Sub-example for music games: where you look might depend on your level of skill at the game! Beginner DDR players have to look down from time to time to re-center themselves on the dance pad, because they don’t know how to feel where they’re stepping. Intermediate DDR players need to turn the scroll rate fast enough to read the patterns, but want them slow enough that they have time to read ahead and process the pattern (“is this upcoming pattern a crossover?”). Advanced DDR players have no problem decoding patterns, and are more focused on accurate timing. So, “visual” players will turn the scroll rate even faster, and focus on where the arrows overlap the outlines as they step, using the slight offsets in their steps to adjust.
Your intuition for Starcraft is good (adapt based on info and branch plans), but you might be surprised where the biggest gain for attention will be: the bottom bar of the screen with your own production buildings selected! Good players will hotkey their production buildings and constantly cycle through them (even as their screen focuses on the army) to see which buildings are ready for the next round of production. Why? Losing a battle due to bad position and control puts you behind. Having a ton of money in the bank and no replacement army ready will lose you the game. It’s better to slightly lose one battle if you have a replacement army ready to go and your opponent doesn’t. This is also why good players will try and harass. It’s not just the direct benefit, you’re also costing your opponent’s attention.
Sub-example for music games: where you look might depend on your level of skill at the game! Beginner DDR players have to look down from time to time to re-center themselves on the dance pad, because they don’t know how to feel where they’re stepping. Intermediate DDR players need to turn the scroll rate fast enough to read the patterns, but want them slow enough that they have time to read ahead and process the pattern (“is this upcoming pattern a crossover?”). Advanced DDR players have no problem decoding patterns, and are more focused on accurate timing. So, “visual” players will turn the scroll rate even faster, and focus on where the arrows overlap the outlines as they step, using the slight offsets in their steps to adjust.
Your intuition for Starcraft is good (adapt based on info and branch plans), but you might be surprised where the biggest gain for attention will be: the bottom bar of the screen with your own production buildings selected! Good players will hotkey their production buildings and constantly cycle through them (even as their screen focuses on the army) to see which buildings are ready for the next round of production. Why? Losing a battle due to bad position and control puts you behind. Having a ton of money in the bank and no replacement army ready will lose you the game. It’s better to slightly lose one battle if you have a replacement army ready to go and your opponent doesn’t. This is also why good players will try and harass. It’s not just the direct benefit, you’re also costing your opponent’s attention.