Mathematics: Analysis & Approaches HL Extended Essay

Candidate Number: jvg213

Word Count:3034

Video Game Progression and Mathematical

Relations
Can different types of curves be used to model and create a video game's

progression?

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3

2. Defining Curves .............................................................................................................................. 4

2.1. Introduction to curves ............................................................................................................ 4

2.1.1. Linear Relation ................................................................................................................ 4

2.1.2. Exponential Relation ....................................................................................................... 6

2.1.3. Logarithmic Relation ....................................................................................................... 7

3. Defining experience points and levels. Creating graphs to understand games’ relations .............. 8

3.1 Defining game terminology .......................................................................................................... 8

3.1.1. Experience Points (XP) .......................................................................................................... 8

3.1.2. Levels/Leveling Up ................................................................................................................ 9

3.2. Relations between XP and levels ................................................................................................. 9

3.2.1 Linear relation between XP and levels ................................................................................... 9

3.2.2 Exponential relation between XP and levels ........................................................................ 11

3.2.3 Logarithmic relation between XP and levels ........................................................................ 12

4. Relations of XP and levels on existing games ............................................................................... 14

4.1. Rocket League’s past and current level system .................................................................... 14

4.2. Apex Legends’ Level System ................................................................................................. 16

5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 19

6. References .................................................................................................................................... 21

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 1. Introduction

Mathematical curves are naturally found in life. Curves are a way to model everyday actions and events.

Video games are no exception. They use curves to provide a fun experience for gamers. Curves can be

used to determine how quickly a player will “level up”(an indirect indicator of progression). Developers

use curves to manage all the time spent and offer rewards accordingly. This allows for different

experiences for gamers.

In this essay, I will first explore and explain mathematical curves and different types of them. Then

demonstrate how games’ progression and time span can be modelled through these curves. I will then

compare different curves and different experiences on the same concept. I will finally compare all these

results and figure out how curves have an effect on player progression. I like games. Since I was a little

kid, I was fascinated by the endless fun, the good stories, and their ability to bring people together.

However, as I grew up I realized the technical and mathematical work that went into the games in order

to make them playable and balanced. As someone who loves both games and mathematics, this only

made me more eager to learn about the intricacies of game design.

Game design is a field of work that is pretty much summed up by its name. The profession of designing

games. While game design uses psychology and many more fields of study, its reliance on mathematics

is undeniable. From the simple number of the damage an attack deals, to the complicated economies of

some games. The background mathematics of game design is much more interesting.

For years, through intricate use of mathematics; game developers controlled how much time and money

we spent both in-game and in real life. This intricate mathematics can be modelled through curves. I

believe that curves can be used in games to control player psychology. In this essay, I will be exploring

and modelling the different types of curves that can be used in a game, how they can influence and

control players.

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 2.Defining Curves

Curves are a crucial part of graphical and statistical mathematics. They can be used to model

progressions, relations, and many more. Games are no exception. But what are these curves? What do

they mean? and How can we use them to our benefit?

2.1. Introduction to curves

Progression and relation are crucial in modeling mathematical behavior. Curves are the easiest way to

understand and control these relations. It's easy to show a relation between two concepts and build more

complex relations with more concepts from the initial relation. Here are the main types of relations I

will be using.

2.1.1. Linear Relation

A linear relation is when the gradient of the line is always static. “𝑥 = 𝑦” is a simple and effective

example of a linear relation.

Figure 1: The Graph of y=x

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 𝑥
There are also variations of linear relation such as “𝑦 = 2𝑥” or “𝑦 = ”
2

Figure 2: The Graph of 𝑦 = 2𝑥

𝑥
Figure 3: The Graph of 𝑦 =
2

Linear relation is used when a direct relationship is wanted between the 𝑥 and the 𝑦 values. When 𝑥

increases, 𝑦 increases with the same rate of change throughout the function. The gradient of the line

should be a static positive number and not equal to zero for it to represent a linear relation. The “𝑦 =
𝑥 𝑥
2𝑥” and “𝑦 = ” graphs are linear relations. The graph of “𝑦 = 2𝑥” and “𝑦 = ” simply alters the rate
2 2

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of change. The values of 𝑦 still increase arithmetically which preserves its linear relation. This means

that any derivative relationship born from a linear relation will be static. Linear relation is the simplest

and most used form of relation.

