Academic lecture on the theory of war as conducted in Starcraft

Alan Feng's lecture on the theory of war as conducted in Starcraft is part Sun Tzu, part Von Clausewitz, part Leibniz: "This course will go in-depth in the theory of how war is conducted within the confines of the game Starcraft. There will be lecture on various aspects of the game, from the viewpoint of pure theory to the more computational aspects of how exactly battles are conducted. Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course."

Introduction to Starcraft and Competitive Gaming (Thanks, Buffalo Danger!)

[#1 posted by agger , February 22, 2009 1:21 AM]

"Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course."

I like that. I really like that :-).

[#2 posted by Andrew , February 22, 2009 1:43 AM]

The usual spellings, whether you speak English or German, are Clausewitz and Leibniz :)

[#3 posted by Keeper of the Lantern , February 22, 2009 3:34 AM]

That's -partial- differential equations, by the way.
You also need a course or two on Functions of a complex variable along with group theory. A good familiary with Banach spaces and quaternions is assumed, of course.

[#4 posted by Anonymous , February 22, 2009 7:00 AM]

I can't find a way to watch this video in parts does anyone have the link(s)?

[#5 posted by Anonymous , February 22, 2009 8:24 AM]

I like the 'splosions

[#6 posted by FreakCitySF , February 22, 2009 9:13 AM]

He looks 15 and talks to Sulu with an accent.

I'd go nuts

[#7 posted by FreakCitySF , February 22, 2009 9:13 AM]

*talks like

[#8 posted by Wilks , February 22, 2009 10:45 AM]

Wow, I hope his lecturing improves over the course of the semester. As it stands his delivery is rather stilted. Not terribly inspiring and it can't do the material much good.

[#9 posted by Made in DNA , February 22, 2009 4:05 PM]

Sounds like there is a desperate need for real education courses at universities these days. I'd be pissed if my son were taking classes like these on my dime.

[#10 posted by zzyzxddyzx , February 22, 2009 5:16 PM]

This looks like a DeCal class - student-taught classes at UC Berkeley.

http://www.decal.org/

[#11 posted by dancinbojangles , February 23, 2009 1:53 AM]

Holy shite, I know this guy! He was like my best friend in junior high school! Jesus, he hasn't changed a bit! He looks EXACTLY the same, and talks the same! JEEZ! I think his name is spelled Allen, actually.

Oh man!

I've kind of been trying to find him, now at least I know what he's been up to.

[#12 posted by Anonymous , February 23, 2009 6:58 AM]

I'm not sure any of those authors had anything to say about the desperate war of attrition that is a Zerg Rush...

[#13 posted by Jerril , February 23, 2009 10:05 AM]

@original article - I can't watch the video here at work, but I'm flagging this to follow up at home. Sounds interesting!

@#9: You are entitled to your opinions, of course, and if you were paying for your childs education you'd probably have a lot of say in what your money was going towards... but if your son was on track for a computer science degree with a specific focus on video game development (like SO many people seem to want out of a C.S. degree - nobody wants to write bank statement software) this would be 100% bang on relevant.

And even if he was going into English Lit. or B.A., if he's got to pick up a couple of credits outside his degree, at least he's likely to pay attention in class for this one. *shrug*

@#11: The internet - it really is that small...