Author Topic: New TPiR game coming: Rat Race (Read 30712 times)

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #75 on:** June 17, 2010, 06:17:17 AM »

Seeing the actual game, it's obvious that if there is a mechanical problem, the race will be re-run and the tape edited. The disclaimer will appear in teeny-tiny lettering that no one can read at the end of the show.

tvwxman · « **Reply #76 on:** June 17, 2010, 07:26:22 AM »

Not a bad game, but they clearly need to A: slow down the rats and B: clearly show what rats win the race, so it can be explained better to the audience what prize the contestant wins.

My only suggestion of improvement : The three prizes' prices are not mentioned. Maybe they should play the guessing game with those three instead of adding more small prizes? Do it with a $10 , $100, $1000 range for the 3 prizes maybe?

chris319 · « **Reply #77 on:** June 17, 2010, 09:16:25 AM »

Those rats are actually slot cars. Pause the video at the right places and the slots are plainly visible in the tracks.

With Plinko, the trajectory of each chip is determined by simple physics: gravity and the chip ricocheting off the pegs. With Rat Race, the speed of each rat is determined not by simple physics but by ...

It seems to me the speed of each rat would have to be set in advance.

Matt is right; the game ends in a whimper. The finish goes by in a blur and lacks all anticipation and suspense. There is no audience reaction to speak of at the finish until Drew tells the guy what he has won. Even Stan seemed a little confused as the theme came in a second or two late. The rats need to be slowed down by a factor of two or three but I don't think that will fix the lack-of-suspense problem.

Why is Drew rooting only for the blue rat? Bradley could have won if the orange rat had come in as one of the first three. They got really lucky having a contestant as animated as Bradley for this game's first outing.

Jeremy Nelson · « **Reply #78 on:** June 17, 2010, 09:17:54 AM »

I dunno if it's the audience trying to process what happed as much as it is them knowing he didn't win the car. One thing Drew made clear: if the rat you pick crosses first, you win the car. Easy enough. Sure, the audience may have been trying to process what he DID win, but part of it was that they knew he didn't win the car.

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'242609\' date=\'Jun 16 2010, 10:19 PM\']while I'd have preferred GUTS-style lockout lights,[/quote]
I like that, especially considering that when you look back at the tape, it seems the mice hit the end of the track hard enough where if you put some sort of sensor or button there, it would register.

Mr. Armadillo · « **Reply #79 on:** June 17, 2010, 09:19:47 AM »

The orange rat was nowhere near the front of the pack at any point in the race. He was rooting for the only rat of Bradley's that actually had a chance in Hell of winning.

Also, for all intents and purposes, is there any difference between a rat that finishes in fifth and a rat that doesn't finish at all? (Don't talk to me about the scenario where three (or more) rats all spontaneously malfunction...the odds of that are somewhere along the lines of the odds of someone winning Plinko.)

/Orange rat and blue rat?
//Now those are choices I can get behind
///Go Illini!

chris319 · « **Reply #80 on:** June 17, 2010, 09:29:05 AM »

Watch it again. The orange rat was ahead of the blue until the second curve. Drew started rooting for the blue rat roughly around the first curve.

If they're going to do a slo-mo replay, it needs to be done with Drew describing it before he tosses to commercial, not after.

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I dunno if it's the audience trying to process what happed as much as it is them knowing he didn't win the car.

I think you give the audience too much credit. Those rats all cross the finish line within one second or less of each other. There was no moan from the audience because he didn't win the car -- there was simply no reaction.

LetsGoMets2003 · « **Reply #81 on:** June 17, 2010, 09:45:31 AM »

I just love the game. It's addicting for some very odd reason. lol.

Clay Zambo · « **Reply #82 on:** June 17, 2010, 10:18:40 AM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'242634\' date=\'Jun 17 2010, 09:16 AM\']Those rats are actually slot cars. Pause the video at the right places and the slots are plainly visible in the tracks.[/quote]

And described in the "making-of" video.

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With Rat Race, the speed of each rat is determined not by simple physics but by ... It seems to me the speed of each rat would have to be set in advance.

I would presume that they're all wound equally tightly--but of course that's not necessarily the case. And I don't think it matters, since the player picks the rats, rather than the rats being assigned to specific prizes.

