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{{Short description|Unreleased home video game console}} |
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{{About|gaming console|other uses|Halcyon}} |
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{{more citations needed|date=February 2016}} |
{{more citations needed|date=February 2016}} |
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{{use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} |
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{{Infobox CVG system |
{{Infobox CVG system |
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| image = |
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| title = Halcyon |
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| manufacturer = [[RDI Video Systems]] |
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| type = [[Home video game console]] |
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| generation = [[History of video game consoles (third generation)|Third Generation]] |
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| CPU = [[Zilog Z80]] |
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| media = [[LaserDisc]] (video)<BR> [[ROM Cartridge]] (game program) |
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| release date = Not Released |
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| sound = [[Votrax]] speech synthesizer |
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| baseprice = {{val|p={{USD}}|1800|-|2500}} |
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}} |
}} |
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⚫ | The '''Halcyon''' is an unreleased [[home video game console]] produced by [[RDI Video Systems]]. The system was planned to be released in January 1985, with the initial retail price for the system being {{US$|2500|link=yes}} ({{inflation|US|2500|1985|fmt=eq}}).{{inflation/fn|US}} Fewer than a dozen units are known to exist and it never reached retailers because of a lack of affordable disc players.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kinder|first1=Jeff|last2=Hallock|first2=Dave|title=Halcyon Interactive Laserdisc System|url=http://www.dragons-lair-project.com/community/related/homesystems/halcyon/|website=Dragon's Lair Project|access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=98PaceCar|title=RDI Halcyon|url=http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg80-rdi.htm#page=reviews|website=Video Game Console Library|access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref> The design featured a [[LaserDisc player]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Oakley |first1=Mark |title=ON TRIAL |journal=Micro Mart |date=April 2, 2015 |issue=1356}}</ref> and an attached computer, each the size of an early-model [[VCR]]. Of the six games planned,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sauer |first1=Mark |title=Laser game's creator beams |work=[[The San Diego Union]] |date=June 2, 1984}}</ref> only two games were released: ''[[Thayer's Quest]]'' and ''NFL Football LA Raiders vs SD Chargers''. RDI Video Systems claimed that the system would be entirely voice-activated, and would have an [[artificial intelligence]] akin to [[HAL 9000]] from ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Allison |first1=Fraser |last2=Carter |first2=Marcus |last3=Gibbs |first3=Martin |title=Word Play: A History of Voice Interaction in Digital Games |journal=Games and Culture |date=March 2020 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=91–113 |doi=10.1177/1555412017746305|hdl=11343/282434 |s2cid=148780241 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> |
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⚫ | The '''Halcyon''' is |
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==History== |
==History== |
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[[Rick Dyer (video game designer)|Rick Dyer]] was one of the many fans of the [[interactive fiction|interactive fiction game]] ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure|Adventure]]'', and wanted to develop his own game, Shadoan, which was an expansive fantasy game inspired by ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.<ref name="DyerInterview">{{cite |
[[Rick Dyer (video game designer)|Rick Dyer]] was one of the many fans of the [[interactive fiction|interactive fiction game]], ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure|Adventure]]'', and wanted to develop his own game, Shadoan, which was an expansive fantasy game inspired by ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.<ref name="DyerInterview">{{cite magazine|last1=La Brecque|first1=Eric|title=Technician of Suspended Disbelief: Rick Dyer interview|url=https://www.awn.com/mag/issue1.1/articles/dyer.html|access-date=7 April 2018|magazine=Animation World Magazine |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=April 1996}}</ref> System costs were intended to range from $1,800 to $2,100 (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|1800|1985|fmt=c}} to ${{inflation|US|2100|1985|fmt=c}} in {{inflation/year|US}}),{{inflation/fn|US}} depending on the model.<ref>{{cite news |title=After the prototype PlayStation: six more obscure games consoles |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/07/prototype-nintendo-playstation-obscure-games-consoles-snes-cd |access-date=19 March 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=7 July 2015 |language=en |first=Keith |last=Stuart}}</ref> |
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Later it was realized that still images with narration were insufficient to capture the toy market, so animation projects began. The first project was titled ''[[Dragon's Lair]]'', which, like "Secrets of the Lost Woods," was a smaller section of Dyer's envisioned Shadoan game. |
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''Dragon's Lair'' and ''[[Space Ace]]'' supplied enough profits and credibility for RDI Video Systems to progress toward realizing their technology into a home entertainment and [[edutainment]] format. |
