See also with a similar concept: RoboForge[0][1] (2001), where you designed and programmed a fighting robot.
Roboforge also did another thing that I still - even two decades later in this microtransaction-laden world - haven't seen again: Paid tournaments!
You could enter your bot into online tournaments for free, or you could pay something like $5 to enter a paid tournament, and if you won you'd win a real-money prize. There's probably some huge legal issue around what pretty much amounts to gambling, but it was brilliant.
Roboforge also did another thing that I still - even two decades later in this microtransaction-laden world - haven't seen again: Paid tournaments!
You could enter your bot into online tournaments for free, or you could pay something like $5 to enter a paid tournament, and if you won you'd win a real-money prize. There's probably some huge legal issue around what pretty much amounts to gambling, but it was brilliant.
[0]http://www.roboforge.altervista.org/ [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roboforge