Does Damage Have a Value : An Analysis of the Economy in StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Abstract:

This study aims to see if it is feasible, for the purpose of studying game balance, to put a concrete value on damage and other abilities in Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games. The main metric that was used for this analysis was the cost per DPS (Damage Per Second) for units in a RTS game. The game that was used to test this analysis was StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm.

This topic was tested by first gathering data about the properties of units in the game and then calculating the average values of the units in the game. After that, a few units and game mechanics were chosen to be analyzed in further detail. They were analyzed by comparing their cost/DPS values to the average values and seeing if there were any other properties that might have an impact in the cost of a unit.

While it was concluded that it is feasible to put a value on damage and other properties of units, the subject needs to be approached with caution. Using the cost/DPS metric that was assumed for this thesis, some units came out as being too strong for their cost. Further studies on similar topics might be able to find better methodologies for approaching similar analyses.