Subject:
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Re: rtlToronto, the Road Ahead/VM Questions
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto
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Date:
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Fri, 23 Aug 2002 21:22:10 GMT
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Viewed:
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1058 times
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> maybe by calling this game vending machines was a mistake... maybe that
> put a bad tone over the game.
When you call something a "vending machine" I automatically think of
the ubiquitous Coke machine. They're completely static. The most
excitement you'll get from looking at it would come when the little
light comes on to signify that it's out of a particular product after
dispensing that last 'whatever'. Coke machines are a particularly bad
image to have - you don't even get to see the product drop. All you
hear is a clunk and (maybe - hopefully) the sound you your change
coming back. At least chocolate bar vending machines give you that 3
second thrill as the corkscrew makes exactly 1 revolution to dispense
your purchase. Life doesn't get much more fun than that!
All friendly sarcasm aside, last year, when we were keeping our vigil
at St. Michael's, I would occasionally bring my son along. On one
visit, we stopped off at the vending machines in the east lobby near
the elevators to buy some smarties. This is a child who, at that time,
was 1-1/2 and who had never seen a vending machine before. He watched
the machine with interest as the corkscrew turned and out came the
little box. His interest continued for about 30 seconds, and, when
nothing happened, he found it more interesting to watch the elevator
lights. Imagine the level of interest from adults and older children
when, on entering the library, they see a sign that says there are
vending machines in the lobby. Let's face it, aside from some weird
people you probably shouldn't be hanging around in a basement with
anyway, it's not likely to pique many people's interest.
What I'm saying here is that I think we have a name problem. We could
create interesting patterns, textures, forms and other truly creative
and amazing things with dryer lint, but if we advertise it a s drier
lint, you can guess the response.
It's true. My whole attitude towards this game, from day one, has been
governed by my the images the name invokes. This game needs an image
makeover almost as badly as I do.
> let me try again from a different approach.
>
> guys:
>
> build a robot that does anything you want it to do.
>
> the end!!!
>
> the winner of this game is based on which robot the audience like best.
>
> !PERIOD!
A much better idea. It still needs a name and an image to attract the
audience (and possibly some competitors who might be turned off by the
static vending machine idea).
> I think a SIMPLE way to have the audience interact with and "vote" for
> the best machine would be to have then "pay" for that service.
>
> SURE we could hand out tokens.... BUT a real quarter is a lot harder
> for your robot to get. anyone might be able to had one token to 3 of
> the BEST designs, BUT anyone who can come up with a machine that
> intrigues people enuff to spend REAL MONEY will have one heck of a
> machine....
This afternoon, I made what may very well be my last trip to the Sears
Clearance Center in Brampton. Aside from a dozen Droid Developer sets,
they had absolutely NOTHING. Nada. Zip.* Whatever happened to their
toy section? How did they possibly get rid of all the Lego they once
had so quickly? It's been this way for months now. It makes me wonder
if there isn't any super-secret place that they dump all their excess
Lego in and sell it by the kilogram. Anyway, on the way back to the
office I passed this church on Rutherford Road where a bunch of guys
were clustered in the parking lot, looking like they were having fun.
Being a party animal, I stopped to join in and there, to my surprise,
was a group of robots in the center having a contest. Now most of them
were OK, but this one robot was absolutely stunning. An engineering
marvel right down to it's colour coordinated casing and about as
entertaining as anything you've ever seen in your life. Who wins the
contest? Whoever collects the most money in their robot's
corresponding cup. Great! I know who I'm voting for - but wait - I
riffle through my pockets, but the smallest denomination I can find is
a $10 bill**. Hey - I love the robot - but not that much. So in the
end I couldn't vote. Too bad they weren't handing out worthless tokens
or marking my opinion for 1, 2 and 3 on a list....
Now obviously the above paragraph is almost totally bogus (see notes
below), but I think the point should be clear. People watching us in
the library are obviously on their way to do something else. Something
which - fines aside - doesn't require money. I'm not suggesting that
people who go to the library do so with empty pockets, but
intuitively, you would be less likely to find people with spare change
there than, say, if we held it at a shopping mall. When I was a
student and heading off to the library to do some research, I might
have had enough change for some photocopies*** or some lunch, but
generally not all that much. Now, if I had happened upon some robot
contest back then, I'd have watched it but, if I had to make a choice
between the best all-round robot I'd ever seen and my lunch, my tummy
would win. A robot would have to dispense something really desirable
(like a lunch) to make me think otherwise.
OK, so maybe the robot doesn't dispense anything at all. Maybe it just
does something absolutely spectacular. Will I spend my money then?
Hell no, I'm not that stupid. I can just wait till someone else spends
the money and watch from the sidelines and *still* get to have my
lunch.
Consider also, how much money people would actually need for this (in
loose change). Lets say a person only spends a dime on each one. Let's
also say that we have 16 competitors with only one robot each****.
That's $1.60 in dimes. Do you have 16 dimes in your pocket right now?
Lets say the next robot isn't as good as the previous one, but I'm out
of dimes. Should I use a quarter? Doesn't that mean I liked it better?
What if the robot IS better but I only have pennies left....
"But", you say, "you only spend the money on the robots you like."
Doesn't that mean I've already seen it work? If I have, why would I
spend the money. I might spend the money if I get something for it,
like a game or a gum ball, but if I've already seen it working for me
or someone else, then you're really asking for what amounts to
charity. There's a reason why Coca-Cola vending machines make more
money than the United Way in a year*****.
On the other hand, tokens that didn't cost me anything, or someone
asking me how I liked the robot on a scale of 1 to 10 (et. cetera)
won't cost me anything, doesn't depend on how much money I have in my
pocket right now, doesn't depend on how many competitors I have to
divide that money among, and doesn't depend on what I was planning to
do with that money in the first place (that I might have to
sacrifice).
I vote for tokens or surveys and definitely not money.
Matthias Jetleb
* This actually is true
** This is actually what I have in my pocket right now - two twenties
and a ten. That's all I'd have available to me if I stumbled across a
robot competition right now. It's the same problem we'd have with
visitors to the library.
*** Actually, I used a CopyCard (tm). The machines at the library
didn't take change.
**** I myself am developing three different designs
***** I don't actually know this, but it wouldn't surprise me. Look at
all these charity boxes you see at cash registers in stores. People
would rather spend $1.00 for a pop for themselves than $.05 for a
charity.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: rtlToronto, the Road Ahead/VM Questions
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| when people say that vending the best product is what this game is all about....... !!!ITS!!! !!!!NOT!!!! argh.... maybe by calling this game vending machines was a mistake... maybe that put a bad tone over the game. let me try again from a (...) (22 years ago, 22-Aug-02, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)
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