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Choices: Creating a game, step by step


Step 1. Start Choices

You can start the Choices editor by clicking Start->All Programs->Workshops by Thiagi, Inc->Web Game Shells->Choices.

If Choices is already running, be sure to click File->New on the Choices menu.

Step 2. Enter the title of the game

Enter the title of your game in the Title field and set the font size you desire. Standard size is 40 points.

Step 3. Enter the game items

Enter your game items in the following format:

Question 1: (example, "What's the name of the fourth planet from the Sun?")
Correct Answer (ex. "Mars")
Distractor #1 (ex. "Earth")
Distractor #2 (ex. "Venus")
Distractor #3 (ex. "Jupiter")

Question 2 (ex. "What planet is known for its highly visible rings?")
Correct Answer (ex. "Saturn")
Distractor #1 (ex. "Venus")
Distractor #2 (ex. "Jupiter")
Distractor #3 (ex. "Uranus")
etc.

Note: If you have generated your game items following this format in a word processing program, such as Microsoft Word, you can cut and paste the text into the Items field.

When you have finished entering your game items, click Save to save the items. You will see the items shift into the following format, for easy scanning and editing:

Step 4. Set the sample size and order

The sample size is the number of questions or game items that will be shown to the player over the course of a game. The sample size must be smaller than or equal to the number of items in the game.

The order of the items—either 'random' or 'ordered'—determines how these items will be displayed to the player.

Step 5. Set the time limit for each level of play

Now you must set the time limits for each level of play. You may wish to set up and test the time limits for your game using the following principles:

If you are using the Final Challenge (the post-test or final exam), the time limit should be the same as Level 3 play.

Step 6. Test the game

In the final step of game creation you must test the game. We recommend a testing cycle of…

Additional recommendations

If you make changes to an existing game, be sure to click the Save button to save your changes. Generally speaking, you should always click the Save button just before you click the Play button. If you click Play before you save a game, you will not see the changes you made in the game.

When playing/testing your game, check that the game instructions page appears when the (?) button is clicked on the game's dashboard, and that it is complete and accurate. If it does not appear, check that Instructions Path (see the Advanced tab) is pointing to the right file. If it requires changes, make those to the html document and reconfirm that the Instructions Path is correct.