Oh Dear, I Have an Idea

[Bsteckler]

So I was pondering the news for the past week, and I have come across an idea that would definitely fit the GDC's mold of going outside the box to mess with our minds:

Think, what event was recently in the news concerning NASA? That's right, finding water on the moon.

Now, before you say "Oh no, not another person dreaming up a water game", consider this:

Imagine, if you will, a two-liter soda bottle, filled about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way with water or any other type of liquid. This creates a game piece with, you guessed it, dynamic characteristics. Now imagine several dozen of those, and you have the basis for my idea. After this, the goal could be as simple as hording those pieces and attempting to steal them from the other alliance, or building something with them. We all know the challenges that can be faced with handling an object with predictable traits (center of gravity, force required to move it, etc.), now imagine having to do that all over again with objects that can shift in transit. Add to this the low-friction floor that we saw last year (created to simulate the low gravity of moon driving), and you have what could be a team's biggest nightmare in terms of engineering, but quite a thrill to watch and play.

Quote from Dave: "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those dang kids!".

[Jamie Kalb]

I just love it when someone starts out with "Oh Dear, I Have an Idea." :)

Dynamic characteristics is a very interesting thought. My only concern is that the bottles would have to have quite a seal, or it would quickly turn into a water game. :D

Other than that, this could totally work. Very interesting...

[Steven Sigley]

Well they could be bottles or objects filled with sand. Still get the unpredictability without having to dry the carpets.

[Molten]

Well they could be bottles or objects filled with sand. Still get the unpredictability without having to dry the carpets.

Couldn't sand getting into the electronics cause many of the same problems?

[Stephen of REX]

Couldn't sand getting into the electronics cause many of the same problems?
Instead of causing shorts, you'd simply stop all the fans. Melted electronics anyone?

[biojae]

Well, that sounds a little like rug rage (1993)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rug_Rage

The hoarding and manipulation is all there,
along with water filled balls.

[BrendanB]

Bash at the Beach was held at the beach a long time ago... safe to say that they figured out that sand and robots don't mix too well.;)

[ChuckDickerson]

Forget sand or water and plastic bottles. Just take a PVC tube, stick a ball bearing inside and cap each end. Instant cheap scoring object that everyone can make as many of as they want. No mess and dynamically changing COG. Make some short, make some longer for different point values, etc. No more scavenger hunts at WalMarts for the illusive orbit balls, etc. either. Kind of like this: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/22847

[Rion Atkinson]

I think a water bottle is to small.. What about a huge ball such as in Overdrive filled with water? Or better yet! Helium!

[dtengineering]

What about those inflatable "punch'em" dummies?

Admittedly thin-skinned inflatables don't last too long around robots, even when they are being careful... but I like the off-centre COG concept.

Although, when you were mentioning "finding water on the moon", I was expecting a contest to see how fast a robot could smash into the end wall... the team mates would have to analyze the results before they, too, were smashed into the wall.

Speaking of which, I'm sure the whole idea behind the mission was a bunch of engineers sitting around going "wouldn't it be cool to smash a rocket into the moon as fast as we can?" and then going "so how could we JUSTIFY doing it?"

Jason

[Andrew Schreiber]

Although, when you were mentioning "finding water on the moon", I was expecting a contest to see how fast a robot could smash into the end wall... the team mates would have to analyze the results before they, too, were smashed into the wall.

You mean 68 hasn't already won that game? Id say moving the field would be hard enough... and that was hitting the side they started on.

[GaryVoshol]

You mean 68 hasn't already won that game? Id say moving the field would be hard enough... and that was hitting the side they started on.703 in Aim High would be in contention. They had the bonus of being on an upward trajectory from the ramp.

[Wayne C.]

What about those inflatable "punch'em" dummies?


