Starfinder To Land On Amazon Alexa!

Stunning!

Personal prejudices aside (Amazon, Alexa), this is such a brilliant new direction for Paizo

Excited!

This is pretty cool. I have to applaud the initiative and incredible innovation effort!
I hope this helps spreading the game out and bringing lots of new people to the game :)

But if this is to "transform the way we play the game" as Lisa Stevens suggested -- that would have to be a long term goal rather than an immediate result of this app. I could see some potential for this once it adds a multi-player mode, for example.

How would this transform the way we play? I just don't see how this changes really anything.

I’m seeing some folk simply hyped for a new expression of Starfinder, and a lot of folks simply puzzled for what this actually is.

Dissappointed. Heard there was something big starfinder related on the 16th. This doesn't feel big. This feels forgettable. I'm not a fan of the beginners box because of how much the rules are changed from actual starfinder. I don't think if your trying to introduce new players to the game you should do it with an almost complete departure from the CRB. And then turning that into a voice only Amazon powered app that only has the one adventure?

Good for those who will enjoy this. I'll keep waiting for the additional resources update.

It’s not a complete departure, it’s a stripped down version that makes it easier to segue into the full game.

Excited to hear about this. A few comments:

1) One thing you should work on with the Alexa team is to update their answer for the question: "Alexa, what is Starfinder?" Her answer currently is about a British game show that aired from 2003 to 2004. It would probably help promote the Starfinder skill if she answered about the RPG.

2) If anyone's curious about what an RPG experience can be like on Alexa, an early example is the Dungeon Adventure skill. It's pretty simple but was entertaining for a few hours. I would imagine the Starfinder skill will be both more polished and have deeper story and mechanics.

3) For those surprised that Amazon approached Paizo about this, there's a LOT of gamers at Amazon, so I'm guessing someone on the Alexa team made the suggestion rather than this being a sign of Amazon knowing what's amazing and cool through analytics (though I'm sure having sales data from the RPG books category helped as well).

I'm interested but need to know more on the specifics on the product and future ones if this does well. Good to see the branding going places team!!

Tom

How would this transform the way we play? I just don't see how this changes really anything.

...you don't think that a robot running an RPG over a voice-controlled internet application used by millions of people, most of whom have never heard of the game, would change anything?

Just writing out what is happening sounds like the plot of a cyberpunk novel.

It might not change anything for you, but this has the potential to change a lot of people's perceptions of the gaming hobby.

Late to the news but good job Paizo! Congrats. It sounds massive!

I’m never going to play it (Jeff bezos has enough money, imo!) but it’s no small achievement to make such a mark in the mainstream. Good job to all involved in this.

Did I manage to keep the politics low key enough? I’ll flag this post, just in case. ;)

What time will this become available today? It’s almost 9am on the east coast, yet not even 6am on the west cost. I’m just getting tired of repeatedly telling Alexa to play Starfinder.

... And still no complete explanation about what Alexa is.

So I still have no idea if this is something of interest or not.

... And still no complete explanation about what Alexa is.

So I still have no idea if this is something of interest or not.

If only there were a way to search for this information.

“Alexa! What is....”

... And still no complete explanation about what Alexa is.

So I still have no idea if this is something of interest or not.

Alexa is a pretty famous voice activated assistant from Amazon. Basically its a voice activated google slash way to shop on amazon without touching a keyboard.

... And still no complete explanation about what Alexa is.

So I still have no idea if this is something of interest or not.

Alexa is a virtual personal assistant developed by Amazon, like OK Google, Siri, or Cortana. You can download the Alexa app for smart phones, or use various Amazon devices.

It’s up and running! This is so cool!

Not showing up for me yet. I hope this isn't a US only release, that would suck for us Europeans

...you don't think that a robot running an RPG over a voice-controlled internet application used by millions of people, most of whom have never heard of the game, would change anything?

Honestly no. Especially since if people haven't heard of the game they would never know this feature exists to begin with.

Not showing up for me yet. I hope this isn't a US only release, that would suck for us Europeans

The pilot episode is free and is available in English in the United States. It will expand to Canada, Australia, the UK, and India in mid-January.

Dracomicron wrote:

...you don't think that a robot running an RPG over a voice-controlled internet application used by millions of people, most of whom have never heard of the game, would change anything?

Honestly no. Especially since if people haven't heard of the game they would never know this feature exists to begin with.

Yeah, this is a marginal benefit to a small group of people who already play TTRPGs and manage to hear about it through their existing information networks. It's not going to be discovered, based on my google results in the news tab, by anyone else.

Not showing up for me yet. I hope this isn't a US only release, that would suck for us Europeans

According to this blog, it will expand to various other English speaking countries next month, so you are covered if you are in the UK.

Not showing up for me yet. I hope this isn't a US only release, that would suck for us Europeans

The Starfinder voice episode is available in the United States across all Amazon Alexa devices, including Amazon Echo Show, Amazon Echo Spot, Amazon Fire TV Cube, Amazon Fire HD 8, and Amazon Fire HD 10. It will expand to Canada, Australia, the UK, and India in mid-January.

So some initial feedback, playing on an Echo Show is that it made minimal use of the screen. I only got through shopping, but I had expected that there would be pictures showing locations, species, equipment, etc to make it a multi-media experience. The voice acting was well done, but I was hoping there'd be at least images as I mentioned. It would also be cool to have a map you could call up, once you started exploring, showing only the locations you've been to.

