Bar Charts and Heatmaps

This notebook is an exercise in the Data Visualization course. You can reference the tutorial at this link.

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In this exercise, you will use your new knowledge to propose a solution to a real-world scenario. To succeed, you will need to import data into Python, answer questions using the data, and generate bar charts and heatmaps to understand patterns in the data.

Scenario

You’ve recently decided to create your very own video game! As an avid reader of IGN Game Reviews, you hear about all of the most recent game releases, along with the ranking they’ve received from experts, ranging from 0 (Disaster) to 10 (Masterpiece).

You’re interested in using IGN reviews to guide the design of your upcoming game. Thankfully, someone has summarized the rankings in a really useful CSV file that you can use to guide your analysis.

Setup

Run the next cell to import and configure the Python libraries that you need to complete the exercise.

import pandas as pd
pd.plotting.register_matplotlib_converters()
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
import seaborn as sns
print("Setup Complete")

Setup Complete

The questions below will give you feedback on your work. Run the following cell to set up our feedback system.

# Set up code checking
import os
if not os.path.exists("../input/ign_scores.csv"):
    os.symlink("../input/data-for-datavis/ign_scores.csv", "../input/ign_scores.csv") 
from learntools.core import binder
binder.bind(globals())
from learntools.data_viz_to_coder.ex3 import *
print("Setup Complete")

Setup Complete

Step 1: Load the data

Read the IGN data file into ign_data. Use the "Platform" column to label the rows.

# Path of the file to read
ign_filepath = "../input/ign_scores.csv"

# Fill in the line below to read the file into a variable ign_data
ign_data = pd.read_csv(ign_filepath, index_col="Platform")

# Run the line below with no changes to check that you've loaded the data correctly
step_1.check()

<IPython.core.display.Javascript object>

Correct

# Lines below will give you a hint or solution code
#step_1.hint()
#step_1.solution()

Step 2: Review the data

Use a Python command to print the entire dataset.

# Print the data
ign_data

	Action	Action, Adventure	Adventure	Fighting	Platformer	Puzzle	RPG	Racing	Shooter	Simulation	Sports	Strategy
Platform
Dreamcast	6.882857	7.511111	6.281818	8.200000	8.340000	8.088889	7.700000	7.042500	7.616667	7.628571	7.272222	6.433333
Game Boy Advance	6.373077	7.507692	6.057143	6.226316	6.970588	6.532143	7.542857	6.657143	6.444444	6.928571	6.694444	7.175000
Game Boy Color	6.272727	8.166667	5.307692	4.500000	6.352941	6.583333	7.285714	5.897436	4.500000	5.900000	5.790698	7.400000
GameCube	6.532584	7.608333	6.753846	7.422222	6.665714	6.133333	7.890909	6.852632	6.981818	8.028571	7.481319	7.116667
Nintendo 3DS	6.670833	7.481818	7.414286	6.614286	7.503448	8.000000	7.719231	6.900000	7.033333	7.700000	6.388889	7.900000
Nintendo 64	6.649057	8.250000	7.000000	5.681250	6.889655	7.461538	6.050000	6.939623	8.042857	5.675000	6.967857	6.900000
Nintendo DS	5.903608	7.240000	6.259804	6.320000	6.840000	6.604615	7.222619	6.038636	6.965217	5.874359	5.936667	6.644737
Nintendo DSi	6.827027	8.500000	6.090909	7.500000	7.250000	6.810526	7.166667	6.563636	6.500000	5.195652	5.644444	6.566667
PC	6.805791	7.334746	7.136798	7.166667	7.410938	6.924706	7.759930	7.032418	7.084878	7.104889	6.902424	7.310207
PlayStation	6.016406	7.933333	6.313725	6.553731	6.579070	6.757895	7.910000	6.773387	6.424000	6.918182	6.751220	6.496875
PlayStation 2	6.467361	7.250000	6.315152	7.306349	7.068421	6.354545	7.473077	6.585065	6.641667	7.152632	7.197826	7.238889
PlayStation 3	6.853819	7.306154	6.820988	7.710938	7.735714	7.350000	7.436111	6.978571	7.219553	7.142857	7.485816	7.355172
PlayStation 4	7.550000	7.835294	7.388571	7.280000	8.390909	7.400000	7.944000	7.590000	7.804444	9.250000	7.430000	6.566667
PlayStation Portable	6.467797	7.000000	6.938095	6.822222	7.194737	6.726667	6.817778	6.401961	7.071053	6.761538	6.956790	6.550000
PlayStation Vita	7.173077	6.133333	8.057143	7.527273	8.568750	8.250000	7.337500	6.300000	7.660000	5.725000	7.130000	8.900000
Wii	6.262718	7.294643	6.234043	6.733333	7.054255	6.426984	7.410345	5.011667	6.479798	6.327027	5.966901	6.975000
Wireless	7.041699	7.312500	6.972414	6.740000	7.509091	7.360550	8.260000	6.898305	6.906780	7.802857	7.417699	7.542857
Xbox	6.819512	7.479032	6.821429	7.029630	7.303448	5.125000	8.277778	7.021591	7.485417	7.155556	7.884397	7.313333
Xbox 360	6.719048	7.137838	6.857353	7.552239	7.559574	7.141026	7.650000	6.996154	7.338153	7.325000	7.317857	7.112245
Xbox One	7.702857	7.566667	7.254545	7.171429	6.733333	8.100000	8.291667	8.163636	8.020000	7.733333	7.331818	8.500000
iPhone	6.865445	7.764286	7.745833	6.087500	7.471930	7.810784	7.185185	7.315789	6.995588	7.328571	7.152174	7.534921

