Virtual conversations

Colorado – A new virtual reality (VR) video game enables players to verbally interact with the story’s characters.

• Untethered was developed by Ryan and Amy Green, creators of narrative video game That Dragon, Cancer
• Players assume the role of a local radio DJ and carry out tasks including recording ads, taking calls and playing records

Developed for Google’s Daydream VR platform, Untethered uses Google Assistant’s voice-recognition technology to enable players to use their voice to interact with the game’s characters. Players record radio spots and take ‘on-air’ calls from listeners to progress the narrative, which is divided into a series of episodes.

VR projects typically use touch to bridge the physical-digital divide, but Untethered marks the first time that voice has been used as the primary form of interaction in VR gaming.

‘We care a lot about exploring the specific strengths of video games as a medium for storytelling – you can’t talk to a book or a movie and expect it to change the story,’ Amy Green, co-creator of Untethered, tells LS:N Global. ‘A game, however, is able to respond in this way. We wanted players to feel like they are a character in Untethered so letting them talk to the other characters felt like a natural choice.’