At launch, just say "Alexa, play Starfinder!" on any Alexa-enabled device.

You might want to change this to "Alexa, open Starfinder!" The word "play" seems prompt music searches instead, and it took a while to sort out.

(It would also be helpful to have "describe" work like "tell me about" in the app.)

Gnomatsu wrote:

Not showing up for me yet. I hope this isn't a US only release, that would suck for us Europeans

The Starfinder voice episode is available in the United States across all Amazon Alexa devices, including Amazon Echo Show, Amazon Echo Spot, Amazon Fire TV Cube, Amazon Fire HD 8, and Amazon Fire HD 10. It will expand to Canada, Australia, the UK, and India in mid-January.

Given how this was promoted / hyped would have been good to know in advance that it would not be available on release to the customer base outside the US. Feels like someone dropped the ball not putting that out there ahead of time. I certainly feel like Paizo should have said that somewhere before the most recent blog post. Disappointing.

Aaron Shanks wrote:

Gnomatsu wrote:

Not showing up for me yet. I hope this isn't a US only release, that would suck for us Europeans

The Starfinder voice episode is available in the United States across all Amazon Alexa devices, including Amazon Echo Show, Amazon Echo Spot, Amazon Fire TV Cube, Amazon Fire HD 8, and Amazon Fire HD 10. It will expand to Canada, Australia, the UK, and India in mid-January.

Given how this was promoted / hyped would have been good to know in advance that it would not be available on release to the customer base outside the US. Feels like someone dropped the ball not putting that out there ahead of time. I certainly feel like Paizo should have said that somewhere before the most recent blog post. Disappointing.

Our apologies. We found out after our initial announcement. The play area is scheduled to expand in just a few weeks. We will be more clear going forward.

So some initial feedback, playing on an Echo Show is that it made minimal use of the screen. I only got through shopping, but I had expected that there would be pictures showing locations, species, equipment, etc to make it a multi-media experience. The voice acting was well done, but I was hoping there'd be at least images as I mentioned. It would also be cool to have a map you could call up, once you started exploring, showing only the locations you've been to.

Thanks for the feedback!

We initially hired Skittermanders to do the visuals...that's a mistake I won't make again. So, new, non-fingerpainted visuals are on the way! I'll let you know when to expect them, when I know more.

Quote:

At launch, just say "Alexa, play Starfinder!" on any Alexa-enabled device.

You might want to change this to "Alexa, open Starfinder!" The word "play" seems prompt music searches instead, and it took a while to sort out.

(It would also be helpful to have "describe" work like "tell me about" in the app.)

We can take a look at that! So, you'd want to able to say "describe laser pistol" or something like that?

JoelF847 wrote:

So some initial feedback, playing on an Echo Show is that it made minimal use of the screen. I only got through shopping, but I had expected that there would be pictures showing locations, species, equipment, etc to make it a multi-media experience. The voice acting was well done, but I was hoping there'd be at least images as I mentioned. It would also be cool to have a map you could call up, once you started exploring, showing only the locations you've been to.

Thanks for the feedback!

We initially hired Skittermanders to do the visuals...that's a mistake I won't make again. So, new, non-fingerpainted visuals are on the way! I'll let you know when to expect them, when I know more.

… you are gonna release that concept art, right? Right?

QuidEst wrote:

Quote:

At launch, just say "Alexa, play Starfinder!" on any Alexa-enabled device.

You might want to change this to "Alexa, open Starfinder!" The word "play" seems prompt music searches instead, and it took a while to sort out.

(It would also be helpful to have "describe" work like "tell me about" in the app.)

We can take a look at that! So, you'd want to able to say "describe laser pistol" or something like that?

Yep! It was the command that intersected my tabletop experience (“could you describe the ___?”) and my limited text-based game experience (“describe ____”).

Chris Morrow wrote:

JoelF847 wrote:

So some initial feedback, playing on an Echo Show is that it made minimal use of the screen. I only got through shopping, but I had expected that there would be pictures showing locations, species, equipment, etc to make it a multi-media experience. The voice acting was well done, but I was hoping there'd be at least images as I mentioned. It would also be cool to have a map you could call up, once you started exploring, showing only the locations you've been to.

Thanks for the feedback!

We initially hired Skittermanders to do the visuals...that's a mistake I won't make again. So, new, non-fingerpainted visuals are on the way! I'll let you know when to expect them, when I know more.

… you are gonna release that concept art, right? Right?

It's pretty bad. Just...you didn't get it from me.

Agency Concept 1

Rysky the Dark Solarion wrote:

Chris Morrow wrote:

JoelF847 wrote:

So some initial feedback, playing on an Echo Show is that it made minimal use of the screen. I only got through shopping, but I had expected that there would be pictures showing locations, species, equipment, etc to make it a multi-media experience. The voice acting was well done, but I was hoping there'd be at least images as I mentioned. It would also be cool to have a map you could call up, once you started exploring, showing only the locations you've been to.

Thanks for the feedback!

We initially hired Skittermanders to do the visuals...that's a mistake I won't make again. So, new, non-fingerpainted visuals are on the way! I'll let you know when to expect them, when I know more.

… you are gonna release that concept art, right? Right?

It's pretty bad. Just...you didn't get it from me.

Agency Concept 1

Yessssss.

Starfinder on Alexa is now live in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

The free Starfinder on Alexa pilot episode update is live now in the USA, UK, Australia, and Canada!

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