Develop: The use of the voice in games

It has been experimented with before, but nobody has successfully managed to use the voice as a control system in games before.

Sure, people have tried and people will continue to try, but will it ever work? Will the idea of sitting in your living room or in front of your PC barking orders at the screen take on?

Matthew Bellows, vice president of consumer strategy at Vivox, spoke today about this very topic at the Develop conference, talking about the voice is becoming more of a factor in today’s games, with in-game voice chat and such being included in so many titles.

Bellows said that the voice could be the next important step in the development of the interface between the player and the game.

Interestingly, from a human perspective, Bellows said the old Zork games were closer to a true voice-based interface than something like, say, Mass Effect, which has a relatively rudimentary three choice system.

Bellows went on to talk about how voice interfaces could make games "more human", as vocal interaction is so integral to our lives.

If we can add interactive speech to games, Bellows says, "we can take this ... to a whole new level".
A survey of hardcore MMO players revealed that 95 per cent of players used speech in the game at some point during play.

In more 'socially oriented' games, like Second Life, people use voice communication in a different way, almost like they would in real life, with players chatting about their 'normal' lives as if they were in a pub, not a digital recreation of an Amsterdam 'adult' bar.

Players currently, in games, use voice commands in a number of ways. Pre-game preparations and tactics, coordinating meeting location, mission setup/gearing, command and control, synching, requests for help and debriefings, among others.

This isn't just for hardcore games – some online poker game sites have voice communications enabled.

Going further down the casual road, titles like SingStar use the voice for 'control'.

Back in the 'proper' games market, we have EndWar, a Tom Clancy game from Ubisoft, where the game is controlled by the voice.

Players give commands to the game, like "move tank left" and so on. Whether people will want to do this from the comfort of their couch or computer chair, well, we'll have to see.

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When the voice is integrated into the game, new possibilities are opened up. For example, spatial and terrain effects can be utilised to give a more realistic approach to in-game awareness, with the gamer’s place in the game giving feedback to those around.

Bellows revealed that research has found that people who use the voice as part of the game experience helped them to bond much easier than those who used text input communication.

However, Bellows does recognise that speech controls aren’t for everybody. Some believe it destroys the immersion with the game they are playing, that people play games to break free from the real world. Speech drags them back.

The censors are also wary of voice communications, as the tech is rife for exploitation by people looking for trouble. Games for children are especially problematic, as voices can’t be censored in real time, whereas text-based input can be, using filters.

Finally, some 'shy' people will obviously feel uncomfortable communicating with people they barely or don't know at all.

However, some shy players have said that voice communication helps them experiment with social interaction without as much pressure from 'real' contact.

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Bellows believes voice controls must be embedded into the game, rather than having gamers being forced to download utilities like Ventrilo or TeamSpeak.

Everquest II is one game that is currently implementing an in-game voice communications system, which is being beta-tested at the moment.

Players have been generally very positive about the upcoming addition.

Another key point is that voice communications should be optional, not forced. Team Fortress 2 puts all players into a voice channel automatically, although voice chat can be disabled in the main menu.