| Games: The D Show |
- Release Date: November 02, 1998
- Genre: Traditional
- Style: Game Show
- Similar Games: You Don't Know Jack (Hybrid Windows/Mac), You Don't Know Jack (Hybrid Windows/Mac), You Don't Know Jack (PlayStation)
Game Description
The D Show, from Disney Interactive, is a game show in the tradition of You Don't Know Jack--a brain-twisting collection of trivia questions, bonus rounds, classic Disney animation, movie clips, and songs. There's a heart-pounding option with the D-Fibulator speed rounds too. You can play The D Show by yourself or with your friends and family--up to three players. The facts, thrills, and humor could not be contained on a single CD-ROM. There are a total of 30 shows in all to challenge history buffs, trivia fanatics, and Disney lovers. Topics to be tickled include TV, sports, theme parks, and the Disney archives. Each time you win a round, you collect D Bucks. If you play well, you might become, uh, D richest.~ Ric Moxley, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
Clearly, this game was influenced by the highly successful You Don't Know Jack CD-ROM and web game. Other influences come from the world of television, as it clearly seeks to immitate the feel of a live game show with contestants.~ Ric Moxley, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
Your capacity to enjoy this game show from Disney Interactive hinges on your ability to swallow blatant self promotion. The popularity of the Disney brand suggests that the most people not only don't mind, but have embraced the Disney brand and its World-famous characters and products with great affection. If you love Disney, you will undoubtedly love this game.The D Show is an amazing collection of Disney facts, trivia, movie clips, and photos, marvelously presented in the appearance of a TV game show. This is true family entertainment--an opportunity to create moments of connectivity in front of the computer, a medium that normally seems to create isolation. The game is designed for one-to-three simultaneous players.
If you've ever wanted to experience the thrill of being a contestant on a television game show, you'll get a kick out of The D Show. Except for the lack of real money prizes, it provides all the excitement of the real thing.
The questions, centered on the movies, TV shows, characters, and theme parks of Disney, make this a fair game for a wide age-range. An adult might win with a nostalgic question about Bednobs and Broomsticks, but the kids are more likely to remember the name of the carts that transport you in Disneyland's haunted mansion (it's "Doom Buggies"--the only one I'll give you).
It is impossible not to compare The D Show to You Don't know Jack, since the latter came first and did the CD-ROM game show concept so memorably. So how does it stack up? Depends on the audience. While both play to all ages, the broader subject matter and the brash humor of You Don't know Jack provides greater entertainment value to teens and adults than would The D Show. While You Don't know Jack's interface uses the less-is-more paradigm, The D Show goes all out with razzle-dazzle color, sound, and movement. Both techniques work well. The dialogue doesn't have the edgy personality of You Don't know Jack, but it has the licensing rights of priceless Disney assets to make up for it. Disney Interactive has dipped deep and wide into that well to create this game. I also appreciate the attention to detail in the dialogue--few canned answers to the hundreds of questions. It seems that each right or wrong answer presents an entirely unique answer, adding an informative and even educational quality to the game.
One area where The D Show falls short compared to its competitor is in the lack of an online component, missing out on a decided replay advantage. The greatest bone to pick, though, is the sound. While it is generally of the highest quality, the levels are all over the place. Sound and movie clips are piercingly loud, interspersed with low-level announcer dialogue. This caveat aside, The D Show is slick--a great family game and a fine investment to add to your computer gaming collection.
