How to host a QuizWitz Livestream Quiz on YouTube

In these times of isolation, people often ask us if it is possible to play QuizWitz with a larger audience. It is! Our cooperation with the Belgian non-profit ‘Quizfabriek‘ proves that it is possible to host live quizzes on YouTube (and other streaming platforms). However, there are a few loopholes to go through.

The Quizmaster App

The first requirement for a proper QuizWitz livestream is an entertaining quizmaster who is controls the game. The quizmaster is responsible for the flow of the game and should deliver an entertaining presentation. He is in full control of the game and will read the question before they are answered by the players.

We have developed a special ‘quiz mode’ that enables you to do just that. It is called ‘QuizWitz Live’ and can be launched from the quiz editor. It is currently available for all users who have bought a Premium license.

Once started, the game will instruct you on how to connect to the Quizmaster app.

Go ahead and open the quizmaster app on the device that you want to use for presentation. We do suggest something portable, like a tablet or smartphone, so the quizmaster can easily move around during their presentation.

There are two modes in the Live game: ‘Regular’ and ‘Ad-hoc’.

For our livestream we suggest to choose ‘ad-hoc’, as in this mode there is no need to pre-register and players can just join in whenever they want. Click ‘Start ad-hoc game’ to continue. It might take a few moments for the quiz to load.

In a regular game, the quizmaster would first have to set up the names of all players, and each player would get their own connect token. This is especially handy when presenting a quiz for teams, as each unique code can be opened on multiple devices, so teams can switch from one device to another should their battery run out. However, for a livestream all of this is not necessary and would complicate things.

When the quiz has loaded, the game codes for the quiz crew and one for the players will show up on the quizmaster app. Write these codes down, as you will need them in the future!

Your game screen will now show the ‘Connect screen’ for the players. This is the screen that you should stream to your players.

Streaming to YouTube

We will not go into detail to how you should stream your screen and camera to YouTube, as there are many ways to achieve this. We use Open Broadcast Software (OBS), but there are many alternatives. Any software package that allows you to share you screen, should be fine.

If you are streaming to an online meeting app (like Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, …) you can pretty much share your screen with them and click the ‘Start’ button on the quizmaster screen. Attendees watching the game screen will be able to use their phone to answers the questions almost realtime.

With Youtube / Facebook Live / Twich / … however, it is a slightly different story, as there is an inevitable ‘transcoding delay’ in streaming to a big amount of viewers. The size of this delay can vary highly based on your own machine, but also on the clients who are watching, so this is where things get a big fuzzy.

We have had the best results with Youtube at ‘Ultra-low latency‘ with DVR disabled. It is important to disable DVR as otherwise any missed frames will cause the viewers to get out of sync with the game, and the information on their video will not be synchonrized with what they see on their phone. With Ultra-low latency we managed to get the delay down to about 3 seconds. This will not be exactly the same for each client, but the QuizWitz gameplay does allow for a certain margin of error, and there isn’t really anything we can do to improve the results.

Set the QuizWitz Delay

QuizWitz allows you to set a ‘Player interaction delay‘ in the jury app, which will delay all interaction with the players by a given amount of time. It is a bit confusing to think about, but:
During the stream, anything you see on your screen will only appear on the players’ screens a few seconds later. This is standard in broadcasting software like Youtube Live and Twitch tv.
The game sends the possible answers immediately to the players’ game controllers. So this would mean the options would show up on the players’ screens before they witness the end of your question speech.
So we need to make sure any actions the users can take is delayed by a few seconds as well.

In order to set up this delay, first make sure you have the stream running (you do not need to go live yet, but you do need to be able to observe the livestream in order to make measurements). Open the ‘Jury’ app (by entering the Jury code in catlab.tv in a browser tab) and go to ‘Game control’.

Now make sure you have the livestream open and the sound on. Use some kind of stopwatch and hit the ‘Buzzer’ sound effect whilst pushing the start button of your stopwatch. Now measure the time it takes for the Buzzer sound to appear on your livestream. Got that? Great! You now have an estimate on how long it takes for your video to reach your audience.

