<s>
The	O
Halcyon	B-Device
is	O
an	O
unreleased	O
home	B-Device
video	I-Device
game	I-Device
console	I-Device
produced	O
by	O
RDI	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
the	O
six	O
games	O
planned	O
,	O
only	O
two	O
games	O
were	O
released	O
:	O
Thayer	B-Application
's	I-Application
Quest	I-Application
and	O
NFL	O
Football	O
LA	O
Raiders	O
vs	O
SD	O
Chargers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RDI	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Systems	I-Application
claimed	O
that	O
the	O
system	O
would	O
be	O
entirely	O
voice-activated	O
,	O
and	O
would	O
have	O
an	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
akin	O
to	O
HAL	B-General_Concept
9000	I-General_Concept
from	O
2001	O
:	O
A	O
Space	O
Odyssey	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rick	O
Dyer	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
many	O
fans	O
of	O
the	O
interactive	O
fiction	O
game	O
Adventure	B-Application
,	O
and	O
wanted	O
to	O
develop	O
his	O
own	O
game	O
,	O
Shadoan	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
an	O
expansive	O
fantasy	O
game	O
inspired	O
by	O
The	O
Lord	O
of	O
the	O
Rings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
envisioned	O
a	O
game	O
that	O
would	O
feature	O
illustrations	O
of	O
every	O
scene	O
,	O
and	O
developed	O
a	O
prototype	O
called	O
"	O
Secrets	O
of	O
the	O
Lost	O
Woods	O
"	O
(	O
a	O
small	O
section	O
of	O
his	O
larger	O
Shadoan	O
game	O
)	O
that	O
used	O
a	O
roll	O
of	O
printing	O
calculator	B-Application
tape	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
wound	O
forward	O
and	O
backward	O
via	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
to	O
show	O
illustrations	O
and	O
information	O
drawn	O
on	O
its	O
surface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
advent	B-Application
of	O
the	O
videodisc	O
player	O
,	O
Dyer	O
realized	O
he	O
could	O
consolidate	O
the	O
audio	O
and	O
visual	O
content	O
onto	O
one	O
medium	O
,	O
and	O
created	O
a	O
device	O
called	O
The	O
Fantasy	O
Machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
project	O
was	O
titled	O
Dragon	B-Application
's	I-Application
Lair	I-Application
,	O
which	O
,	O
like	O
"	O
Secrets	O
of	O
the	O
Lost	O
Woods	O
,	O
"	O
was	O
a	O
smaller	O
section	O
of	O
Dyer	O
's	O
envisioned	O
Shadoan	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dragon	B-Application
's	I-Application
Lair	I-Application
and	O
Space	B-Device
Ace	I-Device
supplied	O
enough	O
profits	O
and	O
credibility	O
for	O
RDI	B-Application
Video	I-Application
Systems	I-Application
to	O
progress	O
toward	O
realizing	O
their	O
technology	O
into	O
a	O
home	O
entertainment	O
and	O
edutainment	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
RCA	O
canceled	O
the	O
production	O
of	O
these	O
players	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
completion	O
of	O
the	O
Halcyon	B-Device
project	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
re-designed	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
laserdisc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
biggest	O
obstacles	O
in	O
this	O
re-design	O
(	O
after	O
its	O
significantly	O
higher	O
cost	O
)	O
was	O
the	O
short	O
30-minute-per-side	O
capacity	O
of	O
Constant	B-Device
Angular	I-Device
Velocity	I-Device
or	O
random	B-General_Concept
access	I-General_Concept
laserdiscs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suffering	O
from	O
a	O
retail	O
price	O
tag	O
that	O
would	O
discourage	O
consumers	O
and	O
content	O
that	O
would	O
require	O
several	O
laserdiscs	O
to	O
contain	O
,	O
investors	O
and	O
manufacturers	O
saw	O
little	O
success	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
of	O
Halcyon	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
1985	O
,	O
Beverly	O
Stereo	O
and	O
Video	O
put	O
their	O
stock	O
of	O
RDI	B-Device
Halcyon	I-Device
consoles	O
on	O
clearance	O
for	O
$999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ironically	O
,	O
Dragon	B-Application
's	I-Application
Lair	I-Application
was	O
not	O
part	O
of	O
Halcyon	B-Device
's	O
initial	O
content	O
