Guide to player playstyles and attribute systems

Playstyles Summary

This document summarises the "Playstyles" page from Notion, which explores different approaches to categorising and visualising player playstyles in badminton, drawing inspiration from various video games and sports analytics platforms.

Overview

The Playstyles page examines various systems for categorising player characteristics and behaviours, with a focus on adapting concepts from video games (DoTA, Brawlstars) and sports analytics to badminton. The goal is to create meaningful, measurable attributes that can be visualised and tracked for players.

Visualisation: Radial Diagrams

Concept: Use radial (radar/pentagon) diagrams to visualise player skills across multiple dimensions, similar to DoTA's approach.

DoTA Example: Provides decimal values for these playstyle aspects over the last 20 games: 1. Fighting 2. Farming 3. Support 4. Pushing 5. Versatility

This visualisation method is already implemented in the Courtex application (see users/templates/users/partials/_playstyle_pentagon.html).

Badminton Insight's Playstyles

Source: Video analysis on different playing styles for doubles

Two Main Categories: - Defensive - Attacking

Five Specific Playstyle Archetypes:

1. Disciplined Defender

Someone who is consistent and solid at defending, preferring more passive shots like lifting shuttles and clearing.

2. Creative Counterer

Comfortable in defence, but likes using shots such as cross-court blocks or flat lifts and drives to change from defence to attack.

3. All Out Attacker

Prefers being at the rear court and likes to hit everything hard.

4. Net Ninja

Prefers being at the front of the court, likes to intercept shots, play more net shot returns, and generally dominates the net.

5. Clever Creator

Still prefers being at the rear court but plays more controlled and tactical shots to create winning opportunities.

Note: These archetypes are semantic and descriptive, making them easy to understand but somewhat high-concept.

Simplified Alternative Categories:

A simpler, more straightforward approach could use: - Attacker - Defender - Control / Placement - Net - Counter-Attacker

Brawlstars Model

Character Attributes (rated out of 5): 1. Offense 2. Defense 3. Utility

Adapted for Badminton: 1. Offense 2. Defense 3. Fitness 4. Deception 5. Shot selection

Note: Character roles are determined by their "super ability" (whether they're a carry or support character). This is described as one of the simplest ways to differentiate between characters.

Current Implementation: The Courtex playstyle pentagon currently uses this five-attribute model: - Offence - Defence - Fitness - Deceptiveness - Shot Selection

Implementation Recommendations

Based on the Notion page analysis and current Courtex implementation:

  1. Current System: The Courtex application uses the Brawlstars-inspired five-attribute model (Offence, Defence, Fitness, Deceptiveness, Shot Selection) with a radar chart visualisation.

  2. Semantic Naming: Consider using UK English spelling consistently (e.g., "Offence" is already used instead of "Offense").

  3. Future Enhancements:

  4. Could add player archetype classifications (Disciplined Defender, Net Ninja, etc.)
  5. Could implement a simpler three-stat system (Attack, Defense, Mobility) for quick comparisons

  6. Could add role-based classifications for team dynamics

  7. Data Collection: The radar diagram requires actual player data. The current implementation uses placeholder values (3/5 for all attributes). Future work should focus on:

  8. Calculating these metrics from match data
  9. Tracking changes over time (e.g., last 20 games as in DoTA)
  10. Providing meaningful feedback to players

Conclusion

The Playstyles page explores multiple approaches to player categorisation, from simple three-attribute systems to complex multi-layered classifications. The Courtex application has adopted a middle-ground approach using five measurable attributes (Offence, Defence, Fitness, Deceptiveness, Shot Selection) visualised in a radar chart, which balances comprehensiveness with usability.

The semantic playstyle archetypes (Disciplined Defender, Net Ninja, etc.) provide a complementary approach that could enhance player understanding and engagement with their statistics.