Where are the Frontlines? A Visualization Approach for Map Control in Team-Based Games

TL;DR

This paper introduces a visualization method for map control in team-based games, using support vector machines to identify frontlines and illustrate spatial control dynamics over time.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach to quantify and visualize map control and frontlines in online games, aiding strategic decision-making.

Findings

Effective visualization of map control and frontlines.

Supports analysis of spatial behavior over time.

Demonstrated on World of Tanks data.

Abstract

A central area of interest in many competitive online games is spatial behavior which due to its complexity can be difficult to visualize. Such behaviors of interest include not only overall movement patterns but also being able to understand which player or team is exerting control over an area to inform decision-making. Map control can, however, be challenging to quantify. In this paper, we propose a method for calculating frontlines and first efforts towards a visualization of them. The visualization can show map control and frontlines at a specific time point or changes of these over time. For this purpose, it utilizes support vector machines to derive frontlines from unit positions. We illustrate our algorithm and visualization with examples based on the team-based online game World of Tanks.