Masters Of Control: Behavioral Patterns Of Simultaneous Unit Group Manipulation In Starcraft 2

Most user interfaces require the user to focus on one element at a time, but StarCraft 2 is a game where players often control more than a hundred units simultaneously. The game interface provides an optional mechanism called "control groups" that allows players to select multiple units and assign them to a group in order to quickly recall previous selections of units. From an analysis of over 3,000 replays, we show that the usage of control groups is a key differentiator of individual players as well as players of different skill levels novice users rarely use control groups while experts nearly always do. But players also behave differently in how they use their control groups, especially in time-pressured situations. While certain control group behaviors are common across all skill levels, expert players appear to be better at remaining composed and sustaining control group use in battle. We also qualitatively analyze discussions on web forums from players about how they use control groups to provide context about how such a simple interface mechanic has produced numerous ways of optimizing unit control.