Note: After you learn the basics of Slideshow Creation and Image Hosting here, use the information below to learn even more about how to make great Slideshow quizzes.
Slideshow quizzes have been out for a couple of months now, and so far we’ve received a few questions about what we look for when publishing one of these quizzes. The post that follows is a series of guidelines that can be followed in order to make the best use of our Slideshow game feature.
1. Consistent Image Sizes
Slideshow quizzes (unlike Picture Box) can include any size images you want, but Slideshows with consistent image sizes are preferred. It’s a much less jarring experience for the user as they click through, and it helps the quiz feel more cohesive. If you must adjust the shape of the image, make sure that all of your images of a certain shape are the same size. Rectangles should be 640×480 pixels, and squares should be 480×480 pixels, for example.
2. Use Larger Images
The maximum image size for a slideshow quiz should be 640×480 pixels. Any bigger and the image will be re-sized. While you don’t have to max out the image size for every quiz, you should try to keep your images above 300×300 pixels. If your source images are much smaller, then remember to follow Rule #1 and make sure they are a consistent size. Make sure to double check your images to ensure that they do not display blurry or distorted.
3. Image Quality
Sometimes an image might look clear when you find it, only to show up blurry or distorted on the quiz. This can happen especially if images are stretched to bigger sizes. Always double check your images to ensure that they are clear and of good quality. Replace any images that show up unclear with new ones.
4. Animated GIFs
Animated GIFs can be fun, but they may be hard to find and they can vary wildly in size. You’ll want to size them down if you can, as you want to minimize the loading time as much as possible. Anything over 2MB is going to take too long to load for most users.
A good example of this is the TV Intro Quiz, the GIFs are smaller than most Slideshow quizzes, but the size is the same from image to image, and they download quickly. It’s a trade-off, but makes for a well-crafted quiz.
5. Multiple Image Sizes
In certain cases you may be collecting similarly themed images from across the Internet, and you won’t be able to include a consistent image size. The important thing to do in this case is to group similar-sized images together. Check out this Misspelled Signs quiz for an example of how that might work.
6. Forced Order
Be very careful with forced order image quizzes. It can be frustrating for players when they are unable to advance further in a quiz, especially when they feel as though they might know other answers.
7. Image Hosting
Though you can use any accessible image URL on the web, we strongly recommend that you host your own images on a separate site. Images taken directly from the web are unreliable as sites go down, have issues, or images load too slowly. An image hosting site like Imgur is free and very dependable, and we’d recommend using that. Sporcle does not provide image hosting.