Just to try to add another point-of-view: the current game they're working is a smaller project, and as previously stated in the story they have to also consider the complexity of the designs. They need to consider the time and effort needed to implement the designs, and the performance impact of more complex design or inclusion of extras like the bots. So, the way the competition went isn't entirely dumb... however, only the author knows if such things were actually considered. :)