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To help control the consumer price of this unit, it was first designed around the [[RCA]] [[Capacitance Electronic Disc]] player. When RCA canceled the production of these players prior to the completion of the Halcyon project, it was re-designed to use a [[laserdisc]]. One of the biggest obstacles in this re-design (after its significantly higher cost) was the short 30-minute-per-side capacity of [[Constant Angular Velocity]] or [[random access]] laserdiscs. |
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Suffering from a retail price tag that would discourage consumers and content that would require several laserdiscs to contain, investors and manufacturers saw little success in the future of Halcyon. Its few hand-assembled prototypes went into the hands of certain investors and collectors. Well-known names among these investors included [[Merv Griffin]], [[Quinn Martin]] and [[Cassandra Peterson]]. |
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Ironically, ''Dragon's Lair'' was not part of Halcyon's initial content repertoire. ''The Secrets of the Lost Woods'' footage was used to develop [[firmware]] for the unit prior to [[Fred Wolf (animator)|Fred Wolf's]] production of the ''Thayer's Quest'' animation. |
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==Technical details== |
==Technical details== |
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Halcyon was based around the [[Z80]] microprocessor, with its 64K memory partitioned out to [[Read-only memory|ROM]] and [[Random access memory|RAM]]. A separate [[speech recognition]] computer provided the additional power needed to recognize human speech. Its [[firmware]] was proprietary, and its chief communications with the Z80 were indications of what word it had recognized, and what probability of confidence it calculated for the match. Other functions this subsystem provided were [[non-volatile memory]] storage, and speech recognition training. |
Halcyon was based around the [[Z80]] microprocessor, with its 64K memory partitioned out to [[Read-only memory|ROM]] and [[Random access memory|RAM]]. A separate [[speech recognition]] computer provided the additional power needed to recognize human speech. Its [[firmware]] was proprietary, and its chief communications with the Z80 were indications of what word it had recognized, and what probability of confidence it calculated for the match. Other functions this subsystem provided were [[non-volatile memory]] storage, and speech recognition training. |
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Video content existed on a special computer-controlled [[Capacitance Electronic Disc|CED]] player provided by RCA. Because of video encoding and stylus positioning constraints inherent in this technology, still frames (where action would be suspended pending player input) had to be encoded as a repeat of 2 or 3 seconds of video. Late in its development, Halcyon had to be re-designed to use Laserdisc players because CED units were put out of production by RCA. |
Video content existed on a special computer-controlled [[Capacitance Electronic Disc|CED]] player provided by RCA. Because of video encoding and stylus positioning constraints inherent in this technology, still frames (where action would be suspended pending player input) had to be encoded as a repeat of 2 or 3 seconds of video. Late in its development, Halcyon had to be re-designed to use Laserdisc players because CED units were put out of production by RCA. The Laserdisc player used by Halcyon was an unbadged unit made by [[Pioneer Corporation]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Takiff |first1=Jonathan |title=Videodiscs phasing out; Laserdisc picture bright |work=[[Philadelphia Daily News]] |date=October 22, 1984}}</ref> |
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Communications with CED players were [[Serial communications|serial]]. Communications with Laserdisc players were via [[infrared]] [[LED]] attached via suction cup. |
Communications with CED players were [[Serial communications|serial]]. Communications with Laserdisc players were via [[infrared]] [[LED]] attached via suction cup.{{clarify |date=August 2024}}{{citation needed |date=August 2024}} |
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[[Speech synthesis]] was produced using a licensed text-to-speech algorithm included as part of the base Halcyon Operating System, including a special English vocabulary which would correctly pronounce hundreds of proper names. The phonetic output of this algorithm was fed into a [[Votrax]] chip. |
[[Speech synthesis]] was produced using a licensed [[text-to-speech]] [[algorithm]] included as part of the base Halcyon Operating System, including a special English vocabulary which would correctly pronounce hundreds of proper names. The phonetic output of this algorithm was fed into a [[Votrax]] chip. |
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===Software=== |
===Software=== |
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Firmware unique to the game being played existed as a removable [[ROM cartridge]] containing 16K memory, including the entire game node layout, vocabulary of the game (both for the speech synthesizer and speech recognizer), inventory data (both for gameplay as well as video still frames depicting items), and certain executable data sections to assist in the processing of game flow. |
Firmware unique to the game being played existed as a removable [[ROM cartridge]] containing 16K memory, including the entire game node layout, vocabulary of the game (both for the speech synthesizer and speech recognizer), inventory data (both for gameplay as well as video still frames depicting items), and certain executable data sections to assist in the processing of game flow. |
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Save for the words "Yes" and "No |
Save for the words "Yes" and "No", Halcyon required each player to train it to recognize their voice. The words "Yes" and "No" existed as four samples of human voices pre-loaded into memory, two female and two male. Each voice was selected for their unique pitch and timbre properties. These four gave a high probability match for Halcyon to recognize from any given English speaker. |
