This is the 3rd “look” and update since I’ve played Trivia Guy. On one hand, this is both good and as well as a step backward. Questions, humor, and overall charm of the game are intact and are part of the fun. The weird scaling zoom up of the “trivia guy” himself is….weird. Almost thought it was bug how he animated into place every question. I vastly prefer the older versions of the app for the presentation. The questions and explanation of the answer also animate in slowly - maybe to help with pacing, but it all feels like it slows down the game immensely.
One great thing about this new version is that the points earned summary is now included in the explanation of the answer screen. This I think was how it was in the original version I played a few years ago. (My favorite presentation) I am glad that this is no longer a second confirmation button/screen before proceeding with the question, but I still prefer how the entire answer and explanation were on the screen as soon as the screen changed - for fast readers, even the ability to tap to skip the animation ahead would be nice.
No matter what, I find the scaling up and down of the mascot extremely out of place - it would be less so if he did something, but something about the lack of animation (within the art itself) is unsettling.
One thing I had hoped would return with a new update would be the category quizzes. I liked to play the 10 question round but by being able to choose what types I would receive, such as history, movies, music, etc. It seems only that you can take 10 questions from random categories, without any customization to the quiz possible now. It seemed like the older version I first played was the best to me overall - it was great with pacing, display, and snappiness of the quiz itself ( I did like the size of the UI in this version a lot, but I prefer the older colors - the large amount of yellow seems to feel off for some reason now, but the text is extremely readable and appropriately sized.) but the artwork of the character didn’t command attention with pointless animation, and you could play only the type of quiz you’d like for the moment. I do wish this would return.
I’d also like to see more music - it is the one thing that hasn’t changed, and while nice, it gets old quickly. A few more tracks that change sometimes while playing would be nice, tho I’m sure many may play on silent or with other music playing from their phone. The sound effects are nice too, and provide nice feedback - it’s more effective than the animation of the thumbs up or down I feel that plays now.
I feel like this is a huge complaint but I do really like this game, but the creator seems to take a step sideways with these updates. I’m sure there are reasons for it, but I feel like they are reducing the charm a little each time while not introducing new benefits. I wish I could install even the previous version, but the original version I played is still my favorite.
However, the reason I play Trivia Guy overall, and will continue to do so, is the charm of the writing and how the questions are produced. They always feel humorous and well written, and I enjoy the way they work the player’s name into, as if Trivia Guy is actually asking you them right there. If a new update comes in that could address some of these issues, or at least allow some customization to speed up the transition/ “type writer effect” of the text on the explanation screen (where you confirm to go to next question), disable the animation of the Guy each time, etc, I would love that. I like this game a lot - it’s the only trivia game I’d bother writing a review of at all, and one that pains me to even be critical of. I loved that first version I played and if iPhone allowed it, I would go back to that version for all its features and UI/feeling. But the actual trivia itself is still top notch.
I know the developer cares about this game, but I think a little more love to these pretension elements could help it even more, but right now it feels like too much is going on with it and I would welcome seeing it pared back a bit. But that doesn’t mean I will stop playing, and doesn’t mean folks should pass this game up - it’s still extremely witty and that alone makes up for hiccups in the UI, which could be a matter of taste to many that do not feel the way I do.
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