Family Feud Presentation SoftwareFrom Game Show Presentation Software’s Web Site

Instructions

Table of ContentsI. Product Description/IntroductionII. Version HistoryIII. Included Files and What They DoIV. Customizing Question FilesV. Operating the PresentationVI. Background: Rules of the GameVII. Special Thanks and Comments

I. Product Description and Introduction

This software is designed to provide audio and visual support for playing Family Feud. It’s great for parties or educational purposes. This software is provided for absolutely no charge whatsoever. It’s intended to have looks and sounds as close to the original TV run of the Family Feud as possible.

There is a homepage where you can check out the latest updates. It’s at http://www.katymae.com.

Introduction

This Instruction file assumes you have basic skills in the Windows operating system. Some of these skills include selecting, copying, and pasting text, basic knowledge of the keyboard, basic file management knowledge, and the ability to use Zip software. I elaborate on these instructions where I, the author of this software, feel it is reasonable.

The assumption is that the user (you) has a general understanding of the Family Feud game show and has at least viewed the show casually. If you aren’t quite sure of the rules, I’ve added the rules of the game to this file.

Please be sure to read through all of these directions thoroughly, especially if you plan on using this for an actual game.

II. Version History

Version 4.0 New bold font for answers less than 11 characters in length New introduction sequence after clicking on “Start Presentation”:

1. Starts with black screen2. Family Feud close-up logo displays next3. Family signs follow the logo4. Wide-angle shot follows next5. Press PgDn changes theme only6. Another PgDn press turns board to digital side

Fixed bug preventing game win when family earns enough points Fixed bug with 11 answer surveys where 12 answers displayed at face-off instead of 11 Corrected board light sequences Tweaked a few board turning animations Changed buzzer used for strikes (sorry, still no, “Not they-yah (not there) wav.)

Version 3.1 FACE-OFF can be turned off at opening Options screen Replaced some panel numbers (thanks Christopher) Corrected some graphical glitches during the Fast Money round on the digital board Corrected the animated “FAMILY FEUD” logo on the digital board (it’s 100% accurate

now) New music cut for Fast Money win Aligned scenes with matching objects better Added looping to the animated “FAMILY FEUD” logo on digital board at end of game Lights on game board at beginning of game stay on longer (press PgDn to turn off)

Version 3.0 FACE-OFF ADDED! New close-ups when remaining answers are being revealed. Press PgDn to advance to

next screen. Some graphic tweaks Extended winning sequence Corrected Feud logo on digital display Extended the digital display to one more column. It was one column short in the last

release. Strikes can now be cut off short by pressing the strike button you pressed a second

time.

Version 2.0 -FAST MONEY ROUND! Some features still need to be added in but a complete Fast

Money round can now be played. -Added a simple Options screen at startup. -Lowercase letters used for answers placed in the Q[n].txt files display a condensed,

shrunken-down font to allow longer answers to fit within the answer panels on the board.

-Added music for the introduction sequence and game winning sequence. -Smoothed out animations for the main game board rotation sequences. Also created

new individual animations and sounds for rotating answer panels. -Improved synchronizing the strike icons with the strike sound. -Added a feature to ring a series of bells when a player wins the face-off. Improved bell

ringing sounds for the round winning sequence. Created a complete instruction document (this file).

III. Included Files and What They Do

What's Included in the Download:

Family Feud.exe (the actual program file) Q1.txt-Q9.txt (some sample question data files) A help file (this file)

IV. Customizing the Question Files

Main Game

These files simply allow a user to customize the answer data that appears on the board for each round. These files are the data source for the program. All answer data for the questions for each round comes from these files.

The question files are named "QX.txt," where "X" represents the round number. Q1.txt will be used for round 1, Q2.txt for round 2, Q3.txt for round 3, etc. The zip file already has some included question as examples.

