## Designing Outcomes and Working Backward To make the quiz work, creators must design the experience backward. They begin by defining the animal profiles and the specific personality traits associated with them. A typical lineup might include: * **The Lion:** Representing leadership, confidence, and assertiveness. * **The Dolphin:** Representing social connection, playfulness, and intelligence. * **The Owl:** Representing quiet observation, wisdom, and independence. * **The Golden Retriever:** Representing loyalty, friendliness, and high energy. Once these profiles are set, the creator drafts questions that test for these traits. Because the system relies on cumulative totals, the accuracy of the final result depends entirely on how well the creator has aligned the answer choices with the corresponding animal archetypes.
## Associative Logic and Seemingly Random Questions Many BuzzFeed quizzes feature quirky, seemingly unrelated questions, such as asking you to build a salad, select a fashion aesthetic, or choose a meme. Quiz developers use associative logic to connect these trivial choices to broader personality traits. For instance, choosing a decadent chocolate cake might be associated with indulgence and comfort, which the creator might link to a domestic cat. Choosing a simple fruit salad might suggest practicality and health-consciousness, linking to a deer. By using indirect questions, the quiz feels less like a formal psychological evaluation and more like a game, while still funneling the user toward a specific mathematical outcome. ## How the Quiz Builder Handles Ties
BuzzFeed’s proprietary quiz-making platform, which is available to both staff writers and community creators, automates the scoring logic through a user-friendly interface. Creators do not need to write code; they simply use a visual mapping tool to link answers to outcomes. In cases where a user's answers result in a tie—for example, if you accumulate three points for a Fox and three points for a Sea Otter—the algorithm must resolve the conflict. The platform typically handles ties by selecting the outcome that was triggered first during the quiz, or by randomly selecting one of the tied results to display on the final screen.
