Real Robots Live - multiplayer real life robotics game - call for ideas

[gblake]

Originally Posted by lewisRRL

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There will be someone actually manning each arena, to deal with situations like this. They also be electronically moderating play to deal with BM, this will probably be dealt with in the following order: warning, time-out, ban.
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Before you go any further, I strongly suggest that you (plural) spend one full week (24x7, no breaks) pretending that you are "live".

Have an arena, make it out of cardboard boxes and chalk outlines. Have robots (RC cars, whatever). Have batteries. Have simulated user-activity bursts and droughts. Have real people be a simulated mix of clueless, knuckle-headed, mischievious, chatterbox, whiner, apathetic, know-it-all, complaining, trash-talking, trolling, non-English-speaking, etc. users. Have to seamlessly roll out new software into your robots and other computers during the week. Have members of your team all want to be elsewhere on two days to Christmas and Thanksgiving. Have one or more of your simulated users constantly posting negative comments on the Internet about every mistake you make, and making up negative comments just to be a jerk(s). Have one field gameplay and/or field-reset mechanism malfunction at random intervals.

Etc.

Do this so that your Kickstarter requests and commitments can be based on RRL- and user-experience predictions and estimates that are as accurate as you can make them.

Blake