Now round that number up and enter it in the ‘Player interaction delay’ field in the jury app and hit ‘Confirm setting’ to save them. You might want to adjust this number depending on feedback from your audience. As a rule of thumb, it is better to set it slightly higher than your estimate, as it is better when the video runs a little too fast instead of the answer options showing up early before you completed reading your questions.

Ready to go live!

That’s about it! ‘Go live’ with your webstream and wait until all of your players have connected. Now use the quizmaster app to start the game and play through the game. Our software will take care of the delay and the quizmaster can do their thing in real time.

Extra tips

  • As quizmaster you should not monitor the delayed livestream, as this will cause you to wait for the questions to finish before going on to the next question. People will start wondering why you are waiting every time and will wonder if you are okay. The resulting delay is unnecessary as our software is already taking care of the technicalities. So you are free to prevent awkard pauses in the presentation.
  • If the quizmaster wants to respond to comments from the audience, you can open up live comments on a seperate screen that does not show the (delayed) video. Again, do not allow the quizmaster to watch the livestream as this will cause awkard pauses.
  • If you are using OBS with websocket support, we have developed a tool that allows you to automatically switch scenes on QuizWitz events. We use it to display the game fullscreen during questions, and switch to the presentator webcam during speech. You can find this tool at https://regie.catlab.eu/obs.html?remote=www.catlab.tv (replace www.catlab.tv with the connect url you get from the game). Alternatively, we also have a tool that sends out MIDI tones based on events at https://regie.catlab.eu/midi.html?remote=www.catlab.tv For both tools you need to enter the ‘Director’ code that you get from the Quizmaster app.

QuizWitz Release v1.1.0

Version 1.0 was getting a bit huge, so we’ve pushed the ‘minor release’ number up one.

QuizWitz Editor v1.1.193

  • Knowledge graph works again! Linking answers to wikidata’s graph, we have better insight of the genre of each question
  • Forum software has been upgraded to Vanilla v3, not that anyone is using it though. But we need to store our knowledge somewhere.
  • There is a new (experimental) field where you can specify question-specific views for each question. These views will then be loaded from the theme. If the question-specific view does not exist in the theme, it will fallback to the default view.
  • The ‘random quizzes’ that are loaded when clicking the ‘quick play’ button, or when playing through airconsole etc, are now supposed to be of higher quality. Highly rated rounds will be offered first, moving down in rating after multiple games. New rounds, that have not been rated yet, will be included in random intervals.
  • Two new round types, more about that in the client update.

QuizWitz Client v1.1.0

  • New round type! In ‘Strike rounds’ players get extra points for each previous question they have answered correctly. Reach the highest level to earn maximum points, but be careful, since one wrong answer throws you back to level 1.
  • New round type! Alphabet round. Much like traditional rounds, this round allows players to change their answer until the end of the round. Unlike the traditional round, the answers on your device are in a different order than the questions on the screen, so you need to match each answer to the correct question. This is useful for ‘alphabet rounds’ where you provide the first letter of the answer, but not the position of the question in the answer sheet.
  • New question type! List questions, where players must provide two or more answers to get a single question correctly. For example: List two species of cats.
  • Authentication of external devices should now work more reliable.
  • In ‘live’ modes, we are experimenting with giving the presenter more insight in how the players are doing. After each round, some ‘facts’ are displayed (players who have answered all questions correctly, etc)
  • Video attachments without an audio track will now play the default quizwitz countdown theme, instead of deafening silence.
  • There was an issue on how hit detection was working for image map questions, resulting in points loss in some cases. This is fixed now.
  • Ted is now slightly more annoying.

So that’s it, for now… Tune if later for more updates.

QuizWitz Release v1.0.136

A bunch of smaller improvements while preparing the second part of de Quizfabriek quiz season. Nothing too exciting, but improving the player experience step by step.

