The Voice.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Here, I bet you thought this was going to be an Odyssey2 thread, didn't you? :P

So here's the question. Video games have been talking for a long, long time. Back to Berzerk. Back to King & Balloon. Back to Stratovox. Or, if you like, back to the pinball game Xenon, which I believe had all of the above beaten to the punch.

So here's the question: at what point , or in which game, did voice synthesis or digitized voices begin offering mission-critical information about the game? What's the first game you can think of where you were in deep...stuff...if you turned the volume down? Did we really need the voice of Gauntlet to tell us that Red Warrior needs another quarter, or was it our own damn fault for not keeping an eye on his health?

So think back carefully, and cite examples. What was the first game where you were screwed if you didn't listen to what it was telling you?

[digitalpress]

The first time I can recall NEEDING the voice in a game was on B-17 Bomber for Intellivision. Flying missions, the voice would tell you which side the fighters were attacking from ("Bandits! Six O Clock!"). You wouldn't otherwise even know you were being attacked at all without that useful vocal warning.

[le geek]

It really helped in C64 Space Taxi. "Hey Taxi, Pad 6 Please", but I think that info was also on the screen somewhere...

Cheers,
Ben

[k8track]

I think Joe hit it. You absolutely needed the voice for the Intellivoice series games. There's no way to play Bomb Squad, for example, without the voice; the voice would tell you what sequence to replace the components ("Replace this second, this third, this first").

And of course, without the Voice for O2, there would be no point in playing Type'N Tell.

[bargora]

I'm having a tough time reaching back. I mean, there was the reverse psychology of Berserk ("The humanoid must not escape? Screw that!!), and the "Prepare to Qualify" of Pole Position, which was required to properly psyche yourself up for a record-shattering lap (and which, shamefully, was omitted from port after port).

But I have to go all the way up to mission based sim games, probably some sort of space shooter, before I can remember being told that I was shamefully neglecting certain crucial mission objectives. I mean, here I was assigned to protect the Blimplefart, and what was I doing? Getting into pointless yet diverting dogfights with the escorts, while the bombers were blowing the bejeezus out of ol' Blimplefart. Tsk, tsk!

So was it X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter? Or maybe Colony Wars? Maybe one of the Wing Commanders beat 'em to it, but I haven't gotten around to them yet. I just can't remember any pre-CD era games that had that sort of thing as a voice message, not just a text prompt.

[o2william]

And of course, without the Voice for O2, there would be no point in playing Type'N Tell.

Or the educational O2 Voice games, Sid the Spellbinder and Nimble Numbers Ned.

Which came first, Intellivoice or The Voice of Odyssey2? I'd say a game for one of those modules would have to be the winner.

Of course, King & Balloon would lose so much without the plaintive cries of "HELP!" and "BYE BYE!"

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I had forgotten the Intellivoice and O2 edu titles when I created this topic. Heck, I figured the earliest mission-critical-voice games wouldn't be until the NES era or later. Then again, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.

[davidbrit2]

Speak'n Spell. ;-)

[wufners]

Speaking of the Speak n' Spell, does anybody remember the code feature on it? Where you'd type in a word and it would translate it into a secret language that only the Speak n' Spell would know?

My name, Jason, became, wfnrs. That's where my internet handle Wufners came from (it's Wufner on this board because I messed up in registration. :/ )

Does anybody know of a place online where they offer that translation? For the life of me, I can't remember what my sister translated to and I'd be curious to type my wife's name in.

I know, I know, I'll probably just have to track down and actual Speak n' Spell, but rather than dig through my parents attic, I'm hoping to find something online.

Oh yeah, I might as well stay on topic here.

I was thinkin' along the same lines as Joe, either B-17 or Bomb Squad.

It's been a long time, so I can't remember if the voice was ABSOLUTELY necessary, but it sure helped. It seems to me that it may have been more necessary in Bomb Squad. If you were attacked by a bogey in B-17, I think you'd at least hear it shooting you and you could cycle through all your gun views until you found him. Certainly not an ideal way to play the game, but it worked. You could probably also get away with the same guessing method for Bomb Squad, but the voice helped make the game far more of a puzzle/smarts game rather than a dumb luck game.

As for Space Spartans, I can't remember exactly what the game said (man, I gotta brush up on my Intellivision). I think it was basically your computer telling you the condition of your spaceship. "Shileds down. Engines down. Guns 50%" Stuff like that. It was probably the most unnecessary of the three.

[digitalpress]

My name, Jason, became, wfnrs. That's where my internet handle Wufners came from (it's Wufner on this board because I messed up in registration. :/ )

I can fix that for you. If you see this, just PM me. Anyone who can reference Odyssey2 Speak 'n Spell easter eggs gets special treatment 'round here

[oesiii]

Speaking of the Speak n' Spell, does anybody remember the code feature on it? Where you'd type in a word and it would translate it into a secret language that only the Speak n' Spell would know?

My name, Jason, became, wfnrs. That's where my internet handle Wufners came from (it's Wufner on this board because I messed up in registration. :/ )

This should take care of you

http://www.zophar.net/sas.html

[wufners]

Brilliant! Thanks oesiii. That's even better than what I was hoping to find.

My sister's name works out to Uflof. I've been trying to remember that for years! My wife is Nyfssrs, for those of you keeping score. What? No one is? Ah well, you now know useless information about a stranger's life.

And thanks to you too, Joe. I already sent off a PM.

I know there's not much of a difference between 'wufner' and 'wufners' but it's always secretly bugged me.