First of all, I want to thank everyone who has submitted questions and answers concerning the games in which you are experts. It’s been a lot of fun reading them, particularly the games I know well myself, and we’re already have 570 of the 2,500 questions I’d like the game to have when it launches. We’ll keep expanding the Q&A database, but I’d like to have at least 250 games at launch. It’s amazing, we already have question sets for two games of which I’d never heard before, Persona 3 and Typhoon Thompson and the Quest for the Sea Child.
Second, everybody likes the idea of a game history-based quiz game. I’ve spoken with several developers and designers who are sending me question sets for their own games, which is cool, and the company for which I designed the game really likes the competitive structure of the game. (There is also a more generic gameplay mode called Mastery Mode, but that’s ordinary enough so it’s not of particular interest to me.) The game has enough potential that Alpenwolf has decided we will develop it ourselves rather than turn the design over to the other development teams as originally planned.
Third, it’s apparent that the experts can probably come up with better fake answers for the multiple choice aspects than we can. So, if you’re willing to put in the additional effort, it would be very helpful if you would provide three incorrect answers to go with the correct one. Several of you have already done this; the format should be as follows:
Who is the player’s companion throughout the game?
Ghost
1=Traveler;2=Speaker;3=Rasputin;4=Ghost
4
The first line is the question. The second line is the fill-in-the-blank answer. The third line is the multiple choice options. The fourth line indicates which multiple choice answer is correct.
Unlike most quiz games, this one features both fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice at the same time. In the competitive game, you’ll get a bonus if you can correctly fill in the blank when your opponent correctly answers the multiple choice. You’ll only see the blank when the question first appears, but if you hit the spacebar, the blank is replaced by multiple choice; whoever correctly answers first also gets a bonus, albeit one that is one-quarter the amount of the fill-in-the-blank bonus. This rewards true knowledge as opposed to mere recognition.
Don’t feel any pressure to provide the multiple choice options, however. We can take care of them, it’s just that it will be faster and we suspect the quality will be higher if the game experts include them. But what’s really important is the 10 basic questions. Two other things to keep in mind: try to avoid verbose answers due to the fill-in-the-blank component and don’t create questions about expansions or sequels, keep them focused on the core game. We’ll come up with separate questions about the expansions.
Also, please include the actual year of release as well as the era. As I mentioned, every game expert contributing will receive game coins, not only usable in this game, but for all the games in the new system. Below is an example of one question set that was of particular interest to me; the expert will probably note that I changed a few questions. In case it’s not clear, the number in the first column refers to difficulty. 1 is Easy, 2 is Medium, 3 is Hard, and 4 is Expert.
Wizardry
PC (apple 2)
RPG
1980s (1981)
Sir-Tech
| wizardry1 | 1 | What game developer produced Wizardry? | Sir-Tech |
| wizardry1 | 1 | What is the maximum number of characters in a party? | 6 |
| wizardry1 | 1 | What is the name of the arch-wizard on the final level? | Werdna |
| wizardry1 | 1 | Where can your characters be resurrected or cured of paralysis? | temple;Temple of Cant |
| wizardry1 | 2 | What is the base word of all fire spells? | halito |
| wizardry1 | 2 | What spell is described as a ‘small tactical nuclear weapon’? | tiltowait |
| wizardry1 | 2 | What transport device is first found on level 4? | elevator |
| wizardry1 | 3 | What are the four elite classes? | Bishop, Lord, Samurai, Ninja |
| wizardry1 | 3 | What is the best weapon? | Muramasa Blade |
| wizardry1 | 4 | Due to a bug, what items work when not equipped? | regeneration |
Here is the list of games for which we have questions so far:
Swashbuckler, Destiny, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Rebel Assault, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Postal 2, Mechcommander 2, Ultima VI: The False Prophet, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Sid Meier’s Pirates!, Command & Conquer, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, Doom II: Hell on Earth, Akalabeth: World of Doom, Annals of Rome, Covert Action, Executive Suite, King of Dragon Pass, Long Live the Queen, Wasteland 2,Thief, Quake, Wipeout 2097, M.U.L.E., Taipan, Typhoon Thompson and the Quest for the Sea Child, Agent U.S.A., Homeworld, Phantasie, Planescape: Torment, Metal Gear Solid, EVE Online, Heroes of Might and Magic III, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Darklands, Fable: The Lost Chapters, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, The Bard’s Tale, Swords and Serpents, Civilization V, Warlords, Academagia, Bomberman 64, Europa Universalis IV.
If you’re an expert in a game that isn’t on the list, please contribute! In addition to the game coins, we’ll also put your name in the credits unless you don’t want it in there.