QuizWitz Editor v1.1.184

  • “Activity rounds” can now have attachments that are triggered by the quizmaster. This way you can show an image, video or audio fragment while doing a daredevil-duel. This is also the only attachment type that can be manually repeated (for now).
  • By loading optimized attachment previews the pageload for quizzes with huge amounts of attachments should be smoother now.
  • We’re experimenting with a new monetization strategy by showing ads for non-paying users.

QuizWitz Client v1.0.136

  • In “Live” quizzes, players can now play a tutorial while waiting for the game to start. The four most important question types are explained and players can get some hands on experience, whilest also filling in a small questionaire about how they’ve learned about your quiz.
  • Player position calculation is finally fixed, so players won’t share the same spot when they have the same score now.
  • In “Presentation” quiz types players can now refresh their page without losing their points; this is also the case for people playing the regular party game mode.
  • “Activity round” intro’s are slightly more entertaining by not showing the selected players straight away.
  • “Image map” questions are now automatically rotated to fit the largest area on the players screen.
  • We’ve also created a mod that allows players to order drinks straight from the remote view. Contact us in case you’d like to use this feature.

QuizWitz Release v1.0.131

Happy new year!

We’ve been working on a bunch of new features and improvement to start you of with a quiztastic 2019.

QuizWitz Editor v1.1.183

  • Performance improvements when editing big quizzes
  • Drag & drop functionality for rounds within a quiz
  • Import published rounds in quizzes

QuizWitz client v1.0.131

  • “Traditional” quiz round allows players to change their answer until the last question of the round.
  • “Image map” questions asks players to select a position on an image displayed on the player device.
  • Round attachments are displayed before or after the start of a round.
  • “One-vs-all” rounds share a fixed amount of points between all players who got the answer correctly (can be used both with and without time factor)
  • We’re also working on the user interface for presenter and jury and we have added a fullscreen button on the player devices (android only for now, iOS devices should follow soon).

We’ll try to keep everyone a bit more in the loop on what changes to expect in the future!

The QuizWitz Crowdfunding Story, Part three: campaigning

A very happy new year to you! May 2016 be the year in which your dreams come true and your games get played a lot!

It’s time for the third post in our series about our crowdfunding campaign! As we’ve mentioned before, crowdfunding requires a lot of time and effort. It’s really something you can only go into with a lot of preparation. Among that preparation is knowing the basics, defining your story, target goal and rewards, and last but not least, a communications plan.

We’ll have a look at the theory and how we went about everything, so grab your notebook or a cup of tea and read along.

The canvas prepares!

Remember the canvas we shared with you at the beginning of this series? It helps you to define your campaign in detail. The communications can be split up into distinct steps as well, and that’s where the Campaign plan canvas comes into play. It was created by Douw & Koren, a crowdfunding consultancy agency from the Netherlands. We used it too, although in hindsight, we should’ve planned it out even more!

Let’s have a look at the canvas. The campaign can be divided into three stages: before, during and after. The period of the campaign itself can be broken down into three different groups of people you’ll want to engage.

  • The intimi: These are the people you know on a personal level or who are otherwise already invested in your project before the campaign starts. They will help out of sympathy.
  • Your network: This group consists of the people you know, but don’t follow up on you all the time. Think friends on Facebook and in your LinkedIn network. They will back for interesting rewards.
  • The crowd: This is the largest group of people, but the hardest to reach and engage. They will only back your project if it interests them and resonates.

This chronological order might seem odd, but if your closest friends and family back the first 20%, you‘ll look a lot more promising to the next visitors and after 50% to the media.

Lastly, you should definitely NOT neglect the pre- and post-campaign communications. The “pre” helps you to engage your first ambassadors. You could invite friends and family to brainstorm about your rewards or help you with your video. The latter will require you to stay in touch with your backers, but this will actually keep them invested in your great cause!

Compare it to a snowball… If the first tight snow doesn’t stick, the loose one you’ll roll over later won’t either!

