Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

Protip: don't use Dean's speeches as recruiting tools. ;)

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

World Champ FRC robot... but I cheat, I already have a BMW 3 series and don't want the fuel costs of the M3.

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

1. How good matches look is determined by how well the robots preform.

2. A good looking match is not necessary to inspire interest in STEM.

3. Guys just take the car, sell it, and buy robot parts! Meanwhile the point was most not FIRST people would go watch a race rather than the 08 game anyway and would take the car over the robot.

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

What I found very surprising about this years is that it actually more accurately mirrors competitive events in the real world then any of the past games. Ever watch the world cup? Ever watch 3 year olds play soccer? In the real world there is no "curving", "blue shell", or "balancing mechanic." One of the issues the GDC has is that it needs a game that doesn't just shred teams that for whatever reason cannot design and build to the highest level. Its easier to inspire when you can step up to the field instead of being shoved off because you aren't competitive. When you add these training wheels to a game so everyone can participate then yes it might come off a bit dull.

But real talk for just a second.
Ask yourself what you find exciting about this experience.
Maybe its that you like the action provided by the game and the positive environment. Its colorful, its loud, its fun. You spent so much time working and now you can show off and flex a little.
Or maybe you do what I do. I go out on the field and I stare at this heap of metal, wires, and plastic that embodies all the work that was done by these students and I feel a rush because somehow, (mostly through mountain dew) we made it.
At the end of the day the game is what brought us to the location, but its the people that got the party started.

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

I wasn't trying to say that Dean's speeches are boring, just that he himself has emphasized how FRC being exciting is important.

As for your argument... Hmm, I think it depends on what teams are playing...:yikes:

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

I couldn't agree more. While it gives us the freedom of no boundaries and an ability to strategize, the real world goal is blatently obvious what they're trying to get out of this game.

Allow me to elaborate.

In past years the game was sports. Acquire and fire. If there was a goal or an engineering concept that they wanted to get out of it, it was fairly well hidden. This year it seems like they made no attempt to hide it. It doesn't feel like a game, it doesn't feel the same as past years. The best design is already out there -- a forklift. That's why it's used in industry, because it works the best. They wouldn't be so widely popular if they weren't. And what kinds of teams are we seeing reaching the finals, semi-finals, and quarter-finals? Forklifts.

For most teams, getting rookies and little kids involved will be very difficult with this year's robot. It's not fun; it's not exciting. Seeing a forklift operate isn't nearly as exciting to a little kid as seeing a giant ball being thrown, or shooting frisbees/soccer balls/basketballs toward them. They can interact with the robots then, they can get involved. The most they're going to be able to get involved with the robot this year is putting a noodle in the RC.

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

I agree with your warehouse reference. At the beginning of the season I was like "This game is gonna be way worse then last year". But after watching a few regionals, I think the rules change is a great change of pace. I also have interesting thoughts on how they are scoring it this year (from previous WLT to using team averages) << I don't know how I like/dislike this yet.

The thing I dislike the most is how this game only requires the team to basically do 1 task/motion (lifting/moving stacks) vs previous years (like ultimate ascent, where teams could climb the pyramid, shoot frisbees, or push frisbees) where the GDC gave teams more of a challenge and let them chose which one to focus on.

Overall, I think this game is a game of FIRSTS heh and the GDC is experimenting with changing things up.

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

Hey David, is it looking more like a fun game now?

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

Our team has certainly earned 50-cents-an-hour raises.

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

Well, if you win the finals, you may get healthcare too. As long as you're not......

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

OMG what a great F1.

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

Well, they won.

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

I am happy to say that we did manage to win the Arizona East regional with our amazing partners 3944 and 4146.

There was an actual tussle over a can in the last final match, in which we lost the can but won the match in the end.

Therefore, it's a game after all.

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

In the most minimalist sense of the term, yes I suppose it is a game.

On an unrelated note, if we take some bleachers and lights and put it in a warehouse we essentially have the same things as this game. Alright guys, let's see how many ways we can pick up these pallets!

Re: This year's "game" is a job, not a game
 

There are many quite apparent weapon systems applications of the target and fire nature of the previous games.

So much so that they have inspired the interest of military solution providers.

The controls of military drones are also quite well considered for the experienced video game players.

I suppose military applications are pretty exciting but I guess it depends on the job you want to contribute to.