RoboCo
RoboCo is a sandbox video game developed and published by American studio Filament Games for Windows. In the game, players are tasked with building and designing robots to solve campaign challenges. RoboCo also features an open sandbox environment, robot automation through Python, and a Steam Workshop.[1]
RoboCo was initially released on Early Access on November 3rd, 2022. A VR version of the game is in development for both Windows and Meta Quest 2.[2] A Roblox game based on the title, dubbed RoboCo Sports League, is also in development. [3][4]
Plot
RoboCo takes place in a future where robots, in place of humans, are tasked with completing everyday tasks. These tasks include delivering a sandwich, breaking a piñata, chopping wood, stopping a chemical leak, and planting crops.[5]
Gameplay
In RoboCo, players use a block-based build system to design and construct robots within a pre-determined build zone.
Players primarily build robots to complete RoboCo’s campaign. Each challenge has one main objective, two sub-objectives, and five secret objectives.
Players can also build robots to explore a warehouse-inspired sandbox environment. [1]
Production
After landing a Phase 1 grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, Filament Games began developing RoboCo in April 2017. Originally a VR-only game entitled RoboEngineers, the name was changed after the company earned an NSF SBIR Phase 2 Grant and started developing a desktop version of the game for Windows in Unity.[6]
RoboCo’s first teaser trailer was released on August 8, 2019. A demo of the first level later premiered at PAX West 2019 at the Indie Megabooth.[7] RoboCo then partnered with WestEd for its first Closed Alpha.
In September 2020, RoboCo announced its partnership with FIRST to help develop virtual robotics competitions.[8] On June 3, 2022, a cinematic trailer premiered at the 2022 OTK Games Expo, an online indie games expo hosted by popular Twitch streamer, Asmongold, on June 8, 2022. [9] RoboCo later released a launch trailer on October 25, 2022, to announce its release date. [10]
RoboCo was released on Steam Early Access on November 3, 2022. A title based on the Windows version is also in development for the Meta Quest 2 and Roblox. [3][4]
Collaborations with FIRST Global
The 2021 FIRST Global RoboCo Challenge
In 2021, Filament Games and FIRST Global, an expansion of FIRST, collaborated on their first virtual robotics competition. Called The 2021 FIRST Global RoboCo Challenge, 37 international teams competed to see who could build the best robot.[11]
The challenge was broken down into three rounds - Qualifiers, Playoffs, and Finals. [11]
Each round had its own gameboard, or a level from RoboCo, that players had to complete. Each gameboard comprised of 1 main objective, 2 sub-objectives, and 5 "secret" objectives, and each was associated with one round of the challenge. Teams that completed the most objectives in the shortest amount of time with robots built with more inexpensive parts scored the highest. [11]
To complete each round, Filament Games and FIRST Global streamed a video broadcast on Twitch and YouTube showing all the participants' challenge runs, complete with announcer commentary and scoring for every team. On December 18, 2021, Filament Games and FIRST Global crowned their first Season Champion - Team Algeria. Awards were also given out for Most Aesthetic Robot, Most Creative Robot, Most Elegantly Engineered Robot, Fastest Robot, Most Cost-Effective Robot, and Highest Score.[12]
The 2023 FIRST Global RoboCo Challenge
A sequel to The 2021 FIRST Global RoboCo Challenge started on January 2, 2023, with 44 international teams competing. The format of the competition was the same as the previous 2021 competition but featured new gameboards. [11]
On March 4, 2023, Filament Games and FIRST Global crowned their second Season Champion - Team Lebanon. Team Algeria, the previous year's Season Champion, came in second place while Team Hope came in third. Awards were also given out for Most Efficient Robot, Most Aesthetic Robot, Most Creative Robot, and Most Elegantly Engineered Robot.[13]
Reception
Critics
RoboCo has a Very Positive rating on Steam with over 90 reviews. Before release, Aron Garst of UploadVR said of the demo, "While a short demo is never enough time to actually experience a good part of a sandbox builder, the silly aesthetic the game has makes the real-world-based physics and gameplay mechanics come off as loopy and over-the-top. You laugh and learn, I guess."[14] Scott Hayden of Road to VR also commented on the demo saying, "...if the preview of the campaign is any indication of the finished product, we'll be looking forward to building crappy robots on day one with the best of them." [15]
Awards
RoboCo was a finalist for the ReImagine Education Awards in 2017, the I/ITSEC Serious Games Showcase and Challenge in 2017, and International Play Summit 2018.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ashraf, Amirul (2022-10-27). "Build A Robot And Program It With An Actual Coding Language In RoboCo". Gamer Matters. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
- ↑ Journal, Judy Newman. "Filament Games turns robotics into virtual reality". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Education & Verticalization, 2023-04-18, retrieved 2023-04-28
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dickson, Jeremy (2021-04-16). "Roblox Launches US$10-Million Edu-Game Fund". Kidscreen. Retrieved 2023-04-28. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ ""Science Meets Sandbox. Cozy Builder, Roboco, Launches November 3" - Games Press". www.gamespress.com. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
- ↑ "Filament Games, Llc". www.sbir.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
- ↑ "INDIE MEGABOOTH PAX WEST 2019 LINEUP REVEALED". Retrieved 2023-04-28.
- ↑ "FIRST® and Filament Games Join Forces with Roblox to Create First-of-its-kind Online Educational Robotics Experience". PRWeb. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
- ↑ Polhamus, Blaine (2022-06-08). "OTK Games Expo 2022: All games and viewer prize winners". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
- ↑ RoboCo - Official Steam Early Access Launch Trailer - IGN, 2022-11-01, retrieved 2023-04-28
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "FIRST Global RoboCo Challenge". fgrc.roboco.co. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
- ↑ FIRST Global RoboCo Challenge 2021 - Final Round Results!, retrieved 2023-04-28
- ↑ FIRST Global RoboCo Challenge 2023 - Finals Round Results!, retrieved 2023-04-28
- ↑ "RoboCo Is An Educational VR Sandbox About Designing Robots". UploadVR. 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
- ↑ Hayden, Scott (2019-04-12). "'RoboCo' Looks to Fuel Interest in STEM by Letting You Build Useful (and Crappy) Robots". Road to VR. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
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