'Starship Commander' Leverages Microsoft Cognitive Services For Voice Command Recognition

[kcarbotte]

Human Interact revealed "Starship Commander," a virtual reality choose-your-own-adventure sci-fi game that places you at the helm of an interstellar starship. But unlike any other game you’ve played, it accepts only voice commands.

'Starship Commander' Leverages Microsoft Cognitive Services For Voice Command Recognition : Read more

 

[Achoo22]

As far as I can tell, every single one of the Cognitive APIs is a black-box, online implementation. The last thing I want in an entertainment product is an open mic piped into Microsoft's servers. No thanks.

 

[uglyduckling81]

It's an interesting idea. It will be terribly implemented though with only a few actual key words I'm guessing. Also if Cortana is anything to go by with an Australian accent I will say
Me: "Take them out"
Cortana: "Sorry you can't buy 5 puppies in this game today"
Me: "Ah for f**k sake, shoot something"
Cortana: "It would be 35 and sunny at the lake today"
Me: "Sh** game, give me a refund"
Cortana: "Your credit card has been charged for 75 copies of Windows 10, enjoy your purchase, and thanks for buying with Microsoft"
Me: "God f*****g damn it, how the f***............"

 

[AndrewJacksonZA]

*chuckle* Thanks for the smile uglyduckling81!

 

[JakeWearingKhakis]

nice uglyduckling XD

But yeah, I was at MAGFest this year and I saw people playing a role-playing tabletop game in teams of 5 pretty much doing this exact type of game. I consider myself a nerd, but man was I holding in the laughs. More power to the people who like to do this kind of thing, there is definitely a market for it.

 

[sadsteve]

If this is a single player game, no thanks. I don't want to play a single player game that requires an internet connection for basic functionality. Plus, VR/AR has no attraction for me at this time. Once the goggles are about the size of a pair of sunglasses I may have an interest.

 

[LORD_ORION]

>>"As far as I can tell, every single one of the Cognitive APIs is a black-box, online >>implementation. The last thing I want in an entertainment product is an open mic >>piped into Microsoft's servers. No thanks."

Unfortunately this is how it has to work for the average user.
If you have the ability to install and properly configure a speech rec server yourself, you also have the knowledge to configure your router and send game utterances back to yourself.

Maybe I'll take a look and see if I can do it and then write a guide, if the game is any good.

 

[cryoburner]

As far as I can tell, every single one of the Cognitive APIs is a black-box, online implementation. The last thing I want in an entertainment product is an open mic piped into Microsoft's servers. No thanks.

Yes, because they might be listening to you... giving commands to your starship. >_> I'm not fond of the idea of using online voice recognition for general computer input, but using it in the context of this game seems like much less of a concern.

It would be nice if there were an offline backup option for the voice recognition though, even if it weren't as accurate. It seems like only a matter of time before Microsoft changes their online voice recognition servers in a way that breaks the game, and the game becomes completely non-functional at that point, due it being no longer supported by the developer.

Of course, that's assuming the game is actually something you will want to replay years down the line. If current VR games are anything to go by, this game will probably have a short run time and limited replayability, and the gameplay probably won't extend much beyond being a shiny tech demo.

 

[Achoo22]

Unfortunately this is how it has to work for the average user.

Nah, I've seen really dumb people use Dragon Dictate since the 1990s. That these APIs are strictly server-side has absolutely nothing to do with technical limitations or inept end-users.

I'm not fond of the idea of using online voice recognition for general computer input, but using it in the context of this game seems like much less of a concern.

The concern is the depth of the profile Microsoft, or anyone Microsoft supplies data to, can generate on you. It's disgusting and every little bit makes it worse. There is no context under which I wish to assist them in this endeavor.