This was it. The last round of the tournament. Melvin gritted his teeth and slipped the glove over his hand.

The glove fit snugly. It was lined with motion-sensors, which could detect the hand's every move. Melvin made a fist, and extended his index finger and middle finger. He placed the tips of these two fingers on the ground.

Through the plexiglass windows above the 10-foot circular arena, he saw his competitors do the same.

"Hands in position? READY, SET, GO!" Cried the announcer, as five tiny robots jumped into the ring.

Each robot was about eight inches tall, and humanoid. They were styled (perhaps immaturely, thought Melvin) in the form of the large battle-mechs of cartoons such as Gundam or Transformers. As each competitor's hands ran in place, their robot's legs followed, propelling the remotely controlled automatons around the arena.

Some robots were outfitted with jump jets or wings, for propelled flight. One of them soared down towards Melvin's robot, KJ-47. Melvin waited for the right moment, then flicked his pinkie, and at the exact same moment, KJ-47 executed a swift uppercut with his right arm, intercepting the dive-bombing enemy.

Then, another tiny mecha tackled KJ from behind. Melvin twiddled his fingers desperately, trying in vain to escape from the other robot's crushing grapple. Noticeable but painless electrical shocks in his glove told him that if he didn't do something, fast, KJ-47 would be history.

"All right," Melvin muttered to himself grimly, then tapped his ring finger and thumb together twice. A giant fireball enveloped both KJ- 47 and his attacker as the robot self-destructed. Maybe next time Melvin would win... as soon as he installed those little machine guns.
-- DrWorm, Oct 09 2009

I'm not playing any game where the other guy can blow up my expensive play toy just because he's about to lose.
-- normzone, Oct 09 2009


Oh, not anyone can do that. Melvin, being a coward, added that as an extra feature. He was later kicked out of the league for breaking the rules.
-- DrWorm, Oct 09 2009


Can I have my robot designed to look the classic Rock-em Sock-em red guy?
-- RayfordSteele, Oct 10 2009


i like
-- dentworth, Oct 10 2009


It's cool of course, but I don't see how most of the motions are taken from moving one hand. Assuming the legs are basically direct link, I'm not sure my fingers can run in a straight line. It's not completely their fault as their legs aren't the same length. Wouldn't it be better to put each of the competitors in a body suit strapped to a tread mill?

I'm torn, this is bunnable, but it seems like it could be so much better. So I will give you a partially baked bun (+) and ask why do you need real robots when the glove could be baked today and added onto a PS3, though I guess that limits the game to playing and not building.
-- MisterQED, Oct 10 2009


Because real robots are better.

Also, if this were virtual and not real, it would basically be just a souped-up powerglove. (link)

And finally, putting this in the PlayStation would severely limit robot customization. Like you said, half of the fun of this is outfitting your own mech however you like.
-- DrWorm, Oct 10 2009



random, halfbakery