Albin Niva Printz, Data Scientist at Abios, explores the data from maps in popular esports games to find out if there are some inherent disadvantages of starting in certain locations in games. Moreover, he discusses how this data can be useful for different stakeholders.
All online video games are hosted on servers. The servers interpret every data point such as the map, equipped items, and kills. This goes from the surrounding environment in the game down to the smallest player movement. Knowing all of these granular data points gives the power to see different patterns — especially if you know what to look for.