2.1.2. Exponential Relation

Exponential relation is a more complex form of relation compared to linear relation. While linear relation

has a static gradient, exponential relation has a dynamic gradient. The rule of exponential relation is that

the gradient of the line starts as a positive number but as 𝑥 increases, the gradient increases as well. The

simplest example of an exponential relation is “𝑦 = 𝑥 2 ”.

Figure 4: The Graph of 𝑦 = 𝑥 2

As seen in Figure 4, exponential relation is used when a considerable amount of increase on 𝑦 is needed

while 𝑥 increases arithmetically. This results in 𝑦 reaching higher values so much faster than 𝑥. With

exponential progression, the rate of change is not static, it is always increasing. The gradient is always

increasing, this means that any derivative relationship born from an exponential graph will be an

increasing graph.

𝑥2
Other forms of this graph can be “𝑦 = 2𝑥 2 ” or “𝑦 = ”.
2

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 Figure 5: The Graph of 𝑦 = 2𝑥 2

𝑥2
Figure 6: The Graph of 𝑦 =
2

2.1.3. Logarithmic Relation

Logarithmic relation is the inverse of exponential relation. It also had a dynamic gradient. While

exponential relation has an increasing gradient, logarithmic relation has a decreasing gradient. The

gradient starts from as a positive number and it slowly tends to zero. An example of a logarithmic graph

is “𝑦 = 𝑦 = ln( x) + 2”.

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 Figure 7: The Graph of 𝑦 = 𝑙𝑛( 𝑥) + 2

3.Defining experience points and levels.

Creating graphs to understand games’

relations

Now that we know the different types of relations, we can take a look at actual concepts in games. Terms

like experience points might sound scary but it all ties into simple concepts. After we learn the

terminology we can take a look at the actual relations of games.

3.1 Defining game terminology

3.1.1. Experience Points (XP)

Experience points are nearly at the core of every game. Experience points-or XP as some people use-

are simply a way to show the time and energy spent on a game. Even if a game doesn’t necessarily show

this time and energy as points, it definitely expresses it in another way. Experience points are important

to this essay as they provide a numerical value for the time spent in the game which can be used to model

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time and energy mathematically to create relations with other concepts. For the purposes of this essay,

the amount of XP a player gains in a set amount of time will be static. It will not change as the game

progresses.

3.1.2. Levels/Leveling Up

“Level” is a product of XP. It is an indicator of a player's time and achievement in the game. When a

certain amount of XP is gained, players level up. While the number of XP gained is the same, the number

of levels a player has might differ as different relations between XP and levels are used in games.

Leveling up usually allows the players to access new tools and mechanics in the game which makes it

easier to progress.

3.2. Relations between XP and levels

I just explained the concept of XP and levels. So I’m now going to create curves to explore different

relations between XP and Levels. Throughout the 4.2 section, experience points will be on the 𝑥-axis

and the level of the player will be on the 𝑦-axis. We can use the derivatives of these relations to figure

out the rate of change over time. If the gradient is getting bigger, we can assume that more XP is needed

to level up over time. If the gradient is getting smaller, we can assume that less XP is required to level

up over time. If the rate of change is static, it means the XP required to level up is identical throughout

the game.

3.2.1 Linear relation between XP and levels

As I demonstrated before, linear relation is useful when a static increase is desired. To demonstrate a
𝑥
realistic graph, I will use the relation 𝑦 = . This means that for every 10 XP a player gains, they will
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level up by 1.

