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Uncategorized Wednesday, November 30th 2011 at 3:38 pm

What 3.9 Hours of Mouse Movement in Minecraft Looks Like

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What you see above is a graph of the mouse movements of redditor ValTM playing Minecraft for around 3.9 hours. The map was made by the program IOGraph, which I promptly downloaded and installed. The java app tracks user mouse movement (as lines) and stops (as dots that increase in size with duration of the stop). The result is a neat little piece of abstract art that ostensibly contains some level of information about mouse movement, but does a better job of looking cool. Apparently, there’s a bit of a tradition of using IOGraph while gaming. Check out a few more from different games after the jump.

This one is 1.2 hours of World of Warcraft (via)

And here’s StarCraft 2 for about 3 hours (via)

And Counter Strike: Source for 40.2 minutes (via)

Naturally, I’m working on 5 hours of writing for Geekosystem right this very moment.

(via reddit)

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  • Jackbondnj16

    What’s with all the perfect circles? I don’t understand why those exist.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1726470107 David Eberle

    Me either.

  • Jeremy Swink

    I believe they’re made by the dots formed from not moving,

  • http://Geekosystem.com Eric Limer

    they have something to do with application’s that lock your cursor to the center. They only lock it to inside a circular area or the lock it and then lag, or something

  • Anonymous

    [My theory:] Many games keep the cursor at one position, and when you move the mouse they record the movement but reset the cursor again. It works like this: Say you got a screen of 1024 x 768. It will put the cursor at 512 x 384 (divide the width and height by 2). When you move your mouse, it will for example jump to 512 x 300. The game will now know you have moved your mouse 84 pixels to the left, it will adjust the view, and reset the cursor back to 512×384.

    So this is all done by the game itself. The mouse tracking software will have no idea what is going on, and simply put the mouse whereever it really is. The view or by-the-game-simulated-cursor is completely somewhere else though.

    The images still look a bit weird though, even concidering this, but this is what many games do and what I would expect the mouse tracking software to act like. Maybe they do lag a bit, but that seems odd… Or perhaps the mouse movements at Counter Strike which are not from the middle are in a menu, maybe the cursor works differently there.

  • Mitchell

    The perfect circles are when the mouse is not in use. When you move the mouse it draws a line and when the mouse isn’t moving the app draws a circle which increases in size the longer the mouse stays unmoved.

  • http://exotikcar.com location voiture agadir

    awesome, smart idea to trace the mouse movement.

  • http://www.tezeal.com Vincent

    Interesting, looks like work of an art

  • http://www.tezeal.com Vincent

    Interesting, looks like work of an art

  • http://www.tezeal.com Vincent

    Interesting, looks like work of an art

  • Ambabs

    I think the circles get bigger around a dot based on the amount you clicked that particular area, the bigger a circle, the more times you clicked the point in its middle.

  • Adrian Grigorof

    As far as I can tell from trying the software, the circles represent how long the mouse stayed in one place. The larger the circle, the longer the pause in mouse movement. So large circles would indicate the use of applications that don’t use a lot of mouse movement (such as writing a document) while applications like Counter Strike would have plenty of mouse activity (so a lot of dots and small circles).

  • http://www.avi-nation.com Avinash Arora

    that is super cool!!! I love that starcraft’s just a giant grey mesh all over the screen haha.

  • Wpbdan

    Did you read any of the words?  Or did you just look at the pretty pictures??

  • http://milano.bbakeca.com Bakeca Milano

    Very interesting post! Thanks for sharing!

  • Neegee108

    No need to be nasty about it

  • http://hogwartsnewzealand.com Nicolas

    Jack was asking about the circles. Not the dots. Dots are mentioned in the article as the mouse being still (larger the dot, the longer the mouse was still). Lines are movement. Lines forming empty circles are also movement, then. As far as I can tell, the OP was wondering who moves their mouse in a perfect circle.

  • Aaron Heinen

    For the starcraft map, I’m curious as to what the white circles around the black dots are. Is that just to make the filled in circles easier to see?

  • Diego

    starcraft needs a lot more mouse movements than other games, its impresive

  • James

    Circles aren’t the same as dots.  Even for someone who read the words, the article isn’t very clear on that front.  And try to remember that just because you’re on the Internet doesn’t mean being a condescending jerk is suddenly okay.

  • Anonymous

    The fascinating thing is that this is just one hand. There’s another one doing loads of stuff.

  • Haector

    in other words the nature of the games played causes perfect circles that we as gamers are unaware of creating.

  • asdfasdf

    sc2 is the hardest game enough said

  • http://www.dailytut.com BoopathyD

    These games arr sure crazy. Wonderful work!!

  • Dance Floor Boner

    words are for fags

  • Jefferson Casavant

    Wait.  Did someone say it tracks your MOUSE MOVEMENT?  Call Trevor Eckhart!  QUICK!

  • Jefferson Casavant

    One of the more beautiful things I’ve heard today.  

    “Just because you’re on the internet…”

    Well done.

  • Shazzam

    The circles that aren’t filled in are where the mouse sat still, the ones that are filled in are a result of a button on the mouse being pressed.

