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Game balance concepts:

*Affinity Play - each character's strengths and weaknesses reward players of both sides for affinity with character's concept
-Strongths (TII) of concept: vibrant gameplay, character weaknesses make countermeasures both more fun and more coherent
-Weaknesses of concept: reliant on gameplay ideas which can become exploitable especially with poor checks (anything involving keepaway-induced abuses is bound to be a bad offender), character concepts can conflict with each other in unwelcome manners
-Recommended measures: compliment with other concepts below, especially Armor Test

"The only ones who should kill, are those prepared to be killed." ~Lelouch vi Britannia, Code Geass
"Live by the sword, die by the sword." ~Jesus Christ

*Personalty-Based Gameplay - each character's strengths have weaknesses and/or blind spots that makes sure the player wants to have the character's underlying traits
-Strongths (TII) of concept: safely allows higher base power for characters, prevents character disconnect
-Weaknesses of concept: may rely on numbers to set up, relies on other characters' balance
-Recommended measures: pay close attention to stats' functions

"In games, mechanics help to set the tone. They serve sort of like writing style in literature, or pallete choice in painting. While they don't always directly tell the story, they always impact how we understand it." ~Daniel Floyd, Extra Credits episode "Mechanics and Tone"

*Basic Strength, Methodical Weakness Coverage - each character can cover against weaknesses with outside-the-box gameplay
-Strongths (TII) of concept: provides options, balances matchups
-Weaknesses of concept: risk of overly powerful versatile characters, can cause unwelcome gameplay
-Recommended measures: make sure all traits come into play reliably

"Movepools would be pretty boring if Pokemon could only learn moves of their own types, Same Type Attack Bonus wouldn't mean anything at that point, and you'd never be able to try to surprise an opponent with a move type they might not expect from a particular Pokemon. .... Pokemon are stronger with moves native to their type, but it's good for them to have options sometimes." ~RoahmMythril talking on IM about Pokemon

*Center Control Incentive - spacial control rewards the player
-Strongths (TII) of concept: keeps the game going, encourages bravery
-Weaknesses of concept: may overencourage raw stats, can easily limit viable skills to things like who draws first blood
-Recommended measures: thought out Perpetual Comeback to keep games interactive, and discourage excessive attacking to prevent speedster abuse

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." ~Nelson Mandela

*Armor Test - each character is balanced against Melee Tornado/Mighty Glacier/Stone Wall hybrid character. See Armor Test notes for details.
-Strongths (TII) of concept: exposes imbalances and overly frustrating gameplay more efficiently, encourages various types of healthy gameplay given proper execution
-Weaknesses of concept: doesn't directly contribute energy, can be overly basic
-Recommended measures: clarify the characters' concepts to encourage creative micromanagement of this

"Ignis aurum probat." ~Latin saying

*Rock-Paper-Scissors System - gameplay aspects are balanced with Rock-Paper-Scissors concepts
-Strongths (TII) of concept: prevents lack of counters to anything, encourages logic
-Weaknesses of concept: potential randomness for its own sake, excessive emphasis may scare players
-Recommended measures: deconstruct, reconstruct, and comprehend given RPS triangles to determine balance jobs

"Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature." ~Eric Hoffer


Armor Test:

The Armor Test is a test to see if each character is balance well against a hybridization of the character build typing of Melee Tornado (dedicated close range combat at expense of long range ability), Mighty Glacier (eschews speed for power), and Stone Wall (gives up offense for defense). This hybrid is typically low tier and additionally not given sufficient interaction, but it has been determined that fixing that would encourage traits such as creativity and bravery from both sides, and simultaneously improve variety.

The Armor Test is passed by clearing all 5 of the following criteria:
#1 - Entry barriers for defensive power
#2 - Reliable methods of tagging even the most evasive characters
#3 - General inability to defeat armors just by hitting them
#4 - Anti-Armor Counter Play
#5 - Anti-Armor flow ability

#1 - Entry barriers for defensive power
Concept: added defensive power needs working player input to see efficiency
Reason: prevents overly easy usage of defensive power's automation

#2 - Reliable methods of tagging even the most evasive characters
Concept: evasion advantage can be neutralized sufficiently to overcome a hit/evade mismatch
Reason: forces evasion to worry about burnout that offense can capitalize on reliably

#3 - General inability to defeat armors just by hitting them
Concept: lower-key attacks become ineffective against added defensive power to where they will have usefulness restricted to utility
Reason: allows defensive power to do its freaking job well

