Manny and Andrew

What is Starcraft II RTS (real time strategy game) Made by Blizzard entertainment Came out in 2010 Sequel to original Starcraft (1998) Over 5 million copies sold

Competitive Starcraft Starcraft is a huge competitive game Played in large tournaments for huge cash prizes Played all around the world Especially in South Korea Starcraft II starting to gain popularity, in the current American MLG circuit

South Korean Starcraft in a Nutshell

What we wanted to research See if APM was indicative of a better player (better ladder) What was the most played race? How did the APM vary between the races?

Procedure Joined rooms of 16 people via the random matchmaking system Picked 2 via calculator’s random function Looked at their 1v1 match history Downloaded replay Used SC2gears to analyze data

Race Distribution

Actions Per Minute APM: ‘Actions per minute’ Every time you do something (keystroke, mouse click, etc) N-Q N-Q

APM by League Grand master: Left skewed, median is the 181.5, Fairly tight, w/ 2 outliers, highest, range Master: Right skewed, Median is the largest spread, no outliers, second highest, range Diamond: Symmetric, Mean , looser spread, no outliers, third highest, range Platinum: Right skewed, median tight spread, no outliers, fifth highest, range Gold: Left skewed, median 81, tightest spread, no outliers, fourth highest, range Silver: Symmetric, mean 69.75, tight spread, no outliers, smallest center, range 54-83

Actions per minute by Race Protoss: Right Skewed, median as fairly tight spread, range Terran: Right skewed, unimodal, Median 126, looser spread, range Zerg: Right skewed, median as unimodal, loose spread, range

Regression Slope T-Test 1.Linearity Assumption 1. Yes, looks linear 2. Independence assumption 2. checked residual plot, no pattern 3. Equal variance assumption 3. no fanning/thickening on plot X v Y 4. Normal Population assumption 4. Normal prob. Plot of residuals looks linear

H0: Β = 0 (no change in resources spent) Ha: Β ≠ 0 (change in resources spent) Conditions met  T Distribution  Regression slope T-Test We reject Ho because our p-val of x10^-11 <.05=alpha We have sufficient evidence to say that there is a change in resources spent over the Time period of game.

GOF Test Conditions: State:Check: 1.SRS 1. Our collected data was random 2.Categorical data 2. Yes, race is categorical 3.Population > 10n 3. There are more than 400 Starcraft players 4.All exp. Cell counts >5 4. Yes Exp Ho: The data is consistent with a specified distribution. Ha: The data is not consistent with a specified distribution.

We fail to reject Ho because the p-value of.556>(alpha)=.05 We have sufficient evidence to say that our sample races matches the race distribution of all Starcraft players

T-Interval APM Conditions: State:Check: 1.SRS 1. Our collected data was random 2.Independence 2. Assumed 3.Population > 10n 3. There are more than 400 Starcraft players 4.N> >30 Conditions met  T Distribution  1 sample T-interval ( /6.3246) INVT( ) We are 95% confident that the population mean of APM ranges from ( , )

Conditions: State:Check: 1.SRS 1. Our collected data was random 2.Independence 2. Assumed 3.Population > 10n 3. There are more than 400 Starcraft players 4.N> >30 Conditions met  T Distribution  1 sample T-interval INVT( ) ( /6.3246) We are 95% confident that the population mean of time of game ranges from ( , ) T-Interval Time of Game

Bias/Error Different styles of keyboard (mechanical/rubber dome/scissor switch) Playing a different race for a little while Undercoverage ‘going easy’

Personal opinions Manny: – Blizzard fanboy – Love the competitive scene that it spawns – Believe APM is reflective of better players – APM based on race Andrew – Love the game – Also believe APM is reflective of better players – APM based on race as well

Conclusions/applications to population APM can be a very good judgment of the skill of a player Most played race to be found was Terran Highest APM was found to be Zerg Resource spending increases over time APM between and (95% conf.) Time of game between and seconds (95% conf.)

Sources