I want to make a point for all of the speculation going on here about some pretty far-fetched ideas of what this game could have in store for us.
Yes, I know "change is coming." But please keep recent history in mind.
I think, and I think most people would agree, that the last three games have been three of the most exciting, and--at times--most well-crafted games in FRC history (especially Rebound Rumble, my personal favorite). I know a lot of people get down on the rules that really bound up Aerial Assist and caused more penalties than any of us would have liked, but take that complaint for what it is--a minor element to a game that was, at its height, spectacular to say the least. Last year's Einstein matches absolutely represented the pinnacle of everything FIRST has been trying to reach in game design for 23 seasons. Spectator-friendliness has never been better, and I think that's reflected in the recent growth of the programs and the overall perceived happiness among the FIRST community.
It seems like the GDC has been working towards more sport-like games in recent years, dating back to perhaps Breakaway, and now I think they're really hitting their stride. It's two teams (who really have to work together, by the way) duking it out together on a rectangular field playing a game with a straightforward objective yet strategically complex composition that can provide the suspense and drama that even an armchair quarterback can appreciate. The GDC is refining its craft and getting to be pretty good.
Why on Earth, then, would they want to throw all that away and go to something radically different like three alliances or one alliance or anything else that would be, at least in my mind, a huge step backwards--a regression from what has gotten them here?
I think the hint is really, honestly as low-key as Frank tried to make it sound when he said
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Looking at this, if I were a team, and knew nothing about the 2015 game, I might be nervous. Knowing the game, though, I think there’s nothing to be nervous about. OK, almost nothing.
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It's about reexamining and streamlining the rules, it's about a new element of the game that hasn't existed before, or it's about updating the match structure to accommodate one of the other two. But it won't be about FIRST deciding to jump out of their wheelhouse for something untested or previously ill-received instead.
TL;DR Now that the GDC has struck gold, don't expect them to leave for greener pastures any time soon.
Happy holidays