RollBots Online!

I just realized I haven't given any credit to the geniuses at Xenophile for making the (ahem) RollBots Online Experience. When we were dreaming up the idea of a site for the show, I had all sorts of crazy ideas about what to do... and they've exceeded my expectations at every turn. Very cool stuff. So you can either head on over to the site yourself, or just look at some of the things they've done (all academic-like)...

The basic navigation is the idea that you're in the FCPD, and you can use the various systems there to get around. My favourite part is the HoloGrid, the giant blue map of Flip City that Penny uses to diagnose trouble. There are a bunch of glowy spots on it that you can click on to get to games (and they're adding a new game every other week, I believe, so it'll get busy fast).

The games are simple but fun. My kids are both better than I am at every single challenge, so I've given up trying to win altogether. In the game pictured above, I've taken to just shooting anything that moves. Especially those snotty little bottots. They make me so MAD...

Another fun feature is the databank, where we keep files on all the bots from the show. We've put an insane amount of work into this system, so you'll get context-sensitive clues about the storyline. For instance, there's a bot that's appearing in 105 that you won't see in the databank until after that episode airs... but when they do, you'll get a bit more of the big picture revealed (whether you realize it or not).

The thing the kiddies like most is building your own bot. We've got all different shapes and sizes to choose from, and you can swap out arms and legs and colours at will. Then you choose your bot's tribe (each has its own benefits) and name 'em and you're done! My bot's name is Dego, but I won't say why...

Aaaaaand finally is the part that I actually made myself, long ago (or at least the coding part of it). It's the Danuga translator, which converts English into the RollBots language. I'm pretty sure I've covered Danuga elsewhere, but the gist is this: RollBots have their own way of speaking (though it's a bit of an extinct language, speaking-wise). There's an alphabet and grammatical rules etc that I worked VERY hard to put into code, so you can usually enter any phrase and have to spit back something useful. At one point in the season, you will actually get to hear this stuff spoken. It is very cool.

And that, as they say, is that. Just a quick tour of the site. You should give it a look-see, if for no other reason than to play with the translator. Insult your friends! Woo!

I have one other bit of cool RollBots news to reveal soon, but I have to do some legwork first. Stupid legwork...