repertoire	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Secrets	O
of	O
the	O
Lost	O
Woods	O
footage	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
develop	O
firmware	B-Application
for	O
the	O
unit	O
prior	O
to	O
Fred	O
Wolf	O
's	O
production	O
of	O
the	O
Thayer	B-Application
's	I-Application
Quest	I-Application
animation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Halcyon	B-Device
was	O
based	O
around	O
the	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
microprocessor	I-General_Concept
,	O
with	O
its	O
64K	O
memory	O
partitioned	O
out	O
to	O
ROM	B-Device
and	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
separate	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
computer	O
provided	O
the	O
additional	O
power	O
needed	O
to	O
recognize	O
human	O
speech	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
firmware	B-Application
was	O
proprietary	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
chief	O
communications	O
with	O
the	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
were	O
indications	O
of	O
what	O
word	O
it	O
had	O
recognized	O
,	O
and	O
what	O
probability	O
of	O
confidence	O
it	O
calculated	O
for	O
the	O
match	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
functions	O
this	O
subsystem	O
provided	O
were	O
non-volatile	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
storage	O
,	O
and	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
training	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Late	O
in	O
its	O
development	O
,	O
Halcyon	B-Device
had	O
to	O
be	O
re-designed	O
to	O
use	O
Laserdisc	O
players	O
because	O
CED	O
units	O
were	O
put	O
out	O
of	O
production	O
by	O
RCA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Laserdisk	O
used	O
by	O
Halcyon	B-Device
was	O
an	O
unbadged	O
unit	O
made	O
by	O
Pioneer	O
Corporation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Communications	O
with	O
CED	O
players	O
were	O
serial	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speech	B-Application
synthesis	I-Application
was	O
produced	O
using	O
a	O
licensed	O
text-to-speech	B-Application
algorithm	O
included	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
base	O
Halcyon	B-Device
Operating	O
System	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
special	O
English	O
vocabulary	O
which	O
would	O
correctly	O
pronounce	O
hundreds	O
of	O
proper	O
names	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
phonetic	O
output	O
of	O
this	O
algorithm	O
was	O
fed	O
into	O
a	O
Votrax	B-Application
chip	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firmware	B-Application
unique	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
being	O
played	O
existed	O
as	O
a	O
removable	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
containing	O
16K	O
memory	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
entire	O
game	O
node	O
layout	O
,	O
vocabulary	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
(	O
both	O
for	O
the	O
speech	B-Application
synthesizer	I-Application
and	O
speech	B-Application
recognizer	I-Application
)	O
,	O
inventory	O
data	O
(	O
both	O
for	O
gameplay	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
video	O
still	O
frames	O
depicting	O
items	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
certain	O
executable	O
data	O
sections	O
to	O
assist	O
in	O
the	O
processing	O
of	O
game	O
flow	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Save	O
for	O
the	O
words	O
"	O
Yes	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
No	O
,	O
"	O
Halcyon	B-Device
required	O
each	O
player	O
to	O
train	O
it	O
to	O
recognize	O
their	O
voice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
four	O
gave	O
a	O
high	O
probability	O
match	O
for	O
Halcyon	B-Device
to	O
recognize	O
from	O
any	O
given	O
English	O
speaker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
was	O
discontiguous	O
,	O
meaning	O
the	O
player	O
had	O
only	O
a	O
few	O
seconds	O
to	O
speak	O
into	O
a	O
headset	O
when	O
prompted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
headset	O
