
Cal to offer course in Advanced Starcraft Theory  - rockstar9
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/01/27/cal-to-offer-course-in-advanced-starcraft-theory/
======
litewulf
Mind you this is a "decal", which are kind of like clubs in a sense, with
student instructors that teach classes more for personal edification purposes
than "omg legitimate course of study!"

~~~
ShardPhoenix
They do get credit for it though so I guess it's reasonably serious. According
to the guy leading the course, there's some high level math involved, and:

"How to get a professor to sign off on a "gaming" class? Well, I did a few
presentations, one to the sponsoring professor, to demonstrate the
rigorousness, analysis and thought that this class can provoke. Then, I
submitted various papers to the dean of the business school. After that,
registered with various university offices ... it was a pain, trust me."

So it's not just some crazy whim.

~~~
litewulf
I got credit at Berkeley for some pretty silly things let me tell you ;)

Sure, you have to have reasonable content, but for example, I had a friend who
led a decal on Asian Soap Operas. Any professor can sign off on pretty much
any decal, and she managed to get an EE professor to sponsor said decal, so
its not as if the bar is all that high. ;)

------
mattmaroon
If my school had classes like this, I probably would have graduated. The best
we had was a game theory class that ran once every couple years.

~~~
DaniFong
Even in combinatorial game theory, people tended to focus on simple games that
could be solved.

My friend was considered doing work on game theory for more complex games like
Starcraft. Apparently there was one research group at the University of
Alberta, and not a whole lot elsewhere. However, I do know that Stanford has a
videogame competition: in particular, you _make_ games.
[http://graphics.stanford.edu/courses/cs248-videogame-
competi...](http://graphics.stanford.edu/courses/cs248-videogame-competition/)

------
Dilpil
I can actually imagine this being legit. It is after all, an in depth
examination of a complex system. Vocational relevance was never the goal
anyway.

Edit: " Is it more advantageous to attack in a line or to envelop your
opponent’s army? Prove your point using flux calculations. "

Tis legit.

------
andrewow
Checkout <http://www.gomtv.net/> if you are interested in "studying"
independently, but don't know Corean =). They flew an English speaking guy to
Corea to provide live commentary on their league matches. Recommended!

~~~
litewulf
Korea with a K ;)

------
albertsun
Homework is play two games of Starcraft a week and submit replays. I wonder
how much extra credit I can get...

------
tsally
Well, that game been around for longer than quite a few computer science
theories, so I suppose a class on Starcraft is ok :-p.

~~~
fallentimes
Best RTS of all time. Don't make me 4 pool you.

------
froo
I looked at the syllabus - I couldn't find the section where they teach you
how to hurl abuse at other gamers while lanning.

~~~
mnemonicsloth
This is a course about the theory of the game -- very analytical. Lots of
math, apparently. What you're describing is much more art than science.

So if you wanted to get better at it, you'd take a studio type class where you
and other enthusiasts would practice together, show off your technique, and
"critique" one another.

~~~
froo
_What you're describing is much more art than science._

Which is funny, since this following phrase comes direct from the course
syllabus.

    
    
      The primary goal is for students to learn, enjoy the art of competitive StarCraft, and have fun.
    

Seems like psychological warfare (when circumstances permit) would be a valid
tactic given the above course objective.

I could quote Sun Tzu about robbing a whole army of their spirit, but at best
I'd be paraphrasing... poorly.

------
tdavis
Must... Take... Course!

~~~
noonespecial
Watch out for the rush to sign up. Why am I thinking suddenly of zerglings?

~~~
palish
It's okay, they increased the cost from $150 to $200, so the rush will be more
balanced now.

------
csytan
For some background information, the course instructor started a thread on a
popular Starcraft forum:

[http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=865...](http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=86501)

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
Much discussion from the original posting 14 days ago:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=453235>

------
jncraton
I was just thinking that it would be fun to play Starcraft with some of the
people on this site. Do any of you still play? I don't play a lot, but when I
do, this is the account I use:

Server: ICCup Nick: craton

~~~
moonpolysoft
The powerset crew plays a good bit, we either use the lan or setup a virtual
lan with hamachi.

------
wastedbrains
I would love to take this course. Starcraft has got to be the only game that
after 10 years I still frequently play.

~~~
eru
Ever tried nethack?

~~~
wastedbrains
nope I haven't ever played it.

------
dustineichler
so this is just game theory right, on -riods.

------
GrandMasterBirt
So basically in korea the major source of income is professional gamers? Ill
dig that.

Did they realize that a person with say 2 hrs time every day for 3 months and
20 dollars to buy the game + some form reading time can figure this out on
their own? Shit I just described every college course.

