Here I plan to answer a few questions the random profile visitor may ask regarding Trivial Trivia and why I'm reviving the series.
INTRODUCTION
Originally the 2015 games were built in Flash (RIP) and were based on a codebase that was a little rocky. The games then allowed me to learn ActionScript a little more which resulted in knowledge I used in future games.
The 2020+ games are now built in HTML5/CSS/JS and pretty much run just like an interactive website would. The neat thing with the new system is I've set it up so there's a core "engine" and "themes" that make each iteration look different. This also means I can easily apply any core updates to previous TT games without much difficulty.
WHY ARE YOU BRINGING IT BACK?
Originally in 2015 I wanted to make a game that was fairly easy for me to create while satisfying an underrepresented category. Trivial Trivia allowed me to do both. I was able to focus on other projects while adding to the puzzle/quiz category here on Newgrounds.
Back then, there were maybe a handful of quizzes that were decent. Looking at 2020 it's even worse. There are a total of 25 quiz games published this year, with 6-7 having a 3+ rating. I feel that with my previous experience in making these types of games, along with the framework I've built, I can contribute to this small section of Newgrounds with some good content.
WHY MAKE TRIVIA GAMES? WHY NOT MAKE SOMETHING ELSE?
For a lack of better words, I am making these games because they are fairly easy to create, help me learn more about advanced css/js, and I am adding a fairly decent game for trivia lovers. Judging from the stats of these games vs. others, there aren't many trivia lovers on Newgrounds, but that's fine. While making these games, I've really started playing with CSS transitions which I've been able to apply to another pet project of mine.
Why not other games? Well, I could make other games, but because I'm currently not inspired to do so, it wouldn't turn out that good. Other genres of games also take a lot of time, collaboration, and dedication which I am not currently able to apply to game making. Having a full-time job and home life does not leave open much time for game making (notice how I've churned out this series over the traditional Christmas break).
I'd love to make a sequel to Jaded Journey, but looking at how images have to be animated, it will take significantly longer than it did with Flash.
I'd love to make an update for Electrical Rubaroo, but now see that it'd probably require a re-write since I used workarounds since I wasn't too familiar with JavaScript at the time.
I am currently creating a project which is unrelated to gaming. I'm currently inspired with this idea of a project and unfortunately it's not something that I would classify as a traditional game. If my inspiration moves more towards gaming, I will definitely release something that is more of a game.
HOW DO YOU MAKE THESE QUIZZES?
I used to take a previous flash project and manually replace all references to images, text, and questions. I also snuck any fixes or features I could in-between releases while doing this. Ultimately with how difficult I had made it to add questions, I quit the trivia game-making business.
Now, I have an "engine" built which can be easily customized through each trivia's "theme". Any core updates I create can be applied to previous and new games with ease. If you visited the Cyberpunk 2077 quiz the night I released it, you'll probably notice it looks and behaves a lot differently now. I've been able to apply 3 major updates (one resulting in the addition of a medal) without much hassle due to the new structure.
I DON'T LIKE TRIVIA AND YOU SHOULD JUST NOT RELEASE THESE
I was thinking when I saw Cyberpunk's trivia sitting in judgement (still there as of now) that it would get blammed. If it did, I'd totally have agreed and probably not pursued in making more in the series. I understand that these "quizzes" aren't really games in the traditional sense, but hey, it's a populated category on Newgrounds and there's plenty of other categories that aren't "games" either. The Blade Runner trivia got through judgement in ~1 day and is sitting slightly above 3 stars, so I'd say there's a market for these games (although small).
I HAVE AN IDEA FOR A TOPIC/I HAVE MUSIC FOR AN IDEA
If you have any music or topic ideas, please send me a PM with the info. I do like getting a feel for topics that would be played. I get that video games and movies may not be good topics for some people, so if you have any unique ideas, I'll certainly consider them.
Same with music. If you have a music track that you'd like me to feature as background music, send me a link to it and I'll see if I can fit it into any future quizzes. I get that these games don't get too much exposure, but I do a 50/50 revenue split for the music if that matters (not even sure if NG has anything to share revenue from anymore).
I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION/COMMENT
Feel free to post a comment below!