Dear GDC

[Tetraman]

Have you ever thought of taking experienced FIRST members (like me), who have been students, mentors and volunteers within their years in FIRST (like me), and ask them to use their creative and inventive minds (like mine), to join the Game Design Committee? Would it ever be a possibility? (to ask me)

haha

In all seriousness, The real questions is: How much do you take in our input? Each year you, mostly Dave, ask us to post up some ideas that you do look at. And that time for the new thread will come soon. In my spare time I'm going to try and work up some ideas...mostly because I'm addicted to the idea of FIRST fields and the games.

The reason why I'm asking is because over the past few years many members, including myself, have called for a change in the flooring. And lo and behold this year we have a change in the flooring. Did our asking for this change lead to the idea to sprout in your heads?

Would you give up any secret info on how the GDC designs the games beyond our input?

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by Tetraman

Would you give up any secret info on how the GDC designs the games beyond our input?

I know someone who knows someone on the GDC, but I'm sworn to secrecy. I do know that designing the new game involves shredded pool noodles, flashing red and blue lights, and the sacrifice of several solid-state motor speed controllers at the tomb of Nikolai Tesla, where the GDC invokes the names of great inventors by releasing magic smoke.

[EricH]

Considering the opening lines, I was thinking of making a more serious suggestion to the GDC.

What if:

The game was pre-released, in bits and pieces, to a group of now-largely-uninvolved FIRST alumni to be checked for obvious loopholes, conflicts, and questions before Kickoff?

Here's my thought: A group of individuals, known only to the GDC, and not to anyone else, inside or outside of the group, bound by NDAs (much like field builders are), could each get one full sub-section of the Game Manual, such as 7.3.1.2 (I'm making up numbers here), say, along with any rules/definitions that are referenced in that section in the form of "<G123> says that thou shalt not throw game item 3 over field item O to put it in play, but may use any perforations in item O", and NOTHING else. (Game item 3 and field item O are left undefined.)

The group, individually, goes through their assigned subsections and notes any questions that they may have, such as "What is protected on both sides of a corner? Is it sticking out or one segment per side?". The questions are then fed back to the GDC and solutions implemented pre-Kickoff, so that the questions either don't arise or are simply referred to the manual. For example, with the example question, a simple fix would have been "Protected on each side by a bumper segment" or "Each corner shall have one bumper segment on each side" before the Kickoff, instead of several dozen questions asking "What does protected on both sides of a corner mean?" for two weeks after Kickoff.

In essence, this group would function as a subset of teams, and ask the questions the teams to to highlight the issues that the GDC may not be able to see, as the GDC knows their intent much better than any team does and may overlook a simple statement that would clarify the intent to the teams.

I am not saying that this is a good idea, or that the GDC is doing a lousy job (on the contrary, I think Lunacy is one of the best games in years). I am saying that maybe we can help them do a better job of finding issues that may arise before they arise, if they request the help.

[Pavan Dave]

... My cousin once told me [and kept on telling me] when I got to college, then when I joined a fraternity, then when I decided to mentor, and every now and then when I feel it neccessary to mope and grope, that "there is a method to this madness." he later went to add "what the madness is, I can't tell you, and what the method is, you'll learn in time but there is a method to this madness."

I don't think Dave is one to make pointless [or very many stupid in the case of those blast KK donuts] posts. I'm pretty sure he reads them and tells other GDC members to read them and they use those to bounce off ideas.

I have a good feeling you and I would be surprised at how a bunch of 13 year olds' opinions and statements can go in the course of things.

Pavan Davé

[GaryVoshol]

The GDC is not a secret - they're introduced at Kickoff every year.

[Tetraman]

Originally Posted by EricH

Considering the opening lines, I was thinking of making a more serious suggestion to the GDC.

haha...yea, thats only a silly part...not a serious part.

I like your idea though.

Originally Posted by GaryVoshol

The GDC is not a secret - they're introduced at Kickoff every year.

The question I'm asking is about the GDC's game designing ways and how they go about picking their direction to design games and such. It's an interesting topic that I don't know if they'll spill...but it's an interesting thought.

[Ian Curtis]

IIRC, shortly after the 2003(?) season, the GDC had groups of long time first mentors come up with game designs or game designs element and present them. I'm pretty sure I've seen pictures of people (Paul Copioli, Andy Baker, Ken Patton maybe...) sitting around waiting for the meeting to start. I'll see if I can find the thread.

[EDIT] Found it!
Link!
[/EDIT]