If you turn the volume up, this demo video is totally not work safe, unless you work in a motorcycle bar. But then, my juvenile language is actually the surest sign of just how fun this technology can be. Yesterday, veteran scripting master Falk Bergman tracked me down, made sure my Vivox VOIP software was running, then showed me his latest project: working with a large real world company he declines to name, Falk has created a program that piggybacks the VOIP server to convert nearby text chat to synthesized voice. Most impressively, the delay between entered text and voice is minuscule, even with Falk in Germany and me in California. To make things stranger, he showed this to me in the popular I am Legend survival horror game sim, which explains the occasional zombie dog and a trigger-happy player named Static in the background. Coarse language, undead canines, and crossdressing sex workers aside, however, the technology is compelling for more important reasons:
When VOIP was recently implemented in Second Life, the primary worry is it would create a divide between those who chose to speak in-world, and those who didn't. (Not just for roleplaying reasons, but often, for physical or psychological impediments.) Perhaps consequently, only some 30% of Residents say they use voice on any regular basis, while some report a growing cultural rift between the voice activated and "Muties". Falk's invention may bridge that gap, and become a meaningful alternative for those who wish to remain voiceless. He tells me it will be available as a package in the near future, and when it does, it'll be fascinating to see what its impact on the voice-enabled part of the world is.
Fantastic Falk!
Something like this should be built into the client as an option (along with the international translator thing) - or a way to allow the text chat window to be read by the built in OS-text to speech would do for now...
Hamlet, you already sounded like a demon porn star at the start of that clip IMO. heh
Posted by: Robbie D | Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 05:09 PM
Falk should make this part of the open-source client build... this way we can all enjoy this into the future...
Amazing, anyone have any more details on the solution (website etc.) or is it just an Avatar name and his brains?
Posted by: Deeeep Witte | Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 04:36 AM
Hahaha, that "trigger-happy player named Static" is me. That zombie dog totally p0wned me. Well, that and the lag.
I had no idea you guys had some cool audio chat thingamajig goin on. Fun stuff.
Posted by: Static Schultz | Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 11:17 AM
It would have been really sweet to get a slurl to "I am legend". The post you linked to didn't paste one to the SIM either, and, as I expected, the official website that they in turn link to only lets you register an SL account. No obvious slurl in sight... Grrr. And of course, I don't get anything by searching "I am legend" in places or searching a SIM of that name. -_-
Posted by: Lili | Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 09:16 PM
Doh, sorry, I thought there was a SLURL in that link. Here:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/IAL%20Orientation%20Island/120/54/32/
Posted by: Hamlet Au | Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 09:25 PM