The dataset that you’ve just printed shows the average score, by platform and genre. Use the data to answer the questions below.

print(ign_data.loc['PC',])
print(ign_data.loc['PC',].max())

Action               6.805791
Action, Adventure    7.334746
Adventure            7.136798
Fighting             7.166667
Platformer           7.410938
Puzzle               6.924706
RPG                  7.759930
Racing               7.032418
Shooter              7.084878
Simulation           7.104889
Sports               6.902424
Strategy             7.310207
Name: PC, dtype: float64
7.759930313588847

print(ign_data.loc['PlayStation Vita',])
print(ign_data.loc['PlayStation Vita',].min())

Action               7.173077
Action, Adventure    6.133333
Adventure            8.057143
Fighting             7.527273
Platformer           8.568750
Puzzle               8.250000
RPG                  7.337500
Racing               6.300000
Shooter              7.660000
Simulation           5.725000
Sports               7.130000
Strategy             8.900000
Name: PlayStation Vita, dtype: float64
5.725

# Fill in the line below: What is the highest average score received by PC games,
# for any genre?
high_score = 7.759930

# Fill in the line below: On the Playstation Vita platform, which genre has the 
# lowest average score? Please provide the name of the column, and put your answer 
# in single quotes (e.g., 'Action', 'Adventure', 'Fighting', etc.)
worst_genre = 'Simulation'

# Check your answers
step_2.check()

<IPython.core.display.Javascript object>

Correct

# Lines below will give you a hint or solution code
#step_2.hint()
#step_2.solution()

Step 3: Which platform is best?

Since you can remember, your favorite video game has been Mario Kart Wii, a racing game released for the Wii platform in 2008. And, IGN agrees with you that it is a great game – their rating for this game is a whopping 8.9! Inspired by the success of this game, you’re considering creating your very own racing game for the Wii platform.

Part A

Create a bar chart that shows the average score for racing games, for each platform. Your chart should have one bar for each platform.

# Bar chart showing average score for racing games by platform
# Set the width and height of the figure
plt.figure(figsize=(16,6))

# Add title
plt.title("Average Score for Racing Games")

# Bar chart showing average score
sns.barplot(x=ign_data.index, y=ign_data['Racing'])

# Add label
plt.xlabel("Platform")
plt.xticks(rotation=45)
plt.ylabel("Score")

# Check your answer
step_3.a.check()

# plotting
plt.show()

<IPython.core.display.Javascript object>

Correct

# Lines below will give you a hint or solution code
#step_3.a.hint()
#step_3.a.solution_plot()

Part B

Based on the bar chart, do you expect a racing game for the Wii platform to receive a high rating? If not, what gaming platform seems to be the best alternative?

step_3.b.hint()

<IPython.core.display.Javascript object>

Hint: Check the length of the bar corresponding to the Wii platform. Does it appear to be longer than the other bars? If so, you should expect a Wii game to perform well!

# Check your answer (Run this code cell to receive credit!)
step_3.b.solution()

<IPython.core.display.Javascript object>

Solution: Based on the data, we should not expect a racing game for the Wii platform to receive a high rating. In fact, on average, racing games for Wii score lower than any other platform. Xbox One seems to be the best alternative, since it has the highest average ratings.

Step 4: All possible combinations!

Eventually, you decide against creating a racing game for Wii, but you’re still committed to creating your own video game! Since your gaming interests are pretty broad (… you generally love most video games), you decide to use the IGN data to inform your new choice of genre and platform.

Part A

Use the data to create a heatmap of average score by genre and platform.

# Heatmap showing average game score by platform and genre
# Set the width and height of the figure
plt.figure(figsize=(12, 12))

# Add title
plt.title("Average Game Score by Platform and Genre")

# Heatmap showing average game score
sns.heatmap(data=ign_data, annot=True)

# Add label for horizotal axis
plt.xlabel("Genre")
plt.xticks(rotation=45)

# Check your answer
step_4.a.check()

# plotting
plt.show()

<IPython.core.display.Javascript object>

Correct

# Lines below will give you a hint or solution code
#step_4.a.hint()
step_4.a.solution_plot()

<IPython.core.display.Javascript object>

Solution:

# Set the width and height of the figure
plt.figure(figsize=(10,10))
# Heatmap showing average game score by platform and genre
sns.heatmap(ign_data, annot=True)
# Add label for horizontal axis
plt.xlabel("Genre")
# Add label for vertical axis
plt.title("Average Game Score, by Platform and Genre")

Part B

Which combination of genre and platform receives the highest average ratings? Which combination receives the lowest average rankings?

step_4.b.hint()

<IPython.core.display.Javascript object>

Hint: To find the highest average ratings, look for the largest numbers (or lightest boxes) in the heatmap. To find the lowest average ratings, find the smallest numbers (or darkest boxes).

# Check your answer (Run this code cell to receive credit!)
step_4.b.solution()

<IPython.core.display.Javascript object>

Solution: Simulation games for Playstation 4 receive the highest average ratings (9.2). Shooting and Fighting games for Game Boy Color receive the lowest average rankings (4.5).

Keep going

Move on to learn all about scatter plots!

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