Pub Quiz

Pub Quiz is a trivia game with Global Leaderboard powered by Windows Azure Mobile Services and Windows 8 features. This Windows Store application was built with HTML5/JS, Windows Azure Mobile Services, and Bing Translator Text to Speech. Have a look at the demo video and watch the power of Windows design & features take a basic trivia game to the next level.

All creative work such as windows 8 design, sounds, I am that interesting character on the live tiles, i am the thumb in the thumbs up beer mug (I'm a hand model like George Costanza) all created 100% by the entrant. Yes, i even drank the beer. Quality code fronts a scalable and reliable backend leading to no Crash Data in the Windows Store reports after 3 weeks of public use. Prolific use of Windows Design language and Windows 8 features throughout make this simple trivia game shine as the best trivia game out there.

Windows 8 features in this app

• Pin categories to Start Screen as Secondary Tiles with the Flyout control from the App Bar
• Primary and Secondary Tiles can be Live Tiles enabling recent question display.
• Application and Secondary tiles available as Wide or Square Tiles in all variations with Live Tile ON or OFF
• Metered Connection detection & support for a low bandwidth mode to respect the user and prevent unexpected or excessive data charges
• Fast and Fluid behavior with beautiful and meaningful animations from the WinJS Library used throughout the app
• Voiceover Options available via the Settings Charm - Choose from 9 accents including British, American, Canadian, Korean, Indian, or Japanese.
• Voice accent and category selection use Windows 8 roaming settings - roaming app data to bring Application State and Settings along from machine to machine seamlessly
• Share Contract enables sharing of questions to any application implementing Share Target for text
• PlayTo Contract, Source, enables game audio and voiceover to be sent to any DLNA speakers on the network through the Devices charm
• PlayTo contract, Receiver, allows pub patrons or owners to stream their own music playlist to the Pub Quiz for everyone to listen to using DLNA over the network.
• Toast Notifications for the most important activity announcements between rounds
• Fully functional in all view states Landscape, Portrait, Snapped and Filled
• Leverages Microsoft Design style based on clean typography, the Windows sillohuette, and the use of space in sizing content with alignment to the Windows 8 Grid.
• Designed for a comfortable touch posture using the BEST portions of the screen for reading and interaction areas in all view states
• Category selection via the App Bar
• Fixed Layout scales beautifully from 10" Tablets to 27" and larger displays with the viewbox control

Roadmap includes Windows Phone companion app for group venue play allowing a bar owner to put this up and have patrons play along on their phones.

Video Transcript

Pub quiz is the best app for playing trivia by yourself or with a group of friends, like at a pub. It leverages Windows 8 features and Microsoft Design Principles to create a consistent, elegant, and compelling user experience. The clear information heirarchy based on clean typography and the Windows Sillohuette give the trivia breathing room and minize distraction while instilling an immediate sense of familiarity and confidence. Placing commands in the app bar, using the Windows Charms, and careful placement and sizing of content leverages the edge for a comfortable user experience with amazing features right under your thumbs. Purposeful animations from the WinJS library tie the experience together for the user with familiar motions that lead them through the fast and fluid user interface. The Touch first design also works great with a keyboard or mouse leveraging the built-in controls for a consistent feel with accessibility features baked right in. The fixed layout scales beautifully making the playing experience look great on devices ranging from 10" tablets to 27" and larger displays. A functional view is presented in each of the Landscape, Portrait, Snapped and Filled view states. Using the right contracts allows for great use cases to be added to the game that will just become better as other apps win as one with contracts. With the Share Contract accessed via the Share Charm Pub Quiz questions can be sent via email or used by any other app that acts as a share target. The PlayTo contract enables the game narration and alert audio to be streamed to any DLNA Receiver on the network, so you could use those awesome speakers from your tablet with no wires required. The Pub Quiz game can also act as a PlayTo Receiver implementing the PlayTo Contract in the other direction. This would allow a bar owner or patron to stream music from their own Computer or Phone to be listened to by everyone while playing Pub Quiz using DLNA and the Playto Contract. The first Users experience with our app in Windows 8 is with well designed tiles for the start screen. Categories selected from the App Bar can be pinned to the start screen as secondary tiles. The primary and secondary tiles can be live tiles making Pub Quiz feel connected and alive even when the app is closed. All variations primary, secondary, static, and live are available in wide and square format providing ultimate flexibility on start. Notifications are utilized within the app to promote the most important activity notifications. Voice Settings, PlayTo Reciever, About, and Privacy Policy are available through the use of the Settings Contract available using the Settings Charm. Branded Settings Flyout pages appear and differentiate themselves from system settings and give the user comfort and clarity as they navigate. Voice Settings allows game narrator accent selection from 9 options. In case you are in Britain, or would rather hear someone British. The settings in the charms and app state from category selection are roaming settings that create a continuous experience across devices so you can switch PC's and continue right where you left off. PUB Quiz automatically detects metered networks and enters a low bandwidth mode to respect the user's dataplan and wallet. Windows Azure Mobile Services drives the whole experience by managing and distributing the game data. Play it on Windows 8 or download the Windows Phone companion app and play together with your friends at the Pub. Cheers!