FIRST 101!!! [1/15/07]

[Andy Grady]

Hello Class, and Happy New Year!

After a year long layoff so the professor could go SCUBA diving off the coral reef in search of the 2008 game piece, I have returned and its time to start learning once again! Much to my happiness, we were suprised only a little more than a week ago when FIRST realeased its 2007 game, Rack and Roll (better known by its more accurate name "Torroid Terror 2".) With this great new quest ahead of us, why dont we take a look back at this game's grand daddy, Torroid Terror!

FIRST 101!!! [1/15/07]
The History of Torroid Terror

Torroid Terror is definately one of the greatest games in FIRST history. It had everything! 1 v 1 v 1, falling robots, caps, tippers, a spinning goal...it was definately a sight to witness. Now, I could immediately go into my usual "You should have seen Beatty and Hammond in 1997, blah blah blah, best robot ever created, blah blah blah 6 seconds...etc..." But by now, I have done so many FIRST 101's on that one robot that everyone in class should be able to get a 100 on the Beatty/Hammond 97 exam. Instead, lets take a look at some of the quick hit factoids that 1997 carried within!

- Torroid Terror was the first game to carry a gamepiece that was NOT spherical in shape!

- 1997 was the first year of multiple regional competitions. (New England, Midatlantic, and Midwest).

- The goal spun! How cool was that? Actually, Woodie (or Alternate Woodie) would come out count one, two, three, go...and then spin the goal to start the round. As an emcee myself, I am kinda dissapointed that the GDC hasn't created a game where I have been able to spin, tip, or rock some sort of goal since!

- The first and only dead tie in the pre-alliance era took place at the Mid-Atlantic regional when TJ squared and the Roboraiders jammed into a defensive deadlock at midfield. All tiebreakers were broken and the match had to be replayed.

- The big contraversial issue in 1997? Tipping mechanisms. To this day, Dave Ferriera and Rob Zeuge of team 121 will not let me forget the day my beloved Gael Force robot was mercilessly knocked over on its side in the semifinals of the New England Regional by the Rhode Warriors. Intentional tipping would be disallowed from 1998 on.

- 1997 was the year of the cap! There were types of teams in Torroid Terror...The Contenders (teams with a cap) and the pretenders (teams without a cap). Dislodging any sort of mechanism from your robot would be outlawed only two years later.

- 1997 marked the first year that a very tired Woodie Flowers decided to give up a portion of his Emceeing duties. "Alternate Woodie" (Greg Hale) was born.

- One of the top 10 coolest robots of all time was created by Fairport High school and Kodak. Nicknamed "Kod Red", the robot would suck up tubes with a roller mechanism, then shoot the tube at the goal. Brilliant...absolutely brilliant!

- A remote controlled vacuum cleaner would be the placebo for the event. I'm guessing the founder of I-Robot was in the crowd somewhere. For the record, Woodie Flowers confirmed that the placebo that year didn't actually "suck". The components were removed for that function.

- The first Woodie Flowers award winner not named Woodie Flowers was introduced to the world in 1997. Her name? Liz Calef of team 88 fame.

- Speaking of team numbers...1997 was the last year of the old team numbers. From 1998 to present day, teams would carry the same team number.

As you can see, there was alot of history in the original Torroid Terror. One can only hope that its sequel will carry as much history as the original!

Speaking of sequels...

FIRST 101 EXTRA CREDIT!

We are just starting to scratch the surface of the sequel era of FIRST. In 2004, FIRST created "FIRST Frenzy - Raising the Bar", the apparent sequel to the greatest game ever created (with probably the worst name of any game) Co-Opertition FIRST in 2000. This year, the sequel to Torroid Terror wowed us all when, with the raise of the curtain, there were many groans (from those who had never experienced Torroid Terror) and sighs (from those who have). Unfortunately, FIRST decided not to name the game Torroid Terror 2. However, it did make me stop and think.

Every sequel needs a cool sub-title to go with it. (i.e. Jaws "The Revenge", Star Wars "The Empire Strikes Back", and Die Hard "With a Vengence".

My question for you...what would be a good "sequel name" for Torroid Terror 2, or any other FIRST game sequel that you can imagine? Let me get you started.

-Torroid Terror 2 "Lord of the Rings"

-Torroid Terror 2 "Higher and Blinder"

-Torroid Terror 2 "The search for more lights"

or how about...

Aim High 2 "Aim Higher"

FIRST Frenzy 2 "Raising the Bar...again"

Diabolical Dynamics 2 "Not Again!"

Ok that last one was a reach...but you get the idea.

Class dismissed.

-Professor Grady