Starcraft University Course

We’re not kidding in the slightest, Starcraft fans – this is the real, totally awesome deal.

The name Starcraft is synonymous with the typical RTS, a name that will burn brightly in the nerdy hearts of gamers and strategists for untold years to come.

The very last place you’d expect it to be uttered is the title of a university course, specifically, Berkeley. Held every Thursday at 7pm the lectures cover the strategy of the game, unit makeup and use, how to analyse a replay and many more.

We grabbed the course description from their site, just to see what they were really on about:

"UC Berkeley students with an interest in real-time strategy games and the competitive gaming landscape are encouraged to participate in this class.
This course will go in-depth in the theory of how war is conducted within the confines of the game Starcraft. There will be lecture on various aspects of the game, from the viewpoint of pure theory to the more computational aspects of how exactly battles are conducted. Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course. Furthermore, the class will take the theoretical into the practical world by analyzing games and replays to reinforce decision-making skills and advanced Starcraft theory.
Class will start with lecture and usually include a special discussion topic having to do with the day’s lecture to inspire new and original thought. At the end of lecture, there may be time to analyze student-submitted replays to illustrate a point or to improve analysis. Homework will be assigned at the end of each class and is due at the beginning of each lecture."

Not only do they do all that, but their mark depends 40% on a final project, 20% on attendance, and 40% on replay submissions and homework. Their homework is actually just to play the game using the strategies covered in class!

They’ve also got actual questions to answer for homework, just a few examples follow:

•"List possible uses for a Terran Barracks."
•"What is the advantage and drawback of selecting two High Templars and casting overlapping Psionic Storms?"
•"Is it more advantageous to attack in a line or to envelop your opponent’s army? Prove your point using flux calculations."

We’re not quite sure if you can apply a flux calculation to Starcraft particularly well, but it seems that math is a big part of it. Apart from all the hard work, we’d take playing games as uni work any day!

Head over to their website to check it out in more detail. We’re going to go pick our jaws up from the floor!