Definitely no.
Being smart will let you learn the metagame faster but by just practicing enough anybody will eventually learn all counters and strategies.
While the game is new the smart guys will have an advantage, with time intelligence will be completely irrelevant compared to experience and mechanics.

zerious

Canada3803 Posts

September 21 2010 00:51 GMT

#22

Trebis

United States182 Posts

September 21 2010 00:51 GMT

#23

Good mechanics or good strategy--you clearly have to have BOTH to be a top player. Sure, you can have a stronger area in one or the other, but both are absolutely essential to high level play, and honestly I find it mind blowing that your friend thought that--my guess is that he is not a serious RTS player, is he?

GGTeMpLaR

United States7226 Posts

September 21 2010 00:52 GMT

#24

"because deficiencies in a players strategic thinking and tactics can be overcome by spamming games and perfecting mechanics"

yes, but once you start playing other players who have the same perfect mechanics as you, it comes down to intelligence

pHelix Equilibria

United States1134 Posts

September 21 2010 00:52 GMT

#25

The term intelligence is vague of a word anyway. This is a game. A really popular video game at that. Requires practice to increase the skill level. But I doubt you have to be smart to play. If one is to realize they actually have a brain, professional gaming isn't something they would go into anyway.

Tropics

United Kingdom1132 Posts

September 21 2010 00:54 GMT

#26

if you wanna be the next flash you sure as shit have to be smart

you can definitely become random b team player through brute force for sure though

stafu

Australia1196 Posts

September 21 2010 00:56 GMT

#27

Isn't the answer obvious? You don't have to be 'smart', but it will help and certainly can't hurt.

deL

Australia5540 Posts

September 21 2010 00:56 GMT

#28

It certainly helps, but it's hard to quantify as a pre-requisite. There's no paper-scissors-rock dynamic of brains > mechanics > practice > brains or something, and you can't measure how smart a player's decisionmaking or build order is, or how accurate they are mechanically.

However, regarding practice - that applies to ANYTHING so it's not really worth bringing up. You get the natural freaks vs hard workers in any sport or competition.

Also, while intelligence on its own might be trumped by pure mechanics and experience sometimes, things such as mental strength and motivation play a big part so there is definitely a mental side to it.

Vz0

Canada378 Posts

September 21 2010 00:59 GMT

#29

you have to be smart at all computer games... if you want to get good fast.

I mean a retard will at one point reach the level of Flash if he practiced SC2 for 25 years non stop.

Entertaining

Canada793 Posts

September 21 2010 01:00 GMT

#30

if uve ever played some1 whose = to you in that match up it becomes quite obvious u have to outsmart them or trick them to win. its like if u played chess and the other guy got to take 2 turns while u took one, ur going to lose no matter how good ur strategy is. its when u both have the same turns when the real strategy kicks in.

wrags

United States379 Posts

September 21 2010 01:04 GMT

#31

On September 21 2010 09:43 mOnion wrote:
No. Example?

Gositerran.

artosis would have a fit over this

Railxp

Hong Kong1313 Posts

September 21 2010 01:06 GMT

#32

define intelligence. Further debate is moot until you agree on definitions.

Deathfate

Spain555 Posts

September 21 2010 01:08 GMT

#33

It is true that spamming games makes you better but you need inteligence to see where you have to deviate your build, when to scout etc, all of this need inteligence but i think other people can make that work instead the player (e.g coaches,forums,other players). If you have good coaches and they tell you what you are doing wrong and you play A LOT of games then you are pretty safe against a lot of strategies, of course a more inteligent player will reach faster to that conclusions but it isnt crucial imo.

mangina

United States230 Posts

September 21 2010 01:12 GMT

#34

It's not just intelligence. The argument that you had with your friend is an argument that I have with a lot of my friends. The answer depends on the person definition of a "sport."