~ Ric Moxley, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
If you are a Disney fan, you'll score this one sky-high. If you are bothered by self-promotion, this game will drive you to madness.~ Ric Moxley, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
Strong values here, but could use more visual variety to match the outstanding audio variety. Still, it's graphically attractive and the movie clips quality is outstanding.~ Ric Moxley, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
While the sound quality of individual elements is tops, the overall volume level is annoyingly inconsistent and difficult to control.~ Ric Moxley, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
Seemingly endless categories. Again, if you are a Disney fan, you'll find incredible depth and substantial breadth to this game.~ Ric Moxley, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
Sketchy at best, although this game doesn't require much documentation. The keyboard stickers are a nice touch.~ Ric Moxley, All Game Guide
Production Credits
Company 1: Disney Interactive; Producer: Matthew Flynn; Writer: Matthew Flynn, Bret Nelson, Scott Pettit; Creator: Matthew Flynn; Production Manager: Mary Schuyler; Associate Producer: Bret Nelson; Lead Artist: Ann-Bettina Colace; Artist: Jason Chayes, Chad Dezern, Shannon McNeill; Media Associate Producer: Daniel Suarez, Peter Heineman; Technical Director: Graham Deane; The D Show Host: Susan Cash; Announcer: Mark Elliott; Additional Programming: Andy Fisher; Development Artist: John Piampiano; Development: Kevin Mack; "The D Show Theme Song" Music by: Zina Goldrich; "The D Show Theme Song" Lyrics by: Marcy Heisler; "The D Show Theme Song" Performed by: Billy Stritch, Zina Goldrich; "The D Show Theme Song" Produced by: Jeff Waxman; "The D Show Theme Song" Arranged by: Zina Goldrich; Show Music Produced by: Zina Goldrich; Show Music Arranged by: Zina Goldrich; Dialogue Editor: Patrick McNulty, Mark Myers; Theme Song Montage: Valorie Wiggins; Character Mix-Ups: Ritsuko Notani; Character Designer: Ritsuko Notani; Character Color: Nancy Ulene; Product Quality Manager: Jeffery W. Blattner; Senior Tester: Carlos Schulte; Lead Tester: Pat Larkin; Tester: André Aguilar, Kristin Bachman, Roger Bray, David Chan, Larry Conley, Kevin Cope, Dennis Espinoza, Brian Larkin, Steve Paulson, Jonathan Schwichtenberg; Diagnostics: Eric Burgess; Documentation: Eric Burgess; Disney Legal: Susan Borgeson, Julie Enzer, Mary Lippold, Stephanie Mangano, Keith Relkin, Reggie Wilson; DI Legal: Tricia Lin, Tamira Webster; "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Music by: Oliver Wallace; "Lester's Possum Park" Words and Music by: Kevin Quinn, Randy Peterson; "Generation Gap" Music by: Don Davis; "101 Dalmatians" Music by: George Bruns; "The Apple Dumpling Gang" Music by: Norman Baker; "Dance of the Leprechauns" Music by: Oliver Wallace; "Happy Go Lucky Fellow" Words and Music by: Daniel Elliot; "Giant Chase" Music by: Paul J. Smith; "Pecos Background" Music by: Paul J. Smith; "Caxanga" Words and Music by: Charles Wolcott, Ted Sears; "The Barefoot Executive" Music by: Robert Brunner; "Napoleon & Samantha" Music by: Norman Baker; "Angels in the Outfield Opening" Music by: Randy Edelman; "Trailer Horn Score" Music by: Paul Smith; "Tummy Trouble Score" Music by: James Horner; "Splash" Music by: Lee Holridge; "The Monkey's Uncle" Words and Music by: Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman; "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" Words and Music by: Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman; "Winnie the Pooh & Tigger Too Score" Words and Music by: Norman Baker; "Huffalumbs and Woozles" Words and Music by: Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman; "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Score" Music by: Norman Baker; "The Cat From Outer Space" Music by: Lalo Schifrin; "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier Score" Music by: George Bruns; "Ben and Me" Words and Music by: Oliver