The lead character on The Walking Dead's name is "Rick" Grimes. Zombie Apocalypse game. I declare it to be true.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Well, I just figure they're pulling a 2011 where they give us the name of the game early, which in this case would be "Rick Roll", and thus leads to the natural question of "What's a rick?". One google search later, and that's what I came up with.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

I disagree with bowling. Not in a bad way, but if you'll notice, the FRC game was a sports related game last year (basketball).
2010: Breakaway: sports related (soccer).
2008: Overdrive: sports related (NASCAR. Yes, it is a sport).

Notice the pattern? Every 2 years (since 2008) there has been a sports related game. If they continue this pattern, it probably won't be a bowling related game. I'm not ruling it out as a possibility, but I'm saying I think it's unlikely.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Is bowling really a sport though?

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

I think this pattern is pretty apparant, but just because they've followed it in the past doesn't mean they must continue to do so.

From a personal perspective, I'm very much in favor of sports-related games. They are far easier to explain, and therefore more captivating, to those outside of FIRST. Explaining that you are "building a robot that plays basketball [and balances on a bridge]" is far easier for someone to visualize and understand than "building a robot that puts up inflatable tubes in the shape of the FIRST logo on a wall of pegs [and deploys a minibot that climbs a pole]". Logomotion was a great spectator sport for those in FIRST and casual fans alike, but explaining it beforehand was a bit more difficult.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Ooh boy, not sure we want to go there :P Any Big Lebowski fans around?

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Not only is it easier to explain, but it makes people more impressed/excited about the game. Robots that play basketball sounds a whole lot "Cooler" than robots that hang innertubes on pegs.

Of course they both get me very excited, but then again, I live FIRST.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

I totally agree here - although last year was my first year mentoring a team, I think the simplicity of the basic game made it exciting to watch and really showcased the driving ability of the drivers - they weren't having to think about complicated strategies; just play the game. I think these type of games are really positive both to those watching as to those competing. I hope FIRST continues in that vein!

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

I would disagree with your point that "they weren't having to think about complicated strategies" -- strong alliances always have incredibly well planned and cohesive strategies.

Bottom line though, keeping the game "consumer friendly" is something I hope the GDC definitely continues.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

As a driver at an off-season event, I have to say that there were tons of strategy items you had to consider to be successful.
Do we balance or do we keep shooting?
How far down can we let the timer get before we just don't have time to balance?
Do we just keep trying to shoot from the key, or do we try to draw a penalty from a robot trying to keep me off my favorite shooting spot?
Do we risk going in the lane, or is there an opposing robot nearby that can make us pay for even trying to collect those balls?
Do we tell one of our alliance partners to go feed me balls to shoot from the other side? (See: Team 16 The Bomb Squad on Einstein, assisting teams 25 and 180)
Do we go for shooting, or do we protect our alliance partner that has to be in contact with the bump to score?

Unless your robots and drivers are just a dominating combination on shooting, your strategy has to be a bit more detailed than "We're going to try to score more points than the other team."
I'm not saying I don't like that strategy, but if you're using just that, you're either doing very well, or very poor.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

Maybe ice hockey based? The original name of ice hockey is dutch roll, and there is a famous player named Rick.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

There have been many ideas that have come forward, and I have noticed that these bear significant weight:

Bowling- Some people believe that it is bowling themed. I say your crazy. Why on Earth would FIRST make such a risky move as to make game pieces bowling balls? That's just asking for somebody to get hurt. Yes, FIRST has had some other elements that we have proven to be possibly dangerous, but bowling balls is just too far. FIRST would never do that, due to the risk of getting injured. It would also be very hard to manipulate, trying to make a robot that can orient and grab a bowling ball in the finger holes is a huge challenge. Bowling balls are also very hard for those of you who have never bowled. Robots would be denting the snot out of each other throughout the competitions. And the risk of a robot malfunctioning and throwing a bowling ball is way to much. What if a ref was hit and suffered an injury? FIRST isn't famous for taking huge risks when it comes to safety. And the basic logistics of it even being about bowling would be very hard. What would happen when all the "pins" were knocked down? And even if it was just the bowling ball used in the game, the danger is just too much for me imagining FIRST being ok with.

Lyrics- Those are way over thought. Enough said.

Picture- The most valid point I could find there is that it is a frame from exactly, and I mean EXACTLY, 3 minutes. This may mean that the game lasts 3 minutes. This seems like a typical FIRST clue, it doesn't give too much away about the game but if figured out can provide a valuable tip. But not enough of a tip to think about designs or game strategies. There may also be a hint in the fact that it's Rick Astley, but it's probably so far out there and complicated that by the time we find it we go right past it and write it off thinking we haven't searched deep enough. This strongly reminds me of the Little Eva picture from 2011, where the message was very simple: Locomotion, External Vehicular Activity, and mirror image. FIRST has found that we think about these things so much that by putting the answer right in front of us they have hid it in the best way possible: in plain sight.

We are strongly underestimating FIRST by overestimating their will to hide things deep in complexity. Usually there is only one "hint" in each clue to come out, so I'm betting that this one's message is that matches will be 3 minutes or something will be relating to 3 minutes, and FIRST decided to have some fun by:
A. Rick Rolling all of us.
B. Putting pretty colored thumb tacks on the wall to confuse us and make us think there was a hidden message there.
C. Showing some of the cork board to confuse us even more!

There is also a theory of a remake of Stack Attack. Stack Attack is the definition of "good on paper, bad in reality." FIRST has learned from that.

There is nothing much to be determined from this until we see another hint. But you guys can keep over analyzing this as much as you want. Best of luck with that!

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

FTC game last year had a 6 lb bowling ball as a game piece. Granted, it was never more that 1 foot off the ground.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

You're assuming that bowling must be played with bowling balls. Bowling doesn't have to be played with bowling balls any more than basketball has to be played with basketballs.


Note: I don't think it's bowling either (not enough 'constructive' action), just pointing it out. Also, it'd be pretty easy to set up safe pin resetting for human players.

Re: 2013 Game Hint!
 

On that note, have you noticed a small trend? It seems like some of the games are being traded between FTC and FRC. This year, the FTC game is very similar to 2011 and the FTC game from 2010-2011 had the bridge elements that FRC had last year. It is quite possible that the bowling idea will also be crossed over.