We are the subject of research

Moderator: Milldawg

Post Reply
Mr.
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Posts: 408
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:48 am
Location: Virginia

We are the subject of research

Post by Mr. »

Hey everyone,

My girlfriend, Kelly, is working on her Master's Degree in Anthropology, and a significant portion of her research involves, well... us. It is mostly focused on FFS, our weekly Starcraft II extravaganza, and it has already been discussed among players during the event. But FFS and Campaign Creations are certainly interconnected, and thus her research has brought her to this forum. So here is her pitch:
"I am doing research for my master's thesis in Anthropology. My research is looking at how online gaming communities are formed, maintained, and dissolved. Some sub-topics include the role of technology itself in creating opportunities and barriers for community building and the relevance of national identity online. Specifically, I am looking at SCII (as opposed to MMORPGs like WoW or virtual worlds like Second Life, which are more popular in the anthropological literature). Most of my research entails participant observation in terms of watching and playing SCII with a particular group of players. This phase of my research is nearly complete. I am also planning to talk about the role of gaming spaces outside of the game such as forums, wikis, YouTube, etc. in community building.

Talking about CC would be a relatively small, but important, contribution to that research as it relates to the group of players I am looking at. Mostly, I would like to talk about the history of the website in relation to the group - information I have already found on here (but have not incorporated into my writing, yet, due to lack of consent to use it). I would not be using any direct quotes or real screennames.

Also, I have already conducted a couple of interviews, but I am looking for at least two more participants. The only restriction is that you must be over 18 years old (although I am considering updating my IRB to allow for minors in my research - but I do not know if it's possible, yet). For those who play SCII during the weekly event that Honejasi hosts, I would love to talk to more people who have only been playing within the past 1-3 years. I could also use more information from people who are active here (or were in the past), but no longer attend the event (or are less active on here) to get an idea of why people come and go. If you are interested in being interviewed, you can either post here, let Billtheemu know, or email me at kflyte@gmu.edu. Interviews would ideally be conducted over IM, but I can do voice or email, too.

I am hoping to complete all of my research by the end of April (I've been working for quite some time now), and then have my thesis completely written (already in the works) by the end of June. It will be available for anyone who wants to read it once it is finished.

If it's cool with everyone here, feel free to ask me questions in this thread (I will be replying under Bill's name).


Also, as a part of this research, I have been gathering replays and running them through a little analyzer I made to have data on how active FFS players have been over time. As an example, here is a graph of my own activity within the group, represented as the percentage of events that I have attended per month:

Image

My data spans 5 years and 136 players who have played at least two games during an FFS event (So there are many who only showed up for one or two events, but I weeded out people from publicly hosted games). If you have played SC2 with us during FFS in the past, then I have a graph with your name on it. I would like to post them all here, but I don't want to without getting permission. So if you want your graph posted here in the thread, let me know, I can add it in. If you want to see it, but don't want it posted, I can PM it to you.

An astute observer might notice that several months are missing from the x-axis. This is because I am missing data. I have replays covering the majority of the lifespan of FFS, thanks to the wonderful archival habits of Ricky, Q, and HighZealot. But there are a couple chunks of time for which I have no data. See this post I made about it, and if any of you have replays during the times that I am missing, I would really appreciate it if you could send them to me!

(I may also try to incorporate WC3 replays, if I can manage to find a replay parsing library for python)
Mr.
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Posts: 408
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:48 am
Location: Virginia

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by Mr. »

Graphs of FFS participants!