For a person grinding so many games, its called practice. Practice practice practice. Skill isn't just a given talent. It's earned through practice. Whether is singing, dancing, physical sports, exercise. You have to practice and gain experience. And its not just all intelligence. For people like TLO, his tactics are clever but that's only his style. That sort of style, which isn't seen in the Korean servers will throw off a lot of players. Its practice that makes these Korean pro starcraft gamers on top. Building muscle memory and making everything second nature. There's so many things I can list that requires lots of repetitive practice that can make a person become better at it. (even if its considered a sport or not. I like to call it a talent/skill)

One example that comes to mind is Michael Jordon. Every time he had a game, he would warm up with atleast 100 free throws. Every athletic sport requires practice, not just intelligence. Even for the World Cup, even nations team practiced their hardest. Even the countries in South Africa because they were playing in their home country (and I give a lot of respect for that). Even singers. Not everyone is gifted an "amazing voice". They practice and practice to pull out that amazing voice that they never knew they had. Even playing an instrument. It's not that someone is intelligent that allows them to play the instrument. They practice and practice. They exercise their brain to adapt and grow. That's probably one of the reasons why parents would want their parents to play an instrument. I, personally, like to draw. Although I haven't drawn for a long time, I would doodle a lot when I was younger. I would grow the motor skills.

A person is the ideal AI or medium in which you can execute a sport/skill/talent. Through practice, you can grow on your knowledge. Every little detail that your brain absorbs becomes intelligence from the long hours of practice. And these little details also include actions that your muscles are doing without you knowing.

Think of everything as a challenge. Adapting and learning. It's probably the greatest skill. To think one is intelligent and perfect to begin with, is a fault.

Edso

Canada112 Posts

September 21 2010 01:12 GMT

#35

On September 21 2010 09:46 awu25 wrote:
if you're talking about intelligence as in do well in school and stuff like that, then no it isn't required to be good
however game sense isn't something that you can achieve by practicing (otherwise everyone would be at flash's level)

Lol im pretty sure flash practices so much to the point where the muscles in his fingers start tearing.

I don't think theres alot of people outside of korea that practice that much.

pookychoo

New Zealand96 Posts

September 21 2010 01:13 GMT

#36

IMO, you dont need to be very intelligent to be good. It's more about the ability to make quick decisions and perform a lot of tasks at once. There are a lot of decisions to be made, but most of them are not difficult decisions that require intellectual thinking. Scouting will give you the answer to many questions, and if you have to guess about something there are only limited possibilities which can be reduced with thoughts such as, .e.g. how much game time has passed, which dictates the units they can possibly have, what did their army consist of last time you saw it, what do you anticipate is the current enemy income, does it seem they would have a lot of gas in reserve based on what they currently have built, what buildings do they already have, or are near to having tech for.... etc etc. All these simple thoughts allow you to deduce what your opponent may do next, none of them are particularly taxing, but thinking about these things and being able to control all of your stuff effectively... now that is the skill. I don't think it's really intelligence, its more multitasking.

Hakker

United States1360 Posts

September 21 2010 01:14 GMT

#37

On September 21 2010 09:52 WhoaDrugs wrote:
The term intelligence is vague of a word anyway. This is a game. A really popular video game at that. Requires practice to increase the skill level. But I doubt you have to be smart to play. If one is to realize they actually have a brain, professional gaming isn't something they would go into anyway.

I don't think that's an accurate assumption. If someone has the opportunity to turn something that they love into a lifestyle and career, the lesser person would shy away from the work and practice involved while the person with more initiative would take the opportunity and do everything he can to maximize the gain from it.

My old math teacher in Middle school used to be a professional computer scientist specializing in cryptology for IBM making huge amounts of money for a non-executive position. He became a Middle School math teacher because he didn't like the attention he got and felt like he was being regarded as a spectacle instead of another person. Sometimes the smartest people can be the craziest.

D-Lite

United Kingdom223 Posts

September 21 2010 01:15 GMT

#38

idra had a scholarship in physics if im not mistaken, which he turned down to pursue his dream

Keitzer

United States2509 Posts

September 21 2010 01:16 GMT

#39

On September 21 2010 09:48 {88}iNcontroL wrote:
Machine.

so bm

=)... jk

but ya... just cuz you can spam out mass hydras against toss doesn't mean you're gonna win every game.. it's the ability to think on the fly, react to what's going on in Real Time and adjust your Strategy based on that.... (see what i did there? eh? EH?!)

the players who make "creative" or "intuitive" plays are the ones who will always be at the top. Period.