Digital Chumps Q&A with
Jenny Barbour, Associate Producer for BUZZ! Quiz World for PS3
Q: Were some of the new rounds in Quiz World originally planned for Quiz TV but weren’t implemented for one reason or another?
A: No. They are all new rounds designed for BUZZ! Quiz World.
Q: How important was it for Quiz World to support 8 players? It seems to be a feature that a lot of gamers are excited about and ready to take advantage of. Was 8 player support considered for Buzz TV?
A: We listened to our fans on what features they wanted implemented in the next BUZZ! title after the release of BUZZ! Quiz TV. Many of our fans asked for 8-player Sofa Vs. Sofa, so it was a very important feature for us to implement with BUZZ! Quiz World.
Q: Talk about the various design elements of Buzz! (gameplay, presentation, etc), that help keep the balance between education and entertainment. In other words, taking quizzes can be pretty fun in itself, but what other specific aspects of the game help keep that core gameplay continually fun and interesting? (large question pool, customization, funny host character?)
A: I think what keeps BUZZ! continually fun and interesting is that the game is designed to be like a TV game show, complete with entertaining host. The game show style gives it the intensity and drives the competition and the host, Buzz, adds the humor and encourages the friendly rivalry between players. This combined with the fun rounds, like Pie Fight and Over the Edge, and easy to use BUZZ! wireless Buzzers make it a fun game for everyone to play.
Q: Will Quiz World bring with it any new additions to the Buzz! HQ space on PS Home?
A: No this does not update or change the BUZZ! HQ space in PS Home. But there are certain prizes that you can win while playing BUZZ! Quiz World that will unlock and become available items in Home that you can use to decorate your apartment.
Q: Could you clarify or elaborate on what PS3-PSP integration there will be with Quiz World or the upcoming PSP Buzz! title?
A: There is no integration between BUZZ! on the two platforms. BUZZ! Quiz World PS3 and BUZZ! Quiz World PSP will each function as their own games. However, both games can access the MyBUZZ! user-generated quizzes on the MyBUZZquiz.com Web site.
Q: Besides the DLC released for Quiz TV, what other content from Quiz TV, if any, will carry over to Quiz World?
A: Other than the DLCs, as mentioned above the other element that is shared between the two games is access to the MyBUZZ! quizzes from the MyBUZZquiz.com Web site.
Q: What interoperability does the PS Eye have with the Quiz World at launch? Are any other functionality planned as an update or DLC?
A: During various moments in a multiplayer game, the PSEye will take pictures of the players. These pictures can be exported to your XMB or you can send them to the MyBUZZ! Web site to use as your avatar.
Q: In addition to Sofa Vs Sofa mode and the the PS Home space, are there other PSN-enabled features, like Leaderboards and the like?
A: Yes, there are leaderboards for the single player challenges. These keep track of who is really the BUZZ! quiz master.
Q: Sort of an odd question here, but what steps have been taken to make getting into a local game of Quiz World as quick as possible? (is their a hard drive install, a quick play mode, and so forth?).
A: After a player has created their profile, they can then use this profile to quickly jump into any of the game modes (single player, off-line multiplayer and on-line multiplayer).
Q: What was the process for creating and approving the 5000+ questions in Quiz World?
A: The game is originally produced by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE). We then take their question set and review for use in the US version. We keep any questions that would be known by most Americans or would be an interesting fact to learn, and replace any questions that would not be known by most Americans (i.e. Rugby, Cricket, etc.) with US content (i.e. Football, Baseball, etc.). We also will adjust spelling and phrasing for the US version. Once this is completed, we then record the questions and send back to SCEE to be implemented in game.
Q: Compared to gameplay improvements and additions, how important was updating the graphics/sound presentation in Quiz World as compared to Quiz TV?
A: The development team spent many hours watching game shows and reality contest shows so they could implement the look and feel of these shows in BUZZ! Quiz World. We really want the player to feel like they are on the set of a game show as this is a key feature of the BUZZ! franchise and so it was a very important element.
Q: Can you comment on if Quiz World or the next iteration of Buzz! might make use of the forthcoming Motion Controller? In what ways do you envision utilizing it?
A: We have no announcements to make regarding integration with the motion controller at this time.
Q: In reading up on other outlets’ preview coverage, some seemed concerned that the final round of a game can take a player from last place to first, making the leaders up to that final round feel a bit slighted. What are your thoughts on this potential problem and has anything been altered in the meantime to tweak this?
A: The BUZZ! games have always contained many round types and question categories to give every player a chance to earn points and win the game. This is part of the fun and excitement as you never know who will win.
Q: How does Quiz World keep track of the questions that are asked so as to keep repetition to a minimum? Is it a mechanic that player can “reset” via the Options menu?
A: The game keeps track of the questions used as part of the data it saves to your HDD during game play. There is no option in the in game menu to reset this.
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