#1
Image
#2
Image
#3
Image
#4
Image
#5
Image
#6
Image
#7
Image
#9
Image
#10
Image
#11
Image
#13
Image
#18
Image
#20
Image
#24
Image
#26
Image
#31
Image
#40
Image
#45
Image

Number of times we have played each map:
(NOTE: Black and White, Star Armada, and Zurvivor Zerg are likely under-represented in this list. This is due to some bug in the python library I'm using, causing certain replays to not be read in correctly. Also, there are multiple versions of some maps appearing on this list, they are counted by title, so "Pictionary!!", "Pictionary!!!", and "Pictionnary" are separate)

Nexus Squadron Strike! : 39
Black and White HotS : 38
Warlords and Merchants : 31
Micro and Tactics with Editor : 29
-Mafia- : 27
Star Battle : 27
WandM on Exotic Garden : 23
Desert Tankbattle BETA : 20
Protect Bob : 19
-= Apples Against Humanity =- : 15
Micro and Tactics vALPHA 1 RH : 15
Hero Attack 3X. : 14
Chu Chu Madness : 13
Mad Scientist Wars : 12
Star Armada NA : 12
Archive Destroyers : 12
Photon Cycles : 12
Blood Marathon : New Edition : 10
Hungry Hungry Arena : 10
Phantom Mode : 10
Cops and Robbers Beta : 10
Squadron Tower Defense : 10
EnTropy TD : 9
NSS WoL : 9
Income Wars - official : 8
Doodad Hunt (Re Release) : 8
Pulse Tactics : 8
Galaxy Vampirism : 7
Empires of the Stormy Seas : 7
Zealot Hockey : 7
ES Tactics : 7
Random Slide! : 6
BattleCraft : 6
StarDodgeBall : 6
Blasterbots : 6
Warships : 5
Preserver Defense : 5
Space Zombies : 5
Empire Builder Fix : 5
-= IRON FIRE =- : 5
MageCraft : 5
Debates : 5
Auto Squads : 5
[Probes vs Zealot 2] : 4
Desert Strike : 4
Eras Zombie Invasion : 4
Makeshift Combat 3 : 4
Super garden of war : 4
Cruiser Command : 4
Star Armada II Alpha : 4
THE Card Game (Official) : 4
RANDOM TD : 4
Micro and Tactics with Editor (Non-Contest) : 4
Battle Cats : 4
Explodeathon Battlegrounds : 4
Baneling Colosseum : 3
Angry Angry Templar : 3
Missile Command Islands : 3
Star Battle v3.1 : 3
Pilots : 3
Vexal Tower Defense : 3
Zombie Escape : 3
Meme TD : 3
Pictionary!!! : 3
MineralZ US : 3
War of Legends : 3
W&M Prototype Dialogs : 3
Zerglings War X : 3
Terra Wars : 3
Pobes vs Zeelot : 3
waht : 3
Imperial Wars : 3
Genesis: KOTH : 3
Empires and Conquest : 3
Bunker Wars X : 3
Civilization Sapphire : 3
Probes vs Zealot 2 : 3
Custom Hero Defense R-Alpha : 3
Tower Defense Tycoon : 2
Island Defense : 2
Sector Sweep I : 2
MacroMicro on The Shattered Temple : 2
Mass Destruction 2 : 2
Flagship Battle : 2
Random Micro Challenge : 2
PiMP MY FOOTMAN! : 2
Random TD : 2
Macro Micro with Map Rotation MacroMicro : 2
War Of the Worlds: Apocalypse : 2
Bomberbot : 2
Gods’ Horde : 2
Mineral Struggles : 2
Axis Of Chaos (Tug-Of-War) : 2
8player test : 2
Town Revolt : 2
Nations of Doom : 2
The Fellowship of the Ring : 2
Blood Pressure Marathon : 2
Mission Frontier : 2
Tempest : 2
KINGDOM RUSH : 2
Malum Ruina : 2
Temple Siege 2 : 2
Mercs of Dark System "Alpha" : 2
Kobold Tribes : 2
Edge of Darkness: Last Survivor (Beta) : 2
Factory Ships : 2
Total TD : 2
Morphling Wars BETA : 2
Alien versus Predator : 2
Alternate Future! : 2