Use the Family Feud Presentation Assistant program, written by Robert Rosko, to generate the text for these files. Once opened, you’ll see a window like this:

The multiplier value determines if a single, double, or triple round is being played. If the round is single, place a 1 here, 2 for double, 3 for triple. Next, in uppercase letters, type in the answers and their values (number of survey responses) in the appropriate boxes starting with the most popular and ending with the least popular. When finished, click the Make File button. Text will appear in the large box at the bottom of the window.

Select the text in this box so all text is blue. Then place your mouse over the selected area, press the right mouse button to bring up a menu, and choose “Copy.” The selection is put in the clipboard.

Open up a notepad session (click Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad). Once Notepad is open, click the Edit menu and select Paste. The text should now appear in the Notepad window.

Save the file as Q1.txt, Q2.txt, etc. depending on which round you would like this question to appear in.

Repeat this process for each round you plan to include. Make sure you create enough rounds!!

Commonly Asked Question: What if the answers don’t fit in the panels?

Answer: When typing your answers into the Assistant software, try using lowercase letters instead. This will shrink and condense the font and allow you to fit more information in the panel space.

Explanation: This game, or the actual game show itself, is not meant to have extraordinarily long answers on the game board!!

Additional Information Regarding How Answers Display On the Board:

If an answer is under 11 characters in length, the Family Feud Presentation Software will automatically use a wider, bolder font as seen on the television show. There is no way to turn this on or off; it is totally automatic. This feature was added to make this look more like the television show. I think you’ll like it.

Fast Money

First of all, ALL values are pulled from the fmoney.txt file. Without this file, Fast Money will not work.

This file includes: The survey values for each response of the five Fast Money

questions

This file does not include:

The actual answers themselves

You can use the Family Feud Assistant program to create the text for the fmoney.txt file just as you can for the main game questions. To do this, click on the “Make Code” menu and choose “Fast Money.” The screen will change.

Each Question has a separate column for the survey responses (their Answers). Answer 1 indicates how many people gave the number one answer for that Question. Answer 2 indicates how many people gave the second most popular answer, etc. Type these values in the proper boxes. For the remaining, unused boxes, type in a 0. Copy the information to Notepad and save as fmoney.txt.

V. Operating the Presentation

Key Commands

Key FunctionIntroducti

onFaceoff Main Game Fast Money

1-10Reveal answers

1-10Indicate Contestant’s

Answer’s Survey Position

- Reveal answer 11= Reveal answer 12v Strike: Single, Middle Strike: Single, Middleb First Striken Second Strike

m Third Strike(Freezes Bank)

z Left-side Buzzer/ Right-side Buzzer

r Sound Bells(for face-off win)

i Cue Game Board Close-up

Zoom in

o Cue Camera Back to Podium

Zoom out(Shows scores)

Insert Sound Triple-Buzzer Sound Double-Buzzer

PgDn

Turn Board from Logo to

Digital to First

Question

Advance to Game Board

When Revealing Answers:

Advances to next available screen and

to next round

Advance to next screen

PgUp

First Press: Start Timer

Second Press: End Timer

For all general purposes, the PgDn key advances to the next screen, scene, or song cue. Numbers 1-10 and the “-“ and “=” keys flip panels. v, b, n, and m control strikes at various points of the game. Insert always, when available, sounds the “time out” and “try again” buzzers.

Play-by-Play

A Walkthrough From the Introduction to the Fast Money round

1. When you run the presentation executable, the first screen is the Options screen. Here, you can choose how many points a team must score to win the game. You may also choose whether to start the presentation at the introduction or the first question’s face-off. Also, you may type in family names if so desired.

2. Press the PgDn key. A black screen will display. This is normal. It is a good idea to have your computer at this point while turning on a projector or TV set to display the game.