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 𝑥
Figure 8: The Graph of 𝑦 =
10

This relation means that the time and energy spent getting to level 50 is the same as getting from level

50 to 100. We can infer this from the derivative of the relation as well which is “𝑦 ′ = 1”.

Figure 9: The graph of 𝑦 ′ = 1

As seen in Figure 9, a linear relation ensures that the same amount of XP is required for every level up

throughout the game. While linear relation is a simple way to create an XP-level system, players might

get bored by the static progression that linear relation offers. With this example, the player can do the

same thing over and over again and get to level 100.

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3.2.2 Exponential relation between XP and levels

Exponential relation is different from linear relation and they can create a different sense of progression

𝑥2
with the same amount of levels. For the exponential graph, I will use the relation “𝑦 = ”. With this
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relation, the amount of XP needed per a level up starts little but increases with every level.

𝑥2
Figure 10: The Graph of 𝑦 =
104

Unlike linear relation, the time and energy needed to reach level 50 and then get to level 100 is different.

Let’s take a look at the derivative of this relation “𝑦 ′ = 2𝑥”.

Figure 11: The Graph of 𝑦 ′ = 2𝑥

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Getting to level 50 is much harder than getting to level 100 from 50. Because of the increasing rate of

change, 500 Experience Points translates to 25 levels and 1000 Experience Points translates to 100

levels. This means that the first 500XP is worth 25 levels while the latter 500XP is worth 75 levels. This

makes it so that the beginnings of the game is hard to progress but easier at the higher levels.

Exponential relation is free of the static nature of linear relation. However, it still has problems. While

exponential relation offers dynamic progression for a game, it lacks depth in the higher levels. The rapid

acceleration on higher levels makes it so that any considerable progress takes a lot of levels. The better

players of the game could suffer from this relation.

3.2.2.1. Limitations of exponential relations

While a common sight in mathematics, exponential relations are not easily seen in video games. While

being a more dynamic system than linear relation, this dynamic works against the wishes of a player and

a game developer. Newcomers to any game like to be rewarded, developers want to incentivize

newcomers to keep playing. Exponential relation’s slow-ascending beginning means that newcomers

are rewarded rarely. Neither the players nor the developers want this.

It might be even more useful to use a linear relation as it is more manageable to reward players. On the

other hand, on rare occasions, exponential relations are used for chaotic games which aim to entertain

higher-level players by pure progression. Nonetheless, these games are known to have a tedious start

which lose a lot of players at the beginning part of the game.

3.2.3 Logarithmic relation between XP and levels

As I mentioned before, logarithmic relation is the inverse of exponential relation. Like exponential

relation, logarithmic relation provides a different sense of progression. I will use the graph 𝑦 =
𝑥
log 2 (( + 1)29 ) to demonstrate logarithmic relation. I used this weird-looking relation to keep up with
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the theme that 100 levels roughly equals to 1000XP.

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 𝑥
Figure 12: The graph of 𝑦 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 (( + 1)29 )
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Logarithmic relation also provides a dynamic sense of progression. But this time, Getting to level 50 is

much easier than getting to level 100 from 50. This is evident in the decreasing rate of change in the

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derivative of the relation “𝑦 ′ = ”:
𝑙𝑛 (2)(𝑥+100)

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Figure 13: The Graph of 𝑦 ′ =
𝑙𝑛 (2)(𝑥+100)

Logarithmic relation has most of the answers to the problems that emerge with linear and exponential

relation. First and foremost, the progression is dynamic. But most importantly, it is more practical for

both beginner players and skilled players. Earning 500XP means you can approximately get to level 75.

On the other hand, 1000XP only gets you to level 100. The first 500XP is worth 75 levels while the

latter 500XP is worth 25 levels. While beginners can level up easily, get rewarded, and be encouraged

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to progress, high-level players can differentiate their skill levels better, and get introduced to more

stimulating challenges thanks to the increasing gaps between the higher levels.

