I like how the game designers took a really big hint from last year that a more strategically based game is better. Simple to understand yet strategically complex games are better for everyone. There are easy ways to approach the game for rookies and also complex ways for season veterans.
This game, in my opinion, requires the most from the software department of all the teams than any other game. To set up the camera to align a shooting mechanism sounds easy but can become hell for the programmers. Glad to see FIRST incorporate all aspects of engineering into the games.
The games are getting more and more intuitive to the general public. When people ask us what does your robot do, we can finally answer in a coherent sentence, "it shoots balls into a hoop," instead of "well it climbs on top of this platform and then attaches to a bar and hangs from it." A game that is easy to understand will attract more public awareness of the program and therefore, expand FIRST.
I'm really excited about this year's game. If it goes well and gains popularity, I think that it will set the tone for future FIRST games.