Speech-to-text and services have gradually crept into the mainstream over the last couple of years in varying forms, such as the ability to dictate SMS responses on smartphones. We have also seen the release of more implementations which go a step further, in the form of Skype's real-time translation capabilities, automating a service that would otherwise require a human interpreter in the absence of bilingual parties.
Now, Microsoft is seeking to leverage speech-to-text and text-to-speech to create "a more accessible and inclusive gaming experience for everyone."
Having been rolled out in Halo Wars 2, "Game Chat Transcription" provides two ways to keep track of and participate in group conversations:
- Speech-to-text: This feature will capture the voice communications of other players which will then be converted into text and displayed in the game chat, allowing those who leverage the feature to be able to read the conversation in real-time.
- Text-to-speech: Players can respond using text input which will then be read out to other participants in the game.
If you wish to activate one or both aspects of Game Chat Transcription, you can go into Settings > All settings > Ease of Access > Game Chat Transcription and use the corresponding toggles. In addition, you can also choose a voice with which your text responses will be read out to other players.
Source: Microsoft via Thurrott.com
