Snippets On Demand!

Frequently Asked Questions

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Please note: This game is presently FOR COMPUTERS ONLY. It will not work on a tablet such as an IPad. Though you can view the visual elements on an IPad, you cannot presently hear any audio elements. A version for tablets is being planned for the future.

1. What is "Snippets On Demand!"?

"Snippets On Demand!" -- or SOD for short -- is a brand new single player music-oriented game created and developed by yours truly Ronnie Allen. It's similar to the TV show "Name That Tune" except that the objective is to identify either the title or the artist of a hit record by hearing a "snippet" from an actual recording and, as a special challenge - if it's important to you - to do so as quickly as possible.

2. So what exactly is a snippet?

In the context of this game a snippet is a very small portion of a national hit record. The maximum length of each snippet is 5 seconds.

3. How many snippets are in a game?

There are exactly ten "regulation" snippets. If you correctly guess all of them, you are then entitled to bonus ("overtime") snippets which will enable you to increase your score.

4. How does the process work?

The computer begins playing a snippet and you are simultaneously presented with 5 possible answers that are shown on rectangular selection planks. In some cases your possible choices will be TITLES. In other cases your possible choices will be ARTISTS. Your goal is to click the correct title or artist.



5. Is there a timer shown while the snippet is playing and is there a time limit?

There is an onscreen timer shown to the left of the "right-wrong" information that begins incrementing by tenths of a second as soon as the snippet begins playing. As soon as you click on an answer the nippet and the timer both stop. If you do not click on an answer, the snippet will coninue to play up a maximum play time of 5 seconds, at which point it will stop.

6. If the snippet has stopped upon reaching the maximum play time of 5 seconds, can I listen to it again?

Absolutely. A blue "REPLAY SNIPPET" button will appear and, in fact, you can listen to it as many times as you choose. If during the replay you correctly solve the snippet in, let's say, one second, your charged time for that identification will be the maximum play time of 5 because you will have already heard the entire snippet. For any wrong answer, regardless of when you clicked it, you will be charged the snippet's maximum play time of 5 seconds; that's significant because your average guess time for all snippets will be the total charged time divided by the number of snippets.

7. Okay, I've clicked on an answer. What happens next?

You will receive immediate video feedback from the program. If your answer is right, its background color will be highlighted in GREEN. If your answer is wrong, its background color will be highlighted in RED and the background color of the right answer will be highlighted in VIOLET. You will also receive audio feedback in the form of either voices (right=Ronnie Person wrong=Ronnie Mouse) or sound effects (right=win sound wrong=lose sound).

8. Will both my right and wrong score and my timing information be shown?

Yes. Both will be displayed throughout the game. Your average guess time per snippet is shown to the right of the right and wrong score.

9. Assuming that I was asked to guess the title, is there a way to find out who the artist was? And likewise, if I was asked to guess the artist, is there a way to find out what the title was?

Yes, and you can find out instantly. Right below the selection planks you will see the complete title and artist information for that record in blue lettering. If you identified the title "Let It Be" you will see the information shown as LET IT BE by The Beatles. If you identified the artist for that record you will see the information shown as THE BEATLES doing Let It Be. Below that will be information about how many seconds were recorded for your right or wrong answer.

10. So what happens next?

The next snippet will start to play and the process will be the same as described above. It will continue until the final (tenth) regulation snippet has been played and judged.

11. What happens after the final (tenth) regulation snippet has been played and judged?

This depends upon your performance. If you got at least one wrong answer, the game is immediately over and your REPORT CARD for the game will display on the screen. It will contain your final right-wrong score, your final average time for all snippets and an individual detail line for each snippet in the game showing whether you got it right or wrong, how much time you took (maximum snippet time of 5 seconds if wrong) and the "total" correct answer for that snippet (with title and artist information shown). The detail lines are color coded: GREEN means you got it right; RED means you got it wrong. If you answered all regulation snippets correctly, you are entitled to additional bonus ("overtime") snippets; this will enable you to improve your score. They will automatically play and will continue to do so until either (1) you identify a snippet incorrectly or (2) you click on the "NO MORE SNIPPETS" button. When your game is over as a result of either of those two occurrences, your REPORT CARD for the game will display on the screen.



12. Are the timing elements really all that important?

The importance or lack of importance is totally subjective. You might feel that simply getting snippets right is all that matters. Or you might feel that timing should be part of the "accomplishment" criteria. In other words, it's up to you whether it matters a lot, a little or not at all. That said, the information will be there for you - via the report card - to pay attention to or ignore at your whim.

13. How do I select a category and how many categories are there?

You select a category by clicking on the dropdown list box that is shown on the "home" screen of this game. There are presently 24 categories. 23 of them relate to specific time periods. The game covers both pop music (including big band) and country music. The present range is 1940 through 1979 for pop music and 1944 through 1989 for country music. Some of the categories overlap. For instance, there's a Pop Hits: 70s category and a Pop Hits: 60s and 70s category. Any 70s hit is odder for either of those two categories.

14. Are there totally obscure records in the mix?

"Totally obscure" is truly in the mind of the beholder. If you were born in the early 70s the chances are that you might not be that familiar with most pop records from the 40s and 50s. And if you're strictly a pop music fan who never listens to country music (unless a record crossed over to the pop chart) then almost all the records from country music, even recent ones, might qualify as being "obscure" to you. All of the records presently being snippeted were national hits on either the Billboard pop or country charts. The objective of this game is to appeal to as many people as possible. And with a composite music range of about 60 years you will almost certainly find a category which you are comfortable with.

15. Are there any other special features besides what's been mentioned above?

Yes. There is an INSTANT REPLAY feature. After viewing your report card, you can optionally select "DO INSTANT REPLAY" and you then be able to experience a visual and audio replay of the game that you just played, listening to the snippets, and viewing once again the selection planks, watching yourself make your choices and experiencing the visual and audio feedback that you did moments ago. You can even - if you wish - replay an instant replay as often as you'd like.

16. What settings are available and will the SOD application remember them from game to game?

There are only two settings. You can select whether you want the "welcome" message to be heard at the start of your next game and you can select any one of the 24 categories. The computer will remember these two settings provided that you have cookies enabled. You most likely do.

17. What if a snippet either does not play at all, plays poorly or is incorrectly identified by the program?

It's tempting to say "not to worry, that will never happen." But the reality is that very few things in life are perfect and most likely this game is NOT among those few things! With approximately 8500 snippets in the data base, it's possible that a very few might have problems. You can help me make the game better by notifying me whenever you encounter a problem with any snippet, whether it be its not playing (either at all or properly) or its identification. My email address is RonnieOldiesGuy@aol.com. If a snippet does not play at all, please click ANY answer; that will allow you to read (underneath the selection planks) the name of the record that it SHOULD HAVE have played; then please let me know. With your help I can make this game closer to perfect!

18. Is it possible for a snippet to fall "right on the title" when the choices listed are all titles?

Yes, that does sometimes happen. All the snippets start a minimum of 10 seconds into the record and a maximum of 70 seconds into the record. "Falling right on the title" is of course a HUGE help if titles are displayed but most likely not quite as helpful if artists are displayed.

19. Is it possible for me to come back and find that the computer presents me with exactly the same game that I played before with all the snippets and snippet choices the same?

Possible, yes. Probable, no. This game has a very sophisticated RNG (random number generator) that makes such an occurrence extremely unlikely. In fact, the chances of a duplicate game happening to you totally randomly are somewhere around a million to one. That said, if it does indeed happen to you, please do let me know! But before you do, please consider buying a Powerball ticket.

That's it for now.

If you enjoy playing this game, please tell your friends.

Ronnie

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