Fleet Assault : 2
Runecraft : 2
Nexus Wars : 2
Enemies At Work : 2
Age of Knights : 2
SC Tug 'o' War : 2
Zurvivor Zerg: Evolution : 2
Pi : 2
Planet Protoss Tribes Beta : 2
Smashcraft : 2
Hero Skirmish on Frozen Wastes : 2
Photon Discs : 2
Raynor Party Revival : 2
My Queen : 2
The SCV Team : 2
Fortress Survival Beta v1.0 : 2
3D City Defense BETA : 2
Project Z (Beta) : 2
Hobrows Zerg Defence 2 : 2
Fatty Fight : 2
G0D'S LAND! : 2
Clownz's Gladiator Arena BETA : 2
Banana Cheaters : 2
Parasite : 2
Undead 1.0 : 2
Desert Strike HOTS - Official US : 2
Runling Run : 2
Zone Control : 2
Celestial Bastion : 2
Marine Arena 2 : 2
The Rising Dead : 2
Canvas : 1
Spawn - Wars : 1
Unreal Marauders : 1
WAR of the Queens : 1
Stardrive TD : 1
Moo! : 1
SC2 Micro Tournament : 1
Bunker Wars: Choices : 1
Sand Canyon (Team Monobattles) : 1
Mini Chop Farms : 1
Bullsh@t Bound Ver. 0.87 Beta : 1
Doomed Earth: End of Days : 1
Troops Defence Expanded : 1
Sky Assault (Siege) : 1
Base Survivor 2.4 : 1
Build Your Own Maze : 1
Partycraft : 1
Naruto Town Defense : 1
Desert Strikes Back : 1
Defenders of the Universe : 1
Strikers! : 1
The Summoners : 1
Star Battle v3.5 : 1
LotV Custom Map of the Week : 1
Tug Defense : 1
Dragon's Throat : 1
Cruiser Command : 1
Stellar Frontier PUBLIC TEST : 1
Apocalypse Arena : 1
Stupid Stupid Overlords : 1
Virus Infection : 1
Survival Man : 1
Civilization! : 1
Battleline Wars : 1
Pearnty Liners : 1
Storm of the Imperial Sanctum : 1
World War Zombies : 1
Madness Maze FFA : 1
Abathurs Isle : 1
Turret Defense 2010 sc2 release edition : 1
Micro Arena US : 1
Highspeed Viking Showdown BETA : 1
Robot Colosseum : 1
Legends of Aiur : 1
I FART NUKE V3 : 1
HOTS Custom 2 Map Rotation : 1
WandM on Super Garden of War : 1
Marine Arena 0.9.9 : 1
Concept Hero Defence 2 : 1
Murder on Mar Sara : 1
-= Azala's Auction Def =- : 1
Ryan's Doomsday : 1
Skyrim : 1
Fleet Commander : 1
Quidditch* : 1
Defense of the Citadel II : 1
Corruption RPG [GB] : 1
Empire Builder ("The Implamented" mod) : 1
Epicenter (7vs7) : 1
Lane Runner : 1
Reverse Ice Baneling Escape : 1
Lurker Defense... in Space! : 1
Generals of World War II : 1
Frontline NA : 1
-Poker Defense- : 1
Baneling Bobble : 1
SC2BW - Big Game Hunters : 1
BarCraft : 1
GridFall : 1
Emerald Jungle : 1
Horde Zoldarium Siege : 1
Age of Combat BETA : 1
Street Empires : 1
Fastest Map Possible by --Wolf-- : 1
Craft Cards [Beta] : 1
Battlefield Egypt II : 1
Elite Tauren Showdown : 1
Snipers Promod : 1
Where is Waldo? : 1
Desert Strike II : 1
Zealot_Frenzy : 1
Prisoner Rebellion : 1
Hero's Last Stand : 1
Predators vs. Prey (test) : 1
TOFU : 1
Project Haven : 1
Blackness : 1
Kodolisk Tag : 1
Of Gods And Men : 1
AoS Beta Map : 1
Zillion Zerglings : 1
Forgotten: Epsilon Z-3320 : 1
Hybrid Assault : 1
CraftCraft : 1
OneGoal : 1
Where's Waldo? : 1
Golem Resurrection II : 1
Monstercraft RPG : 1
World War Zombies: Reanimated Beta : 1
Special Forces Elite 5 - Beta : 1
Secret Steak Society : 1
Fighters And Builders Redux : 1
Gods’ Horde ... Beta : 1
Tech Wars 2 : 1
Firemaul Wars: The Aftermath : 1