  • john

    I understand, you meant the ones that aren’t from the stops. Who knows?

  • Mrmayonnaise

    I just looked at the pretty pictures…

  • jc

    he’s talking about all the large, just thin lined perfect circle, such as on counter strike. not the small filled in circles.

  • Kirian

    Other way around.

  • Mythical

    I think Adrian has it right…the very large circles start out as smaller ones and grow as you leave your mouse in one spot. The massive thin lined circles that cover the entire page or even extend past the page (for example in the last picture) were probably from a long period of leaving the mouse idle, so the circle kept growing and growing… at least this is what I think, I haven’t tried the program yet :S

  • Mythical

    To add to above post… the dark circles are exactly where your pointer was sitting, and then larger thin circle start to appear outside of the more dense circles as you leave your mouse there longer… haha, again just speculation

  • Jordan

    I Was thinking that they are clicking the mouse button..

  • nicek

    thanks nicolas. he is correct

  • Rastafari

    is that based on processing? wonderful idea :)

  • Laith Ejeilat

    the perfect circles are the stops of the mouse, the more ur stopping, the larger the circle grows..

  • http://www.facebook.com/hackstricks333 Hacking Tricks Hacking Tricks

    Great!. Looks like a modern art.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=722025614 Emanuel Martell

    Is it just me that ponders if this software could be used to create AI nervous systems or something similar? Imagine a game designed in a way that the player has to move the cursor to specifik key points to obtian certain goals or advantages. Engaged players will start to find the quickest and easiest way to obtain the goals in the game to gain momentum. Let the game send in these scans and let another program analyse the data to single out the most effective ways to transfer data between key points based on how the players moved. You could easily create massive amounts of blueprints for diffrents purpouses in a couple of days. 

    I dunno, just an idea. 

  • Johnny boy

    If you would read the text it says it right there

  • Brandon Stephenson

    well in a game like counterstrike the mouse when moved is turning u in circles using the keyboard for movement. the game might just modify the actual movement of the mouse to correspond with the environment in game?

  • http://www.minecraftadventuremaps.net/best_minecraft_servers.html Best Minecraft Servers

    Thank you for this post. The IOGraph application is awesome I have just downloaded it now. I work all day on my computer in programs like photoshop and illustrator and am pretty excited to take a look at what sort of art my work day can produce!

  • Bobert

    I think the perfect circle has to do with clicking and the duration of the click.  In something like you spend a lot of time at “mouse center” and will hold down the mouse button for extended periods of time while firing the weapon.  On Starcraft II, you can see a lot of small dots with tiny circles around each dot signifying clicking all over for short durations.  The reason Minecraft has such a dark center ring is because you are clicking a lot when the mouse is centered and the duration of the click varies, but can often be longer than a game like Starcraft.

  • Pawsup96

    Read the article….

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joshua-Hicks/1229097938 Joshua Hicks

    lol… it says… ” The java app tracks user mouse movement (as lines) and stops (as dots that increase in size with duration of the stop)” the information is always there just read people…

  • guest

    you’re a retard joshua hillbilly, he means the perfect circles as in the hollow ones which form concentrically around the center. not the filled in circles from where yo left your mouse. 

  • Tanner langley

    I think that makes the most since. Like the duration of the click determines how big the circle is. 

  • Tanner langley

    I think that makes the most sense. Like the duration of the click determines the size of the circle.

  • Bobolsonbolton

    Guest those would be circles not dots a dot is  a FILLED circle maybe you shouldn’t open your mouth and act like a child insulting people you don’t know.

  • Bobolsonbolton

    Crap! In my irritated haste to slap you metaphorically in the face I hit comment not reply…

  • D J Richert

    Try reading the article nitwit.

  • Jeremy Swink

    They stopped in the center of the screen…alot of games lock the mouse there when in first person mode

  • Xyro

    Way to be an asshole. Comment like a nice person 

  • Griff

    If you’d notice, all of those concentric circles have one of those dots at the center. There’s no way they could be related. None. 

  • Lanark04

    track ball map: .

  • Guest

    I have expected the starcraft map to be empty… cause all the cool kids use keyboard bindings for everything!

  • Beb

    I like how whenever someone misunderstands something (that wasn’t explained well anyway) theyre automatically a “retard”. People on the internet need to mellow out.

  • Michaels42314

    I think each hollow perfect circle represents when you leave your mouse mouse in the exact same spot multiple times. You wouldn’t be able to see smaller solid circles if they lined up perfectly with larger solid ones. If this isn’t done then one large solid circle would cover multiple smaller circles as well as many mouse line movements, but this is just my perspective. Also ,Guest replying to Joshua Hicks, being that you are guest you have no right to criticize someone who has an account whether or not they’re wrong, especially since you did not answer the original question.

  • anon

    the big circles are when programs stop your mouse from leaving a window IE (counter strike) so when you look left and down it will try to keep your mouse in the center of the screen and makes a interesting circle design

  • Ross Bradner

    The perfect circles form around the stops and increase in size just like the stop dots do. I don’t know what purpose they serve, but that’s where they come from. I’m using the program right now.