3. Press PgDn key again. The Family Feud logo appears and starts playing the fiddle music.

4. Press PgDn key. If you didn’t type in a family name, go to step 6. If you did, the first family’s name will display.

5. Press PgDn key. The next family’s name will appear.6. Press the PgDn key. This displays the wide-angle shot of the

set.7. Press the PgDn key. The board turns to the electronic side and

the Family Feud theme song plays. The movie stops here until you are ready to play the first round.

8. Press the PgDn key. You’re now seeing a close-up of the podium. This is the face-off. You may press the i key or o key to switch the camera from the board to the podium. The z key signals for the left player and the / key signals for the right player. After the person buzzes in and the podium flashes, press PgDn.

9. The game board appears. If the first player guesses the number one answer or if the second responder guesses the more popular answer of the two, press the r key to sound the ringing bells. For incorrect guesses during the face-off, press the v key.

10. When a team takes control of the board, use the number keys to reveal answers during the round. Use the b, n, and m keys in order to signal strikes for incorrect answers.

11. If the team in control gets three strikes, the other team has a chance to steal. If their answer is correct, press the answer’s corresponding number key. If not, press the v key to signal a strike.

12. Immediately press either the or key for the winning team to award points. A wide-angle shot shows the current score and the points transferring from the bank to the winning team. After a few seconds, the view will change to a close-up of the remaining answers or will advance to the wide-angle shot

mentioned in the next step. Press the number keys for any answers remaining to reveal them to everyone if they exist.

13. Press PgDn after all answers have been revealed. The wide-angle shot returns allowing the host to review the score. Press PgDn again to advance to the next round. Go back to step 5 and repeat until a family wins the game.

After a family wins the game by winning the amount of points entered at the beginning of the game (300 by default), the next screen that shows up will be the Fast Money round. The next section explains the Fast Money round.

Controlling Fast Money

After a family wins the main game and any remaining answers are revealed, the game will now go to the wide-angle shot of the set. Press the PgDn key once to start the theme song (used when the loosing family walks off the stage). Press PgDn a second time to rotate the game board and display the Fast Money round.

Fast Money starts with a wide-angle shot of the electronic board filled with several blocks. To display the timer and the text input box, press the PgUp key once. When you’re ready to start the timer, press the PgUp key again and begin typing in all answers in the blue Text Input box. When the contestant has finished answering before the timer reaches zero, Press PgUp to stop the timer and sound the bells. Finish any typing left over or use this time to correct typos. Press PgDn when you are finished typing.

Survey Revealing

You’ll now see a close-up shot of player one’s side of the board. Each answer will be revealed one by one. These next steps are important to pay attention!

To reveal the first answer, press the PgDn key once. The blocks will disappear, revealing the answer said by the first contestant and stop. Next, press the key corresponding to the answer’s position in the survey.

For example: If a player gives an answer that is the number one answer, press the 1 key. If the player gives an answer that is the third most popular, press the 3 key.

The score will automatically pull the point value from the fmoney.txt file. Repeat the same process for the remaining answers. Eventually, you’ll return back to the wide-angle shot of the board.

This is the point where the second Fast Money contestant can be brought back out from isolation. Make sure the second contestant is facing away from the board and press PgDn to remind all viewers of the answers gave by the first contestant. The text input box will appear after all answers have been revealed. Press PgDn at any point to make the time appear.

Repeat the process for inputting answers as written above.

Winning or Losing Fast Money

At any point the total reaches 200, the game board will flash and indicate the winning score and play the theme song. If the players fail to reach 200 points after the last answer is revealed, the wide-angle shot of the board will appear again. Press PgDn to display the “5 dollars for every point” score.

Press PgDn to advance through the winning sequence (plays theme song.) You’re done!

VII. Background: Rules of the GameThe object of the game is to try to earn enough points to win the game. The winning team gets a chance to win big in the Fast Money round!

The main game consists of several rounds, each round having a question taken from a survey of 100 people. Each round starts with a face-off in which one member per team tries to guess the most popular answer on the board. Whoever can get the most popular answer has control of the board and has the option of playing the question or passing the question off to the opposing team.

Whichever team plays the question can build the bank up by revealing the answers on the board. If the team can successfully reveal all answers on the board, they are awarded with all points in the bank. An incorrect answer results in a strike. On the team’s third strike, the opposing team may steal all the points in the bank by revealing only one of the answers remaining on the board.

Each round is played the same as the first. As the game progresses, point values are doubled and tripled for the later rounds. When a family earns enough points to win the game, the fast money round begins.

Two alternating contestants play fast Money from the winning family. The first contestant has 15 seconds to try and guess the most popular answers for five questions read by the host. The second contestant has 20 seconds to guess the most popular answers for the same five questions but may not duplicate the answers given by the first contestant. The goal of fast money is to earn 200 points collectively.

More about the Face-offThe face-off, as described above, begins each round in the main game. The first contestants on both teams play the first round face-off. For the remaining rounds in the game, the next contestant in line from each team plays. When the last contestants have faced-off, the order returns to the first two contestants.

Once the question is read, both players must buzz in (by keyboard or whatever you rig up) and immediately give their answer. Control of the board is awarded to whoever gives either the number one answer or who of both players can give the most popular answer.

Note: If the point values for two answers are the same, control is awarded to the player who responds first.

More About a Round in the Main GameThe team who ends up playing the question must answer the question one team member at a time. After the face-off, the next team member in line starts out. Teammates may not help each other.

If the team is unable to reveal all the answers on the board, the question is given to the opposing team. They may work collectively to come up with an answer. The head of the team (first player) must choose an answer given by their team or may choose one of their own. If they answer correctly, they “steal” the bank and are awarded the points in the bank. If they answer incorrectly, the other team keeps the bank.

At this point, the host may call out the remaining answer numbers to reveal the unanswered responses. When finished, the host may recap the scores and call for the next players to start the face-off for the next round.

Points Required to Win and Double/Triple PointsDuring the original run of Family Feud, the rules for points required to win and the order of double and triple point rounds changed. Though 100% customizable with this software, it is recommended you stick with the combinations used in the original show. Some combinations included, from earliest in the run to latest:

Play to 200 PointsSingle-Single-Double until end of game

Play to 300 PointsSingle-Single-Single-Double-Triple until end of game

Play to 300 PointsSingle-Single-Double-Double-Triple until end of game

Play to 300 PointsSingle-Single-Double-Triple until end of game

Play to 400 PointsSingle-Single-Single-Single-Double-Triple until end of game

VIII. Special Thanks and Comments

For the latest updates and amendments to this instruction sheet, please go to www.katymae.com.

Game Show Presentation Software’s website has a message board. It’s http://particleman1701.proboards21.com. You can get a lot of good information by visiting. Plus, you can just drop by, simply say, “hi,” and meet a lot of great people.

I cannot stress this enough: I recommend getting at least an hour's worth of practice with this software before using it for an actual game. It's a little perplexing at first but it's very rewarding to learn and become proficient at it. I have worked hard to try to make this as user-friendly as possible while still allowing it to be highly customizable.

And now, I’d like to thank a few people:

John Ricci Jr.: He’s one of the first to contact me after this software went “public.” You can check John out over at jrjgames.com. He’s been a great help and a great friend while I’ve been working on this.

Robert Rosko for creating the Family Feud Assistant software for Windows. His website is at www.e-dingus.com.

Thanks to Christopher who has recently came along to offer some advice and tips on graphics, Flash knowledge, etc. Christopher is from Flashgames².

Thanks also to the Game Show Forum where a lot of interest for this game has come from. These are a great group of guys and if you have any interest in game shows at all, this is a great place to talk about them.

And finally, last but certainly not least: thanks to my wife, Kathy, who is very supportive of the work I do on this project.

*”Family Feud” is property of Fremantle Media, Inc. No challenge to ownership is implied or expressed. This software is intended for private, home, and educational use only.