"HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THESE?"
Some of the ideas on the page may seem out of left field. If you wish to know how they originated and evolved since creation, here's a brief history of (most of) my proposals.
"Across America" : By far, the weirdest way to get inspired. I was in the car, and saw a large open hill along the freeway. I thought what it would be like to see a dollar figure displayed there in eggcrate. I then had the idea of a player sending their money cross-country to somebody, and having them stand by this mass display. It was this very, very odd thought that inspired the bonus round. The rest of the night was spent thinking of a decent main game that somehow tied to the concept of involving the entire country.
"Deck of Cards" : My first attempt at a 'netgame, but ultimately a failure. At one point, two aces was worth triple the amount showing on the third card. However, when played, this was a terrible flaw. For example, a hand of Ace-Ace-King would be worth $300, while a hand of Ace-Jack-Jack would be worth $400. I wanted to make sure more aces = more money. Also, one randomly chosen card of out the deck (ex: 8 of clubs) was the "card of the day" or "bonus card." Finding it and answering the following question was worth a play of a bonus game. Shades of Wink's "High Rollers" came to mind, and I scrapped the idea when I came to Geocities.
"Face-Off" : I kept the main elements from two different "Face-Off" formats I devised some 6 or so years ago: two players, questions of increasing value and a new car at stake. For more on those proposals, click here. When I found the typed rulesheet this year, I decided to rework them. When I get time, I'll add the set design I have in mind - tons of moving elements and video screens.
"Fact or Fiction" : Part of my Health class in high school was "fact-or-fiction?" A short exercise where the teacher read a statement and we voted using cards (think "Peer Pressure"). I thought immedately of making it into a game. The facts were often surprising and interesting, and it would appeal to the viewer. However, having a high-stakes, highly competitive game would sort of overshadow these facts. It was almost six months after this small idea I actually created the game. I wanted to work in celebrities, because just watching four people guess for a half hour isn't very fun. And the change your answer gimmick comes from class as well - seeing the whole class voting one way made some people change their answer.
"Fast Break" : A 90-second bit played during commercials on Nick GAS. The GAS logo is divided into roughly 100 squares, gradually revealing a picture of a sports figure. An annoying announcer gives corny or simple clues towards the identity.
"The Kids Game" : Another proposal I did years ago. I used to draw game show sets a lot, some original, some not. This was the product of a drawing - both of the main game set and bonus round "house."
"Last Man Standing" : The only game I feel could go "prime time" and be played for big stakes. Originally, though, it had lower values than the rulesheet currently states. The third round took a long time to hammer out. Originally, each player was staked $500. Play was the same, but a wrong answer meant all of your money went to the player who picked the category. The round ended when all $2,500 was claimed. However, this meant the first player could be out without being able to play some strategy on the category selection. So I reworked it so everybody had a turn picking a subject. Only this time, each player had $1,000 (by this time, the round one stakes went up) and a wrong answer meant half your money was given to the challenger. This was flawed, because you could be dealing with cents along the way. I still don't like what I have for round three.
The bonus took a major turn as well. Originally, the one remaining player faced the other nine in groups of three. They picked a category, and a question was posed. If the majority of the three got it wrong, the player got $1,000. If they got it right, the trio got the grand. If they stumped all three trios, the contestant won $25,000. I found this too simple. Also, it didn't test the player's knowledge at all. So I changed it to the current bonus round with went through minor tinkering as time went on.
"Quick Draw" : I was, and still am a fan of shockwave.com's "InkLink." "Ink" is a game where eight players takes turns drawing items for a jackpot of points similar to the one in the proposal.
"Razzle" : An adaptation of a Parker Brothers game by the same name. Perhaps it could spark a reprinting or remake of the game.
"Talk the Talk" : Another grade school proposal. Originally, the question rounds were timed. When played over ICQ, Chris Colbourne had suggested no timing. I took his advice. Also, a ridiculous idea - the word game was originally done from two isolation booths, with the players communicating through microphone and headphones. This was scrapped quickly.
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