Cascading in CSGO
Links:
http://blog.counter-strike.net/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/730/CounterStrike_Globalw_Offensive/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-Strike:_Global_Offensive
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) is a first person shooter (FPS) video game available on the Steam gaming engine. The links above provide more information about the game. The (casual version of the) game starts on a map chosen by the players and equally distributes players into two teams. The goal is to achieve the objective (depending on the mode being played) before the other team does. Though the game starts with an equal distribution, a few players switch teams as the game progresses. This is normally prevalent amongst the weaker gamers who wish to be on the winning team and believe they won’t be able to pull off a comeback for their team.
This phenomenon of switching teams in CSGO relates directly to the concept of cascading and thresholds we studied in chapter 19 for Networks. This concept describes how a person’s choices are usually affected by those of their friends. Each person has a threshold value of q and if the fraction p of their friends who have adopted a new technology A is at least equal to q, the person switches to this technology A as well.
In my analogy, switching to technology A equates to CSGO players switching to the winning team during a match, the threshold value q equates to the number of teammates who must leave in order for a person to leave the team too, and the fraction p equates to the fraction of the team that has left the team. It is evident that if p >= q, the person will leave the team. Otherwise, they won’t.
Now let us examine this analogy using an example:
Let there be a gamer X who has the following attributes as described in the table below. The table tells us about the initial values of p and q and about how the change of p’s value affects the actions of X:
| Rounds left in game | Score
(X’s team-Other team) |
Difference in score | Value of p | Value of q for
gamer X |
Explanation |
| 10 | 0-0 | 0 | 0/5 | 3/5 | X doesn’t switch since 0/5<3/5 (p<q)
And no one else from X’s team switches As everyone’s q is always more than 0. Else they wouldn’t be playing. |
| 9 | 0-1 | 1 | 1/5 | 3/5 | X doesn’t switch since 1/5<3/5 (p<q)
However, one weak member of X’s team whose value of q is 1/5 switches thinking the other team will win and he can’t make X’s team win. |
| 8 | 1-1 | 0 | 1/5 | 3/5 | X doesn’t switch since 1/5<3/5 (p<q)
No one switches as now X’s teammates have hope that they can win. |
| 7 | 1-2 | 1 | 1/5 | 3/5 | X doesn’t switch since 1/5<3/5 (p<q)
No one switches as the teammate of X who had q=1/5 already switched. |
| 6 | 1-3 | 2 | 2/5 | 3/5 | X doesn’t switch since 2/5<3/5 (p<q)
Another weak player (not as weak as the one who already quit) gives up and switches as his value of q is 2/5 and 2/5>=2/5. |
| 5 | 2-3 | 1 | 2/5 | 3/5 | X doesn’t switch since 2/5<3/5 (p<q)
No one switches as the teammates of X with q<=2/5 already quit. They believe they can turn the game around to win. |
| 4 | 2-4 | 2 | 2/5 | 3/5 | X doesn’t switch since 2/5<3/5 (p<q)
No one switches as the teammates of X with q<=2/5 already quit. They believe they can turn the game around to win. |
| 3 | 2-5 | 3 | 3/5 | 3/5 | X switches now since 3/5>=3/5 (p>=q)
And X now believes it is a lost cause and he cannot turn the game around for his team. |
After this point in the example, only players with threshold values of q > 3/5 are still in the team, indicating that they are either very good at CSGO or immensely optimistic to think they can still win the game.