  • Guest

    your an idiot there are circles around the filled dots…

  • Asdf

    The perfect circles (hollow circles) are where he left his mouse, just like in the description.

    The filled in circles are from where he clicked and held the mouse button.
    Reading comes in handy every now and then.

  • Geoff

     Yea, I noticed that, its very interesting how common they are.

  • Pherbl91

     Maybe they represent clicks? Larger circle, more clicking?

  • Able to Read

     fuckin’ idiot, you’d be the first fucker in the history of people to call dots concentric circles. Get a fuckin’ education.

  • Swizzwizz

    the dark ones form from hallow circles repeating over and over i would presume. so a mouse consistantly in one spot over and over eventually for a dark circle. the hollow halos are from a loooong period in that spot but not frequently.

  • Dave

    In a way Joshua’s answer is correct because it can work in both ways. The more movement the darker the area and less movement more light. By you not being able to reverse postulate I ask: will the real retard please stand up?

  • Mike

     *Both* types of circles are the results of a paused mouse. The size of the hollow circle represents how long it has been stopped for. The size of the inner circle is just where the center of the circle is.

  • http://smashingtops.com/ Steve

    Well, this seems like fun. I might try the app myself. Maybe someday we can sell a mouse graph as a piece of art, heh.

  • Spad574

    actually, i think joshua had it right. read it again…

    Watch who you call hillbilly, boy

  • Poopmeister

     Lol, umad.

  • Klokwurk00

    That is what it’s referring to. The large concentric circles grow when the mouse is held still. The smaller filled in circles are the result of this happening numerous times in the same area but for shorter duration. As Hicks said, the information is there.

  • guest

    It’s probably the area where the program centers the mouse, and so it rotates around that point

  • Me

    The circles in CS are likely from the player just making circles w/ his mouse while waiting for the match to start or while he’s dead. Just something to pass the time.

  • Augenblick

    You humans are so funny!

  • Dafuq

    It’s the same thing you idiot.

    The large circles form from FPS gaming, where the camera snaps to the cursor and it remains in the center until you open up a menu. Thus forming the large radial circles around the center.

    Think before you call someone a retard asshole.

  • Rangepup

    lol, Starcraft is just a giant clusterf***

  • Nexxus213

     They’re from games that the mouse can’t leave the center of the screen, such as Minecraft and CS unless in a menu or inventory.

  • Arthurdent

    I can explain this. Games automatically move your mouse to the center of the screen, (although they appear to always be at the center of the screen) so when you move your mouse leftward and down, rightward and up, etc, it ends up turning into a kind of spiral shape.

  • Decirium

    guest (whoever you are) calling people a retard isn’t clever, especially when Joshua got it right first time.  It’s part of the same thing, it makes those circles AND the dots at the same time when you stop moving the mouse for a time.  Of course, you would have realised that if you’d spent mere seconds trying the software to answer the question yourself so I think we know you’re an idiot.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/Y55GPRWHKJY37JYUFGW2MTPKRM Trevor Lombardo

    I want to see amnesia

  • Khain OrganizationXIII

    Well, OBVIOUSLY by dots he meant circles. The circles start as a dot and expand. Once the dot reaches a certain size one can assume it changes to a circle. Don’t be an asshole when you can’t even use logistic reasoning.

  • Will

    Circles are when a person isnt moving his/her mouse

  • http://dbakeca.com Dbakeca Italia

    foarte inteligent baiatu

    I do not understand what are the circles

  • http://www.facebook.com/alex.condon.56 Alex Condon

    It looks as if a pause is represented by a dot and a circle, with the size of the circle representing the length

  • Not a dick.

    Someone with a brain, HOORAY!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joshua-Hicks/1229097938 Joshua Hicks

    Thanks sorry so late

  • http://www.facebook.com/russell.paul3 Russell Paul

    if you played counterstrike, you’d understand why there are circles

  • DAVE! YOGNAUT

    Starcraft 2 looks insane

  • sol

    dots are stops, circles are clicks, lines are movement…. I think. Mine craft has dots with no encompassing circle, coz the games slow and you can scratch your nuts :D

  • Rob

    When multiple dots overlay they look like concentric circles. Notice that some of the “dots” shown in the eccentric areas of the picture are lighter than others with darker dots over the top of them or in their centers. It seems that as the time course of the capture goes on it gives transparency to the earlier or later dots so that nothing is lost when overlaying the graphed points for later points in time. So the perfect circles affect is really just a large “stop” moment happening at center layered behind or in front of other lines that originate from center. I think this is more easily seen if you can expand the images and look at the edges of the central circles you see.

  • Anonymous

    Now what about about an hour of Team Fortress 2?

  • Hwo Thumb

    Now I kinda want to figure out what that guy from the counter strike one keeps buying.

  • http://www.facebook.com/gorelickdesign Greg Gorelick

    *you’re

  • VVVV_d

    Second screenshot is actually Dota 2.

  • Trevor

    Reminds me of black mold. ):

  • mrham

    I’d say Starcraft 2 is carpal tunnel incarnate

  • http://twitter.com/GadgetError Gadget Error

    agreed!