4.Relations of XP and levels on existing

games

In this part of the essay, I chose Rocket League and Apex Legends as my examples. Their level systems

are different and Rocket League’s leveling system had gone through a change in the past. These different

examples can help us explore different relations better.

4.1. Rocket League’s past and current level system

Rocket League used to have a logarithmic level system where it is increasingly more challenging to

level up over time. A table of XP required and the levels you get to seemed like this:

Figure 14: Rocket League Old System Table of XP/Level Relation

As seen ob the table, while there is only an XP difference of 153750 between a level 10 player and a

level 20 player, there is an XP difference of 433750 and this gap increases with each level. The graph

of this relation looks something like this:

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 80
70
60
50

Levels
40
30
20
10
0
0 5000000 10000000
XP

Figure 15: Rocket League Old System Graph of XP/Level Relation

This is clearly a logarithmic progression if it weren’t obvious from the numerical level values. Back

then, XP had no other use in Rocket League other than to indicate level. Which is why the developers

could cap the maximum level a player can get to. Rocket League’s old level system made it so that the

maximum level a player can reach is 75. After getting to level 75, the player would no longer level up.

This level cap meant that levels 1 through 75 had to have a significant sense of progression so

logarithmic progression is the most fitting for this circumstance.

On the other hand, the updated system completely revamped the old system. As Rocket League wanted

to reward players when they earned XP, limiting the available levels was no longer an option. So the

first step was to remove the level limit and make it infinite. And then they adopted a linear system. The

levels and their required XP can be seen in the following table:

Total XP Required Level

0 0
190000 20
590000 40
990000 60
1390000 80
1790000 100
3790000 200
5790000 300
7790000 400
9790000 500
11790000 600
13790000 700
15790000 800
17790000 900
19790000 1000

Figure 16: Rocket League New System Table of XP/Level Relation

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The table is pretty straightforward. While the levels stated here make it hard to understand that it is a

linear progression, we can clearly see it if we graph it.

1000

Levels 800

600

400

200

0
0 5000000 10000000 15000000 20000000
XP

Figure 17: Rocket League New System Graph of XP/Level Relation

The main idea behind this decision stems from the unlimited levels the developers have introduced to

reward players for leveling up. If the system kept on going with the logarithmic progression, the players

who invest more time to get to higher levels would have earned fewer rewards which isn’t fair. So the

logical option would be to move to linear progression. The new system indicates time spent on the game

in much higher numbers now, but it ensures a fair system in which players who spent more time playing

are rewarded accordingly.

With the example of Rocket League, we see that the developers elegantly produce and change new

relations in order to fit their needs.

4.2. Apex Legends’ Level System

Apex Legends uses another system altogether. The main level system uses a logarithmic relation.

However, it uses a system to keep this logarithmic progression in check. First of all, here is the table for

XP and level:

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 Total XP Required Level

0 0
17000 5
55050 10
104800 15
164900 20
229650 25
298150 30
370400 35
446400 40

Figure 18: Apex Legends Table of XP/Level Relation

And here is the graph visualizing the relation:

45
40
35
30
25
Level

20
15
10
5
0
0 100000 200000 300000 400000 500000
XP

Figure 19: Apex Legends Graph of XP/Level Relation

This is a rough graph because it is generated from limited data. However, a logarithmic trend is clearly

visible. This logarithmic relation works well for Apex Legends. Apex Legends is an online game where

you can play different characters. You earn currency at every level which can be used to unlock new

characters. Because of this, the developers want new players to unlock new characters as fast as possible

to enjoy the game better while still introducing a challenge. When players keep playing, they start to

earn currency less frequently. This makes them strategically plan out which characters they want to

unlock.