#4 - Anti-Armor Counter Play
Concept: every form of anti-armor provides some way to combat it from somebody armed with nothing but the basics, the player's own wits, and likely raw power
Reason: encourages players to have proficiency with multiple forms of anti-armor to get around drawbacks

#5 - Anti-Armor flow ability
Concept: every form of anti-armor has a subtle secondary function that allows for outside usage
Reason: provides positive reasons to use anti-armor within clear awareness of their weaknesses


Rock-Paper-Scissors triangles:

Besides the obvious one and elements or directly named tactical factors:
-Spacial strategy: Attack > Control/Expand > Defend > Attack
-Fighting game moves: Attack > Grab > Defend > Attack
-Melee stats: Power > Reach > Rate > Power
-Character stats: Power > Speed > Range
-Damage methods: Burst > Pressure > DPS > Burst
-Defensive stats: Armor > Accuracy > Evasion > Armor
-Offensive stats: Armor > Speed > Anti-Armor > Armor
-Speed stats: Mobility > Range > Rate > Mobility
-Ranges: Long > Mid > Close > Long
-Tactical gameplay: Cover > Focus > Flank > Cover
-Strategic gameplay: Creativity > Formation > Blitz > Creativity
-Chess styles: Classic > Quiet > Hypermodern > Classic
-Fighting styles: Boxing > Judo > Karate > Boxing
-RPG classes: Fighter > Thief > Mage > Fighter
-Traits: Heart > Mind > Body > Heart


Smash Bros. Affinity Play:
-Mario: all-arounder
-Dr. Mario: precision combat
-Luigi: underdog adaptability
-Peach: merciless attacks
-Bowser: firey power
-Yoshi: aerial control
-Rosalina: ally strategy
-Koopa Kid: workshop combat
-Wario: aerial offense
-Donkey Kong: jungle grappling
-Diddy Kong: chimp craziness
-Game & Watch: arcade play
-Little Mac: boxing
-Link: brave intelligence
-Zelda: wise bravery
-Sheik: calm caution
-Ganondorf: dark power
-Toon Link: kidplay
-Samus Aran: space range
-Zero Suit Samus: space evasion
-Pit/Dark Pit: bumblebee combat
-Palutena: smart energy
-Marth: tactical fencing
-Lucina: precision fencing
-Roy: heated strategizing
-Ike: power fencing
-Robin: supply tactics
-Duck Hunt: accuracy
-Kirby: aerial defense
-King Dedede: cool power
-Meta Knight: fencing defense
-Fox McCloud: grounded quickwit
-Falco Lombardi: air-ace fighting
-Pikachu: quick attacks
-Charizard: dragon knowledge
-Lucario: kung-fu tactics
-Jigglypuff: burst attacking
-Greninja: ninja strikes
-ROB: computational basics
-Ness: magic intelligence
-Captain Falcon: high-octane racing
-Villager: home defense
-Olimar: troop tactics
-Wii Fit Trainer: cardiovascular control
-Shulk: analytical fencing
-Pac-Man: general gaming
-Mega Man: range evasion
-Sonic: hit-and-run attacking
-Mewtwo: calm control
-Lucas: magic guile
-Ryu: kung-fu finesse
-Cloud: limit busting
-Corrin: earthly defense
-Bayonetta: thorny grace



Smash Bros. general attack moves (intended) concepts:

*Jab - quick combo, hits close, flurry finisher has cooldown problems
*Dash Attack - quick lunge, eschews cooldown for quickness
*Forward Smash - anti-spacing focus, hits forward/both, cooldown at cost of quickness
*Down Smash - anti-grapple focus, hits both/ground, cooldown at cost of quickness
*Up Smash - anti-air focus, hits forward/air, cooldown at cost of quickness
*Forward Tilt - quick forward attack, eschews cooldown for quickness, hits forward/ground
*Up Tilt - quick up attack, eschews cooldown for quickness, hits both/air
*Down Tilt - quick sweep attack, hits forward/ground
*Neutral Air - defense aerial
*Forward Air - quick strike aerial
*Back Air - anti-spacing aerial
*Up Air - anti-air aerial
*Down Air - anti-ground aerial
*Grab - rewards risk with positioning
*Forward Throw - rewards space control
*Back Throw - perpetual comeback
*Up Throw - allows juggling
*Down Throw - provides damage
*Neutral B - defense MO
*Side B - offense MO
*Up B - recovery MO
*Down B - control MO