RoboRiot is an 8-level strategy/adventure game that addresses two genetics misconceptions: that the inheritance of traits is not random, and that dominant genetic traits are inherently better or more powerful than recessive traits. The game is set on a planet where robots do most of the manual work: Water Bots clean, Fire Bots cook, Ice Bots make smoothies. But suddenly the robots start rampaging and wrecking things: A hacker has infected them. Players must build teams of rescue robots from spare parts and use them to subdue and disinfect the rampaging bots.
Players use a recycler to build their robots. It randomly combines “alleles” of two junked bots to create a new robot. Since the process is random, players cannot control what type of bot they get, and must run the recycler until it produces a bot with the traits they want. Once they’ve assembled their team, they take on the rioters. These encounters reveal that dominant genetic traits aren’t inherently more powerful or better than recessive ones. Clever strategy, not hereditary dominance, wins the day.
