I was thinking a little last night (dangerous, I know) and had a crazy idea. What would you guys think of…
…a FIRST video game?
No, I’m not talking a flash game or anything like that. I’m talking a full-blown 3D platform video game.
I was thinking of compiling a bunch of games. You choose a FRC game, then have the option of choosing an actual robot from that game or building your own. You get a variety of choices for drive, manipulator, etc., then combine them. Then, you play a regional with that robot, controlling it through the match.
Does anyone think this idea has a shot in the real world? Or should I go to bed earlier so I don’t get ideas like this?
(Also note: No way anyone can do this solo; it would have to be a massive team effort by several teams/individuals working together.)
that would be a hardcore idea!! I know that team 1535 (TKOA) has a simluator for this game (the Overdrive Game) they are testing on their website here
Which could be the start, I have it on my laptop, and it isn’t a bad start, its a little crazy with the driving, (you go wayyyy too fast and flip all the time).
But it would be amazing! I would help out with it for sure
there were a few people working on this kind of project for years and as far as I know it didn’t go anywhere. Maybe you can pick up where they left off.
Cool idea! There would need to be a robot design platform. Of course, nothing is free, so you would need to have RoboBucks to purchase materials or COTS. You could raise RoboBucks by demonstrating Gracious Profesionalism. And to make it very realistic, every game would have to have a KOP component that doesn’t work!
Greg, you’ve got a point, but it’s been long enough that it might just be easiest to see what can still be used from that, then improve it. And the simulator from 1535 could be used to help.
Here is what I am seeing:
Some real robots for each game. Enough to fill a regional, maybe.
Limits like we get. Ideally, these would vary by game, but that is one thing to be worked out. (Cost, weight, size–those can be built in, though.)
Random failures. You know, every now and again, something fails for no apparent reason. Possibly an option to turn this off.
Looking at the last attempt, it looks like it just fizzled due to lack of interest. However, it seems that a fair number of the contributors are still around. We may need to just start from scratch.
Of course, it might be easier to try going for one season first. Then add one at a time until all the games have been added.
As a note, I might not be able to do any actual work on this (modeling, programming, etc.) due to time constraints. If we did try this again, I think specialization would be key. One team works out the modeling, another the programming, another the controls, etc. Then a compilation team puts it all together and starts the testing.
If you make it, I would play it. However, if I recall correctly, there have been a few BattleBots games that came out a while ago that never went anywhere. If you are doing it for fun or the challenge, go for it. If you are hoping to make money, I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
I had this idea at the begining of the season. I wondered if there were any teams that made a playable simulation of the game to get idea how it would play out and how to best strategize. These obviously wouldn’t have the best graphics, but if the team had a really good programming department, something with functionality and all the rules could theoretically be done. I wonder if there are any teams that do this.
WHOA!!:ahh: I was thinking the same thing (not the FIRST part though) i’ve been looking all over the internet trying to find game design programs for that stuff. (Couldn’t find anything though)
Do this kind of for fun. When a beta version is reached, post it somewhere and get non-FIRST friends to play. If they like it, carry on and get a better version. If they think they would buy it, see if some company would like to give it a shot. If not, oh well.
If you want to develop console games, every company (Sony, Nintendo, etc…) sell developers editions of their systems.
Bad thing is they cost at least double what the systems themselves cost.
For a game developer, this is petty cash if they make the next big hit though.
For a hobby standpoint, it’s going to be expensive, and you have to consider the whether or not the investment will be worth it for you, but I’m sure you can find some PSX1 developers consoles for cheaper just to get you started.
I know those were going for about 700 bucks way back when the PSX was selling for 300 in it’s glory-day (mid to late 90’s).
Why does it have to be 3-d? I sometimes prefer the 2d graphics such as an overhead view of overdrive. I think that this could be started as an online game. The standards. You have so many points to distribute as you want as far as power/speed/hurdle ability… Then as you do well you can earn points. Just an idea.
Cool factor. You could “easily” do a flash game in 2D. (It’s been done for 2006 and started for 2007.) But it just looks cooler to have it 3D. Plus, I think if you wanted to have much of a chance later at developing further, you’d almost have to go 3D.
By the way, 1535’s simulator is a pretty good start, but could be improved with an option to drive the other way (omni in back, not front). They also have a pretty big to-do list. If they needed help, could CDers provide it?
