[Official 2008 Game Design] Game Elements and Subtasks

[Billfred]

I'd like to see an endgame which offers an edge (but not an outright License To Pwn) to teams that apply a little bit of technological finesse. I implemented one in the game design I put in the other thread: six vision targets, one over each player station, with an X on the floor a few feet from the wall. Towards the end of the match, five of those lights cut off. Teams then try to have their alliance's robot closest to the middle of the X for bonus points. Obviously, this could be done through brute-force (drive and hope you hit it), but a good implementation of the CMUcam would allow teams to simply mash a button and let the robot do the plowing for them.

Or, if the low-tech endgame persists, let's at least have a challenge. Anybody can hang from a ten-foot bar, but George Wallace mentioned a devious idea after UCF this year: a three-foot bar. Getting off the ground is suddenly a bit trickier, especially if the game still requried tall robots elsewhere.

Finally, I had an idea involving a bridge similar to the one in Diabolical Dynamics. Imagine if endgame points were scored for having opposing robots on the bridge; the robot that's higher gets a bigger bonus. However, neither team gets a bonus if the bridge is touching the carpet. It's a lot harder than the 2001 bridge--it didn't see two robots fighting against each other--but a sufficient reward might make it worth trying.

[Kelly]

The last several games have been focused on putting game pieces places, while the game pieces themselves were generally easy to obtain. I think it would be neat to have a game where you are trying to get and keep either a lot of little pieces or one big piece.

[kawelch]

Originally Posted by Kelly

The last several games have been focused on putting game pieces places, while the game pieces themselves were generally easy to obtain. I think it would be neat to have a game where you are trying to get and keep either a lot of little pieces or one big piece.

I keep saying pick-up sticks. Different points for different color sticks. Penalty points for getting your opponents color. Blue and red, of course, yellow for anyone and green that is worth big points if scored in autonomous. A a few black ones that let you carry more than one at a time if you get it and keep it...

and nothing goes back onto the field once scored.

[Molten]

What about a new kind of ball? I know that there have been a good number of games with balls, but what I am talking about is completely different. I want to think more like a 'football' (or some other misshapen sphere). A football would be easily obtained and a game could be easily found. It would create a difficult dilemma of how to grab/ how to throw/ or whatever else you can think to have them do with a football. Also, I would like to see weights some how involved this year. Perhaps have medicine balls or something where the robot is more about endurance. Something like Atlas Stones from the World's Strongest Man Competition. It would make it really hard to be too aggressive and would allow for maximum GP.

Another idea I had was for the alliance making format. The way it has been is a lot like elementary -turn-based- selection. Instead, I suggest we do it more like the way they do in industry. Make the alliance off the field. Make appointments to meet with prospective partners, discuss the stipulations for which the alliance would exist (i.e. we will be your partner if you focus on defense), and then announce together all at once the alliance that has been made. This seems to me to be a lot more industry based and appropriate for such an important decision.

[AndyB]

I like the idea of robots almost transforming, like putting objects up high and then having to fit underneath a platform or soemthing to get end game points.

[AndyB]

I like MVL's game this year hahah. A ramp, not necessary rotational like in MVL, but still, extra points for when the ramp is titled towards or away from your side. It would make for a great battle depending on the bonus value. The ramp would start balanced and you could go from there. It would have to be large enough for robots to drive on it. It is similar to 2001, but instead you could go around the ramp. Maybe making it a little wider would be cool too. Like Karthik mentioned, keep the bonuses, but please don't make them so valuable that a team can stick a couple of flaps on the kitbot and call it a ramp-bot.

MVL Ramp: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/29188

[=Martin=Taylor=]

Originally Posted by AndyB

I like MVL's game this year hahah. A ramp, not necessary rotational like in MVL, but still, extra points for when the ramp is titled towards or away from your side. It would make for a great battle depending on the bonus value.

Our team created its own vex competition this year to train new members.

The game consisted of two boxes, one open-end up, and the other open-end down. Robots had to drop ping-pong balls into the open-end up box and climb onto the top of the open-end down box.

The trick was that these boxes were taller than the robots. The only way you could climb onto the bonus box was to push a mobile ramp into position and climb up, you could also use this mobile ramp to climb up to the scoring box and pour a load of balls in. However, some teams found other ways to acomplish these tasks without use of the ramp.

I think this could be a very interesting game-peice in the FRC competition. Perhaps the ramp could be on casters - similar to the puck in 1999.

[Cooley744]

KEEP HUMAN PLAYERS!!! It gives more people a chance to be on the drive team!!!

[joeweber]

a tread mill under a bar that the robot must run its wheels to release a ball than must collect that ball and return it to a human goal location. Have a rope on the other side the robot would have to pull to release a ball to return it to the human goal location. turn a handle to release a ball and return it to a human goal. basicly you would have 4 or 5 tasks that you would have to do to release a ball. the robots would have to take turns at the item they do well or be good at all. 6 robots and only 4 or 5 tasks would make it fun. some harder tasks would have balls worth more points.