Meet Betabot 70107

The 70000 series of betabots attempt to communicate through game-play.

A Lab Tech proposed several months ago that this new line of Betabot be created. This Lab Tech was supposed to be running a TOI (test observer-interaction) with a 50000 series Betabot. During this TOI the Tech was to press the Betabots button once a minute for a total of 499 minutes, and continuously observe if repeated, predictable communication had any unique effect on the Betabot. Instead of running the test, the technician was caught playing “World Of Warcraft”.

During a disciplinary meeting, the technician confessed to having only pressed the Betabot’s button once, and observing the betabot carefully for only the first minute, before deciding to play “World of Warcraft” during the remaining 8 and a half hours of the TOI. The Lab Tech also expressed his strong desire that Betabots be made more exciting to communicate with, suggesting that perhaps their communication could occur within the framework of the virtual universe of “World of Warcraft”. As a result of this disciplinary meeting, the number “7” was designated to a new line of Betabots dedicated to communication through game-play, and the Lab Tech was given a three-day unpaid leave. (When he returned, he told me that he had spent the entirety of his leave playing “World of Warcraft”)

70107 has been equipped with 9999 variations on classic video games, such as Tetris, Breakout, Tank games, and the like. It has also been equipped with 5 arcade buttons and a master reset button for observer interaction. Several unsuccessful models had to be developed and tested before we were able to successfully ready 70107 for field installation. Nicknamed WOPR by the Lab Techs, (who are quite fond of it) it is hoped that 70107 will attract more observers, as well as a greater depth of observer interaction, than other lines of Betabots. It is also hoped that it will not fall victim to the failures that claimed 70107’s 106 predecessors- namely, an interesting version of the “100th hour overload”- wherein, after playing an installed game with an observer for 99 hours, the Betabot becomes unresponsive and unwilling to continue gameplay. It then powers down for an hour before suddenly powering up and overloading it’s own circuitry. To combat this, more and more games were added- each successfully managing to keep the Betabot engaged until 99 hours had been reached on the particular game. Eventually, each game had many small variations of it made in order to easily and quickly create more “games”. This growth reached its culmination with the 9999 games available for play with 70107. No matter how small a variation on the game-play, the Betabot will stay engaged with the game until 99 full hours of play have been reached, after which, it will “refuse” to play the game in question, but it will not start down the path of the “suicide circuits” error. With such a large number of games available it is highly unlikely that 99 hours of game play will be reached on all 9999 games, ( a total of 989 901 full hours of gameplay) and so, Betabot 70107 can effectively operate indefinitely.

This solution took some time to be developed. Betabots 70001 to 70100 were all burned out on attempts to get them to play Tetris indefinitely. Finally, the “World of Warcraft” fan suggested: “Why not just add more games? You’ll have them playing forever”.

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