Open Letter to the GDC

[Bob Steele]

I have to agree with a previous poster in that the survey is flawed in that most present participants weren't exposed to the older games.

You find that many students have a close association with their first game... no matter what it was.

I don't think that robots playing soccer or basketball is a good way to go.

I think that a relatively simple game with lots of action and plenty of scoring is what is the best game to observe.

Do you really want to see robots playing tennis?

Scoring should be visible and easy to follow.
Overdrive was a good example.
Spectators did not like that game because it was like NASCAR... they liked it because of the excitment of the HUGE blue and red balls traveling around the track and lifting and tossing the ball over a goal rack. If you asked many pure spectators....most did not even know that teams got points by going around the track.

Clear scoring... lifting objects... throwing them....placing them in an obvious pattern...
Large scoring pieces also make it more exciting.

An exciting climax of the game is important too..
with possibly game changing consequences.

Traditional sports have followings because they have been around for awhile...

Imagine creating a game where you hit a little ball with a stick and go walk after it until it finally falls into a little hole...

That doesn't sound too interesting... but look at how many people love to play it and watch it. They have a connection to it.

I think spectators like to see big, fast, exciting things happening....

Lifting a robot... throwing objects.... moving quickly and precisely .... lifting an object...
accumulating objects and putting them a goal..
these are the types of things that spectators like.

They really don't care or even know that the robots operate autonomously... and most of our best work in automatic control isn't even noticed...

I think the GDC has done a pretty good job most years with making something that was interesting to watch...

They have such a huge job....it is a testament to their abilities that they give us such neat games to play.... considering everything they are trying to get done...

I don't want to see robots playing basketball
or soccer or volleyball...

I want something different that is easy to understand if I am a spectator