Social media & blogs

Social media and blogs can go a long way, but think it through. Make sure you plan the post times of your campaign and measure the value of your messages so your community won’t get bored with you. You can easily come across as pleading when you’re actually trying to build a community. People must feel welcome and be convinced their support will be vital.

Don’t turn to social media immediately after launch. If people visit your campaign and there’s nothing there, you might lose interest. When you reach the first 20%, it’s time to get in touch with your network. By the 50% mark, you go and add the media in the mix. More on that in our next topic.

In the middle of your campaign, there will probably be a quiet moment. Stay positive and use any opportunity you can to get your message out there. People will still visit your campaign and decide to eventually back you later. Keep them invested with some fun actions and content!

Don’t forget your past backers! Those are the people that (hopefully) want to see your project succeed. Don’t be afraid to ask them for a share or a small investment of time in another way.

We asked for a share of a pinned Facebook post and nearing the end of our campaign, backers could change their profile picture into our quiz host character Ted. We were a bit late with this, but we had some success in that regard as well. Don’t forget to thank your backers every now and then. They’re your VIP’s.

A crowdfunding platform often allows you to publish blog posts on your campaign. Make use of this feature to show people the project is alive and kicking. Let them see their investment is safe in your hands and you’ll work hard to succeed. Ask them for feedback or their ideas when you can.

Attention! Do keep an eye on the news value you bring with each message or sub-campaign.

PR & media

Press relations can help you to reach a larger amount of people, identified in the canvas as the crowd. Press releases are hard work and require some time if you decide to write them yourself. You could hire a professional but those people will cost you!

We decided to write them ourselves, as we had the possibility to spread them thanks to the press list of the Flemish Games Association (FLEGA). Being a member of a supporting organization in your country or region helps a lot! Add to that the fact that the city we’re located in publishes its own press list was a great help as well! Thank you Ghent, we were in the newspaper!

When you write a press release, always keep an eye on the added value covering your story might bring for the news outlet you’re contacting. Take your time to decide which message you want them to cover as well. If you don’t know what to say, then no editor will. They can’t look inside your mind after all. Reach out to the press on a personal level if you want to increase your chances. Writing a press release is a tough job, and we might expand on that later, what do you think?

Offline ideas

First of all, be creative. The offline part of the story is important, however “online” your game is supposed to be. Think about events you can attend, (local) conventions for example. You can talk to players, ask for feedback and show them your passion for the project. We’ll sum up some of the things we did to promote our campaign.

  • We grabbed every opportunity to go and pitch our game at different kinds of events. We especially looked for events concerning crowdfunding and indie game development.
  • We went to see friends and family to show them how the game works, preferably with some of their friends there too. Though this worked quite well, we didn’t do it enough to have a big impact.
  • There were two large conventions just before and during our campaign and so we had a booth there to let people play.
  • Next to that, we attended some indie developer events to present the game and convince fellow developers to back.  We even had an interview at the Indie Game Salon in Antwerp!
  • We made promo materials to support our message. We handed out crowdfunding business cards on which we printed a link to the campaign and 6 questions to get players started!

Last but not least, we started a new tradition that we’re continuing to do the coming months, year and hopefully longer! As a side effect of choosing for a local campaign, we were able to showcase our online game in the form of a more traditional quiz. We called this expansion on our game the QuizWitz Live events and even made the newspaper with it! Find out when the next event will take place at the quizfactory (quizzes are in Dutch)!

Let’s recapitulate!

  • Start off with your intimi, then turn to your network and last, add some crowd into the mix.
  • Don’t be afraid to promote your game in creative ways!
  • Say thanks where it’s due.

Keep in mind that crowdfunding is a game of change. What works today might be different tomorrow. It’s a game of people. Don’t do it alone, as you’ll want to build a community. Having a team that has your back will improve your chances considerably!

We hope we could be of help with everything we’ve talked about. Thanks to our campaign, we’ll be able to release a new version of our game somewhere in the beginning of 2016! Stay in touch using the links below, leave your thoughts, or just join our community at QuizWitz.com!

THANK YOU

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