[Mockapapella]

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.