Themes for FRC games

[Whatever]

Originally Posted by tjwolter

I was mentor to a first year team. The point about trying to appeal to a broader audience is well said. OTOH I had a couple of kids who were avid D and D players who loved it! And in retrospect it did seem to sharpen thinking as to what the elements of the game ultimately would be. Worth it for that I say.

Now if they would just come up a Gnome or French Fries theme....


I wanted to point out that the theme probably will give the game longer recognizability over time. As a first year mentor on a 9 year old team I would hear previous year game names a lot and they generally confused me even though I had some familiarity with games.

[tjwolter]

Now how EXACTLY did you find out about the Gnomes.....http://detritusofempire.blogspot.com...urbognome.html

[Whatever]

I thought I recognized the name ... I am another TC Mech Wars alum.

[ahartnet]

I don't really have an opinion about the theme. I think for every kid that the theme makes FRC seem silly/uncool, you'll have a kid that's pumped for a theme they relate to.

The thing that I did find useful was theming the playing field. I think it made the game more fun to watch. Having things that were recognizable to joe-schmoe wathcing a match (drawbridge and tower mainly) were helpful. Some other things (such as the rockwall or rough terrain) were more shoe-horned into the theme, but that's fine.

Everything else about the theme was take it or leave it to me. I almost prefer to have my team focus on our team's theme (which is more permanently a pear) than a years theme, that we may have to redo things significantly for next year.

[bobbysq]

I found that the theme was pulled off perfectly. They didn't go so far into it that it became cheesy, but they also managed to make it stand out.