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Re: rusnakcreative's Macro-enabled PowerPoint Gameshow Games!
Sat May 19, 2018 4:09 pm
Ha, figured you'd mention the large file size. I am glad that you have mentioned ways to reduce the file size without jeopardizing quality. I am impressed at the amount of time you spent to time load times. I will use your advice to reduce the file size best I can in the near future.
You mentioned there's activeX control(s) in the game that are preventing it from actually being Mac-friendly. Do you know what may be causing it? Would it be the question import feature by any chance?
I'll look into the use of straw poll sites and see if I can embed the results. This would be tricky to accomplish, and to also keep the Mac-friendly attribute that I am now aiming for my games.
I am very thankful that you have given me the reviews you already have, which have given me the insight I've needed to perfect my games even further. Thank you Tim.
You mentioned there's activeX control(s) in the game that are preventing it from actually being Mac-friendly. Do you know what may be causing it? Would it be the question import feature by any chance?
I'll look into the use of straw poll sites and see if I can embed the results. This would be tricky to accomplish, and to also keep the Mac-friendly attribute that I am now aiming for my games.
I am very thankful that you have given me the reviews you already have, which have given me the insight I've needed to perfect my games even further. Thank you Tim.
Re: rusnakcreative's Macro-enabled PowerPoint Gameshow Games!
Sat May 19, 2018 4:48 pm
The edit question values use ActiveX controls. Since PowerPoint for Mac can't read ActiveX values, the game can't continue past the choose game menu.
Question import won't work on Macs as far as I know. You may want to hide question import features for Mac users with an if Mac statement.
Question import won't work on Macs as far as I know. You may want to hide question import features for Mac users with an if Mac statement.
- tundeajI'm New to PPC!
- Posts : 1
Join date : 2018-08-09
Creativity at its best!
Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:45 pm
@rusnakcreative, Your works are simply awesome and inspiring. It's the best for free! When I read about your motivation..., it's simply inspirational - I feel very much thankful for such communities that foster creativity. Keep us the good works, as we keep us with your genius.
Re: rusnakcreative's Macro-enabled PowerPoint Gameshow Games!
Sat Aug 11, 2018 4:44 am
Welcome to the forum tundeaj and thank you for your feedback. Rusnakcreative is not always able to regularly log in to the forum at the moment but I'm sure he will be grateful and moved by your comments.
I hope you will continue to contribute to the forum, and if you have any PowerPoint creations you have made yourself, we would love to see them.
Thanks again.
I hope you will continue to contribute to the forum, and if you have any PowerPoint creations you have made yourself, we would love to see them.
Thanks again.
Re: rusnakcreative's Macro-enabled PowerPoint Gameshow Games!
Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:42 pm
Thank you for joining us, tundeaj! It has brightened my day to hear that my works have been inspiring for you. I would love to see what works you have come up with or have in the works.
As John already pointed out I’m not frequenting here as often as I’d like to, real life takes precedence. My absence shouldn’t be a stopper to this community or creativity. This forum may be slow and inactive, but is still here! Hoping to see some creativity from you and other silent creators out there!
As John already pointed out I’m not frequenting here as often as I’d like to, real life takes precedence. My absence shouldn’t be a stopper to this community or creativity. This forum may be slow and inactive, but is still here! Hoping to see some creativity from you and other silent creators out there!
Re: rusnakcreative's Macro-enabled PowerPoint Gameshow Games!
Fri Jan 31, 2020 12:20 am
Lingo (rusnakcreative) Thoughts - Games by Tim
Unlike my other reviews, the target audience for this piece is Mike Rusnak himself.
When I saw your list of games you may work on in the future, I had a strong feeling you'd pick Lingo next. After all, it seemed like the most feasible game to recreate in PowerPoint.
Thank goodness I was right, because I like Lingo. It's easy to understand, yet challenging to master, and it's quite satisfying when you master it. Sprinkle in some pressure, Bingo luck, and the inevitable screwups to laugh at, and you got a game most people can enjoy.
So how well do I think your Lingo template fares? Let's give it a shot, shall we?
Pre-Download Thoughts
- I like how the site says you can play immediately after download. It makes sense since you just need 5-letter words to work with, and I appreciate that you put the effort towards a word list.
- The template appears to be based on the GSN 2002-2007 version (with Chuck Woolery). Thank goodness, since I like that version better than the 2011 reboot!
- Graphics from the screenshot look slick, just like any other rusnakcreative template. I see that the custom form and external text files would prevent PowerPoint for Mac support, but it is what it is.
After Download, Before Opening Thoughts
- Lingo weighs in at around 4.6 MB. Not bad, considering PowerPoint's limitations and the fact it could be worse.