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Speech recognition was discontiguous, meaning the player had only a few seconds to speak into a headset when prompted. This headset was equipped with a [[noise-canceling microphone]] to help isolate speech from any other sounds. Speech samples would be compared against allowed responses, and a match along with probability of accuracy would be sent to the Halcyon main processor. |
Speech recognition was discontiguous, meaning the player had only a few seconds to speak into a headset when prompted. This headset was equipped with a [[noise-canceling microphone]] to help isolate speech from any other sounds. Speech samples would be compared against allowed responses, and a match, along with probability of accuracy, would be sent to the Halcyon main processor. |
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To acknowledge voice commands, Halcyon would reiterate what it believed it "heard" the player say. This sometimes resulted in incorrect actions taken, especially if the player had a significantly different inflection or spoke something different from the choices expected. Probability ranking could trigger Halcyon to ask the player to repeat their choice when it received a poor match to all expected responses. Mis-recognitions were chiefly the result of a sample of speech given sufficient probability to match one of the anticipated words or phrases. |
To acknowledge voice commands, Halcyon would reiterate what it believed it "heard" the player say. This sometimes resulted in incorrect actions taken, especially if the player had a significantly different inflection or spoke something different from the choices expected. Probability ranking could trigger Halcyon to ask the player to repeat their choice when it received a poor match to all expected responses. Mis-recognitions were chiefly the result of a sample of speech given sufficient probability to match one of the anticipated words or phrases. |
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Halcyon was intended to have a voice much like the Hal 9000, but memory constraints prohibited the use of tailored speech parameters for the [[Votrax]] synthesizer that was built into the console. The compromise was to use a licensed text-to-speech algorithm that had several built-in rules for pronouncing English text properly. |
Halcyon was intended to have a voice much like the Hal 9000, but memory constraints prohibited the use of tailored speech parameters for the [[Votrax]] synthesizer that was built into the console. The compromise was to use a licensed text-to-speech algorithm that had several built-in rules for pronouncing English text properly. Modified spellings were also used where needed to correct pronunciation issues, though this did not apply to words such as user names typed by the player. |
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A video game would follow a general design of "nodes" which interconnected based |
A video game would follow a general design of "nodes", which interconnected based on responses and lack of responses from a player. Certain triggers, such as a real-time constraint under which the game would be interrupted if its associated event did not occur, were also part of the game's dynamic. |
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Scenes existed as |
Scenes existed as two or more scripts: One for the "normal" or first encounter with the scene, one for subsequent visits, and optionally one or two for where certain actions required the scene animation or graphics to deviate, usually where an item has been removed or used. |
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A scene had to be identical in animation and graphics between its normal and subsequent visit, differing only in the audio track used. For this reason, [[lip sync]] |
A scene had to be identical in animation and graphics between its normal and subsequent visit, differing only in the audio track used. For this reason, [[lip sync]] typically could not be used, often resulting in speaking characters having their mouths obscured or speaking with their backs turned. |
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A scene with an item used or removed would have separate animation and graphics, allowing for 2 additional audio tracks, again without lip sync. |
A scene with an item used or removed would have separate animation and graphics, allowing for 2 additional audio tracks, again without lip sync. |
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Audio tracks were encoded into the left and right channels of a stereo encoding |
Audio tracks were encoded into the left and right channels of a stereo encoding; therefore, only [[monaural]] audio would be played from any given instance of a scene. |
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Almost all scenes in a game would have some information revealed that would contribute to solving the puzzle of obtaining the final goal of the game. Since Halcyon needed to keep track of first versus subsequent visits, a count of visits (up to a maximum of 15) would be used to trigger its speech synthesized hints and comments. One example from Thayer's Quest would be the direct instruction to take the right door when the wrong door (leading to instant death) was chosen more than once. |
Almost all scenes in a game would have some information revealed that would contribute to solving the puzzle of obtaining the final goal of the game. Since Halcyon needed to keep track of first versus subsequent visits, a count of visits (up to a maximum of 15) would be used to trigger its speech synthesized hints and comments. One example from ''Thayer's Quest'' would be the direct instruction to take the right door when the wrong door (leading to instant death) was chosen more than once. |
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To break up the monotony of robotic speech, Halcyon was given prompt and response phrases that had markers that would include interchangeable words and phrases, along with the |