BTDT

Attn Dave and GDC- the groundswell is growing for "Send in the Clowns"-

look for the old white paper on it or posts from CD from around 2002

WC :D

[dlavery]

BTDT

Attn Dave and GDC- the groundswell is growing for "Send in the Clowns"-

look for the old white paper on it or posts from CD from around 2002

WC :D

I seem to remember that much of that discussion centered around inflatable clowns on staircases. Stairs did show up a few years later. So it would seem that the only part not yet realized from that original concept would be the inflatable clowns. Which, I would point out, float very nicely.

-dave



.

[Rich Kressly]

I seem to remember that much of that discussion centered around inflatable clowns on staircases. Stairs did show up a few years later. So it would seem that the only part not yet realized from that original concept would be the inflatable clowns. Which, I would point out, float very nicely.

-dave
.

evil little man...
No, they don't float nicely. They have weighted bottoms. They may "bob" nicely, but that's another story...and the version of the clown game I like wasn't on stairs. It was the one where you stuffed as many into an old VW Beetle body in the center of the field as possible. Now, no one ever said the clowns couldn't go in a boat instead, though, but I digress...

[DonRotolo]

Bob who?

What about a huge ball such as in Overdrive filled with water?Weight might be an issue. But we can prevent leaks by freezing the water inside (easy for us Northern teams in January...)

[Wayne C.]

Bob who?

Weight might be an issue. But we can prevent leaks by freezing the water inside (easy for us Northern teams in January...)

Actually an Atlas Ball would fill the bill- 237 lbs of concrete fun. Check out our strong man pics to get the idea.

I see that and a tall vertical goal to shoot it through right in front of the operations table........


:cool:

[Molten]

evil little man...
No, they don't float nicely. They have weighted bottoms. They may "bob" nicely, but that's another story...and the version of the clown game I like wasn't on stairs. It was the one where you stuffed as many into an old VW Beetle body in the center of the field as possible. Now, no one ever said the clowns couldn't go in a boat instead, though, but I digress...

Interestingly, this was my thought exactly.

On a similar note, should I begin fearing the weebles?

[Karibou]

Actually an Atlas Ball would fill the bill- 237 lbs of concrete fun. Check out our strong man pics to get the idea.

I see that and a tall vertical goal to shoot it through right in front of the operations table........


:cool:
Robust robots much? XD

I can see dynamic game pieces being a really cool game piece. Even if we didn't use sand or water, there are endless possibilities for this (think - JELLO!). Just filling a PVC pipe with beads and superglue-ing the caps on would give the same effect. The same could be done with, say, a Haagen-Dazs cup...

[nighterfighter]

Hm...stairs...falling....

BIG GIANT SLINKIES? :D

[Taylor]

On a similar note, should I begin fearing the weebles?

2010 game in a nutshell: Make the weebles (http://www.weebles-wobble.com/) fall down.

Edit: Wasn't there a Blue Oyster Cult song called "Don't Fear the Weeble?"

[fuzzy1718]

you guys all missed it, the hint was the dot at the end. He has been doing that a lot lately

[EricH]

you guys all missed it, the hint was the dot at the end. He has been doing that a lot lately
Nope, we haven't. There is an entire thread dedicated to deciphering the Morse Code he's using. At last count, we had figured out THIS IS NOT A HINT and some miscellaneous letters.

[Schnabel]

I just want to say, I really don't care about the logistics of how this work work near as much as I am so impressed by this out of the box way of thinking about having a water game. Over the years, I have read plenty of "Oh no, not another water game thread" comments, BUT this is the only time that I find that this is a good thing to talk about.

The probability of putting robots in water withing the next few years is quite low, the probability of putting water into robots as game pieces . . .

[bduddy]

Interestingly, this was my thought exactly.

On a similar note, should I begin fearing the weebles?
Am I the only one that thinks wobbling... things would be an awesome game piece? Maybe some kind of wobbly goal, like the ones they used in American Gladiators... or possibly you could have to push them, because it provides an uneven surface and all... I dunno, I think it would just be fun to see a bunch of things wobbling on the field after the buzzer >_>

[Nick Lawrence]

I like the idea of PVC piping full of beads.


Until one breaks.


"No Jimmy, I didn't say take that bearing apart!"


-Nick