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On the other hand, this introduces a problem. Apex Legends have a maximum level of 500 hundred. If

Apex Legends had followed a traditional logarithmic relation, it could have taken an unreasonable
XP to amount of time for players to progress through all the levels. So a question
reach
Level Δ XP
next
level is evident in this problem: How can players be offered reasonable
100 1 N/ A
2650 2 2550 logarithmic progress without making it too harsh or without making it too
3900 3 1250
4750 4 850 easy for skilled players? The solution is quite a creative model by the
5600 5 850
6350 6 750 developer team. They use a descending exponential relation to turn their
7100 7 750
7850 8 750 already existing logarithmic relation into a linear one.
8150 9 300
8600 10 450 Figure 20 is a little hard to grasp but here is the main idea, the left column
9050 11 450
9500 12 450 represents the amount of XP needed to level up from the previous level to
9950 13 450
10400 14 450
the current level. The middle column represents the level. The right
10850 15 450
11300 16 450
11750 17 450
column represents the change in the required XP with respect to the last
12200 18 450
12350 19 150 level. It takes 2650XP to get from level 1 to level 2. It takes 3900XP to
12500 20 150
12650 21 150 get from level 2 to level 3. The XP needed to level up has increased by
12800 22 150
12950 23 150 1250. So the ∆𝑋𝑃 value for level 3 is 1250.
13100 24 150
13250 25 150 If the XP to reach the next level stayed the same, it would be a linear
14000 30 150
14750 35 150 relationship. If the ∆𝑋𝑃 value has stayed constant, the relation would be
15500 40 150
16250 45 150 a strictly logarithmic one. On the other hand, this is now a dynamic system
17000 50 150
18000 57 100
where beginners earn plenty of rewards and veterans can reasonably earn
18000 58+ 0

rewards without progressive difficulty.

Figure 20: Apex Legends’ Table
for XP, Level, and XP Change
Over Time
Let’s take a look at the level/∆𝑋𝑃 graph:

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 3000

2500

2000

∆𝑋𝑃
1500

1000

500

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Level

Figure 21: Apex Legends Level to ∆𝑋𝑃 Graph

While the graph is not smooth, a descending exponential relation can be seen in the trendline highlighted

in orange. A descending exponential relation can be described as a fractional exponential function such

1 𝑋
as “𝑦 = ( ) ”. This relation represents a great value descending at a great rate at first but then
2

progressively descending slower over time.

With the progression model of Apex Legends, we can see that it is possible to intertwine multiple

relations to create a more complex model to fit the player’s needs. It is often seen in complex games

where multiple relations are used to model player progression in order to create a dynamic and fun

experience for the player.

5.Conclusion

The question investigated from the beginning of this essay was “Can mathematical curves be used to

model and create video game progression?”. Throughout the essay, we explored different relations and

how they might affect a player’s progression throughout the game. While it is useful to know how certain

relations might look like on progression, it is crucial to understand and explore how real video games

have used these relations.

As seen in the example of Rocket League, different relations can be used to obtain different objectives

set by the developers of the game. The structure of how often a player levels up is a metric that is first

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set out by the developers, then a model can be created to bring this objective to life. Apex Legends isn’t

too different. However, Apex Legends introduces a great mathematical model using multiple relations.

This demonstrates that when the relations currently implemented are inadequate, we can modify the

relations we currently have with other relations.

While progressions don’t always use a specific relation in its usual form. Every video game’s

progression can be modelled or created by one or multiple of the relations explored in this essay. This

is useful for both game developers in creating a system that is suitable for their needs and people who

simply wish to understand a game better.

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 6.References

-“5.2 - Reference - Graphs of Eight Basic Types of Functions.” MathOnWeb.Com,

mathonweb.com/help_ebook/html/functions_4.htm. Accessed 18 Feb. 2022.

-“Experience.” Apex Legends Wiki, apexlegends.fandom.com/wiki/Experience. Accessed 17 Feb.

2022.

-“Leveling System.” Rocket League Wiki, rocketleague.fandom.com/wiki/Leveling_System. Accessed

18 Feb. 2022.

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