) I guess the next on will be Poland then...
Post by sethallen623 on Oct 17, 2013 22:54:22 GMT -5
Back in early 2007, an older sibling of mine, who shall remain nameless, made classroom games for students that they were teaching at the time, based on three TV game shows: "Jeopardy!", "Deal or No Deal," and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Upon learning of those games' existence, I responded by making plans to create full-fledged animated versions of the three shows, which were designed to replicate the actual properties in nearly every way.
My animated version of "Millionaire" is directly modeled after the classic version of the show, which aired on ABC Primetime and was hosted by Regis Philbin, but there were differences.![]()
Instead of Philbin, the host character that I used in my version was a caricature of the syndicated version's original and then-current host, Meredith Vieira. I portrayed her regularly with a wardrobe inspired by Philbin's classic look, characterized by monochromatic-looking women's formal businesswear that emphasizes color rather than pattern, with outfits each consisting of a skirt or pant suit, a dress shirt or blouse, and opaque pantyhose coordinated in solid, slightly varying shades of the same, usually dark or muted, color. The animated Vieira differs from her real-life counterpart in that she has a hosting style that preserves the enthusiasm, humor, and excitement that Philbin gave the show, but she is also like her real-life counterpart in that she remains very comfortable with the contestants, and better at pronunciations than Philbin was. Particularly noteworthy about her hosting style is the fact that unlike her real-life counterpart, she makes regular use of Philbin's familiar catchphrases, including the legendary "Is that your final answer?" (which she uses in my "Millionaire" cartoons more than the shortened versions "Final answer?" and simply "Final?".)
The classic hour-long format of the network version is restored, and the set design, lighting system, music tracks, and camera compositions of my animated "Millionaire" are accurate representations of their counterparts from the original primetime series. All the on-screen graphics and animations are modeled after the original ones from the primetime version - that is, except for the main title animation, which is based on the syndicated version's first title sequence (from 2002), but features several significant differences: a "boom" effect and a brief pause precede the opening theme, the sky is dark throughout the sequence, more NYC landmarks are shown (namely a view of NY Harbor, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Times Square), and Vieira talks over the sequence, giving an opening announcement ("Now, from the ABC Television Studios in New York City, join us every weekday as we play the world's greatest quiz game, 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'!"). ...And speaking of the main title sequence, that is again preceded, as in the days of the primetime version, by an introductory sequence (complete with a recreation of its original music cue) in which Vieira introduces the contestant that will be resuming their game; or in the case of special weeks beginning, the theme of the special week that is about to take place; or in the case of the premiere episode, the show itself. In addition, although the logo retains the CGI appearance it had on the real show at the time, it is restored here to its "classic" color scheme, except for the hole in the center, which is transparent, but has blue lighting effects in it in the main title sequence and on the in-studio monitors.
The gameplay rules follow the same format that the syndicated version used when it debuted, and the original payout structure is used again. However, the Fastest Finger Round, eliminated for the syndicated series, is restored to the gameplay in my "Millionaire" cartoons, where it is again used to select contestants (except during certain special weeks). Also, the game clock was implemented on my animated "Millionaire" before it began to be used on the real one (where it would not be introduced until fall 2008), but its appearance is more limited: it only appears if a contestant does not give a final answer by the time a set amount of time has passed after Vieira has finished reading the answers - 15 seconds for Questions 1-5, 30 seconds for Questions 6-10, 45 seconds for Questions 11-13, and 60 seconds for Questions 14 and 15. The amount of time on the clocks themselves is as follows: 10 seconds for the $100-$1,000 clock, 20 seconds for the $2,000-$32,000 clock, 30 seconds for the $64,000-$250,000 clock, and 40 seconds for the $500,000 and $1,000,000 clock. Plus, all of the time that the contestant has saved - both standard time and time from clocks, even if they have not activated any clocks at all - is, fortunately, banked once they reach the $1,000,000 question itself.
The questions on my animated "Millionaire" are at approximately the same level of difficulty as they were at in the early days of the syndicated edition, but only about a dozen of the over 500 contestants whom I had created were actually intended to end up becoming millionaires themselves, and only 50 were actually supposed to see their million dollar questions. But still, I intended my animated "Millionaire" to have more successful contestants than the real show.
I also intended my animated "Millionaire" to have various special editions and tournaments, which were to include the following: an 11-night celebrity charity event with two celebrities playing per episode; a "Millionaire All-Stars" event where former big winners from both the network and syndicated eras returned and split their winnings with their favorite charities; a "Zero Dollar Winner Week" featuring contestants who previously missed one of the first-tier questions and left with nothing; a "Tax-Free Week" in which H&R Block calculated the taxes of winnings to allow contestants to earn stated winnings after taxes, a "College Week;" a "Teachers Week;" a "Play to Pay for Your Wedding" Week featuring brides- and grooms-to-be; weeks concerning specific topics, such as a "Professional Football Week," a "Celebrity Gossip Week," a "Million Dollar Movie Week," and a "Pop Culture Week"; and special episodes celebrating certain holidays, such as a "Halloween Show" where everyone dresses in costume, the audiovisual elements become spookier than usual, and the lifelines gain creepy names ("Eliminate Two Ghouls" for Fifty-Fifty, "Phone a Monster" for Phone a Friend, and "Ask the Mob" for Ask the Audience - note that I had not even heard of "1 vs. 100" at that time), and a Valentine's Day episode where married couples or unmarried pairs of love interests are featured as contestants.