Ling Ling Rocket! : 1
Battle to the Finish : 1
Gnolls VS Trolls : 1
Maze Marine - NEW!!! ALPHA VERSION : 1
The Big Black Junkyard by Wargirl #55 : 1
Star Battle Macro For Lulz : 1
Boost Tube : 1
Atlas Station : 1
Merchants RPG : 1
Ice Baneling Escape : 1
The Tashai Wars : 1
CustomBaseDefence : 1
Titan Emergence : 1
Santa Gone Mad : 1
The Olympians : 1
New Established Order : 1
Etherealism : 1
HotSHoT : 1
SC2 Micro tournament : 1
Mercy TD : 1
Monsoon : 1
Tempest Monobattle : 1
Pseudo's Racing Track : 1
W.W.VVV : 1
HeroLineWars : 1
Kamikaze! versus Septicola : 1
Clownz's Gladiator Arena : 1
Pictionary!! : 1
DayZ : 1
Sheep Tag: Tough Edition : 1
StarWars Assault : 1
Squad Prototype. : 1
Battle Planets : 1
Empires + Nations : 1
Tree Tag Alpha-Omega : 1
Critter Planet : 1
Asteroid Field : 1
Party On Outhouse Protectors Beta : 1
Tower Defense 2v6 : 1
Extreme Monobattles (District 10) : 1
Pictionnary : 1
Char Platform by Wargirl : 1
Protect the House : 1
Z remake : 1
Impossible Scenario Probe : 1
CardCraft SC : 1
Zerus Evolution : 1
Squad Support DeP MapC : 1
Starship Troopers OP : 1
Ultimate Boss Battles : 1
Bound Tournament : 1
Zerg Junk Planet : 1
Heroes of Might and Mag!c : 1
Dragon Quest RPG : 1
Zone Control 4 : 1
-BATTLE CITY- : 1
Treacheries : 1
Freeze Tag Assault: Necro's Version : 1
Bizarro Metropolis : 1
Cortex Roleplay - Xil : 1
Whirlwind LE : 1
Infestation Sensation : 1
MacroMicro with Map Rotation : 1
IMBA LEAGUE : 1
Perdition [Elii] : 1
Trial of Zeal : 1
NSS wol : 1
Glass Castle aTD : 1
Split TD : 1
Other side of the Worm Hole : 1
Sentry Hunt : 1
Yet Another Zerg Defense : 1
Uberena : 1
Ramp Rattle : 1
Night of the Dead : 1
DreadCycles : 1
Dark Deeds : 1
Cheaters (Beta) : 1
Tactics Versus : 1
Quicksand : 1
War of the Insects : 1
Gods’ Horde: Beta : 1
•SAT• Control : 1
BotA : 1
DayZ RPG : 1
Gunmen : 1
Marine Arena v1.0 : 1
100 ROUNDS!!! : 1
New Antioch : 1
Crush Company - The Last Hope : 1
Infested Arena 2 : 1
Impossible Scenario (F-1) : 1
Minecraft Arena : 1
Black Widows : 1
Shakuras;Chaos : 1
Naz^Zombies : 1
Precursor : 1
Star Armada TEST : 1
Verdure : 1
Zenith : 1
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends : 1
NSS 2.0 test! : 1
Haunted Forest : 1
The Haunted MOBA : 1
CCF Team Monobattles Sand Canyon : 1
Sector 023 : 1
RaZe - Siege of Phaethon - RtA Submission Build : 1
Toxic Slums : 1
Terran Defense XYZ : 1
Raynor Kart : 1
Battle For Sky Fortress Co : 1
KScript Test : 1
Zergling Battles : 1
Hunting Season: Heroes : 1
Power Level Overwhelming : 1
Runling Run 4 : 1
Researcher of the Hill : 1
Archon Mode : Starlight : 1
Zombie City - Classic : 1
Doomed Earth : 1
Swarm the Hill : 1
14 Player FFA RH : 1
Pudge Wars : 1
Bridge over Avalon w/campaign units : 1
Triangle Attack : 1
Planetary Fortress Survival : 1
Murder : 1
Ultimate Assault Beta : 1
Clash Effect : 1
vtfhgyjygfz : 1
Project Z : 1
The Dominant Species : 1
WW2 Diplo : 1
The Star Strikers : 1
CCF Team Monobattles Magma Core : 1
Mech War : 1
Typhon : 1
Wow TD 2 : 1
12player test : 1
BGH 2000 : 1
100 ROUNDS! : 1

