Preferences
The PREFERENCES menu (Fig.1) holds the commands that give you
control over how your game show looks and plays. This menu is normally
available in both the Quiz Editor and the Quiz Player, although most
preferences cannot be changed while a show is in progress.

Fig.1
Note that the top two menu items – SHOW TITLE AND SET-UP and
SHOW FLOW – are of particular interest because they act as
gateways to numerous controls and groups of options. Under SHOW TITLE
AND SET-UP you can access all the basic options needed to run a show
in a single screen. Another cluster of options appears when you call up
the SHOW FLOW item on the PREFERENCES menu. That window
serves as a gateway to many settings that fine tune your show.
To help you learn what these various controls do, here is a tour of
all the settings you can find under the PREFERENCES menu:
Show Title and Set-up: Opens the "Set-Up Game Show" control
box so you can change the title of your show and many other basic
settings in one place. When you play a game show, the text typed under
"Give the Quiz Show a title" will be used on the opening show title
screen. The "Set-Up Game Show" control box (Fig.2) can be opened from
the PREFERENCES menu, as it was told before, and also from within
the Quiz Editor by clicking the blue PREFS button.

Fig.2
Here are descriptions for each of the settings in the Set-Up Game
Show control box shown above:
- Quiz Show Title: Type the title of your show into this box and
it will appear in the title screen and background sets of your game
show. (Shorter is better. Long titles may not fit well.) If you
change the show title while you are in the Quiz Player, you can see
the results immediately when you click OK.
- Game Show Set: Select one
of three styles for the game show set.
- Quiz timer: Select how long
the timer will run for each question, or turn the timer off
completely.
- Include Supermodel: When checked, Gina Gorgiosso will
appear in your show. However, it's possible for other settings to
cancel out the supermodel. For example, if you use "Shorten
Introduction" under the SHOW FLOW menu, that cuts the supermodel out
of the intro scene. And if you choose "Never show scoreboard" under
SHOW FLOW, the supermodel won't see much or any screen time. The
three scenes where Gina is included (unless you cancel her out with
another setting) are: the Introduction, the Scoreboard and the Prize
Presentation scene.
- Pause for Prize Presentations: Got prizes? Check
this box. Got no prizes? Leave it off. This feature helps you reward
your contestant(s) with a prize presentation scene at the end of the
show. Check this box and the Game Show will go from the Trophy
presentation scene to a prize presentation scene that shows the
scoreboard. Al Morale will make an opening remark about a prize,
followed by applause. After that, the game stays in a holding
pattern while you do live presentations of prizes. Click anywhere on
the screen to move on to the credits. Or if you want to trigger
another game in the same show, after your first click to move on,
click again while you hear the applause. This will take you back to
the "Sign In" screen after the applause.
TIP: During the paused prize presentation, the keyboard
sounds are enabled so you can add some fun effects as you announce
prizes. Try the audience "Ooooo!" (that's a capital "O" key) or type
"p" to have Al Morale talk about "lovely parting gifts."
- Music On: Turns the show's theme music on and off. This
includes the timer music.
- Keyboard sounds: This feature is designed for when you
are presenting in front of a group and controlling the game from the
keyboard. When checked, keyboard sounds lets you trigger sound
effects and host comments by typing certain keys. (For example, type
"L" for a burst of audience laughter. Type the "f" key to make the
host say, "Is that your final error?") Keyboard sounds are available
when a quiz question is on screen (before and after an answer is
given). This feature helps you make the show more responsive to your
audience by cueing sound effects or overriding Al Morale's automatic
comments with one of your choice. If no key is pressed to override
one of Al's comments, he will speak automatically.
TIP: If your game players are typing in their own answers
during a game, uncheck the keyboard sounds box before your show
begins. This way if players press other keys, they will not
accidentally trigger sounds.
- Show Manual Advance: Check this box if you want the game
show to pause for live commentary or discussion after each question.
If unchecked, the game show flows automatically. When checked, a
button appears at the center, top of the screen while the question
is still on screen with the correct answer highlighted. Click that
button (or press the RETURN key) when you are ready for the game to
move on. (The same control checkbox also appears in the SHOW FLOW
control box.)
- Keyboard Sound list button: This button opens a list of
