[DECtalk] a physical game powered by speech synthesis

[Blake Roberts]

Jake,

Your explanation explains to me why the game voice sounds so realistic, 
pre-recorded words. I used to have two Speak&Spell toys. My preference 
was always for the one with no screen. It still amazes me how realistic 
talking toys could sound during the time period.

Blake

On 3/1/2021 11:21 PM, Jake McMahan wrote:
>
> The game uses something similar to a SpeakNSpell.  What has happened 
> is that there was a guy who recorded all of these words and phrases, 
> after which they were encoded using LPC.  When I was a small child, I 
> used to think these toys could say what ever I put in.  I typed Damn 
> on on one particular device, and was only met with spelling. Another 
> example of a toy like this would be the interactive Arthur.  I got 
> that for my ninth birthday and it had a chip in it similar to what 
> your game had.
>
> Jake
>
> Sent from Mail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for 
> Windows 10
>
> *From: *Blake Roberts <mailto:beroberts at hughes.net>
> *Sent: *Monday, March 1, 2021 11:02 PM
> *To: *dectalk at bluegrasspals.com <mailto:dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
> *Subject: *[DECtalk] a physical game powered by speech synthesis
>
> Hi,
>
> Two years ago, I recorded myself playing a 30-year old game which relies
>
> on speech synthesis. It's not a computer game, but instead, an actual
>
> device. Although Passport to the World came with a game board and
>
> pieces, the talking part is enough to play.
>
> I don't recall sharing my recording here before.  I am doing so now. I
>
> don't know what text-to-speech technology was used as the game voice.
>
> However, I have always found over the decades that the voice sounds
>
> realistic to my ears.
>
> I received the game as a gift 30 years ago and it still talks. Passport
>
> to the World is probably not manufactured anymore. This is because the
>
> Passport game I have thinks the Soviet Union still exists. I was playing
>
> tonight to ensure batteries still function. I heard a question requiring
>
> answer to be "The Soviet Union". That notion is antiquated...
>
> Dropbox link to my recording:
>
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/8wzaj6szagk3y5g/passport%20game.mp3?dl=0
>
> Blake
>
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