Players: 136
Games : 1033
Average Players per event: 9
Average Duration of event: 3:58:05.642857

Updates:
3/25/15: Added #6: BilltheEmu
3/25/15: Added #26: IskatuMesk
3/25/15: Added #1: Ricky_Honejasi, recipient of the PERFECT ATTENDANCE AWARD
3/25/15: Added #20: Mucky
3/25/15: Added #24: Lavarinth
3/26/15: Added #40: ShadowFlare
3/27/15: Added giant list of maps
3/28/15: Added #4: HighZealot
3/28/15: Added #10: photophoenix
3/28/15: Added #2: Quantumenace
3/28/15: Added #7: wmin
3/28/15: Added #45: HeartWars
3/28/15: Added #11: Ninjapalmer
3/28/15: Added #9: SteakOfPwnag
3/28/15: Added #18: LMG
3/28/15: Added #5: HKS
3/31/15: Added #31: DoW
3/31/15: Fixed Q's name. Sorry Q!
3/31/15: Added #3: Krazy
4/4/15: Added #13: darkoverlord
Last edited by Mr. on Sat Apr 04, 2015 7:50 pm, edited 21 times in total.
User avatar
IskatuMesk
Xel'naga World Shaper
Xel'naga World Shaper
Posts: 8328
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:40 pm
Location: M͈̙̞͍͞ͅE̹H̨͇̰͈͕͇̫Ì̩̳CO̼̩̤͖͘ జ్ఞ‌ా

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by IskatuMesk »

I sent her an e-mail with my contacts.

/edit

Also, I give you guys permission to quote or use anything of mine from this site for your project with the exception of my LP's.
User avatar
Ricky_Honejasi
Xel'naga Solar Moderator
Xel'naga Solar Moderator
Posts: 2011
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 3:50 pm

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by Ricky_Honejasi »

My % would probably something like 99% to 99.9% if only to consider the only week or two I might not have been present or that I left a bit earlier, etc.
User avatar
wibod
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Posts: 428
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:55 am

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by wibod »

If you're doing WC3 replays I'm willing to do stuff. You have my contact info Emu?
Image
User avatar
IskatuMesk
Xel'naga World Shaper
Xel'naga World Shaper
Posts: 8328
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:40 pm
Location: M͈̙̞͍͞ͅE̹H̨͇̰͈͕͇̫Ì̩̳CO̼̩̤͖͘ జ్ఞ‌ా

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by IskatuMesk »

Ricky_Honejasi wrote:My % would probably something like 99% to 99.9% if only to consider the only week or two I might not have been present or that I left a bit earlier, etc.
Ricky Masochistjasi
Mr.
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Posts: 408
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:48 am
Location: Virginia

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by Mr. »

wibod wrote:If you're doing WC3 replays I'm willing to do stuff. You have my contact info Emu?
I have your AIM, and I know how to PM you on the forums. If I do anything with WC3 replays, it won't be for a little while, and I'm not sure if it will fit into her thesis. But I'll keep it in mind. Thank you.

Did you play SC2 with us at all, wibod? I seem to recall you showing up at least a few times, but perhaps you had a different BNet name?
Posy
Terran Factory Worker
Terran Factory Worker
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:46 pm

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by Posy »

Hey, it's Kelly: First of all, thank you to everyone who has responded so far. You guys have been very helpful.

If anyone is interested I will be on Vent (on HKS' server) on Friday (March 27th) from around 3pm (EST) until whenever. A couple people will be there for a group interview, so if anyone else wants to show up at any time feel free. Then I can go from there to see if I need more individual or group interviews.
User avatar
Lavarinth
Xel'naga Administrator
Xel'naga Administrator
Posts: 6539
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:21 pm
Location: His Ashworld Planet

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by Lavarinth »

All is good, she's welcome to use content here as she wishes. Obviously, user data is on their own terms.
- - Lavarinth
Campaign Creations Administrator
Posy
Terran Factory Worker
Terran Factory Worker
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:46 pm

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by Posy »

Still Kelly: Just so everyone knows, according to my IRB (the people who approve your research and make sure it's ethical and what not) I do not have to get signed consent forms (due to being on the Internet and all). However, I am going to post a general consent form here just so everyone has access and particularly for anyone who plans to come to the interview. Mesk has graciously agreed to audio record it for me so one relevant change to the consent form is that I obviously will not be the only one with access to the recording of this particular interview.

Consent form.
User avatar
IskatuMesk
Xel'naga World Shaper
Xel'naga World Shaper
Posts: 8328
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:40 pm
Location: M͈̙̞͍͞ͅE̹H̨͇̰͈͕͇̫Ì̩̳CO̼̩̤͖͘ జ్ఞ‌ా

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by IskatuMesk »

go to bed!!!
User avatar
UntamedLoli
Protoss Zealot Practice Dummy
Protoss Zealot Practice Dummy
Posts: 856
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 2:36 pm
Location: Canada, BC
Contact:

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by UntamedLoli »

So as Mesk just realized, 1.5 happened in mid 2012. Our replays start mid 2012.

Horray for testing.

I really don't know, dates don't line up entirely but I never touched that folder.
Last edited by UntamedLoli on Thu Mar 26, 2015 1:22 am, edited 3 times in total.
Image
Image
User avatar
IskatuMesk
Xel'naga World Shaper
Xel'naga World Shaper
Posts: 8328
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:40 pm
Location: M͈̙̞͍͞ͅE̹H̨͇̰͈͕͇̫Ì̩̳CO̼̩̤͖͘ జ్ఞ‌ా

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by IskatuMesk »

For those who don't remember, 1.5 was the patch that silently deleted everything you had in any of the game directories.

Like my campaign.

/e

I went and checked an older directory I had that pre-dated 1.5, but mysteriously there are no replays there, either.

I don't know. I remember sc2 auto-deleting replays for the longest time.

/edit

Oh. There's TWO replay directories. Aw yissssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Unfortunately I have no way to tell if these are FFS or not.
User avatar
wibod
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Posts: 428
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:55 am

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by wibod »

Mr. wrote:
wibod wrote:If you're doing WC3 replays I'm willing to do stuff. You have my contact info Emu?
I have your AIM, and I know how to PM you on the forums. If I do anything with WC3 replays, it won't be for a little while, and I'm not sure if it will fit into her thesis. But I'll keep it in mind. Thank you.

Did you play SC2 with us at all, wibod? I seem to recall you showing up at least a few times, but perhaps you had a different BNet name?
I played SC2 with CC for a little bit around it's release, but haven't played since before HotS came out.
Image
Mr.
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Zerg Creep Colony Landscaper
Posts: 408
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:48 am
Location: Virginia

Re: We are the subject of research

Post by Mr. »

IskatuMesk wrote:Oh. There's TWO replay directories. Aw yissssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Unfortunately I have no way to tell if these are FFS or not.
If you have a big batch of replays, you can send them to me, and my program will sort out which belong to FFS and which don't.

As far as Battle net deleting things, the replays that I got from Q start on 12/24/11, and they look like they were autosaves. HighZealot's go from 1/15/11-7/16/11, but they all appear to be manual saves. I got the first five weeks from the FFS thread, and I somehow had three random replays from 8/10 and 10/10 in my replay directory.
Post Reply