Robo Child

Robo Child

Robo Child is a strategy game where players train a bot to work as A.I agents in other games. At least, that is what players will be told. In reality they will be training their robots for my robot army. When you enter the game, you can choose from two robots. The two robots only differ in appearance. You progress through the game by solving puzzles for your robot to do. Successfully solving these puzzles cause your robots to evolve. An evolution is a change in appearance and abilities. Players can pay for additional skins and accessories to change the appearance of their robot at any evolution. But they cannot pay for abilities. Your ultimate objective is to prepare your robot for the ultimate evolution--a state where it can operate independently so it can do its job. The robots will have a plugin to insert them into any application. Jobs include fighters in games, ghosts for pacman, and poker players. But the job I’m really interested in is using the robots for their compute power.

The first stage for the robot is creation. Your objective is to keep the robot alive until its next evolution. This task involves distributing your rations at regular intervals to keep the robot operating. You are given a ration of oil and electricity to take care of the robot’s basic needs. Electricity is your robot’s energy source. If your robot goes without electricity for too long, it dies. The oil is to keep the robot’s hardware in shape. Your robot will begin to rust if it has not been washed with oil. Let the robot go too long without oil and it will die. The only knowledge robots possess is how to consume electricity when they are charging. The only knowledge you possess, is the amount of electricity and oil you have. Robots can be put to sleep for a fixed amount of time each day. In this state they require no maintenance and don’t drain electricity.

The robot will remain operating if you are oiling it and feeding it electricity, but it won’t help your robot to evolve. In order to reach the following stages you must train the robot in addition to maintaining its basic needs. It is not advised that you skip training because this is the main way to earn your rations. Skill are acquired through direct teachings and experience. Training sessions consists of puzzles you must solve to teach your robot a new skill. How well you train your robot determines how successful they will perform at their new job. After creation, is navigation. Your robot must learn to detect walls; where north, south, east, and west are located; recognize goal items; pick up things and put them down.

Experience can be gained by playing with other robots or exploring Robo World. To engage with another robot, send an invite to a player. The invite is a link to a private room. Anyone that has the link can join the room. So feel free to hang out with one or multiple robots. If you have someone’s email address or phone number you can send them a link to the room. During play dates, you can see how the A.I performs with other robots. Or you can train each other by solving puzzles together. If you do not have friends to invite on play dates, you can meet other robots in Robo World. Robo World is an open world for all robots to roam. You will have control over moving your robot. However, interacting with certain parts of the world will trigger a mini lessons.