Robo Basho(TM) the Movie...

[Joe Johnson]

Long time no posts. Robotic Amusements is the largely the reason.

For those of you who still remember me at all, you will probably remember that I am known for LONG posts.

Why should this post be any exception? I apologize in advance.

While I am apologizing, this post can be fairly criticized as not of general interest. True enough, but I suppose some may find it entertaining.

Judge for yourself...

Robo Basho(TM) the Movie...

Well, we've reached that final climatic scene in movie where the hero is either going to make it or not, but either way, he gave it his all.

Robotic Amusements has been a wild ride, but basically it's all come down to a trial that starts today.

For those of you tuning in late, here is the plot summary up to now.

I was born on a dark and stormy night... ...okay, perhaps that is a bit too far back (I know, I know, it's a cheap joke, but, as my family knows only too well, jokes never get old for me).

5 years ago (almost to the day now that I think about it) Mike and I decide that "Robots In Arcades" is doable. We incorporate Robotic Amusements. We are sure we'll have our first game out the door in about 3 months. Time passes. We hire employees. We develop the game we now call Robo Basho(TM) and the supporting technologies that let robots live in a glass box without constant human intervention. We learn the hard way that "Robots in Arcades" is easy to say but hard to do, harder and more expensive than we ever imagined. We spend more time. We spend more money. I quit my job to work on RA full time. We run out of money. We fire our employees. We go back to paying work. We save up some money. We spend even more money. We go out on a limb. We go out on a limb further... ...further.... ...even further. We test. We discover we need changes. We improve. Not enough. We improve more. We're out of money. We go back to work... ...again. We finally get Robo Basho(TM) to the point where it is not perfect but it is good enough for a a local trial. We give it one last gasp. Then another "last" gasp. Then we hold our breath even longer. The local trial goes pretty well. But... ...still more refinement needed. We make more improvements. More money, more time. Namco sees our data from the local tiral. Namco gets interested. Namco does a trail in south suburban Chicago. More problems. More improvements. More breath holding. More limb climbing. We stumble through the Namco trial. The numbers are good but not a slam dunk. Namco is interested. Or maybe not. They dither... they dather... and then they decide... ...that they need ONE LAST TRIAL at a restaurant/bar before they can REALLY decide.

So... ...now you're all caught up. It took longer in real life. 5 Long years. I've left out some of the details but you get the gist.

All that remains is that calm, reflective sequence before the climatic bits of the movie start to flicker across the screen; It's time for our hero to reflect on the longness and strangeness of the trip (if it were done tastefully perhaps the soundtrack could be an homage to that Grateful Dead classic... Truckin... got my chips cashed in... Keep truckin... ;-)

Never one to disappoint my audience, I guess it's time for me to start doing some reflecting and such...

Sometimes, when I think about it, I don't really know how we got here. For 5 years now, I've been SURE that RA is only 3 months from a completed product. If you ask me how much time it will take him to finish Robo Basho(TM), even today, "about 3 months" is the only answer I can give. Of course, I'm self aware enough to know that it would be hard for anyone else to believe my words, but I really do believe them.

I guess that explains a lot about how we got here (about as good of an answer as I can give anyway). I never would have set off on this journey had I even dreamt it could take 5 years. Had I gotten an inkling along the way, I may very well had taken another path. But either through incompetence or self delusion, I've always felt I could hold on for 3 more months, that's not even the blink of an eye really.... ...just 3 more months...

Now you know as much as I do (perhaps more if you're perceptive).

If you want to see The Movie live and in person (and you are in Chicago land) the trial is at Real Time Sports Bar on West Devon Ave. Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. The game is set to a buck per play. I think it's fun. 3 minutes of fun for a buck seems like a good value to me. But what to I know? I'd like to hear your thoughts on the subject.

The trial should run 2 or 3 weeks, but predictions are difficult, especially about the future. So, if you are thinking about it, I suggest heading over there sooner rather than later... ...why not right now? Come early, stay late.

Let me know what you think of this Robo Basho(TM) thingamabob.

In any case, this is the last chapter. I wouldn't rule out an epilogue or two, but this trial is going to decide it one way or the other for RA. Namco will either get the data they need to decide or they won't but it is the end of the road for RA unless they decide to spend their own money to make it through the 3 months it will take to bring Robo Basho(TM) to production. Is 3 months enough to git 'er dun? Of course it is...

...at least I think so.

Your thoughts are welcome...

Cheers,
Joe J.

[Chief Pride]

I played the game when it was being tried at Oakland Mall here in Michigan. I thought it was great, although, I may have been thinking from a more technological standpoint as I told you all of the things I found fantastic about the game.

About two weeks after playing it I took some friends to go check out the game, but alas... It was gone...

I suggest anyone who is in driving range go check it out. Especially if your interested in robots, those little things are marvels.