the keyboard sounds so you can print it out and keep it handy during
presentations.
- Sound Tweaks button: On Windows computers, this button
opens a dialog box that shows the current "Sound Device" and allows
you to change it, if your computer has that capability. This feature
is useful for troubleshooting sound glitches that occur on some
Windows computers. On Macintoshes, the button has no effect.
- Selected quiz is: This information box shows the name of
the currently selected quiz. (To select a different quiz, simply
click the name of the quiz you want in the "Quiz Editor" quiz list
or, if you are in the player, use CHANGE QUIZ under the
PREFERENCES menu.
- How Many Questions to Use?: This important set of
controls lets you determine the duration of your game show by
deciding how many questions will be presented. For shorter quizzes –
especially when there's just one player – the Automatic mode is a
quick way to set up. For a greater degree of control, use click on
Manual and then set the slider to any number up to 100. The number
you choose will be how many questions will be presented to each
player. (The number you selected appears to the right of the
arrow buttons.) In Automatic mode, the game show does the
following calculations: If your players are taking turns (not
buzzing-in), the game show will use as many questions as possible
while still keeping an even number of questions among players. For
example, if your quiz contains 25 questions and you have 2 players,
each player will get 12 questions. The program skips the 25th
question to keep the game even since players are taking turns. If
you are running the game in Buzz-In Mode, every player is
competing on every questions, so automatic will use all 25
questions.
- Shuffle Questions: If unchecked, your quiz questions are
presented in the order that they appear in the Quiz Editor. When
Shuffle questions is checked, the game show randomly mixes the
order of your questions. If you also have Use difficulty ratings
checked, your quiz questions will be sorted according to rating
(easy, medium, hard) and then shuffled for presentation in each of
the three rounds.
TIP: Do you want your quiz questions to be used in the same
order that you created them? Uncheck Shuffle questions and
Use Difficulty Ratings.
- Use Difficulty Ratings: Check this feature if you want
your game show to present questions "Millionaire-style" (start with
easy questions and get harder in each round). When checked, the game
show sorts your questions according to the difficulty ratings given
in the Quiz Editor. (If you didn't give any ratings, then they are
probably all rated "medium", which is the default setting. Questions
rated "easy" are used in Round 1, "medium" in Round 2 and "hard" in
Round 3. In the "Quiz Editor," a ratings summary is always shown for
the selected quiz.
TIP: In some situations, the Use Difficulty Ratings
feature will turn itself off if it finds there are not enough
questions for the show. For example, if you only have 1 "easy"
question but you have 2 players taking turns, you need an "easy"
question for each of them in Round 1. Since your quiz doesn't have
the minimum number of "easy" -rated questions for this game, the
software will shut off the Difficulty Ratings feature. This shut-off
does not interrupt the show – it happens behind the scenes.
- Play In Rounds: When checked, the game show is
automatically divided into 1 to 3 rounds of play (depending on how
many questions are available). Al Morale will announce the start of
each round and the point value per question is displayed. If you
turn off PLAY IN ROUNDS, it may override other settings that rely on
rounds. For instance, if Use Difficulty Ratings is
checked, it will be ignored since it cannot sort the questions by
difficulty into 3 rounds. Similarly, if you used SHOW FLOW to
schedule any breaks to come after rounds, that will be ignored.
Finally, when rounds are off all questions are worth the same number
of points – whatever value you selected for "Round 1" under POINT
VALUES.
- Reveal Correct Answer: When checked, the correct answer
is highlighted after a player's answer is given. Obviously, this
lets people see which answer was the correct one, even if it was
answered incorrectly. But in some teaching situations, you may not
want your students to see the correct answer during the game show.
When this box is unchecked, the correct answer text is NOT
highlighted. (However, the button animations of a buzzer and bell
will still play when the players' answers are given.)
- Cancel button: Closes the box and ignores any settings
you changed.
- OK button: Closes the box and applies your changes.
Show Flow: This menu command opens a cluster of options in the
Show Flow Preferences window (Fig.3) (shown below). These allow
you to customize how your show unfolds and adjust how your game show is
presented. The options are divided into three categories: Show Opening,
Quiz and Scoreboard, and Breaks.

