US university offers StarCraft course

By Robert Purchese Published 29 January, 2009

Oh no not homework.

The University of California, Berkeley has begun offering a StarCraft course that rewards students with college credits they can put towards graduating.

Studies run for 14 weeks, and will range from theoretical chats about war to computational analysis using calculus and equations. Gosh.

"What may look like complex topics are just ways we want you to think more deeply about the game to derive a greater satisfaction from playing," writes Alan Feng, UC Berkeley student and course teacher, on the Syllabus.

"Furthermore, this understanding should have applications in real life, to further synthesise new information from limited inferences. The primary goal is for students to learn, enjoy the art of competitive StarCraft, and have fun.

"Overall, students will be applying critical thinking, quick decision-making, and game theory skills throughout the sessions. Students will also learn what to look for in a replay or game to learn most effectively," he adds.

The StarCraft course is run as part of a Democratic Education in Cal initiative (DeCal), according to Kotaku. Other classes include There Be Dragons, The Ethics of Star Trek and Beginner's Scrabble: Strategy, Knowledge, and Fun.

Meanwhile, Blizzard is busy working on StarCraft II, which was recently split into three separate game releases, called Terrans: Wings of Liberty, Zerg: Heart of the Swarm and Protoss: Legacy of the Void.

Release dates are yet to be set, but the optimistic hope Terrans will arrive sometime this year.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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