To break up the monotony of robotic speech, Halcyon was given prompt and response phrases that had markers that would include interchangeable words and phrases, along with the player's name, which it would include occasionally. "Enter your name on my keyboard" and "Please spell your name" would be two examples of phrases it would use to prompt the player. |
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Halcyon's game authoring method would easily accommodate playing Dragon's Lair, except for the restraint that speech recognition would take too long to process each move before the time allowed would expire, limiting it to keyboard-only use. This game's inclusion was not considered for this reason as well as license restrictions. |
Halcyon's game authoring method would easily accommodate playing ''Dragon's Lair'', except for the restraint that speech recognition would take too long to process each move before the time allowed would expire, limiting it to keyboard-only use. This game's inclusion was not considered for this reason as well as license restrictions. |
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Each player's game record was represented in non-volatile memory as the set of items they had in their inventory, the visit counters of all possible nodes in the game (unvisited nodes having a count of zero), the scene toggle information (item used/taken/etc.), applicable timers (real-time events would suspend when games were saved), and their trained speech sampled data. To resume play, all one had to do was speak their name when asked to do so by Halcyon. |
Each player's game record was represented in non-volatile memory as the set of items they had in their inventory, the visit counters of all possible nodes in the game (unvisited nodes having a count of zero), the scene toggle information (item used / taken / etc.), applicable timers (real-time events would suspend when games were saved), and their trained speech sampled data. To resume play, all one had to do was speak their name when asked to do so by Halcyon. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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[[Category:Third-generation video game consoles]] |
[[Category:Third-generation video game consoles]] |
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[[Category:Products introduced in 1985]] |
[[Category:Products introduced in 1985]] |
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[[Category:Z80]] |
[[Category:Z80-based video game consoles]] |
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[[Category:Vaporware game consoles]] |
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[[Category:Devices capable of speech recognition]] |
Latest revision as of 20:09, 15 August 2024
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2016) |
Manufacturer | RDI Video Systems |
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Typ | Home video game console |
Generation | Third Generation |
Release date | Not Released |
Introductory price | US$1800–2500 |
Media | LaserDisc (video) ROM Cartridge (game program) |
CPU | Zilog Z80 |
Sound | Votrax speech synthesizer |
The Halcyon is an unreleased home video game console produced by RDI Video Systems. The system was planned to be released in January 1985, with the initial retail price for the system being US$2,500 (equivalent to $7,082 in 2023).[1] Fewer than a dozen units are known to exist and it never reached retailers because of a lack of affordable disc players.[2][3] The design featured a LaserDisc player[4] and an attached computer, each the size of an early-model VCR. Of the six games planned,[5] only two games were released: Thayer's Quest and NFL Football LA Raiders vs SD Chargers. RDI Video Systems claimed that the system would be entirely voice-activated, and would have an artificial intelligence akin to HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.[6]
History
[edit]Rick Dyer was one of the many fans of the interactive fiction game, Adventure, and wanted to develop his own game, Shadoan, which was an expansive fantasy game inspired by The Lord of the Rings.[7] System costs were intended to range from $1,800 to $2,100 (equivalent to $5,099 to $5,949 in 2023),[1] depending on the model.[8]
Technical details
[edit]Hardware
[edit]Halcyon was based around the Z80 microprocessor, with its 64K memory partitioned out to ROM and RAM. A separate speech recognition computer provided the additional power needed to recognize human speech. Its firmware was proprietary, and its chief communications with the Z80 were indications of what word it had recognized, and what probability of confidence it calculated for the match. Other functions this subsystem provided were non-volatile memory storage, and speech recognition training.
Video content existed on a special computer-controlled CED player provided by RCA. Because of video encoding and stylus positioning constraints inherent in this technology, still frames (where action would be suspended pending player input) had to be encoded as a repeat of 2 or 3 seconds of video. Late in its development, Halcyon had to be re-designed to use Laserdisc players because CED units were put out of production by RCA. The Laserdisc player used by Halcyon was an unbadged unit made by Pioneer Corporation.[9]
Communications with CED players were serial. Communications with Laserdisc players were via infrared LED attached via suction cup.[clarification needed][citation needed]
Speech synthesis was produced using a licensed text-to-speech algorithm included as part of the base Halcyon Operating System, including a special English vocabulary which would correctly pronounce hundreds of proper names. The phonetic output of this algorithm was fed into a Votrax chip.
Software
[edit]Firmware unique to the game being played existed as a removable ROM cartridge containing 16K memory, including the entire game node layout, vocabulary of the game (both for the speech synthesizer and speech recognizer), inventory data (both for gameplay as well as video still frames depicting items), and certain executable data sections to assist in the processing of game flow.