Fig.3
Here are descriptions of each option available from the Show Flow
Preferences window:
- Start show when program first opens does just that. If
you check this box, next time you start Game Show Presenter it will
launch straight into the game show as it was set-up when you last
quit the program. (You can always halt the show with the STOP
command under QUIZ)
- Shorten introduction, when checked, will skip over the
Gina intro scene and get your show started quicker. This is useful
if you use Game Show Presenter with the same audience regularly and
they want to get straight into the quiz.
- Skip sign-in screen – check this box to by-pass the
player sign-in screen entirely. The AUTOMATIC PLAYER SIGN-IN
button on this screen gives you a way to preset the number of
players and their names. The defaults are set to generic player
names (Player One, etc.)
- Clicking the Automatic Player Sign-in button brings up
the "Player Info." control box (Fig.4) where you can preset
how many players and even their names.
These settings are useful if you want to bypass the regular Player
Sign-In screen that comes up at the start of a game show.

Fig.4
- Manual Advance after each question. Check this if you
want to discuss a question after the correct answer has been
revealed. If this box is checked, the game will pause after each
answer is shown during the quiz. A small arrow button appears at the
top of the screen. Click that button (or hit the RETURN key) when
you're ready to advance the show past the current Q&A. (This same
checkbox also appears in the SHOW TITLE AND SET-UP control
box.)
- Skip the Turn Alert screen before each question. Normally
the turn alert screen precedes each question. But if you want a
faster pace, check this box to skip that. Your players will need to
pay more attention to know when it's their turn, but the software
adds the current player's name to the timer over the question.
- Manual Advance on scoreboard. Check this box if you want
more time to view the scoreboard during the game. It will pause on
the scoreboard screen until you press RETURN or click the arrow
button on screen.
- Scoreboard only when rounds end is another option that
can speed up the game show's pace. When this box is checked, the
scoreboard is not shown after every turn. Instead, it is shown once
at the end of every round.
- Never use scoreboard does what it says. If you check this
box, the scoreboard will not be shown during the quiz show. However,
if you have Pause for Prizes turned on then the scoreboard will
appear in that final scene of the show.
- Breaks: This feature gives you a slick way to combine a
game show with a Powerpoint presentation or with live comments. The
drop-down menu gives you several options for the timing of breaks.
When a break comes up, Al Morale will announce it and the game will
display the title screen in pause mode. While the game is paused,
you can easily jump to Powerpoint or another application. Game Show
Presenter remains in pause mode until you return to the title screen
and click the small arrow button. (It's the same button as used for
manual advance.) Your click will be Al Morale's cue to say, "We're
back!" and jump back into the game show right where it left off. The
drop down menu lets you schedule those breaks to come after one or
two rounds of play. But if you need even more breaks or you want to
do them spontaneously, use the "Click on scoreboard" option. This
way, whenever the scoreboard appears, all it takes is a click from
you to cause an immediate break in the action.
TIP: If you use breaks that involve clicking the scoreboard,
pay attention to the scoreboard settings under QUIZ AND SCOREBOARD.
If the scoreboard is set not to appear, you won't get a chance for
any breaks.
Credits: Opens a control box for adding up to five people's
names and roles to the credit screen. You can also set the scrolling
speed or using fading credits. If you call up this dialog while in the
Quiz Player, you can preview your credits. (If you experience any sound
choppiness while playing the credits, use the Fade Long or Fade Slow
setting instead of scrolling)
Thought Balloons: Add comic relief to your show by letting
your audience read the mind of the game show supermodel, Gina Gorgiosso.
Open the Thought Balloon Editor from the button that appears in
the control box after you pick THOUGHT BALLOONS from the
PREFERENCES menu. You'll be able to select which gag to use (or none
at all), create new gags or edit the existing ones. Each show can have
two thought balloon gags: one when Gina is introduced, and a second one
in the prize presentation scene. (Of course, if the prize scene is not
turned on, you won't see that second gag.)
The THOUGHT BALLOONS item on the PREFERENCES menu opens
control box (Fig.5). Clicking the button "Open Balloon Editor" opens the
window shown below (Fig.6).

Fig.5

Fig.6
In Game Show Presenter, you can add comic relief to your quiz show by
revealing what's going through the mind of game show supermodel, Gina
Gorgiosso. The Thought Balloon Editor has a set of blue buttons that
help you write and edit gags for Gina, make the balloon bigger or
smaller and even set the timing of how long a balloon appears on screen.
TIP: Need a starter idea for a customized Thought Balloon gag? In
the first balloon, have Gina say, "Supermodel is an OK job. But my dream
job is to be..." Then add a punch line balloon with the occupation of
your audience. (example: "...an accountant.")
Instant Show Set-ups (Fig.7) give you a convenient way
to save your game show preference settings under a name so you can
instantly restore that game show scenario next time you need it. This is
very useful if you have two or more training quizzes, because you can
rapidly load and play your various game shows without a lot of set-up
work. It's also handy for teachers working through a curriculum that
will be repeating annually. Just set your game show up once, then use
Instant Show Set-ups to store a snapshot of all those settings. Now you
can restore the game show to that exact set-up by selecting the name and
clicking LOAD SELECTION.

