Developing Trivia Apps for Android - questionnaire

[Captain Kathryn]

Hi all!

I am working on developing a series of trivia applications on my own with occasional ads for the Google Play android market (after all, I am doing this as a side project to make a small amount of extra money. But the ads will not be intrusive or obstruct the game.) I'm able to do this without any cost on my part so even if I only make 50 cents, it will be a profitable endeavor since I am not employing anyone to create anything for these applications. I already have all of the programs I need to make them and it will just require some hard work and willpower. My first game is almost complete anyway.

I will be making trivia games for each Trek series, but I am aiming to make about 50-100 games in total (re-skinning the same game / changing questions for each) not only about Trek, but with each one having a different theme (Harry Potter, movies, art, general trivia, etc.).

I just wanted to take a little poll here to get a general idea of what to expect from people who are Trek fans (for the Trek-related trivia apps) and how people feel about trivia applications.

BTW: I will also develop other games that are non-trivia. I just wanted to make something completely re-skinnable for now.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

Also if you are a gamer/developer and have any advice, please let me know what you think of the idea.

Thanks~

 

[Miss Chicken]

I do like trivia apps.

I do not have an Andoid device, I use an iPad instead.

I like a wide range of trivia subjects (my favouite subjects are science, geography, history and literature). I would play a Star Trek trivia game.

I prefer trivia that isn't too American-centric but has questions that cover the whole world. I got annoyed by one 'world trivia' game I played in which at least 80% of the questions were about America. At least with Star Trek trivia this isn't an issue.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

I also primarily use my iPad too and am going to make iPad/iPhone versions if Android ones generate some revenue.

Apple has 1) stricter regulations for applications and 2) higher developer's fee to make a developer account. So I am sticking to Android at the moment.

But thank you so much for your input! I will be working iPad versions after I am all done.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Something I didn't mention before is that I like multiple choice questions rather than fill-in-the blank questions.

 

[selina]

I did postgraduate studies in game development but I tried to focus more on the storytelling part. Nevertheless, I might be of help.

Out of curiosity, may I ask with which platform you are building your games? Do you program them yourself or do you use some sort of modular system?

Personally, I like travia games which are either funny or have more gameplay elements than the "Who wants to be a millionaire"-type of games. Here are some examples:
You don't know Jack
Scene It?

Scene it?, for example, is a nice game because the player gets to see short video clips. If you are focusing on a trivia game about films or tv, it makes sense to include short clips. It's actually what I would expect of a Star Trek trivia game. And that brings me to my next point: Copyright. Have you checked if you are allowed to use the Star Trek universe? I don't want to be a spoil sport, but I could imagine that you have to ask someone at Paramount for permission, even if you don't use their footage. Then again, I honestly don't know. You might just be fine without asking. However, my point remains: I would expect some sort of reward for answering questions right.

Other things you could think about while designing:
- Chance
- Risks
Risks because the game gets more challenging when something is at stake. And chance because the player can't always tell the outcome of a situation.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

I did postgraduate studies in game development but I tried to focus more on the storytelling part. Nevertheless, I might be of help.

Out of curiosity, may I ask with which platform you are building your games? Do you program them yourself or do you use some sort of modular system?

Personally, I like travia games which are either funny or have more gameplay elements than the "Who wants to be a millionaire"-type of games. Here are some examples:
You don't know Jack
Scene It?

Scene it?, for example, is a nice game because the player gets to see short video clips. If you are focusing on a trivia game about films or tv, it makes sense to include short clips. It's actually what I would expect of a Star Trek trivia game. And that brings me to my next point: Copyright. Have you checked if you are allowed to use the Star Trek universe? I don't want to be a spoil sport, but I could imagine that you have to ask someone at Paramount for permission, even if you don't use their footage. Then again, I honestly don't know. You might just be fine without asking. However, my point remains: I would expect some sort of reward for answering questions right.

Other things you could think about while designing:
- Chance
- Risks
Risks because the game gets more challenging when something is at stake. And chance because the player can't always tell the outcome of a situation.

Yeah I've already been working in the game development industry for about 5 years now and also have a degree in computer science (just a bachelors, not post-grad). I currently work for a company that has a Flash-based (which sucks lol) MMORPG for kids. They make mobile games too on occasion. My projects will be separate from them.

I am going to program some of the games in the more traditional sense, especially any games that may need server side (though I am going to try and avoid that). I can currently code in a variety of languages including Java, C++, Objective C, Flash (even though I would never ever make an app in Flash lol), and some others. I might do more serious coding for the more complex ones I am planning on making later on, but for the trivia apps I do not require any server side at all, so I am going to be using some programs I already have at my disposal due to my job such as Construct 2 and just applying my own custom code too. I have a prototype on my android device now and just need to touch it up and apply Admob. I am not really attempting anything groundbreaking here, just some simple apps for people who want to play some trivia in an easy and convenient way. I am going to have rewards/levels and all of that stuff. Including a bunch of humor. I wouldn't make a trivia app without humor.