- The ZIP file comes with two external files: dic.txt and puzzlewords.txt. dic.txt appears to contain all the English 5-letter words, while puzzlewords.txt contains the words the game will actually select from. I assume this is intended to filter out niche/naughty words, so props for that.
- Since puzzlewords.txt is fully editable, I assume it's possible to add/remove words from this list. Unintentional flexibility for the win!
- Since I'm weird, I changed the PPTM file to ZIP so I can extract and have a look at the audio files. Sure enough, there's plenty of Lingo sound effects inside. No BGM, but that's totally fine with me (that would explode the file size).
Initial Opening Thoughts
- The title slide's simple enough and fitting to project when prepping a Lingo party.
- The user flow of having to go to the "About Lingo" slide before the "How to Play" slide didn't feel right to me. Chances are, the person downloading already knows Lingo rules and just needs to see how this specific template works. I would've had the "How to Play" slide appear before "About Lingo".
- While I do not have any gripes with the "How to Play" slide, I do have some gripes with the gameplay execution itself. More to come.
Gameplay Thoughts
- When I first got to the Lingo tile slide, I clicked "View Board" right away. Upon doing so, the game told me I needed to select a team first. Fair enough, although I feel user flow could improve if there's a slide before this slide specifically to select which team goes first.
- I then selected the yellow team, and the tile board lit yellow. Sweet. Guess I'll view the yellow team's Lingo board by clicking "View Board".
- I clicked "Fill Board". Sure enough, the board filled with numbers, and ten of the numbers filled in randomly. But then immediately, I got sent back to the tile board. Not a fan. I wanted to glance at the Lingo board for a few moments before going back.
- Now it's the yellow team's turn to play a round, and there's two ways to do so. You can click "Start Round" or the shape below it.
- Wait, what? A giant, blank shape that serves no additional purpose? How confusing/a waste of space! Perhaps that space could've been filled with the current team's Lingo board instead, or shrink the gray box shape altogether.
- When I clicked "Start Round", the Lingo game began. The first letter appeared, and a custom form popped up to type in guessed words. I like how the input box is large for the players to see, and the 15 second timer makes sense, even though the actual show's timer is shorter.
- However, I didn't like how it took two enter key presses to input the word. I'll be less harsh on this one though, since it's probably a PowerPoint limitation.
- Guessing words worked well enough, and the game responded accordingly. It properly displayed which letters are right/not in the right place, it intelligently switched teams per gameplay conventions, and it surely didn't accept nonwords. Good job for that.
- Now that the yellow team got 25 points, it's time for them to draw two Lingo balls. Back to the Lingo board we go!
- I get that I'm supposed to pick 2 of the 21 balls to the right, but their numbers greatly confused me at first. Why were those balls numbered, I thought, when the balls on the Lingo board are also numbered? It made me think that pressing the 13 ball on the right would fill in the 13 ball on the Lingo board.
- I assume you numbered the balls on the right so players can tell the host which specific ball they want to draw. Perhaps you can replace the numbers with letters to achieve the same effect with less confusion.
- Once I selected a ball, the number revealed on the top, and that number filled on the Lingo board immediately. A tad disappointing, since I wanted to visually know where that number exists on the Lingo board if I didn't know beforehand. A fill-in animation or a slight delay before filling would've done wonders here.
- After playing a few more rounds, I realized there's no round 2. In the actual show, there's a second round in which players earn double the points. That's an oversight that can easily be added.
- There's no bonus round either, but that's more of a stretch goal. Maybe in a future release?
Conclusion
Technically/graphically speaking, this Lingo template's impressive. However, the UX could use improvement. Once that's ironed out and support for the second/bonus round's added, you'll have another ultimate template in your hands.What I like
- The graphics
- The preconfigured word list that's also editable
- Based on the 2002-2007 version
- Inputting words, automatic team switching
What I didn't like
- "About Lingo" appears before "How to Play"
- Giant shape that serves no additional purpose
- Not getting an inital glance at the Lingo board after initial fill
- Drawing Lingo balls confusing due to the numbers
Re: rusnakcreative's Macro-enabled PowerPoint Gameshow Games!
Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:32 pm
Something I found out recently: did you know Jeopardy has forbidden wagers?
Time to update Jeopardy to ban those numbers?
Time to update Jeopardy to ban those numbers?
Re: rusnakcreative's Macro-enabled PowerPoint Gameshow Games!
Thu Oct 22, 2020 9:52 am
I had no idea Jeopardy had "forbidden wagers" LOL. I always assumed that if the players were smart enough to get on the show, they would be classy enough to not go for immature wagers. Then again, there was one contestant that got Alex to say "substance Ferguson" so I guess I'd be wrong to assume that? LOL!
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