Why I think having no defense was a great idea

[Jared Russell]

Interaction between players on opposing sides is what makes most team sports so much fun to watch, because every match is different. Decisions need to be made on the fly, there are tradeoffs to every strategy, and outgunned teams always have at least some chance of pulling off an upset (aside from hoping for their opponent to screw up).

This year, there was almost no interaction between opposing sides, outside of noodle throwing and the can race.

I don't think every FIRST game needs to have bumper-crushing physical contact between robots to be interesting. I do think that every FIRST game needs a significant level of interaction between the opposing sides in order to be interesting.

[David Lame]

Who are we trying to inspire? Ourselves? I don't think so. I think it's the rest of the world. Everyone who joins First is already inspired.

Dean Kamen says he wants to transform the world into a place where scientists and engineers are looked up to like sports heroes and entertainers are today. Well, if that's to be the case, we need to get people to look at us. We need to keep our game interesting and, well, sport-like.

That doesn't necessarily mean bumper-crushing action, but I think that having an entertaining game that could be watched and enjoyed by non-techies is an extremely important part of First game design.

[PVCpirate]

Originally Posted by David Lame

Who are we trying to inspire? Ourselves? I don't think so. I think it's the rest of the world. Everyone who joins First is already inspired.

Dean Kamen says he wants to transform the world into a place where scientists and engineers are looked up to like sports heroes and entertainers are today. Well, if that's to be the case, we need to get people to look at us. We need to keep our game interesting and, well, sport-like.

That doesn't necessarily mean bumper-crushing action, but I think that having an entertaining game that could be watched and enjoyed by non-techies is an extremely important part of First game design.

You're spot on, and this is why I loved the 2014 game concept. It was robotball! It was a sport, drawing elements from sports people know, and played by teams of 3 robots each. Even at fairly low levels, it was fast paced and had tough defense, explosive offense, buzzer beaters, teamwork, interesting strategy. You name something that makes sports exciting, Aerial Assist had it. Plus, it was easy to understand! If FIRST wants to inspire people outside the program, it should aim for that, not stacking boxes in neat rows and throwing pool noodles at them.

[rick.oliver]

Originally Posted by David Lame

Who are we trying to inspire? Ourselves? I don't think so. I think it's the rest of the world. Everyone who joins First is already inspired.

Dean Kamen says he wants to transform the world into a place where scientists and engineers are looked up to like sports heroes and entertainers are today. Well, if that's to be the case, we need to get people to look at us. We need to keep our game interesting and, well, sport-like.

I have a much different understanding of the Vision and Mission statement of F.I.R.S.T. as published on the website. Culture change is the goal, the strategy is to inspire young people. The sponsors with whom I have dealt over the years are most interested and excited by the development of future engineers, scientist and technologist. They understand the value of maintaining an inspired pipeline of innovative young women and men.

I very much enjoyed the absence of robot-to-robot interaction and the emphasis on consistency of execution. It illustrates the power of reliability.

[grstex]

I can't recall the last time teams were allowed to "de-score" or "steal" points from their opponent. The one example that sticks in my mind forever was team 25's 2000 robot.

I think defense gets something of a bad wrap because it's been mostly limited to pushing and blocking in recent years. I think if there was a game that opened up more defensive possibilities, then we'd have a chance to see more unique defensive specialists, and your basic "pusher-bot" would still get to play a role as counter-defense. Plus it would push high offense teams even harder.

[Abhishek R]

Originally Posted by grstex

I can't recall the last time teams were allowed to "de-score" or "steal" points from their opponent. The one example that sticks in my mind forever was team 25's 2000 robot.

I think defense gets something of a bad wrap because it's been mostly limited to pushing and blocking in recent years. I think if there was a game that opened up more defensive possibilities, then we'd have a chance to see more unique defensive specialists, and your basic "pusher-bot" would still get to play a role as counter-defense. Plus it would push high offense teams even harder.

What about in 2007, Rack And Roll?

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by Abhishek R

What about in 2007, Rack And Roll?

Spoilers could reduce score in Rack 'N Roll, but you were not allowed to remove game pieces (other than spoilers) from the rack. Removing game pieces is typically what's considered de-scoring. This has been allowed in some VRC games recently.