Interactive
game shows: you'll never get rich
04/25/00- Updated 10:04
AM ET
By Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY
Fox Family Channel
touts its new Paranoia game show by saying that
"finally you can get in the game."
Viewers
at home can play along with contestants, via the
Internet or telephone and compete for prizes. MTV's
webRIOT and ABC's Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire make similar claims, so I set out to
see just how easy - or hard - it would be to play along.
Instead of shouting out the answers at the TV set, could
I truly put my mouth where my money was?
Here's my experience:
Who Wants
to Be a Millionaire. ABC, Tuesdays, 8 p.m.
ET/PT; Thursdays and Sundays, 9 p.m. ET/PT. The site: www.abc.com.
Click the Enhanced TV window.
The rules:
Up to 150,000 online players answer the same questions
that Regis poses to TV contestants. Sorry, folks,
winners don't get cash - just T-shirts, mouse pads or
hats.
The game:
The best of the bunch, it has impressive online graphics
and factoids to give us something to look at in addition
to questions and answers. Besides playing along with the
TV game, home players get bonus points for their speed,
plus additional questions that pop up during the
commercial breaks, related to both the Millionaire
show and the advertiser. Best of all, unlike the Millionaire
contestants, we don't get knocked out if we answer
incorrectly. And, we can change our minds on an answer
and still receive credit.
The final score:
* * * *
I played the game
twice, receiving a score of more than 400,000 the first
night, good enough to hit the top 38%. I thought that
was pretty good until I discovered that the top scorer
had more than 1,000,000. So I returned, determined to
crack the winner's circle and get my T-shirt - as if I
really needed one. But my competitive spirits were
ignited. This time I answered more questions (what did I
care - wrong answers wouldn't diminish my score) and
paid closer attention to advertising trivia during the
commercials for bonus points. I ended the second game
with 827,000, in the top 4%, but there were 10 people
ahead of me with 1,000,000-plus scores. Sigh.
But I'll be back! I'll
get that shirt.
Of the three games
mentioned here, Millionaire has the best
graphics, is easiest to use, has more going on during
downtime, and is a whole lot of fun to play. This is
Internet technology at its best.
Paranoia.
Fox Family Channel, Friday, Saturday and Sundays, 7 p.m.
ET/4 PT. The site: paranoia.excite.com.
The rules:
On this general-interest quiz, TV contestants win cash;
home players compete for prizes and the chance to be
invited as a TV contestant. While 20,000 people can play
along online, only 200 players (100 each for phone and
Net) can compete for prizes.
The game:
I called the toll-free 1-87P-ARANOIA number more than
125 times and never got through the perpetually busy
signal. So much for the claim that everybody can play
along. The Net however, was no problem. I logged in
easily. The problem was that, unlike Millionaire,
the online screen had little or no action. I got to
answer only nine questions in the one-hour game (the
same ones as the contestants, minus extra bonus
questions given to the TV contestants and selected
online and phone players.) My score was 4,750, which, I
was told, was 1,598th out of 3,978 players.
The final score:
* *
So I didn't get invited
to come on Paranoia as a live contestant. I'd
return again - but I highly recommend that the producers
take a good look at the online Millionaire for
tips on how to keep online screens interesting.
webRIOT.
MTV, Mondays through Fridays, 5:30 p.m. ET/PT. The site:
www.mtv.com.
The rules:
Four TV contestants compete based on music trivia
questions. Up to 25,000 Net players can play along,
answering the same questions as the TV contestants, in
real time. The top 10 Net scorers are displayed on the
TV screen, and the winner gets an MP3 player. Online
players can play the game against one another even when
the show's not on, and the top scorer of the day gets
$50 worth of CDs.
The game:
I'm not the right demographic for this. I didn't know
much about the videos I was questioned on. However,
simple logic helped me answer enough to be competitive.
For instance, live footage from a Stone Temple Pilots
gig was from what Las Vegas Mandalay Bay venue? The
Comedy Store, House of Blues, The Joint or Craps Table
#5b. (HoB was the correct choice.) Getting into the game
was no problem, and I experienced no computer glitches.
The final score:
* * and 1/2
MTV's bulky software
download takes too long, overrules your computer and
forces you into an annoying and boring chat window
before the game begins. Still, once all is said and
done, you can play along, which for most people is the
bottom line.
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