As for copyright, I am not going to be using any graphics/logos/video content that belong to the studio or network for the trivia apps except maybe super basic photos, but for graphics I have all of the tools and programs I need to make them myself and I have art experience working in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc. Although when I was the project manager on a game for the company I work at called "Movie Battle", we worked with a company that provided a seemingly endless amounts of video clips for a small price. But I will not be doing that. All of these apps that I am working on will have a disclaimer stating that [whatever] belongs to [whoever]. These trivia games are going to be extremely simple. Sort of the like BigBlownDog's "-olgy" apps currently on Android (one of which is Trekology). To be honest, I am not doing this as my primary work, I am just trying it on the side because I have the means to do it without any cost to myself besides effort. So if it fails, it fails. No money lost on my part and no harm done.

And yes I have "You Don't Know Jack" on my iPad and a few of the physical "Scene It?" games on DVD and am taking some ideas from those. I unfortunately don't feel comfortable using images/videos that don't belong to me and I am not putting out any money for this project (for instance, like what we did for Movie Battle and paid a company). I am doing this completely for free so anything I make is just gain. I am also not really expecting to receive a high number of downloads. I will be re-skinning the trivia game maybe 100x for all different subjects and interests so mainly just each one will target people with that specific interest. For example, I am a Voyager fan. I have a crappy (really crappy actually) Voyager app on my iPad that I played once or twice. Too many misspellings and horrible graphics. So if that's the crap that is really out there for people like me who enjoy those types of games, I am confident I can at least make them a bit better I hope.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

Something I didn't mention before is that I like multiple choice questions rather than fill-in-the blank questions.

Oh yeah. Mine are all multiple choice.

 

[selina]

Yeah I've already been working in the game development industry for about 5 years now and also have a degree in computer science (just a bachelors, not post-grad). I currently work for a company that has a Flash-based (which sucks lol) MMORPG for kids. They make mobile games too on occasion. My projects will be separate from them.

I am going to program some of the games in the more traditional sense, especially any games that may need server side (though I am going to try and avoid that). I can currently code in a variety of languages including Java, C++, Objective C, Flash (even though I would never ever make an app in Flash lol), and some others.

That's pretty awesome . Unfortunately, I can't program at all. We had a two (!) hour introduction to Flash. Then we were supposed to program our own prototype in Flash in about two weeks. I don't think I have ever felt so frustrated before. So, kudos to you that you can program in all those languages.

I might do more serious coding for the more complex ones I am planning on making later on, but for the trivia apps I do not require any server side at all, so I am going to be using some programs I already have at my disposal due to my job such as Construct 2 and just applying my own custom code too. I have a prototype on my android device now and just need to touch it up and apply Admob. I am not really attempting anything groundbreaking here, just some simple apps for people who want to play some trivia in an easy and convenient way. I am going to have rewards/levels and all of that stuff. Including a bunch of humor. I wouldn't make a trivia app without humor.

Thanks for sharing. I find this very interesting. So far I have only worked with Game Maker. And I'm glad to see that there will be humor in your game.

As for copyright, I am not going to be using any graphics/logos/video content that belong to the studio or network for the trivia apps except maybe super basic photos, but for graphics I have all of the tools and programs I need to make them myself and I have art experience working in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc. Although when I was the project manager on a game for the company I work at called "Movie Battle", we worked with a company that provided a seemingly endless amounts of video clips for a small price. But I will not be doing that. All of these apps that I am working on will have a disclaimer stating that [whatever] belongs to [whoever]. These trivia games are going to be extremely simple. Sort of the like BigBlownDog's "-olgy" apps currently on Android (one of which is Trekology). To be honest, I am not doing this as my primary work, I am just trying it on the side because I have the means to do it without any cost to myself besides effort. So if it fails, it fails. No money lost on my part and no harm done.

I know a few people who are making very small games on the side to earn some money with the adds. There is nothing wrong with that. And if you use a disclaimer, you should be on the safe side.

And yes I have "You Don't Know Jack" on my iPad and a few of the physical "Scene It?" games on DVD and am taking some ideas from those. I unfortunately don't feel comfortable using images/videos that don't belong to me and I am not putting out any money for this project (for instance, like what we did for Movie Battle and paid a company).

No one should feel comfortable using other people's material . The only reason why I've mentioned the games was to give an answer to your question above: How we would feel about such a game. Since you are adding something like levels and humor, I think I would be interested if I had a smartphone.

