There Came An Echo (Kickstarter) - Feep, Ronald Jenkees,Wil Wheaton [Cash in da bank]

Any chance it'll recognize other languages than english?

I still gotta make up for never paying for Sequence despite playing it plenty :O
 
After getting Sequence for free from you in that very generous thread, I've decided that I'll support this for giving me a really good game for nothing. Since you Kickstarted that game and it turned out well, I absolutely have faith that you will do so again. Good luck!

I'm broke right now, but I'll see how much money I have at the end of the month and decide on a $15 or $30 pledge.
 
zkylon said:
Any chance it'll recognize other languages than english?

I still gotta make up for never paying for Sequence despite playing it plenty :O
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It's a possibility, but it isn't in the stretch goals. Localization for something like this will cost way more than the average game, but we REALLY want to do it. = P
 
Feep said:
It's a possibility, but it isn't in the stretch goals. Localization for something like this will cost way more than the average game, but we REALLY want to do it. = P
Click to expand...


That would be awesome, I'll keep an eye on that.
it might even be a job opportunity for me
 
Feep said:
It's a possibility, but it isn't in the stretch goals. Localization for something like this will cost way more than the average game, but we REALLY want to do it. = P
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Crowd-source it, at least for PC/if you have a PC beta. Make language recognition packs moddable, allow people to share their packs via the Steam workshop (potentially Star Trek themed packs could get you copyright violated or something, I don't know how that works but I'd like to know the copyright rules about user-created content on Steam workshop). Then people could share packs that are normal English, packs that are themed, packs that have "spaghetti" replacing all words, and packs that have say, Spanish replacing all words.

Or if you do it in the beta, have some sort of agreement or get user permission to use the pack in the final game for the non-PC version(s)?

Or I guess you could pay people to do a professional job, but hey, Valve apparently likes crowd-sourcing. :P
 
Feep what engine / framework are you using for development? I believe you used XNA for Sequence (correct me if I'm wrong), but since XNA is dead, are you switching to something else?

Just curious :)
 
feep gave me a free copy of Sequence back in the day thru a code giveaway on NeoGAF and I loved it.. i'm in for $100. best of luck man
 
Blizzard said:
Crowd-source it, at least for PC/if you have a PC beta. Make language recognition packs moddable, allow people to share their packs via the Steam workshop (potentially Star Trek themed packs could get you copyright violated or something, I don't know how that works but I'd like to know the copyright rules about user-created content on Steam workshop). Then people could share packs that are normal English, packs that are themed, packs that have "spaghetti" replacing all words, and packs that have say, Spanish replacing all words.

Or if you do it in the beta, have some sort of agreement or get user permission to use the pack in the final game for the non-PC version(s)?

Or I guess you could pay people to do a professional job, but hey, Valve apparently likes crowd-sourcing. :P
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This works for the speech recognition, but it doesn't do anything for the script and the voice acting, which I view as integral to the experience. Those have to be done by us, I think. = P

Still, having custom "command packs" (Big Lebowski pack!) via Steam Workshop is a good idea...

rabhw said:
Feep what engine / framework are you using for development? I believe you used XNA for Sequence (correct me if I'm wrong), but since XNA is dead, are you switching to something else?

Just curious :)
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We prototyped it in XNA, actually, but we're almost definitely going to be switching to MonoGame or Unity, most likely.
 
If you could have separate voice recognition language from voiceacting that'd be pretty cool.

I mean, I want to order Will Wheaton around in spanish, it wouldn't be the same if I get some other dude playing him :P

I'd give it a try in english though. I just had a terrible experience with Binary Domain so I'm not all that trustful of my accent.
 
Your video AND prototype really impressed me, Feep. I'm laying down 30$ for the soundtrack/game because I absolutely love Sequence's soundtrack. Best of luck for this Kickstarter. :)
 
Feep said:
This works for the speech recognition, but it doesn't do anything for the script and the voice acting, which I view as integral to the experience. Those have to be done by us, I think. = P

Still, having custom "command packs" (Big Lebowski pack!) via Steam Workshop is a good idea...
Click to expand...
In my excitement about my own brilliant idea, I didn't even think about the -listening- to English part. =( Separating voice acting and voice recognition is a good idea though, as zkylon suggested.
 
Well, you know you are going to get my money of any projects you make Feep. But even saying that, I will also say I liked a lot the video, and the future art and music seem phenomenal.

Not only the gameplay sounds awesome form the video, but what I really like is that it seems to have an interesting storyline to go with that gameplay.

Hope you have all the luck of the world and get even more money that what you pledge!

