Yesterday, the Case Mod World Series 2022 forum threads opened up (opens in new tab) for modders to start hashing out their work logs, and we’ve already seen a bit of a theme emerging just in the first two scratch build entries. Both of the first two entries involve some form of humanoid robot, one being a gundam concept, and the other based around a likeness of The Iron Giant—whose story is one of an armed robot that choses not to kill, but to save humans.
There are a few entries so far, but the most fleshed out concept looks to be Derek Wilson’s design (opens in new tab), which features the Iron Giant staring wistfully at the stars, with PC components integrated into a diorama scene. For instance, the Wilson plans to jam the GPU into a water tower, and the PSU inside its own little house in order to hide the components from view. The little stick dude holding a swaddled stick baby in the initial sketch is amazing, but the message is what really gets me:
“What if a gun doesn’t want to hurt anyone?”
A powerful sentence, one that challenges the fear a lot of people tend to generate around AI and robotics, as it moves into the forefront of today’s most important ethical dilemmas. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this one goes, and you can bet there will be more robot designs popping up across the categories.
For those who are interested in following along or even joining the contest, the categories are best tower mod, best scratch build, and best use of reusable materials, all with a top prize of $5,000 each. There’s also a $2,500 prize for best craftmanship, best art direction, and best non-PC mod.
The latter should be interesting, since we may well be seeing some Steam Deck (opens in new tab) mod entries this year.
If you’ve already started on a design but are interested in entering, you can still join in, as long as you started work on or after January 1, 2022. Judging will begin on December 19, and each mod will be judged (opens in new tab) on it’s craftsmanship, aesthetics, functionality, and innovation.
Check out the rules (opens in new tab) before entering, and good luck to all. I look forward to featuring your epic entries.