Game Design - What's In a Game?

Every September, the FIRSTTech Challenge annual game challenge is released to the world at kickoff. It is the culmination of much anticipation from our community surrounding what the next season�s challenge will bring. It�s also just the beginning of the FIRST Tech Challenge season, where teams are tasked to build and program their robots for a successful competition season.

Have you ever wondered, where does the game challenge come from?

We realize that for much of our community, the creation of the game challenge is somewhat of a mystery. How does it work? Who are the key players? How does the Game Design Committee brainstorm these ideas?

The core Game Design Committee is made up of five volunteer members; Michael Coleman, Mark Edelman, Mannie Lowe, Joe Perrotto, and Kevin Rudd. Each spring, FIRST invites the Game Design Committee, and other creative contributors from our community, to travel to FIRST Headquarters for a two-day brainstorm session. Prior to the session, FIRSTcollects first pass game ideas from randomly selected members of the community and votes on the top four concepts. These four concepts are reviewed, discussed, and refined over the next two days. At the end of the session, votes are cast for the top concept. The concept that receives the most votes will be the concept that the Game Design Committee will work to design for the following season.

Designing a FIRSTTech Challenge game is an iterative process, and much thought needs to go into the design of the field and game elements to hit the targeted budget and deadlines. The committee must keep in mind the general objectives, ranging from strict budget requirements to making sure the game and field elements can fit into a mid-sized SUV. More importantly, they need to make sure the game is appeals to and is playable for both rookie and veteran teams, and includes tasks for all ranges of experience. In some cases, the field concept that came from the original brainstorming session is the same as the final product. But in other cases, the final field design evolves significantly from the original concept.

Our good friends at AndyMark work with the Game Design Committee closely in the beginning stages of the design process. The committee provides AndyMark with a list of requirements and key features of the game. AndyMark then goes to work to make that design come to life. Over a series of meetings, the Game Design Committee and AndyMark will review CAD drawings of the different field elements. They ensure that the elements are in line with the actions of the game. They also review how the elements can be transported easily to and from events, and how easily the elements will ship. The Game Design Committee is also tasked with building up to two rounds of prototypes to check for quality before final sign off and field production begins.

The work of our committed Game Design Committee members doesn�t stop there. As they work through the field design, the committee must collaborate to write the Game Manual Part 2 and the rules of the game. Although some of the rules are written in conjunction with the designing of the field, the rules are reviewed and reworked over many meetings to get them just right. Then they are sent off to external reviewers for feedback and suggestions.  

Kickoff for the Game Design Committee is one of the most exciting days of the year. It�s when they get to share the game they have worked so hard on for a full year with the entire FIRST Tech Challenge community. It is a proud, yet humbling experience to hear the reactions from all over the world!

Are you interested in being a part of our Game Design Committee? We are accepting applications until December 18, 2017 at 12:00pm EST. Apply here!