, a definite plus for
friendliness.
3) The implicit camaraderie fostered by concurrent, mirrored PGF gaming tends to make players more communicative than they would otherwise be. Aside from the obvious boost to
friendliness, better communication invariably results in better player
education as the two opponents may readily exchange friendly opinions and analyses. In fact, the greatest thing that concurrent, mirrored gaming does is that it allows the players to view the two symmetrical games as
one entity to be talked about and, possibly... studied.
The symmetrical nature of goings on leaves very few things in the dark... The concurrent nature of goings on ensures a positive dynamic in that the two opponents are increasingly drawn together as the mirrored games progress by dealing with and discussing successive layers of common experiences...
4) By playing both sides of a conflict, players develop an all around appreciation of scenarios and the types of forces involved, thus enhancing their
education. Even well disciplined and serious hobbyists may exhibit a tendency to gravitate towards certain types of familiar or aesthetically pleasing situations... Concurrent, mirrored gaming is a great way to ensure that such lopsided preferences won't be allowed to interfere with a player's all around
education.
5) By its very nature, concurrent, mirrored gaming is ideal as a "research" tool in instances were scenario balancing experimental information must be extracted, massaged and distilled into some appropriate body of knowledge of some lasting utility... Lest I forget, concurrent, mirrored PGF gaming is "fair" if / when such game(s) are registered for "ladder" status. Who knows, such arrangements may even dissuade certain PBEM "wargamers" from... replaying their moves !
Bottom line is this. There can be
no such thing as "objective" scenario play balance. A "concurrent, mirrored gaming system" goes a long way towards practically ameliorating many of the sharp edges present due to the rather obvious absence of "objectivity".
end of story !
