Geometric Analysis of Maps in Real-Time Strategy Games: Measuring Map Quality in a Competitive Setting

Professional competitive gaming has grown increasingly lucrative over the past 2 years since the release of Blizzard Entertainment’s real-time strategy game, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (SC2). Since there is no widely used SC2 map generator, most maps are hand-crafted by level designers who may not be in touch with the game’s intricate and shifting strategy, resulting in inconsistent game quality. Here we develop a tool that algorithmically identifies a map’s key geometric elements and analyzes them to judge if a map is of good quality. Our quantitative approach simplifies the question of whether the map is worthy of being used in a competitive setting, and reduces reliance on human judgments of quality.