Starfinder Pilot

Elevating Voice-First RPG Experiences on Alexa

Starfinder for Amazon Alexa brings the acclaimed Starfinder TTRPG to life in a voice-first format. While many interactive fiction and RPG experiences exist on Alexa, quality varies greatly. Our pilot episode, available for free, aimed to demonstrate the potential of high-quality, immersive voice gaming and gauge player interest in premium voice RPG experiences.

Goal

To create a compelling voice-first RPG that sets a new standard for quality on the Alexa platform, demonstrating player willingness to pay for premium voice game content.

Development Process

We developed a prototype using Skill Flow Builder (SFB), refining it through iterative playtesting and two private betas. The first beta focused on core gameplay using text-to-speech, while the second incorporated professional voice acting and sound design, significantly enhancing immersion.

Key Learnings and Design Decisions

• Chainlink Narrative Structure: Instead of the traditional "Choose Your Own Adventure" branching tree (which often leads to short playthroughs), we adopted a "chainlink" structure. This allows for meaningful player choices that influence the story, but periodically converges to maintain longer, more engaging narrative arcs, fulfilling players' desire for character development and epic storylines.

• Meaningful Binary Choices: Open-ended interactions and numerous options, common in TTRPGs, proved overwhelming in a voice-only environment. We found that offering two carefully crafted, distinct, and sensible choices provided the optimal balance of player agency and cognitive load.

• Flexible Gameplay Modes: "Roll Your Own," "Roll For Me," and "Fast Mode": To cater to diverse player preferences, we implemented three gameplay modes:

  • Roll Your Own Dice: For players who enjoy the tactile experience of traditional TTRPGs.

  • Roll For Me: Alexa handles the dice rolls, providing results and narration.

  • Fast Mode: Streamlines combat and skill checks by skipping detailed roll results, accelerating the pace for players focused on the story. "Fast Mode" has proven surprisingly popular, appealing to roughly half of our player base. The ability to switch between these modes at any time is consistently praised.

Results and Impact

• Exceptional User Reception: Starfinder boasts a best-in-class customer rating on Amazon.

• Positive Media Coverage: The game has received positive press from outlets including Forbes, Geek Dad, Enworld, Reddit, and Know Direction Beyond.

• Proof of Concept: The positive reception and high engagement with Starfinder are a good demonstrator that well-designed voice-first games can generate positive attention.