EDIT: Joe, I think you need to update the website.

[Dave Scheck]

Hey, that's down the street from where I grew up and just 10-15 minutes from the Schaumburg Motorola facility. I've been there a few times...great stuffed burgers. I'll have to plan a trip in the next few weeks to check it out.

I'll put a post on the Wildstang forums to try to drum up some interest with our kids.

Best of luck Joe.

[Akash Rastogi]

Those little bots look so cool!

We'll be sure to spread some interest about it.

[ajlapp]

Joe, I hope it works out! By the way everyone here remembers you fondly and misses you greatly. I see you hanging around tournaments from time to time, but its not the same as watching you walk on your hands and click your heels.

I personally want to thank you for taking your obvious love of robotics and striking out into the real world. Robotic Amusement, along with Andymark gave me the courage to try my hand at turning my love and passion into a business venture.

I am now actively looking for a legitimate reason,other than to play Basho...to get to Chicago!

Thanks for everything you do.

[Andy Baker]

Thanks for the update, Joe. I am sure that tons of us on CD are rooting for you and Mike. This gives me another reason to go to Chicago this summer. I gotta check this out.

Andy

[IKE]

Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it.

[Brandon Holley]

we're all rooting for you joe...and then when this thing is finally a success and in mass production, maybe you can join us all back here on CD!

[Dave Flowerday]

A big group of us from Wildstang headed over to Real Time Sports tonight in order to check out the game. We had a blast - it's a really fun game to play. A group of younger kids who were there were watching us for quite a while and ended up taking a shot at it as well, which was fun to see.

If anyone happens to be in the northwest burbs of Chicago in the near future it is definitely worth trying out.

[Rich Olivera]

Originally Posted by Dave Flowerday

A big group of us from Wildstang headed over to Real Time Sports tonight in order to check out the game. We had a blast - it's a really fun game to play. A group of younger kids who were there were watching us for quite a while and ended up taking a shot at it as well, which was fun to see.

If anyone happens to be in the northwest burbs of Chicago in the near future it is definitely worth trying out.

I was out with the wildstang group Dave mentioned. The game does not look like much at first glance. However, when you give it a try or see it played, it really pulls you in. There were a lot of cool touches to the game too. For instance, If one of the players dominated in terms of score, the robots would pull up to that player and sort of bow before it. As this is going on, the screen shows the phrase: "We are not worthy".

[Chris is me]

I'm heading to Chicago this weekend, possibly, so I'll make sure I grab a fistful of bucks and play until I've mastered the thing. Robot Arcades sound like such a great idea, especially in an industry struggling to differentiate itself from the powerful home consoles available.

[Dave Flowerday]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I'm heading to Chicago this weekend, possibly, so I'll make sure I grab a fistful of bucks and play until I've mastered the thing.

Just FYI if you're planning to go there... better make that a fistful of quarters - the machine doesn't take dollar bills.

[Joe Johnson]

Namco keeps telling me that they will have a bill acceptor installed "today" but days turn to weeks and still nothing.

Thanks for trying the game out.

I appreciate the feedback and the support.

Cheers,
Joe J.

[Dave Scheck]

Originally Posted by Joe Johnson

Namco keeps telling me that they will have a bill acceptor installed "today" but days turn to weeks and still nothing.

We saw a few sales disappear to the games around it that took dollars. The kids were confused that it didn't have one and quickly lost interest. When we told them there was a change machine clear across the bar, a few of them gave it a shot.

I watched a father play with his two sons (probably 6-8 years old). It brought forth a few "issues" that may help you iron some things out. The first issue was that it was confusing how to start a single player game. The kid was mashing buttons while the dad was inserting quarters and all of a sudden they were blue when they wanted to be red. The second was that the kid was mashing the arm button and wasn't getting a full lift. Once we told them that's how it worked he was able to get the hang of it. The third was that the kid expected it to drive arcade style and didn't know there were turn buttons until we told them and the dad helped out. From watching this it was pretty obvious that kids expect the machine to react like things they're familiar with.

It definitely took a round to get used to the controls. We were talking and a 15 second warm up/tutorial period (optional for advanced players?) might help that out. One idea that was presented was to isolate the robots on their sides of the field during this period.

Another thing that is needed is autonomous movement during the attract mode. A lot of people walked by and casually looked at it. You may draw more attention if robots are moving around. Maybe fighting. Maybe dancing. Maybe just driving. Something to catch the eye. Thinking about it now, maybe you could show control instructions on the screen and have the robots act them out.

All in all, I think you guys have a pretty good game there. We definitely had a lot of fun playing it. It was fun to think about all that went into a simple looking game that most people wouldn't even consider.

[Tom Line]

I have no doubt that Joe will get that all implemented in less that 3 months....