Im also preparing a kickstater soon for a game im making with an awesome team of people (video and trailer is already done), and we know how nervours this can get.
 
SpacePirate Ridley said:
Well, you know you are going to get my money of any projects you make Feep. But even saying that, I will also say I liked a lot the video, and the future art and music seem phenomenal.

Not only the gameplay sounds awesome form the video, but what I really like is that it seems to have an interesting storyline to go with that gameplay.

Hope you have all the luck of the world and get even more money that what you pledge!

Im also preparing a kickstater soon for a game im making with an awesome team of people (video and trailer is already done), and we know how nervours this can get.
Click to expand...
SO NERVOUS

And thank you = D
 
I'm down to back this, even though I remember Lifeline on the PS2. It's awesome to see a game developer that's willing to take a chance on doing something different rather than hedging their bets by making "Generic FPS Clone #472".

Even though I speak relatively unaccented, American english and I speak it clearly and without dropping syllables as is normal in common speech, I've had trouble with speech recognition systems in the past. Lifeline on the PS2 was a maddeningly frustrating game that I never beat, but I give them props for the originality of the idea. Simiarly Binary Domain's voice recognition on PC was never accurate enough for me to actually use it.

Still, I'm down for this. While I have yet to meet the game that uses speech recognition accurately enough for gameplay, that doesn't mean I think the idea should be abandoned.

Will I have to over emphasize the "h" in Whill Wheaton?

-Byshop
 
Feep,

Why does Brain Age suck at detecting the word "scissors"? Will your game properly detect the word "scissors"? This is very important.
 
Byshop said:
I'm down to back this, even though I remember Lifeline on the PS2. It's awesome to see a game developer that's willing to take a chance on doing something different rather than hedging their bets by making "Generic FPS Clone #472".

Even though I speak relatively unaccented, American english and I speak it clearly and without dropping syllables as is normal in common speech, I've had trouble with speech recognition systems in the past. Lifeline on the PS2 was a maddeningly frustrating game that I never beat, but I give them props for the originality of the idea. Simiarly Binary Domain's voice recognition on PC was never accurate enough for me to actually use it.

Still, I'm down for this. While I have yet to meet the game that uses speech recognition accurately enough for gameplay, that doesn't mean I think the idea should be abandoned.

Will I have to over emphasize the "h" in Whill Wheaton?

-Byshop
Click to expand...
Lifeline was 2005, I believe? REALLY old technology.

I don't know what the hell Binary Domain was doing, but it's AWFUL. We're using similar technology as the Xbox 360 Kinect-enabled dashboard, and Mass Effect 3. It's pretty accurate (96% for default American accent).
 
I just aliased "Ban that motherfucker" to "open fire", and then aliased "Bishoptl" to "Corrin".

I think the pack-sharing via the Workshop is going to be a great idea.
 
If I could play it on xbox I would buy it. I don't PC game so I can't put money down on something I would never play.
 
Sent $60 your way, my voice is amazing

Props to fellow Gaffer DM Uselink for the concept art ;)
 
Raging Spaniard said:
Sent $60 your way, my voice is amazing

Props to fellow Gaffer DM Uselink for the concept art ;)
Click to expand...
Yes! Thanks to DMUselink for the art, to you for recommending him, and to DJPlaeskool for use of his music at one point in the video. Another one of his tracks is also used throughout the behind-the-scenes video.
 
Feep said:
Lifeline was 2005, I believe? REALLY old technology.

I don't know what the hell Binary Domain was doing, but it's AWFUL. We're using similar technology as the Xbox 360 Kinect-enabled dashboard, and Mass Effect 3. It's pretty accurate (96% for default American accent).
Click to expand...

The North American release of Lifeline was in early 2004, and the game was a PS2 exclusive. Neither of these are characteristics that scream succesful voice recognition technology. Every game from this era that used voice recognition technology was terrible. I remember an obscure Gamecube game called Odama that was an RTS/Pinball game that had on-field troops you commanded with voice commands while you flung a giant boulder around the battlefield using giant pinball flippers. The voice rec in that game didn't work hardly at all. And that's not even getting to the "smarmy-man-faced-fish-monster-who-shall-not-be-named". Japan had quite a few "games" that invovled speaking with an interactive AI character, but since that was pretty much the extent of a lot of these games they never got localized to North America because there's little market in the US for interactive virtual pets that cost as much as full priced console games and can't be carried around in your pocket.

The Microsoft system does work pretty well. I've had the chance to play with what they offer in the OSes as well as try a few Kinect demos/the Xbox dashboard and it works great for me. I've been following this tech for a long time with apps like SpeakEasy, Viavoice, Dragon, etc.

