Difference in gaze control ability between low and high skill players of a real-time strategy game in esports

Abstract

This research investigated the difference in aspects of gaze control between esports experts (Expert) and players with lower skills (Low Skill) while playing the real-time strategy game called StarCraft. Three versions of this game at different difficulty levels were made with the StarCraft Editor, and the gaze movements of seven Expert and nine Low Skill players were analyzed while they played the games. The gaze of Expert players covered a significantly larger area in the horizontal direction than the gaze of Low Skill players. Furthermore, the magnitude and number of saccadic eye movements were greater, and saccade velocity was faster in the Expert than in the Low Skill players. In conclusion, StarCraft experts have a specific gaze control ability that enables them to quickly and widely take visual information from all over the monitor. This could be one of the factors enabling StarCraft experts to perform better than players with lower skills when playing games that require task-switching ability.