was	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
noise-canceling	B-Algorithm
microphone	I-Algorithm
to	O
help	O
isolate	O
speech	O
from	O
any	O
other	O
sounds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speech	O
samples	O
would	O
be	O
compared	O
against	O
allowed	O
responses	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
match	O
along	O
with	O
probability	O
of	O
accuracy	O
would	O
be	O
sent	O
to	O
the	O
Halcyon	B-Device
main	O
processor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
acknowledge	O
voice	B-Application
commands	I-Application
,	O
Halcyon	B-Device
would	O
reiterate	O
what	O
it	O
believed	O
it	O
"	O
heard	O
"	O
the	O
player	O
say	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Probability	O
ranking	O
could	O
trigger	O
Halcyon	B-Device
to	O
ask	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
repeat	O
their	O
choice	O
when	O
it	O
received	O
a	O
poor	O
match	O
to	O
all	O
expected	O
responses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Halcyon	B-Device
was	O
intended	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
voice	O
much	O
like	O
the	O
Hal	B-General_Concept
9000	I-General_Concept
,	O
but	O
memory	O
constraints	O
prohibited	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
tailored	O
speech	O
parameters	O
for	O
the	O
Votrax	B-Application
synthesizer	O
that	O
was	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
compromise	O
was	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
licensed	O
text-to-speech	B-Application
algorithm	O
that	O
had	O
several	O
built-in	O
rules	O
for	O
pronouncing	O
English	O
text	O
properly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
would	O
not	O
correct	O
the	O
words	O
(	O
user	O
names	O
,	O
primarily	O
)	O
that	O
were	O
typed	O
into	O
the	O
Halcyon	B-Device
when	O
a	O
player	O
first	O
began	O
playing	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
Halcyon	B-Device
needed	O
to	O
keep	O
track	O
of	O
first	O
versus	O
subsequent	O
visits	O
,	O
a	O
count	O
of	O
visits	O
(	O
up	O
to	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
15	O
)	O
would	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
trigger	O
its	O
speech	O
synthesized	O
hints	O
and	O
comments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
example	O
from	O
Thayer	B-Application
's	I-Application
Quest	I-Application
would	O
be	O
the	O
direct	O
instruction	O
to	O
take	O
the	O
right	O
door	O
when	O
the	O
wrong	O
door	O
(	O
leading	O
to	O
instant	O
death	O
)	O
was	O
chosen	O
more	O
than	O
once	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
break	O
up	O
the	O
monotony	O
of	O
robotic	O
speech	O
,	O
Halcyon	B-Device
was	O
given	O
prompt	O
and	O
response	O
phrases	O
that	O
had	O
markers	O
that	O
would	O
include	O
interchangeable	O
words	O
and	O
phrases	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
Player	O
's	O
name	O
which	O
it	O
would	O
include	O
occasionally	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Halcyon	B-Device
's	O
game	O
authoring	O
method	O
would	O
easily	O
accommodate	O
playing	O
Dragon	B-Application
's	I-Application
Lair	I-Application
,	O
except	O
for	O
the	O
restraint	O
that	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
would	O
take	O
too	O
long	O
to	O
process	O
each	O
move	O
before	O
the	O
time	O
allowed	O
would	O
expire	O
,	O
limiting	O
it	O
to	O
keyboard-only	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
player	O
's	O
game	O
record	O
was	O
represented	O
in	O
non-volatile	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
as	O
the	O
set	O
of	O
items	O
they	O
had	O
in	O
their	O
inventory	O
,	O
the	O
visit	O
counters	O
of	O
all	O
possible	O
nodes	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
(	O
unvisited	O
nodes	O
having	O
a	O
count	O
of	O
zero	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
scene	O
toggle	O
information	O
(	O
item	O
used/taken/etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
resume	O
play	O
,	O
all	O
one	O
had	O
to	O
do	O
was	O
speak	O
their	O
name	O
when	O
asked	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
by	O
Halcyon	B-Device
.	O
</s>