Well, anyway, my animated version of "Millionaire" was intended to be like the real show as it appeared and functioned at that time, improved with the classic format and overall look and feel that "Millionaire"'s most devoted fans know and love from the show's prime.
My animated version of "Millionaire" is directly modeled after the classic version of the show, which aired on ABC Primetime and was hosted by Regis Philbin, but there were differences.
The classic hour-long format of the network version is restored, and the set design, lighting system, music tracks, and camera compositions of my animated "Millionaire" are accurate representations of their counterparts from the original primetime series. All the on-screen graphics and animations are modeled after the original ones from the primetime version - that is, except for the main title animation, which is based on the syndicated version's first title sequence (from 2002), but features several significant differences: a "boom" effect and a brief pause precede the opening theme, the sky is dark throughout the sequence, more NYC landmarks are shown (namely a view of NY Harbor, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Times Square), and Vieira talks over the sequence, giving an opening announcement ("Now, from the ABC Television Studios in New York City, join us every weekday as we play the world's greatest quiz game, 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'!"). ...And speaking of the main title sequence, that is again preceded, as in the days of the primetime version, by an introductory sequence (complete with a recreation of its original music cue) in which Vieira introduces the contestant that will be resuming their game; or in the case of special weeks beginning, the theme of the special week that is about to take place; or in the case of the premiere episode, the show itself. In addition, although the logo retains the CGI appearance it had on the real show at the time, it is restored here to its "classic" color scheme, except for the hole in the center, which is transparent, but has blue lighting effects in it in the main title sequence and on the in-studio monitors.
The gameplay rules follow the same format that the syndicated version used when it debuted, and the original payout structure is used again. However, the Fastest Finger Round, eliminated for the syndicated series, is restored to the gameplay in my "Millionaire" cartoons, where it is again used to select contestants (except during certain special weeks). Also, the game clock was implemented on my animated "Millionaire" before it began to be used on the real one (where it would not be introduced until fall 2008), but its appearance is more limited: it only appears if a contestant does not give a final answer by the time a set amount of time has passed after Vieira has finished reading the answers - 15 seconds for Questions 1-5, 30 seconds for Questions 6-10, 45 seconds for Questions 11-13, and 60 seconds for Questions 14 and 15. The amount of time on the clocks themselves is as follows: 10 seconds for the $100-$1,000 clock, 20 seconds for the $2,000-$32,000 clock, 30 seconds for the $64,000-$250,000 clock, and 40 seconds for the $500,000 and $1,000,000 clock. Plus, all of the time that the contestant has saved - both standard time and time from clocks, even if they have not activated any clocks at all - is, fortunately, banked once they reach the $1,000,000 question itself.
The questions on my animated "Millionaire" are at approximately the same level of difficulty as they were at in the early days of the syndicated edition, but only about a dozen of the over 500 contestants whom I had created were actually intended to end up becoming millionaires themselves, and only 50 were actually supposed to see their million dollar questions. But still, I intended my animated "Millionaire" to have more successful contestants than the real show.
I also intended my animated "Millionaire" to have various special editions and tournaments, which were to include the following: an 11-night celebrity charity event with two celebrities playing per episode; a "Millionaire All-Stars" event where former big winners from both the network and syndicated eras returned and split their winnings with their favorite charities; a "Zero Dollar Winner Week" featuring contestants who previously missed one of the first-tier questions and left with nothing; a "Tax-Free Week" in which H&R Block calculated the taxes of winnings to allow contestants to earn stated winnings after taxes, a "College Week;" a "Teachers Week;" a "Play to Pay for Your Wedding" Week featuring brides- and grooms-to-be; weeks concerning specific topics, such as a "Professional Football Week," a "Celebrity Gossip Week," a "Million Dollar Movie Week," and a "Pop Culture Week"; and special episodes celebrating certain holidays, such as a "Halloween Show" where everyone dresses in costume, the audiovisual elements become spookier than usual, and the lifelines gain creepy names ("Eliminate Two Ghouls" for Fifty-Fifty, "Phone a Monster" for Phone a Friend, and "Ask the Mob" for Ask the Audience - note that I had not even heard of "1 vs. 100" at that time), and a Valentine's Day episode where married couples or unmarried pairs of love interests are featured as contestants.
Well, anyway, my animated version of "Millionaire" was intended to be like the real show as it appeared and functioned at that time, improved with the classic format and overall look and feel that "Millionaire"'s most devoted fans know and love from the show's prime.
