Ok. We made that figure up. It could be more and we possibly will find out in June. Those Second Life ladies with real life beards better get themselves some voice synthesizers because SL creators are going to introduce voice chat then. Reuters has the scoop:
The new capabilities, provided by virtual world communications firm Vivox, are intended to make it as easy as possible for users to determine who is talking, and where. Using 3D audio technology from DiamondWare, sound will come from the right or left stereo channel depending on where the speaker is located, and voices beyond a certain distance will not be audible. Indicators and animations will also reflect when someone is talking, and how loudly.
The system will also help those in need:
Miller said the company would eventually offer voice masking, so that users can choose what they sound like. Vivox, which has already launched several virtual phone booths within Second Life that can call real-world numbers, has promoted the concept of “voice fonts” that let users choose from a variety of vocal tones.
But seriously, could audio-visual telephony in SL have a huge impact on its success?
Reuters/Second Life » Linden calling: Second Life voice to launch by June
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This will be an interesting change which may have some interesting effects; positive and negative. Some time ago, during the first(?) age play controversy in SL, I happened across some free voice-modulating software and realized that the “adult-to-child” feature played into those issues. Those may now become intertwined depending on how things go forward. Doubtful that the provided software will allow such a conversion, but if the modulator can be customized, then people will certainly provide their own. Controversy to follow (of course).
On the flip side, voice would make educational efforts much easier and has me now returning to a project I’d started some time back. And with Ning apparently now a truly worthwhile social app platform, the timing couldn’t be better.
February 28th, 2007 at 12:15 pm