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ATTENTION PLAYERS
This game was designed to work best with Internet Explorer 6.0.
It may not work as well with other browsers.
There is a known conflict with Windows Media Player 9. Embedded sound files
may not play as a result of this confict. To upgrade to Windows Media Player
10, open your current Windows Media Player, choose HELP and then CHECK FOR
PLAYER UPDATES. This will allow you to upgrade to the newest version for free.
There may also be problems with browsers other that Internet Explorer 6.0.
If you have recently upgraded to Netscape 6.2 or if you
use an alternative browser such as Opera, for example, the embedded sound
files in this game may not work until you have installed the
proper plug in. Please click
here to get the free plug in from apple.com.
If you do not want to upgrade your media player or install a new plug in, you
can still play the game. However the check box next to "Optional - include
questions with sounds" may be of no use to you.
Please also note that cookies must be enabled in your browser or the
game will not be able to keep track of your score. That, however, is all
this game uses cookies for.
HOW THE GAME WORKS
The software automatically adjusts the levels of each question
with each answer given in real time.
Beginner questions are those that players
answer correctly 66% of the time or more. Intermediate
questions are those that players answer correctly 25% to 75%
of the time. Advanced questions are those that players answer
correctly only 33% of the time or less.
The relative difficulty levels of the questions therefore are
a reflection of the knowledge of the players who play the game most
often.
In other words, the more you play the game, the more the game adjusts
itself to your knowledge level.
GAME HISTORY
Nature Trivia was conceived by WEBCampaign Canada for use on weaselhead.org. It
was implemented on the Weaselhead Society's website with the professional
assistance of Ian Bruseker, a Calgary-based software designer, in the fall of
2001 with a bank of 234 questions.
Since then the total number of approved entries in the bank has climbed to an
astonishing 6150 questions spread over a number of
levels from beginner to expert.
Many of the images associated with the questions were donated
(and continue to be donated) by members of the Yahoo club
Birds-Pix.
In fact, the generosity of Birds-Pixers accounts for nearly 90% of all
the images used in the game today.
The sound files used in the game come from three sources. The
first batch was donated by Doug von Gausig of
naturesongs.com. The second
batch came from Birds of the Mountains and Foothills of Alberta, a CD
produced in 2000 by Barb and Jim Beck at the University of Alberta. The final
batch consists of sound files gathered by Gus Yaki and other Weaselhead Society
volunteer sound recordists.
Mention should also be made of the fact that dozens of video clips have also
been collected for use in this game when and if the long-awaited day of
universal broadband Internet access ever arrives.
TECHNICAL HISTORY
The intial game design combined a Microsoft Access database with Microsoft
Active Server Pages (ASP) hosted by Telus on an Apache Server running Chili-Soft.
Within a year, however, this combination proved far too slow to serve the needs
of large classes all playing the game at the same time in the same computer lab.
Responding to requests from teachers, therefore, the game was redesigned in two
stages. Stage One, complete in September 2003, saw a move away from the old
Access database to the MySql database that serves the game now. Stage
Two, completed in March 2004, saw a move away from the original
ASP interface to a much faster PHP interface.
COPYRIGHTS
The game software is the intellectual property of WEBCampaign Canada. The
questions are the intellectual property of the Weaselhead Society. The images and
sounds used in the game are the artistic products of their creators; copyright,
therefore, remains with the creators of the images and sounds.
CONTRIBUTORS
The following is a list of image and sound contributors minus those who
specifically requested that their names not be published on this list:
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RAY PHILLIPS
for serving as the society's DIRECTOR (MEMBERSHIPS) this year