Family Feud Presentation Software

From Game Show Presentation Softwares Web Site

Instructions

Table of
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.

Contents
Product Description/Introduction
Version History
Included Files and What They Do
Customizing Question Files
Operating the Presentation
Background: Rules of the Game
Special Thanks and Comments

I. Product Description and Introduction

This software is designed to provide audio and visual support for
playing Family Feud. Its great for parties or educational purposes.
This software is provided for absolutely no charge whatsoever. Its
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. Its
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 arent quite sure of the rules, Ive 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 screen
2. Family Feud close-up logo displays next
3. Family signs follow the logo
4. Wide-angle shot follows next
5. Press PgDn changes theme only
6. 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 (its 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, youll 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 dont 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 youll 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
Introducti
on

Faceoff

Function
Main Game
Reveal answers
1-10

1-10
=
V
B
N

Strike: Single, Middle

M
Z
/

Fast Money
Indicate Contestants
Answers Survey
Position

Reveal answer 11
Reveal answer 12
Strike: Single, Middle
First Strike
Second Strike
Third Strike
(Freezes Bank)

Left-side Buzzer
Right-side Buzzer

R
Cue Game Board
Close-up
Cue Camera Back to
Podium

I
O
Insert
PgDn

PgUp

Turn Board
from Logo to
Digital to
First
Question

Advance to Game
Board

Sound Bells
(for face-off win)
Zoom in
Zoom out
(Shows scores)
Sound Triple-Buzzer
When Revealing
Answers:
Advances to next
available screen and
to next round

Sound Double-Buzzer
Advance to next
screen

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 questions
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 didnt type in a family name, go to step
6. If you did, the first familys name will display.
5. Press PgDn key. The next familys 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. Youre 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 answers
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 youre 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
Youll now see a close-up shot of player ones 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 answers 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,
youll 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.) Youre done!

VII. Background: Rules of the Game

The 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 teams 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-of

The 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 Game
The 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 Points
During 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 Points
Single-Single-Double until end of game
Play to 300 Points
Single-Single-Single-Double-Triple until end of game
Play to 300 Points
Single-Single-Double-Double-Triple until end of game
Play to 300 Points
Single-Single-Double-Triple until end of game
Play to 400 Points
Single-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 Softwares website has a message board. Its
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 userfriendly as possible while still allowing it to be highly customizable.

And now, Id like to thank a few people:

John Ricci Jr.: Hes one of the first to contact me after this software
went public. You can check John out over at jrjgames.com. Hes
been a great help and a great friend while Ive 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
Flashgames.
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.