[Ian Curtis]

I wrote a note to the GDC immediately after my first (and only ) regional in 2008. I thought 2008 was the most audience accessible game in my 6 years of FRC.

Originally Posted by Immediately after 2008 Regional

I just returned from our first and only regional. And I'd like to thank the GDC for the amazing work all of you did on this year's game. Out of the 5 games I've played, this one was the most balanced and exciting to watch. It provided the right level of difficulty for teams to build good robots, the level of average competition was above what we usually see. Additionally, the alliances were so close in both machine and driver skill that elimination matches were literally down to the wire every time. Due to the fact that every hurdle was worth so much, the crowd reacted visibly and audibly every time a ball went over, and it was VERY exciting to watch teams desperately try for that last hurdle, place or knockdown as the clock counted down.

Additionally, we felt hybrid was right on the money. It was worth so much you simply had to do it, and I felt this year's hybrid mode was more exciting than 2006's autonomous mode. Additionally, the RoboCoach could be used with great effect. Several teams at our regional used it, and 175 used it extremely well to avoid other robots as they traversed the field. Hybrid allowed teams with limited resources but a bit of ingenuity to make it farther than has ever been possible before. I know the rookie team we've been in contact with made it to the elimination tournament due to their hybrid, and they were ecstatic! They had a tough time raising the money they needed to compete, and plan to use this in their fund raising activities for the upcoming year, as they definitely caught the bug!

Additionally, despite the limited number of scoring options, the robots were all so different! Overall a very, very impressive, balanced, and just plain fun and exciting game.