College Using StarCraft to Teach Complex Management Skills

[Sarah Kerrigan]

*thumbs up* i wanna go to this collage now!! I'd pass that class with flying colors xDD

 

[Burck]

I support Portal being studied as art, but I don't think there is much educational value to Starcraft, Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that game, but I don't think it has real world value.

It's like writing off an air hockey table as a tax deduction because it "helps your hand eye coordination" and you're a surgeon. It's a load of crap.

If you listen to a Day9 daily, you'll get some introspective on how it applies. For example:

1) Macro is king. If you try to get too much of everything off of limited resources, you will lose. Yes, doing so may counter your opponent, but its a lot easier to just get more. This applies to the way that many Protoss players try to get a high-tech Colossus unit or two before they move out from their main base to expand. All the money they spend on the technology slows their initial macro so much that even though that Colossus may counter the enemy marine and marauder group, it will be flimsy and require careful micro to just survive.

2) Have a plan. Even if your plan isn't perfect for the scenario, a well executed plan will out-play someone who tries to counter it, but doesn't do it fast enough. If you know how to Banshee rush a zerg player well, the key moments you save with good execution can mean the difference between facing two queens (early anti-air) and three queens. This is also crucial in mirror match-ups where Terran plays Terran for example. Whoever gets more tanks and vikings faster and at the right times will claim victory.

3) Tricks can buy you time, but rarely win you the game. Forcefielding a ramp as a Protoss player can mean the difference between victory and defeat against an early 3-barracks push. It takes careful execution, but should give you an advantage over your enemy who has poured his early resources into military rather than economy.

There's plenty more, but that would take a while, so feel free to ask questions.

 

[vegetablevn]

Hi,

Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.



We also find them more same at: Time management techniques [http://timemanagementtechniques.biz/]

Tks again and pls keep posting.

I support Portal being studied as art, but I don't think there is much educational value to Starcraft, Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that game, but I don't think it has real world value.

It's like writing off an air hockey table as a tax deduction because it "helps your hand eye coordination" and you're a surgeon. It's a load of crap.

If you listen to a Day9 daily, you'll get some introspective on how it applies. For example:

1) Macro is king. If you try to get too much of everything off of limited resources, you will lose. Yes, doing so may counter your opponent, but its a lot easier to just get more. This applies to the way that many Protoss players try to get a high-tech Colossus unit or two before they move out from their main base to expand. All the money they spend on the technology slows their initial macro so much that even though that Colossus may counter the enemy marine and marauder group, it will be flimsy and require careful micro to just survive.

2) Have a plan. Even if your plan isn't perfect for the scenario, a well executed plan will out-play someone who tries to counter it, but doesn't do it fast enough. If you know how to Banshee rush a zerg player well, the key moments you save with good execution can mean the difference between facing two queens (early anti-air) and three queens. This is also crucial in mirror match-ups where Terran plays Terran for example. Whoever gets more tanks and vikings faster and at the right times will claim victory.

3) Tricks can buy you time, but rarely win you the game. Forcefielding a ramp as a Protoss player can mean the difference between victory and defeat against an early 3-barracks push. It takes careful execution, but should give you an advantage over your enemy who has poured his early resources into military rather than economy.

There's plenty more, but that would take a while, so feel free to ask questions.

 

[sageoftruth]

Why is Judicator Aldaris showing up as the unit pic for a Terran structure?

But other than that, I think there might be something to this. I always used to suck at Starcraft, until I realized (basically) "Oh! I'm supposed to be THINKING when I play this game!".

Just to answer the quesiton, while a Terran base is on the screen, a Nexus is the structure currently selected. Note the wire frame at the bottom of the screen.

 

[sageoftruth]

It seems like we're all a bit too focused on specifics here. I think the important thing is that one must be aware of several things at once and decide what to do with them on the fly. I can't say whether or not this was what the professor had in mind, but I don't think it is about being in work and going, "Hey, this is just like that thing I did in Starcraft!" I think it is more about the simple practice of focusing the brain on many things at once and making decisions with it. In other words, it is all about improving the brain's capacity to multifocus. The context in which it is used doesn't really matter.
Indeed, there is more to Starcraft than just that. As someone has mentioned already, there's also quick mouse dexterity and a full understanding of Starcraft fundamentals, but as long as those don't interfere with the prime directive it might work.