Fig.7
When you create an Instant Show Set-up, all your preference settings
are saved, including the credits, thought balloon gags, show title, show
flow, etc.
Creating an Instant Show Set-up is an easy two-step process:
- STEP 1: Set the game show up exactly as you want it to
be. Show title, background, credits, show flow, and all the other
preferences should be set-up now as you want them to be recalled
later.
- STEP 2: Under the PREFERENCES menu, click the
INSTANT SHOW SET-UPS. When the dialog box opens, click the
button CREATE NEW SET-UP WITH CURRENT PREFS. You'll be
prompted to enter a name for the set-up. That's it!
The LOAD SELECTION button recalls your preferences as they
were when last saved under that Set-Up name. To use this command,
first select the Set-Up by name in the drop down list of names, then
click the button.
The DELETE SELECTION button removes a Set-up name from the
list and erases the memory of the preference pre-sets. To use
delete, first you must select the Set-Up by name from the drop down
list, then click the button to delete it.
To change a set-up that you've already created, first open the
dialog box, select the set-up by name and click LOAD SELECTION.
All the preferences will be loaded as they were saved. Now, make
your changes to the game show's preferences as you normally would.
When you're satisfied, reopen the Instant Show Set-ups box, reselect
your Set-Up by name, and click the button UPDATE SELECTED SET-UP
WITH CURRENT PREFS. Your modifications to the set-up will be
saved.
TIP: Be sure you have selected your set-up by name each time
you open the dialog box for INSTANT SHOW SET-UPS. Otherwise,
you might save your updates under the wrong set-up name.
800 x 600 Show or 1024 x 768 Show: Selects the stage size for
the game show. The change takes place immediately, unless you are in the
"Quiz Editor." (The "Quiz Editor" always shows at the 800 size. If you
select 1024 while in the "Quiz Editor," your change will appear when you
play a game show.) The current setting is indicated by a checkmark on
the dropdown menu.
Big Event, Classic or Flashy Set: Selects your choice of game
show settings. The current setting is indicated by a checkmark on the
dropdown menu.
Quiz Font: This command let's you choose a font that will be
applied to the entire quiz that is currently selected. This is
especially useful if you are doing a language or math quiz. Important
note: If you select a font on your machine and then send the quiz to
another computer that has Game Show Presenter, that other computer must
also have the very same font. If Game Show Presenter does not see the
font, it will substitute the default font: Arial. It is very important
to choose the appropriate font to present your questions correctly.
Writing in Lithuanian you should check whether all the characters are
shown correctly and choose the appropriate font.
Quiz Text Display: Use this command to open a control box that
lets you set either regular or high contrast text. (In the Quiz Player,
you may preview the display if a game is not in progress.) If a game is
in progress, you may still change this setting and your change will be
applied immediately in the show.
Change Quiz: In the Quiz Player, this command opens a screen
to let you select the quiz to be used in the show. (The quiz cannot be
changed while a show is in progress.) This menu item does not appear in
the Quiz Editor, because you can easily change quizzes there in the main
Quiz window.
Show Volume: Use this command to open a sound volume control
(Fig.8). Keep in mind this is only software control over the Game Show
Presenter audio and if you have problems with audio being too loud or
soft, you may need to adjust your sound at the system level or on some
hardware. Slide the control to adjust the overall sound level of the
game show. This feature CAN be used while a show is underway.

Fig.8
Game Log: This menu item opens controls (Fig.9) for a feature
that will record the score of each player in your shows. This is useful
for teachers, trainers and others who would like review how their
classes performed on various quizzes. When this feature is ON, the score
data is automatically captured for each complete game. You have the
option to export the log file, which is kept in a tab-delimited format
so you can pull the data into your spreadsheet, database or other
program. The log does have an internal size limit and, when reached, the
program will prompt you to export the data and clear the log file.

Fig.9
Point values: Lets you vary how many points a correct question
will be worth in each round. You also have two checkbox options: 1)
checkbox causes deduction of points for wrong answers and timeouts 2)
checkbox controls whether points will be reduced for additional guesses
on the same question. This only applies to buzz-in mode of play. If the
box is checked, then if the first guess is wrong and the question was
worth 500 points, then the second guess is worth 250 points. Each wrong
answer given will further reduce the points by half. The assumption here
is that answering the question gets easier as possible answers are ruled
out.
Note that you can now adjust the score while a game is underway to deal
with operator errors or other situations. To do that, use the ADJUST
SCORE command under the EDIT menu.

Fig.10
Buzz-In Settings: This option enables you to choose either of
two modes of competition. In the default mode, players take turns
answering questions on a rotating basis. The other method is buzz-in
competition in which all players race to buzz-in once they think they
know the answer. There are a number of advanced features you can set for
buzzer play. To skip over a question when nobody buzzes in, hit the
ENTER key or use CONTROL plus SPACEBAR to pass on that question.
Host Options: This command opens a control box so you can
choose to turn off Al Morale and provide a live performer to be the game
show host. When you are using Be Your Own Host mode, the game
show pauses in every scene so your host has plenty of time to talk and
interact with your audience. Use the SPACEBAR key to advance the show
from one scene to the next. When Al Morale is off, the music, sound
effects, and other features continue to operate as before. Note that
this feature does not superimpose a video feed of your host onto the
screen. Instead, the screen becomes a backdrop for your live performer.
TIP: Need to train your live game show host? Turn on Al Morale
and run the show so your live host can easily see how the game show
flows.
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