I am doing this completely for free so anything I make is just gain. I am also not really expecting to receive a high number of downloads. I will be re-skinning the trivia game maybe 100x for all different subjects and interests so mainly just each one will target people with that specific interest. For example, I am a Voyager fan. I have a crappy (really crappy actually) Voyager app on my iPad that I played once or twice. Too many misspellings and horrible graphics. So if that's the crap that is really out there for people like me who enjoy those types of games, I am confident I can at least make them a bit better I hope.

Well, given how many crappy apps there are, I have no doubt yours will be A LOT better.

Coincidentally there was an article in my newspaper this morning about a successfull app called "Quizduell".
Some more infos.
Not sure if there is an english version by now. But maybe the text inspires you somehow.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

Yeah I've already been working in the game development industry for about 5 years now and also have a degree in computer science (just a bachelors, not post-grad). I currently work for a company that has a Flash-based (which sucks lol) MMORPG for kids. They make mobile games too on occasion. My projects will be separate from them.

I am going to program some of the games in the more traditional sense, especially any games that may need server side (though I am going to try and avoid that). I can currently code in a variety of languages including Java, C++, Objective C, Flash (even though I would never ever make an app in Flash lol), and some others.

That's pretty awesome . Unfortunately, I can't program at all. We had a two (!) hour introduction to Flash. Then we were supposed to program our own prototype in Flash in about two weeks. I don't think I have ever felt so frustrated before. So, kudos to you that you can program in all those languages.

I might do more serious coding for the more complex ones I am planning on making later on, but for the trivia apps I do not require any server side at all, so I am going to be using some programs I already have at my disposal due to my job such as Construct 2 and just applying my own custom code too. I have a prototype on my android device now and just need to touch it up and apply Admob. I am not really attempting anything groundbreaking here, just some simple apps for people who want to play some trivia in an easy and convenient way. I am going to have rewards/levels and all of that stuff. Including a bunch of humor. I wouldn't make a trivia app without humor.

Thanks for sharing. I find this very interesting. So far I have only worked with Game Maker. And I'm glad to see that there will be humor in your game.


I know a few people who are making very small games on the side to earn some money with the adds. There is nothing wrong with that. And if you use a disclaimer, you should be on the safe side.

And yes I have "You Don't Know Jack" on my iPad and a few of the physical "Scene It?" games on DVD and am taking some ideas from those. I unfortunately don't feel comfortable using images/videos that don't belong to me and I am not putting out any money for this project (for instance, like what we did for Movie Battle and paid a company).

No one should feel comfortable using other people's material . The only reason why I've mentioned the games was to give an answer to your question above: How we would feel about such a game. Since you are adding something like levels and humor, I think I would be interested if I had a smartphone.

I am doing this completely for free so anything I make is just gain. I am also not really expecting to receive a high number of downloads. I will be re-skinning the trivia game maybe 100x for all different subjects and interests so mainly just each one will target people with that specific interest. For example, I am a Voyager fan. I have a crappy (really crappy actually) Voyager app on my iPad that I played once or twice. Too many misspellings and horrible graphics. So if that's the crap that is really out there for people like me who enjoy those types of games, I am confident I can at least make them a bit better I hope.

Well, given how many crappy apps there are, I have no doubt yours will be A LOT better.

Coincidentally there was an article in my newspaper this morning about a successfull app called "Quizduell".
Some more infos.
Not sure if there is an english version by now. But maybe the text inspires you somehow.

Thanks for your support and input! And yeah Flash is SO frustrating. It never stops crashing.... Unless you want to make small Flash games for the web it's pretty useless at this point. Better off learning HTML5 or something else.

And yeah as long as you understand the logic concepts behind programming, you can use Construct 2 to make games easily. It doesn't require actual coding more or less, but the underlying concepts are. There is a free download for it if you search "Construct 2" in Google. If you want the full version, you just have to pay 100 dollars and you have the full version.

Our Game Design dept in my company uses Construct 2 to create game prototypes. So it's easy enough for game designers to use who are not programmers.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I would use a trivia app, but I would think that it would be difficult to create questions that appeal to both novices and experts. If the questions were too easy I would get bored quickly, but if they were too hard I would give up quickly.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

I would use a trivia app, but I would think that it would be difficult to create questions that appeal to both novices and experts. If the questions were too easy I would get bored quickly, but if they were too hard I would give up quickly.

Thanks for responding, Spot's Meow!
They will be divided into levels. Easy, Medium, Hard, Insanity.

Easy - 10 easy questions
Medium - 25 medium questions
Hard - 50 hard questions
Insanittyyyyy!!! - 100 super duper hard questions

At the company I work for currently, we have a multi-player trivia game (mine will be single player because I do not want to include any server side) that is divided up like that too. So I think I have a grasp of what kinds of questions would be appropriate for each.