Save for the words "Yes" and "No", Halcyon required each player to train it to recognize their voice. The words "Yes" and "No" existed as four samples of human voices pre-loaded into memory, two female and two male. Each voice was selected for their unique pitch and timbre properties. These four gave a high probability match for Halcyon to recognize from any given English speaker.
Speech recognition was discontiguous, meaning the player had only a few seconds to speak into a headset when prompted. This headset was equipped with a noise-canceling microphone to help isolate speech from any other sounds. Speech samples would be compared against allowed responses, and a match, along with probability of accuracy, would be sent to the Halcyon main processor.
To acknowledge voice commands, Halcyon would reiterate what it believed it "heard" the player say. This sometimes resulted in incorrect actions taken, especially if the player had a significantly different inflection or spoke something different from the choices expected. Probability ranking could trigger Halcyon to ask the player to repeat their choice when it received a poor match to all expected responses. Mis-recognitions were chiefly the result of a sample of speech given sufficient probability to match one of the anticipated words or phrases.
Halcyon was intended to have a voice much like the Hal 9000, but memory constraints prohibited the use of tailored speech parameters for the Votrax synthesizer that was built into the console. The compromise was to use a licensed text-to-speech algorithm that had several built-in rules for pronouncing English text properly. Modified spellings were also used where needed to correct pronunciation issues, though this did not apply to words such as user names typed by the player.
A video game would follow a general design of "nodes", which interconnected based on responses and lack of responses from a player. Certain triggers, such as a real-time constraint under which the game would be interrupted if its associated event did not occur, were also part of the game's dynamic.
Scenes existed as two or more scripts: One for the "normal" or first encounter with the scene, one for subsequent visits, and optionally one or two for where certain actions required the scene animation or graphics to deviate, usually where an item has been removed or used.
A scene had to be identical in animation and graphics between its normal and subsequent visit, differing only in the audio track used. For this reason, lip sync typically could not be used, often resulting in speaking characters having their mouths obscured or speaking with their backs turned.
A scene with an item used or removed would have separate animation and graphics, allowing for 2 additional audio tracks, again without lip sync.
Audio tracks were encoded into the left and right channels of a stereo encoding; therefore, only monaural audio would be played from any given instance of a scene.
Almost all scenes in a game would have some information revealed that would contribute to solving the puzzle of obtaining the final goal of the game. Since Halcyon needed to keep track of first versus subsequent visits, a count of visits (up to a maximum of 15) would be used to trigger its speech synthesized hints and comments. One example from Thayer's Quest would be the direct instruction to take the right door when the wrong door (leading to instant death) was chosen more than once.
To break up the monotony of robotic speech, Halcyon was given prompt and response phrases that had markers that would include interchangeable words and phrases, along with the player's name, which it would include occasionally. "Enter your name on my keyboard" and "Please spell your name" would be two examples of phrases it would use to prompt the player.
Halcyon's game authoring method would easily accommodate playing Dragon's Lair, except for the restraint that speech recognition would take too long to process each move before the time allowed would expire, limiting it to keyboard-only use. This game's inclusion was not considered for this reason as well as license restrictions.
Each player's game record was represented in non-volatile memory as the set of items they had in their inventory, the visit counters of all possible nodes in the game (unvisited nodes having a count of zero), the scene toggle information (item used / taken / etc.), applicable timers (real-time events would suspend when games were saved), and their trained speech sampled data. To resume play, all one had to do was speak their name when asked to do so by Halcyon.
References
[edit]- ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Kinder, Jeff; Hallock, Dave. "Halcyon Interactive Laserdisc System". Dragon's Lair Project. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- ^ 98PaceCar. "RDI Halcyon". Video Game Console Library. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Oakley, Mark (April 2, 2015). "ON TRIAL". Micro Mart. No. 1356.
- ^ Sauer, Mark (June 2, 1984). "Laser game's creator beams". The San Diego Union.
- ^ Allison, Fraser; Carter, Marcus; Gibbs, Martin (March 2020). "Word Play: A History of Voice Interaction in Digital Games". Games and Culture. 15 (2): 91–113. doi:10.1177/1555412017746305. hdl:11343/282434. S2CID 148780241.
- ^ La Brecque, Eric (April 1996). "Technician of Suspended Disbelief: Rick Dyer interview". Animation World Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 1. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
- ^ Stuart, Keith (July 7, 2015). "After the prototype PlayStation: six more obscure games consoles". The Guardian. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Takiff, Jonathan (October 22, 1984). "Videodiscs phasing out; Laserdisc picture bright". Philadelphia Daily News.