Wallace; "Bedknobs and Broomsticks Score" Music by: Irwin Kostal; "Let's Get Together" Words and Music by: Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman; "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Score" Music by: James Horner; "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco" Music by: Bruce Broughton; "First Kid" Music by: Richard Gibbs; "The Little Mermaid Score" Music by: Alan Menken; "Les Poissons" Music by: Alan Menken; "Les Poissons" Words by: Howard Ashman; "Aladdin Score" Music by: Alan Menken; "Prince Ali" Music by: Alan Menken; "Prince Ali" Words by: Howard Ashman; "A Whole New World" Music by: Alan Menken; "A Whole New World" Words by: Tim Rice; "Beauty and the Beast" Music by: Alan Menken; "Beauty and the Beast" Words by: Howard Ashman; "Lady and the Tramp Score" Music by: Oliver Wallace; "Nightmare Before Christmas" Music by: Danny Elfman; "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" Music by: Alan Menken; "The Rescuers Down Under" Music by: Bruce Broughton; "Toy Story" Music by: Randy Newman; "Scales and Arpeggios" Words and Music by: Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman; "The Aristocats" Music by: George Bruns; "The Love Bug" Music by: George Bruns; "Runaway Brain" Music by: John Debney; "Sleeping Beauty" Music by: George Bruns; "Who Framed Roger Rabbit Score" Music by: Alan Silvestri; "The Black Cauldron" Music by: Elmer Bernstein; "Now You See Him, Now You Don't" Music by: Robert Brunner; "Mary Poppins" Music by: Irwin Kostal; "The Perfect Nanny" Words and Music by: Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman; "Bambi" Music by: Frank Churchill; "Jungle 2 Jungle" Music by: Michael Convertino; "Gus Dressed Up" Music by: Oliver Wallace; "The Slipper Breaks" Music by: Paul J. Smith; "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" Music by: Paul Smith; "James and the Giant Peach" Music by: Randy Newman; "Mine, Mine, Mine" Music by: Alan Menken; "Mine, Mine, Mine" Words by: Stephen Schwartz; "The Unbrithday Song" Music by: Al Hoffman, Mack David; "The Unbirthday Song" Words by: Jerry Livingston; "I'm Late" Words and Music by: Fain Sain, Bob Hilliard; "Robin Hood" Music by: George Bruns; "Oo-De-Lally" Words and Music by: Roger Miller; "Lack of Education" Words and Music by: Jim Stafford; "Sword and the Stone" Music by: George Bruns; "Pete's Dragon" Music by: Irwin Kostal; "Showtime" Music and Words by: Peter Martin, Marc Ray; "I'm No Fool On Wheels Score" Music by: Louis Febre; "Freaky Friday" Music by: Johnny Mandel; "The Bare Necessities" Words and Music by: Terry Gylkyson; "The Lion King" Music by: Hans Zimmer; "You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!" Music and Words by: Sammy Fain, Sammy Cahn; "Peter Pan Theme" Music by: Oliver Wallace; "Absent Minded Professor" Music by: George Bruns; "Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers" Music by: Robert Israel; "Quack Pack" Music by: J. Eric Schmidt; "Hercules Score" Music by: Alan Menken; "Perfect Isn't Easy" Music by: Barry Manilow; "Perfect Isn't Easy" Words by: Bruce Sussman, Jack Feldman; "Pooh's Grand Adventure Score" Music by: Carl Johnson; "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me)" Music and Words by: George Bruns, Xavier Atencio; "Grim Grinning Ghosts" Music and Words by: Norman Baker, Xavier Atencio; "Colors of the Wind" Music by: Alan Menken; "Colors of the Wind" Words by: Stephen Schwartz; "I Can't Wait to be King" Music and Words by: Elton John, Tim Rice; "Swiss Family Robison Score" Music by: William Alwyn; "Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears Score" Music by: Thomas Chase, Steve Rucker; "Flubber" Music by: Danny Elfman; "The Parent Trap Score" Music by: Paul Smith ; Company 2: Cyberflix; Producer: Jay Nevans; Scripting: Safeer Ladha, Steve Britton; Programming: Safeer Ladha; Sound Design: Scott Scheinbaum; Prototype: Steve Britton; Network Functionality: Eric Bradway; Graphic Processing: Trey Counce; Installer: Erik Holt
~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide
