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Volley has embraced the new kind of gameplay possible with voice-based games, and today it is introducing Magic Word, an immersive puzzle game on Google Assistant.
That means you can play it on devices that support Google Assistant’s voice recognition technology, such as Google Assistant Smart Displays and the Google Nest Hub Max.
The San Francisco company said the latest game combines voice, audio, and visuals to create a fun and engaging experience. It’s a family-oriented game that isn’t targeted at your usual hardcore gamers.
Magic Word
The game puts an amusing new twist on the word game format, using GIFs to create word associations and get players to guess “the magic word.”
Magic Word marks Volley’s first step into the word game category, after launching several party game titles including Song Quiz, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, and Popcorn Tycoon.
To play Magic Word, users say “talk to Magic Word,” and the game presents a grid of four distinct GIFs linked by a common theme. The goal of the game is to be the first to shout out the “theme word” that connects all four GIFs. The game’s design allows both voice and touch input, making it accessible and convenient to play for all ages and abilities, with no limit to the number of players.
Above: Magic Word combines visuals and voice interaction.
Image Credit: Volley
Max Child, CEO of Volley, said in a statement that the company was thrilled to partner with Google Assistant on a title that combines internet GIF culture with shouting out answers with family and friends.
Voice of the future
Voice-controlled experiences are becoming more common as more creators embrace voice technology. Google is moving voice experiences even further by combining voice and screen capabilities on its Smart Display devices, enabling a different kind of interactivity. Magic Word was created on Interactive Canvas, a framework on Google Assistant that allows developers to add visual experiences to Conversational Actions.
David Kaufman, senior product manager at Google’s Assistant Ecosystem, said in a statement that it’s exciting to help drive the future of fun with visual and voice games. He said Google believes home entertainment should be about interacting in a natural, effortless way, and new game formats like Magic Word are leading the charge for those interactive moments.
Most recently, Volley announced the release of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader in partnership with MGM, bringing the trivia game show to living rooms as an interactive voice-controlled experience.
Since its founding by James Wilsterman and Child in 2016, Volley has been making voice-controlled entertainment experiences on smart devices such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and smartphones.
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