An insider's view of the GDC

Good Afternoon Teams,

Linda Maulding aka Wallace joined the GDC in April as the first ever Rotating Member. She is a Xerox engineer and mentor for one of the original FRC teams, the X-Cats Team 191. Because Linda has a fresh perspective on Game Design, I asked her if she would share her impressions of the first meeting she attended in Manchester this May. Here’s what she had to say:

I began as a FRC Team 191 mentor in 1999. It's been 12 years and I am still fired up about FIRST Robotics! At the moment I am riding on a new high. I am part of the Game Design Committee (GDC)! I get to see first hand the muscle that went into 20 years of robot popping, mind binding, kid rocking, hand slapping, FIRST Robotics Competition games!

Just to put you on notice, I might use some words to describe the GDC that may seem outside the box, things like crazy in love, compassionate, grueling, persistence, laughter, tenacious, head of the class, integrity, loud, agile, and Sherlock Holmes.

When I first arrived in Manchester I had no idea what to expect. But even in my travels, I was reminded each time the pilot lowered the landing gear and these little wheels came down to assist this gigantic plane to land safely, how much tenacity game design plays in every day technology. The fact that a committee can bring together different minds, from different corners of the world, and different fabrics of intellect to develop a winning game that can not only highlight the importance of a rookie, but also stroke the egos of the veterans, is a miracle!

Typical work sessions at the GDC begin with warm fuzzes for the appetite and a choice of liquid eye openers to ensure creative juices flow throughout the day. Then it’s down to business, and I mean business. As I glance around the room, I see team members prepared for battle armed with sketches, power points, laptops, thinking caps, sneakers, jeans, pencils and erasers, ready to jump start another season. The team is given instructions for the day. Today’s task: narrow the team’s double digit list of brainstormed game designs to a manageable smaller list. The team agrees to take on the challenge. I observe briefly to learn the session protocol. While observing I hear and see the passion the team has, as they literally take ownership of a task and work it to satisfaction as a team.

After reviewing and discussing all the game designs, we then used a tactical approach to reduce the list to 3 with at least two other designs tied for 4th.  Now that we have a manageable list, we move into what I call Shake-n-Bake.  We take the ingredients of each game, knead them together, and throw them into the game arena to see what cooks up.

In order to do that we must now move the working session from a conference room onto the game field.  The idea is to mimic each game as closely as possible to identify hiccups and complications. It also allows the team to be proactive in solving issues that may surface during the actual game play. Since we are early into the GDC sessions, there aren’t any sample game pieces or robots available, so the team becomes the tools they need to play the game.

This is a fun time, but one of the most productive, because it gets you right in the heart of the game! We run and crawl around on the field as robots, working the game, asking questions, throwing out good ideas, throwing out bad ideas, tweaking strategy, solving problems, and creating some too, all for the love of the game!

We Shake-n-Bake each game to ensure we have exhausted possible scenarios, answered as many questions as we could, and dotted many I’s and crossed a lot of T’s. By now it was late evening and we were exhausted as we lay sprawled on the game field eating ice cream!  I smiled as I remember the daily schedule did say 8AM to 7PM ish!

As we got up to leave the session, a new burst of energy was in the air, so someone suggested we meet at this interesting watering hole that serves fried pickles to continue the discussion! Little did I know my day was not over! We arrived at the watering hole, ordered refreshments, scanned the gallery for FIRST alums then the discussion continued!

It’s been a while since I’ve had to stay completely focused for that many hours of the day. Being on the GDC I have developed a new love for grueling and I’m loving it!

The next day, while walking down the hill to the work session, I learned that the team came up with another game idea in the twilight hours at the thirsty fried pickles place!  (Ok, I will admit some of us could not hang, so we left to get some sleep.) Remember when I said the short list could get longer…it just did!

The day began with the team running the Shake-n-Bake act on the newest game idea. The task for the day: narrow the list to 3 again and then Shake-n-Bake the games to pick the best 2. Since we knew the drill, we got to work.

During the working sessions, all the bases are covered. The team may not have all the answers and they may not all agree on everything, but I can almost guarantee that if you think they missed something or didn’t consider something, think again. They covered it! This team is the head of the class!

The team works hard at turning over every leaf and magnifying details so that when the lights go on, none of the delicate craftsmanship falls through the cracks. The ability to develop WIN –WIN scenarios for all involved, including the students and  their sponsors, is at the heart of every work session. The team takes very seriously the opportunity to challenge and inspire young minds while promoting co-opertition between corporate and education industries. Not only is everyone heard, they are also given a chance to be a part of the solution.

I can’t wait for the next meeting.  We still have a lot to get done before the 2012 game will be ready for Kickoff.

219 days until the 2012 kickoff

See you then!