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Video Game Skill and Fluid Intelligence

This document discusses data pre-processing for a study exploring the relationship between video game expertise and fluid intelligence. It describes how rankings like ELO ratings, MMR ratings, and tiers/divisions in League of Legends correspond to player skill levels based on win/loss performance. It also notes that distributions were inspected for outliers and outliers were removed according to Tukey's method before analysis, and provides example histograms of rankings before and after outlier rejection for several games.

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Miguel Díaz
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
29 views2 pages

Video Game Skill and Fluid Intelligence

This document discusses data pre-processing for a study exploring the relationship between video game expertise and fluid intelligence. It describes how rankings like ELO ratings, MMR ratings, and tiers/divisions in League of Legends correspond to player skill levels based on win/loss performance. It also notes that distributions were inspected for outliers and outliers were removed according to Tukey's method before analysis, and provides example histograms of rankings before and after outlier rejection for several games.

Uploaded by

Miguel Díaz
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Exploring

the relationship between video game expertise and fluid Intelligence


A.V. Kokkinakis, P. Cowling, A., Drachen, A.R. Wade

Supplementary Material – 1
Data pre-processing

ELO/MMR ratings
After 10 placement games LoL players are assigned a Tier and a Division based on their win/loss
performance. They subsequently move up and down on that Division and move between Tiers based
on their win ratio. Tiers and Divisions therefore correspond to MMR ranges. In addition, there may
be non-linearities in MMR within and between Tiers and data in our relatively small sample do not
pass standard tests for normality. For these reasons, we show parametric statistics here only for
visualisation purposes and all correlations are computed using Spearman’s rho. We note that the
results from parametric and non-parametric analyses are almost identical.

Study 1
Rank Nonparametric correlations
We treat our data as parametric for visualisation purposes. However, League Tiers and Divisions are
not normally distributed and thus we opted for non-parametric calculations throughout our analysis.
We note that the results from parametric and non-parametric analyses are almost identical.

Study 2
All distributions were inspected for outliers and we then used Tukey’s outlier technique (k=2.2) to
identify other candidate points. Here we provide illustrations of the distributions before and after
outlier rejection.

Note all these terms in the x-axis (ELO, Matchmaking Rating, Combat_PVP) are interchangeable
(different naming conventions depending on the company) and they use win-ratio as a primary
determinant of a player’s “skill-level”.

League of Legends

S1 Fig 1 Histograms of League of Legends MMRs before (Left) and after (right) outlier rejection


Exploring the relationship between video game expertise and fluid Intelligence
A.V. Kokkinakis, P. Cowling, A., Drachen, A.R. Wade

Battlefield 3

S1 Fig 2 Histograms of Battlefield3 ELOs before (Left) and after (right) outlier rejection

Destiny

S1 Fig 3 Histograms of Destiny PVPs before (Left) and after (right) outlier rejection

DOTA 2

S1 Fig 4 Histograms of DOTA2 MMRs. No outliers were detected in this dataset

Common questions

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Outlier rejection using Tukey’s method helps in refining the analysis of skill levels by removing aberrant data points, which may skew results. This allows researchers to observe more representative distributions of player skill levels, providing a clearer understanding of actual performance trends and typical player experiences. Consequently, the analyses could more accurately reflect the contributions of different skill levels in Tiers and Divisions to a player's overall ranking and progress .

Researchers use Spearman’s rho to analyze gaming skill levels because the distributions of Tiers and Divisions in League of Legends are not normally distributed. Non-parametric methods like Spearman’s rho are appropriate for such data as they do not assume normal distribution, unlike parametric methods. This decision ensures more accurate correlations given the skewness and outliers present in skill level data .

The ELO rating system ensures players are matched with competitors of similar skill levels by dynamically adjusting each player's rating based on their game outcomes. Winning against higher-rated opponents leads to more significant rating increases, while losing to lower-rated opponents results in larger decreases. This system strives to balance player matchups by continually refining rankings as players progress, providing competitive matches that reflect current skill .

ELO/MMR ratings in games such as League of Legends are based on a win/loss performance metric, where players are assigned a Tier and a Division after 10 placement games. Their movement up and down within a Division or to different Tiers depends on their win ratio. This implies that these ratings effectively quantify a player’s skill level by encompassing both current performance and improvement over time. The non-linearities within and between Tiers mean that skills are not normally distributed, requiring the use of non-parametric algorithms for accurate analysis, even though parametric results appear similar .

Non-linearities in MMR suggest that the relationship between skill and performance is not straightforward and can complicate player performance analysis, requiring more sophisticated statistical tools like non-parametric methods. For developing esports training programs, it means recognizing that simple linear progression may not apply universally, and programs must accommodate plateaus or rapid advancements in skills, adapting training to each player's learning curve and current position within the MMR spectrum .

The rationale for opting for non-parametric calculations is due to the non-normal distribution of League Tiers and Divisions, along with observed MMR non-linearities. Non-parametric methods, unlike parametric statistics, do not assume a normal distribution and are thus better suited for handling skewed datasets with outliers, ensuring more reliable analyses and conclusions about player performance and skill distributions in the study .

Win-ratio is the primary determinant of a player’s MMR in League of Legends. It affects their ability to move up or down Divisions and Tiers. A higher win-ratio indicates better performance and results in upward progression through the ranking structure, while a lower win-ratio can result in demotion within the Tiers and Divisions .

Data pre-processing methods like outlier rejection and the choice of statistical techniques affect how accurately relationships are interpreted between video game expertise and fluid intelligence. By ensuring data are normally distributed and removing outliers, analyses can more reliably identify patterns and correlations, potentially linking higher levels of game expertise with increased fluid intelligence. Conversely, without pre-processing, skewed data may mislead conclusions, either overstating or understating the cognitive correlates of gaming skills .

ELO, Matchmaking Rating, and Combat_PVP are interchangeable because they all serve as measures to assess a player's skill level in competitive video games. These metrics reflect a player’s performance based on certain criteria like win/loss ratios. Despite varying naming conventions across games, they fundamentally serve the same purpose of ranking player capabilities and determining opponents in matchmaking, thereby standardizing skill assessment across different gaming environments .

The primary challenge of using parametric statistics to visualize player rank data lies in the assumption of normal distribution, which is not met in the case of player ranks. This can misrepresent actual distributions, leading to potential misinterpretations of skill disparities and progressions. The use of these statistics for visualization purposes only, despite similar results with non-parametric analyses, indicates a need for caution and the preference for non-parametric analyses in detailed studies .

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