Art Bots

n the first of a regular feature on Robocraftgame.com, we sat down (albeit virtually) with talented Robocraft Artbot creator ‘goodtimes_c’ to chat about all things bot building. Want some insider info on how to make great looking artbots? Read on dear friends…

Tell us a bit about yourself
Hello, I live in the United States of America and I grew up in the 80s. As a kid, I was fortunate to grow up in the world of the local arcades and have enjoyed playing video games ever since. As a memento my early days, I built my own functional arcade cabinet and fitted it with my favorite old school games. Besides video games, I enjoy spending quality time with friends and family, playing soccer, running, and watching every sport imaginable. Especially American football and UFC!

How did you get into Artbot design?
This goes way back to when I was young. LEGOs was the culprit. Back then, we had no internet, no smartphones, no video games, so we had to create our own toys. I was fascinated with creating everything I could and was mostly inspired by Saturday morning and after school cartoon characters. Particularly shows like Inspector Gadget, Thundarr the Barbarian, Voltron, Transformers, Star Blazers, Thundercats – I could go on and on. I would make robots with secret compartments and weapons. Naturally, when I stumbled upon Robocraft, it brought me back to the good times I had as a youngster. Hence, Goodtimes_c. The c is actually from when I was playing another game, called Team Fortress Classic. There were many users with the same nickname, so I tried to differentiate myself by adding a © for copyright. lol

Captain Caveman by goodtimes_c

What inspires you?

I was actually inspiring to be a cartoon/comic artist. But I fell in love with technology and went in that direction. But I still do work on the side and in Robocraft to satisfy my artistic desires. Inspiration can come from anywhere – games, movies, television. For me, it is just a personal challenge to see if I can create something that I envision. Just like everyone else who is creating their bot, I will struggle and fail, but perseverance will bring success eventually.

Dungeon Master (From Dungeons & Dragons) by goodtimes_c
What artbot are you most proud of?

When creating an artbot I am conscious about being a liability to my teammates if I bring it to battle. I see some artbots come into a match with no movement parts or no weapons which is not cool. So the artbots I’m most proud of are the ones that are contributing to the team. The pinnacle would be to create a artbot which excels on the team. I’ve had many fun adventures with an old bot called ‘ChickenPoxGT’. Some artbots are not to be underestimated. I’ve learned that the hard way and it is an embarrassing experience!

But for strictly art, my favorites I built are ‘SaltyCruiseGT’, ‘RyuGT’, ‘RamboGT’, and particularly ‘TheFruitoftheDoomGT” since it won a category in the first Robocraft art competition.

Salty Cruise by goodtimes_c
What challenges do you face when creating a particular bot? How do you move beyond them?
Usually it is the details. The more cubes and CPU available, the more detailed your artbot may become. So when building, you always have to manage your CPU. For example, my humanoid artbots tend to have big heads so I can get more detail in and then they will have small bodies to save CPU such as ‘RyuGT’. They tend to look like funny caricatures in the end, but having fun is what artbots are all about. When creating a He-man bot, MasterofUniverseGT, I ran out of CPU. So I had to exchange the front legs of Battlecat to a lesser tech level and hollow out the inside of the bot get below the cap. It still wasn’t finished but I submitted it anyway to the second Robocraft competition and it somehow made it as a runner up. Another challenging artbot I created was ‘SnoopyGT’. I wanted it to fly, so it took some engineering and a lot of helium to make it happen. I guess the biggest challenge is satisfaction. There is always something to improve upon.

Snoopy by goodtimes_c

How long does it take to create a particular bot.

Creating an artbot can take hours depending on what you are trying to accomplish. First you have to have the right parts, then you have to think about what your subject is and role it will play. And of course, you have to manage the CPU. Then you have to visualize how your available cubes will form into your creation. When I created ‘TheFruitoftheDoomGT’, my original idea was a fruit basket. But then I thought about Fruit of the Loom underwear, and thought it would be a funny looking bot. I’ve never seen 3 bots in one so I gave it a shot. The Apple would be the leader with smgs, the long banana with rails, and the grapes would use plasma. It took a couple of days on and off to create that one.

Fruit of the Doom by goodtimes_c
What other artbots or artbot creators’ impress you?
There are some very nice manga/anime artbots out there. I once saw a giant 8-ball which had the ability to roll on the ground. But any artbot that helps the team and looks good will always gain my respect. It is a custom at the beginning of the match to acknowledge another artbot on your team. Bow and respect your fellow artbotter(is that a word?)!

Naruto by Pentagon1994
Any tips for budding artbot creators?
Practice, study, and make screenshots of other artbots you see. Try to create them yourself and learn how they are put together. You shouldn’t plagiarize, but you can can definitely get ideas to help you with your own creation. Run Robocraft in Windowed mode and have a screenshot window next to it like painters do with their subjects. Don’t be afraid of critique and don’t be angry if someone doesn’t like it. Everyone has their own opinion and taste. Critique yourself. I’ve made many bots I thought were nice, but I would come back later to it and realize it’s garbage and will start all over. Get ideas from similar looking builds outside Robocraft such as LEGOs and NANOBLOCKS (thank you leftofnever). Ask your friends what they think. Usually you will know in game if it is decent when your teammates comment or huddle around you. Lastly, get the premium colors. It does make a difference.
What do you love about Robocraft?
I tend to enjoy the ‘Build’ part of Robocraft more so than the competitive part. The building is my sandbox to play around and create something. It is a bonus to take it out and see how it does in a battle and discover its weaknesses and improve upon it. But I also enjoy the teamwork aspect of game. I also play Team Fortress 2, and I think Robocraft would excel even more if they follow their model. Especially its man vs machine, capture the flag, and attack/defend modes.

He-Man by goodtimes_c
As an ‘artbot’ creator, what feature/s would you like to see in the game?

Clone garages – the ability to clone a bot to another garage. This is useful to make changes but keep the original intact.
Flip bot in edit mode – I spent a good amount of time creating a bot one time and later realized I made it backwards >in the garage!! I overlooked the arrow on the floor and had to create the entire bot all over again. Having a feature to flip the bot 180 would be appreciated.
Shortcut key views in edit mode – ie Ctrl+F (front view) Ctrl+B (back view) Ctrl+T (top view) Ctrl+S (side view)
Paint surfaces instead of entire cube – will get better results if there was an option to paint just a side of a cube.
More CPU – I miss the Megabots days. Having more CPU is having a bigger canvas to create your masterpiece.
Cylinder cubes – think of a short cylinder the height of a regular cube. It looks like a pill and will have 2 connection points just like to aero rods. Will then have the ability to make nice piping designs. Add a half dome (one connection point) and right angle cylinders for even more fun.
Add a artbot category/filter in CRF (Community Robot Factory)
More color palettes (give more detail to artbots)
More garage bays (one bay per level?)
Submit more than 25 bots in CRF (50?100?)
Zoom out more for garage view (not edit mode) – it is difficult/impossible to see the entire bot for tall bots in the garage CRF view