 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | Massachusetts, United States (2013) |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Website | ear-play.com |
Earplay is an entertainment startup from Boston, MA that produces interactive audio stories. The Earplay library, accessible from voice platforms such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant as well as a standalone iOS app, consists of interactive audio narratives released in chapters. The primary form of interaction is voicing the player character's decisions at predetermined points, and the story branches towards a number of different outcomes accordingly [1].
Xconomy described the medium as "a cross between radio dramas of the early 20th century, 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books, and new voice recognition technologies." [2] Fast Company and the Amazon Developers Blog both credit Earplay as the first platform to turn broadcast audio, a traditionally one-way medium, into an immersive and responsive entertainment format. [3][4]
Earplays are accessible to the blind and visually impaired, as its virtual assistant platforms are voice-operated and the iOS app is compatible with VoiceOver. [5] The user experience involves both audio engineering and directed voice acting, and the stories are developed in collaboration with script writers and intellectual property owners. [6]
History edit
Earplay was first co-founded as Reactive Studios in May 2013 by Jon Myers (CEO), Bruno Batarelo (CTO), and Matthew Albrecht, a shareholder and advisor [2]. The prototype for an interactive radio drama dubbed "Codename Cygnus" was unveiled at the Game Developers Conference in March 2013,[4] followed by a Kickstarter campaign that raised $13,943 on its $11,000 target.[7] With the funds for professional sound effects, technology licenses, and necessary plug-ins, Cygnus was released as a standalone application for Android and iOS that September at PAX Prime. [3]
Dave Grossman, known for his work at Telltale Games, was hired in 2014 as Chief Creative Officer to expand upon the medium of voice-activated storytelling. [8] The company went on to participate in the 2015 MassChallenge startup accelerator with the goal of developing a cross-platform library for interactive audio stories. [9] The accompanying change in name to "Earplay" reflected their new focus, and is a derivative of the radio drama series broadcast on NPR between 1972 and the 1990s.
The first edition of the Earplay app, which supported multiple demo-length stories and a content creation pipeline, was released in August 2016. [4] August also saw the release of an Earplay "skill," a voice app for the Amazon Alexa platform. [10]
Titles edit
- Earplay Demo (2016)
- Half (2016)
- Codename Cygnus Reactivated
- Mission 1 (2017)
- The Orpheus Device Teaser (2016)
- The Orpheus Device Full-Length (2017)
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ Edgerly 2016.
- ^ a b Engel 2017.
- ^ a b Lumb 2013.
- ^ a b c Collier 2016.
- ^ Brauner 2016.
- ^ Adobe XD Team 2017.
- ^ Kickstarter 2013.
- ^ Wawro 2016. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFWawro2016 (help)
- ^ Mass Challenge Team 2015.
- ^ Kirsner 2016.
References edit
- Adobe XD Team (October 2016). "Earplay and the World of Voice UX Design". Adobe Creative Cloud Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Brauner, Diane (December 2016). "Earplay: Interactive Audio Stories iOS app". Perkins Paths to Technology Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Collier, Zoey (November 2016). "Earplay: An Interactive, Audio-Only Storyteller, Made Even Better by Alexa". Amazon Developer Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Edgerly, Len (October 2016). "Earplay: Alexa Hosts a Transformative New Way to Tell Stories". Len Edgerly's Medium Blog. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Engel, Jeff (March 2017). "Amazon's Alexa Opens New Path for Earplay's Interactive Audio Stories". Xconomy. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- "Codename Cygnus - an Interactive Radio Drama". Kickstarter. August 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- Kirsner, Scott (December 2016). "'Alexa, what local companies are working to make you better?'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Lumb, David (July 2013). "Is Siri Paving The Way For Immersive Audio Gaming?". Fast Company. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Mass Challenge Team (November 2015). "Earplay Profile". Mass Challenge. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Schonenberg, Fred (January 2017). "5 Ad Startups That Lit Up the Strip at CES". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Wawro, Alex (October 2016). "Day of the Tentacle & The Division devs unite to write World of Darkness audio drama". Gamasutra. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Wawro, Alex (October 2016). "Why veteran game devs are now creating interactive audio dramas". Gamasutra. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Wilcox, Greg (October 2016). "World of Darkness Wants You to Enjoy Some Earplay For Halloween". Destroy All Fanboys. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- Zingsheim, Karsten (March 2017). "Not just listening, but participating - interactive radio plays - Wraith: The Oblivion". Teilzeithelden. Retrieved 16 February 2017.