Jump to content

Buzz!: The Music Quiz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by X201 (talk | contribs) at 20:36, 9 August 2020 (date formats per MOS:DATEFORMAT by script). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Buzz!: The Music Quiz
Developer(s)Relentless Software
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Designer(s)Paul Woodbridge
Programmer(s)Paul Brooke
Artist(s)Greg Sue
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
Genre(s)Party, Music
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Buzz!: The Music Quiz is a party music video game developed by Relentless Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. It is the first in the Sony's Buzz! series of video games, released for the PlayStation 2. In The Music Quiz, players answer questions asked by the host Buzz by using the four Buzz! buzzers.

Gameplay

Buzz!: The Music Quiz is a music quiz trivia game for up to four people at the same time. Taking place in a fictional TV studio, it is hosted by Buzz and his assistant Rose. Buzz can draw from around 5000 questions, supported by 1000 music fragments, which represent parts of the original songs processed by a synthesizer.[2]

Jason Donovan is the voice of Buzz in the UK and Australia. Different voice-actors are used across Europe for Buzz and Rose.

Players can choose from 16 different contestants to suit that persons personal music taste. These include a pop diva (Gina), a rocker (Phil), a punk, an Elvis (Pelvis) and a disco dude (Stevie). These characters resemble famous pop musicians such as Gwen Stefani, Liam Gallagher and Geri Halliwell and Bob Marley.

There are over 1,000 music clips, all of which are international chart-toppers from the 1950s through to 2005 and over 5,000 questions to test a players knowledge, either by playing solo in a fast-paced single-player mode or with friends/family in the multi-player game. None of the music clips are original recordings.

Players can also choose to play in short bursts, or over a longer period. All wins and losses can be saved to Memory cards for players to refer to at a later date.

Rounds

Multiplayer

  • Point Builder - Select an answer from four options.
  • Snap - Select an answer from options that appear on the screen in a random order. You lose points in this round for a wrong answer.
  • Fastest Finger - You score more points for being the fastest person to answer, 400 1st 300 2nd 200 3rd 100 4th.
  • Pass the bomb - Answer a question correctly to pass the bomb. The person holding the bomb when it goes off loses points.
  • Offloader - Players take turns to listen to a clip and choose which of the other players will answer the question.
  • Buzz Stop - Similar to snap but with no specific question, the players must simply buzz on any answer that is associated with the song.
  • Point Stealer - Players must buzz when their buzzer lights up to take control of the question and choose which player will answer. Correctly answering the question allows you to choose a player to steal points from.
  • Look Before You Leap - The question and answers are revealed slowly. Players buzz in and choose an answer when they know it.

Single player

  • Time Builder - Player answers and number of questions and the sooner a correct answer is given, the more time is accumulated for the final round.
  • Hot Seat - The time accumulated is used to answer questions. Answering five questions in a row banks point toward the players final score.

Extras

  • Quickfire Quiz Mode - Choose how many questions to answer and simply answer questions without individual rounds.
  • Quizmaster Quiz Mode - A person can choose to ask their own questions while players use their buzzers to buzz in. The quizmaster uses the PlayStation control to indicate a correct or incorrect answer and add to the players' scores.

Development

After the success of EyeToy and SingStar, Sony intended to expand further into the social gaming market. A pop quiz game ended up a good fit with their plans, so they started collaborating with Sleepydog, who gathered the clips and designed the questions. Sony contacted Relentless and asked whether they'd be interested in making a title of that kind. About 30 developers worked on The Music Quiz, trying to create something that would be appealing, yet not intimidating for a casual gamer. In order to reach their intended audience, Relentless thought that the simplest possible interface to let four players play was a must. They came up with a design for a set of buzzers as a game controller, but feared it would be too expensive for the publisher. In the end, Sony provided the team with the first prototype, just a few months later. Buzz as a host wasn't inspired by anything in particular, but the intention was to make him more facetious and cheesy. Somethin' Else directed the game's audio.[3]

Initially, the game was to feature a group of unconventional characters as contestants and hosts, such as a tooth, a clam, and a hot dog. Sony said to Relentless to use different characters in order to the make the game more accessible, prompting a design shift to musical stereotypes. Relentless envisioned around 30 different quiz games, but by the end of the development that number was cut down to just eight. The co-founder of Relentless believed that the buzzers included in the package did an influence on The Music Quiz's success, as they made the game stand out from other titles in stores, and were much more simple compared to other controllers around.[4]

The game was announced on 18 May 2005 with a scheduled release date of October 2005 in Europe.[5] After that, it was showcased around the same time at E3 2005.[6][7]

Reception

The Music Quiz received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[14] indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[15]

References

  1. ^ PlayStation Games & Media - Buzz: The Music Quiz
  2. ^ Hoogerwaard, John (10 November 2005). "Niet voor solitaire zombies". Trouw. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Buzz Relentless Q and A". Thumb Bandits. 25 October 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  4. ^ Boyes, Emma (26 July 2007). "Buzz! dev: We need to make games for Miyamoto's wife". GameSpot. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Fingers on your buzzers... 'Please welcome your host, the music maestro, the man with the questions, the one, the only Buzz!'". GamesIndustry.biz. 18 May 2005. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  6. ^ Nix (19 May 2005). "E3 2005: Buzz: The Music Quiz First Look". IGN. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  7. ^ Calvert, Justin (18 May 2005). "Buzz! The Music Quiz E3 2005 Preshow Impressions". GameSpot. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  8. ^ Kautz, Paul (26 October 2005). "Test: Buzz! Das Musik-Quiz (Musik & Party)". 4Players. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  9. ^ Reed, Kristan (17 October 2005). "Buzz: The Music Quiz: Your living room may never be the same again". Eurogamer. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  10. ^ Dinovan (25 October 2005). "Test: Buzz!". Jeuxvideo.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  11. ^ Gonciarz, Krzysztof (22 December 2005). "Buzz! Muzyczny Quiz - recenzja gry". Gry Online. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  12. ^ Palmisano, Fabio (21 December 2005). "Cuffie in testa e mani sul pulsante: è ora di giocare a Buzz! The Music Quiz". Multiplayer.it. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  13. ^ Ortiz, Nacho (14 April 2012). "Se acabó el 'pasapalabra'". Meristation. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  14. ^ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  15. ^ Caoili, Eric (26 November 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buzz!:_The_Music_Quiz&oldid=972037840"