Quote

Clay Zambo · « **Reply #83 on:** June 17, 2010, 10:22:00 AM »

[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' post=\'242615\' date=\'Jun 17 2010, 12:37 AM\'][quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' post=\'242614\' date=\'Jun 17 2010, 12:27 AM\']As for the rat-not-finishing problem: that seems no different from "sorry, you picked a shell that doesn't have the ball under it."[/quote]
Not even close. The Shell Game scenario you mentioned is caused by the contestant's own mistakes. Rat Race has the potential to be impossible to win no matter what the contestant does.
[/quote]

As was the case at the only Kentucky Derby party I've attended. "My" horse went lame just a few lengths out of the gate. Didn't matter how tasty was the guacamole I'd brought, I still lost.

JasonA1 · « **Reply #84 on:** June 17, 2010, 10:31:49 AM »

[quote name=\'LetsGoMets2003\' post=\'242640\' date=\'Jun 17 2010, 09:45 AM\']I just love the game. It's addicting for some very odd reason.[/quote]

After one time?

Would it be cleaner to only play for the car? Thus, if one of the contestant's rats wins the race, they win the car?

It IS odd the show would make a rule so decisively against the contestant (it broke? too bad). It sounds unwieldy to have the race truly be a random event. But it's not the whole story. Watch the video on priceisright.com. It really gives the staff a side in this whole argument. They didn't just send these toys down a Soap Box Derby hill. They tested over 20 of 'em, and the props people were smart enough to make it a slot car system. Plus, it's readily apparent the length of the track is well below the length these things can go.

I would still like it to be a slower, pre-determined happening, but this was far from the unfair mess it looked to be on paper. Is the implication that the staff would LIKE a game that breaks down, just to save them money in the prize budget? I don't think the rule is meant to be so nefarious, but rather another example of them not fully getting it. They eventually got rid of 4-digit prizes in Clock Game. If anything about Rat Race becomes a huge issue, I believe it will get weeded out sooner or later.

It got a positive review from me on its debut. We'll see how it goes after a few more appearances.

-Jason

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #85 on:** June 17, 2010, 10:38:06 AM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'242645\' date=\'Jun 17 2010, 10:31 AM\']It IS odd the show would make a rule so decisively against the contestant (it broke? too bad).[/quote]
In the first place, I don't think we know for certain that's the rule. In the second place, a random malfunction isn't "decisively against the contestant". If a rat that he didn't choose malfunctions, then a contestant has a greater chance of winning a prize.

Like Clay says, sometimes not all horses finish the race. If the one you picked failed to finish, that's too bad for you. If someone else's horse didn't finish, that's too bad for him. And in this case, if they've got a rule that says all five rats have to finish or else we reshoot, then this whole discussion is moot.

Bob Zager · « **Reply #86 on:** June 17, 2010, 10:40:12 AM »

Earlier in the season, one of the IUFB's was a neat slot car race game set for the home. I recall Drew commenting that it looked neat, and that he ought to buy one himself. This leads me to think he got the idea for the new pricing game from that.

Whether the winning rat is predetermined or not, if a contestant earns his/her choice of (the maximum) three rats, they would be guaranteed to win at least ONE prize, and it could still be the car!

chris319 · « **Reply #87 on:** June 17, 2010, 10:53:48 AM »

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I would presume that they're all wound equally tightly

Wound? Since when do you wind up a slot car?

Joe Mello · « **Reply #88 on:** June 17, 2010, 11:52:02 AM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'242650\' date=\'Jun 17 2010, 10:53 AM\']Since when do you wind up a slot car?[/quote]
Since when did they mention they were using slot cars? The course is designed so that they behave like them, but I don't recall anyone saying they were slot cars.

Jeremy Nelson · « **Reply #89 on:** June 17, 2010, 11:53:05 AM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'242645\' date=\'Jun 17 2010, 09:31 AM\']Would it be cleaner to only play for the car? Thus, if one of the contestant's rats wins the race, they win the car?[/quote]
Well that's the case anyway. The other prizes ensure that if the contestant goes 3 for 3 in the pricing half, then they'll win something.

/Guess I'll have to change my sig now