Although I might sound like it, I'm actually not anti-voice recognition at all. It's the voice recognition part that first piqued my interest in this thread, but having seen the video I'm now extremely interested to see how this game plays out. Although the graphics in these early stages remind me of Sentinel Wars: Future Magic or Hard Nova, the gameplay is really intriguing. I was a big fan of the Rainbow Six series before it devolved into a series of same-y linear 3rd peson setpiece shooters. Back when the point of the game was looking at the entire situation and coming up with a plan based on the information you had, then executing that plan (optionally without directly controlling any of the characters). The tactical commander approach to gameplay is under-utilized IMHO.

I know I'll support this project.

-Byshop
 
Byshop said:
The North American release of Lifeline was in early 2004, and the game was a PS2 exclusive. Neither of these are characteristics that scream succesful voice recognition technology. Every game from this era that used voice recognition technology was terrible. I remember an obscure Gamecube game called Odama that was an RTS/Pinball game that had on-field troops you commanded with voice commands while you flung a giant boulder around the battlefield using giant pinball flippers. The voice rec in that game didn't work hardly at all. And that's not even getting to the "smarmy-man-faced-fish-monster-who-shall-not-be-named". Japan had quite a few "games" that invovled speaking with an interactive AI character, but since that was pretty much the extent of a lot of these games they never got localized to North America because there's little market in the US for interactive virtual pets that cost as much as full priced console games and can't be carried around in your pocket.

The Microsoft system does work pretty well. I've had the chance to play with what they offer in the OSes as well as try a few Kinect demos/the Xbox dashboard and it works great for me. I've been following this tech for a long time with apps like SpeakEasy, Viavoice, Dragon, etc.

Although I might sound like it, I'm actually not anti-voice recognition at all. It's the voice recognition part that first piqued my interest in this thread, but having seen the video I'm now extremely interested to see how this game plays out. Although the graphics in these early stages remind me of Sentinel Wars: Future Magic or Hard Nova, the gameplay is really intriguing. I was a big fan of the Rainbow Six series before it devolved into a series of same-y linear 3rd peson setpiece shooters. Back when the point of the game was looking at the entire situation and coming up with a plan based on the information you had, then executing that plan (optionally without directly controlling any of the characters). The tactical commander approach to gameplay is under-utilized IMHO.

I know I'll support this project.

-Byshop
Click to expand...
I'm facing a pretty uphill battle with this stuff, from a PR perspective.

Obviously, voice recognition will never be as accurate as a button press. However, the game isn't about doing things that you would *normally* do with buttons...you don't fire a bullet by saying something, you don't duck by saying something, you don't reload by saying something.

The whole conceit of the game is that you're a field commander, and you *would be doing these things with your voice*. You're not micromanaging your troops; the AI does that. And if the voice recognition system fails every now and then (4%), well, sometimes your soldiers don't hear you. It's a level of immersion I'm going for, while taking every care not to frustrate players by having the AI unable to do simple tasks for itself.

Edit: And of course, Ultron.
 
One question I have Feep, so as the field commander, do we have any part in the story, do the characters now they are being controlled by a commander, or are we only the voice and not important to the story?
 
Feep said:
Yes! Thanks to DMUselink for the art, to you for recommending him, and to DJPlaeskool for use of his music at one point in the video. Another one of his tracks is also used throughout the behind-the-scenes video.
Click to expand...

Thanks Raging! Thanks Feep for letting me help you out with the Kickstarter. It was a lot of fun! I wish you great success with this game and I will be sending some dollars your way!
 
SpacePirate Ridley said:
One question I have Feep, so as the field commander, do we have any part in the story, do the characters now they are being controlled by a commander, or are we only the voice and not important to the story?
Click to expand...
Good question!

Because the player is unable to act in a narrative fashion (A.I. isn't *that* good), there are two people talking via headset to the soldiers. Val is the voice that tells them what's up, who converses with them in cutscenes, and so on. Your role is very specifically relegated to "field commander", and you're only there for tactical reasons. You *are* a character in the story, though...your name is "Sam" (which is gender-ambiguous, for obvious reasons).
 
Feep said:
Good question!

Because the player is unable to act in a narrative fashion (A.I. isn't *that* good), there are two people talking via headset to the soldiers. Val is the voice that tells them what's up, who converses with them in cutscenes, and so on. Your role is very specifically relegated to "field commander", and you're only there for tactical reasons. You *are* a character in the story, though...your name is "Sam" (which is gender-ambiguous, for obvious reasons).
Click to expand...

Thats good to know. I like to have a character, that at least exists in the story. The characters of Sequence had a lot of charisma, so I cant wait to see the characters in this game.
 
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