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Vivox will provide hosted and managed voice chat services to Wizards of the Coast’s new digital D&D game Dungeons & Dragons Insider.
Using the technology, which is also used by Second Life and a number of other online games, game masters will be able to talk together around the virtual game table and well as manage private chats with other players without any impact on the game’s performance. Dungeon Masters will also have full kick/ban abilities for greater security and control.
Bill Slavicsek, R&D director of Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast, said: “Voice is an essential component of the D&D Insider player experience. The roots of classic Dungeons & Dragons lie in the ability to play interactively with your friends, communicating openly around a table, developing characters, building the scene, laying out the adventure and communicating actions and dialogue.
“To recreate this experience online, we needed a voice partner with the ability to deliver a consistently high quality and reliable voice experience for our players. We also needed a company with the resources to support us during and after the integration, with a proven ability to scale to a very large online community. Vivox is well positioned to deliver on these elements and we look forward to a successful relationship.”
“D&D is the original tabletop roleplaying game, and we are thrilled to be a part of bringing it online. Adding real-time voice to D&D Insider will make for an unprecedented online experience that only Wizards of the Coast can create,” added Vivox CEO Rob Seaver.
“High quality voice will grab users and immerse them in game play that is challenging and entertaining, as well as create a sense of community and camaraderie. It’s this kind of technology and game innovation that is going to keep new and old gamers alike heavily-invested and excited about the future of online games and communities.”
