[Desktop Cortana Assistant.]

Glad that you like the idea

It was Cortana that made me look into desktop AI's such as HAL and what not. And ever since, Ive always hoped that Bungie/343/Microsoft woud have cottoned on to such an obvious money maker. Cortana is an AI, and there are AI desktop assistants... I always thought it was a no brainer. Considering Microsofts love of money, and their various methods of making money from the Halo franchise, Im surprised it hasnt been done already. What Halo fan wouldnt pay to have their very own Cortana?

Im currently trying to get in touch with Microsoft to put this idea forward in the hopes that they actually make it. They can have the idea for free as far as Im concerned. Hell, even though it was my idea to begin with, I'd still pay for a copy if they didnt offer me one for free lol.

 

But anyways, on to your idea of the community making it...

This is an interesting notion... The voice interface part of it would be pretty simple to do considering the amount of V.I (voice interface) softwares available like you say. It would just be a case of tweaking their responses, and adding the animated visual aspect of Cortana.

But... Theres the AI part... Considering the fact that a lot of companies are still developing basic desktop AI's, Im not sure how feasible the idea of a community making this is without the finance that these companies have.

 

I dont know anything when it comes to coding, and I have no idea what yours or the communities capabilities are, so I could be completely wrong... The level of AI involved in my idea is pretty basic I guess. All it involves is the program identifying trends in how the program is used, then making suggestions and automatic actions based upon them. So I guess it isnt really an actual AI. Im just thinking out loud here lol.

 

But theres 1 major flaw I can see with the community making it... The voice acting of Cortana... Unless you could get Cortana's original voice actor to do the voice samples (which if you did, would leave me in awe bowing down before you lol) you'd have to make the responses purely text based. And I dont know about you, but to me, having Cortana actually respond in that gorgeous iconic voice is what would make this so damn epic.

 

I think for it to have the polish and shine in the way that I envision it, its going to take Microsoft putting the time and money into making it.

But if you reckon you could pull it off, or even come close to making what Ive described... I'd still be totally blown away and would simply HAVE to have it.

 

And one more thing... Why arent you surprised that Jester likes the idea?... lol

 

And about the idea of having a selection of different AI's from the Halo universe... How cool would it also be to see good old quirky 343 Guilty Spark flying around your screen too? lol

[Desktop Cortana Assistant.]

Hi all, I just wanted to share an idea and desire I have had for years now...

 

Ive played all the games, read nigh on all the books... And theres one thing that Ive always hoped would be released at some point... A cortana desktop assistant.

If you developed a purchasable program that had a desktop Cortana assistant, that you could use voice interface with... I would be more than willing to pay for the awesomeness of having my own personal cortana on my desktop lol.

 

Im not sure if its possible, but if it is, you could implement the interface system as a desktop gadget. For example, a gadget that looked like a holo projector, that you can move to wherever you like, and toggle on and off via voice command the same way the current windows 7 voice interface system works.

 

How awesome would it be to have cortana manage your computer? A few examples... You boot up your comp, and when its finished loading all the start up programs, an accurate 3d cortana materialises above the holo projector. You could have it so she learns how you use your computer, and makes comments and suggestions, and asks you questions based on the trends of what you do on your comp.

 

Cortana: so, are we going to be playing more videogames today?... would you like me to launch one?

User: yeah

Cortana: what do we feel like playing today?

User: launch battlefield 3 please cortana

Cortana: Im on it (cortana brings up and interacts with a holo interface, flips through pages hitting buttons, then the interface closes) done, launching now.

 

You could even have a settings window which allowed you to control the behaviour and appearance of cortana. Meaning you could toggle certain behaviours on and off, and choose which cortana version you ould prefer. Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4...

Obviously it would mean a lot of voice sampling for the audio... but you could even have it so for things that dont have audio, a text based message window opens...

(all in text) Cortana: sorry, my audio processors are playing up... An expected complication of putting an advanced AI in civilian grade computer system... (insert cortanas appropriate text response here)

 

I think you can see what Im getting at... Idealy, I would love to be able to do everything on my computer just by talking to Cortana, just how you pretty much can with the current windows 7 speech recognition interface system.

Im aware that the costs for financing such a program wouldnt be small... But I would be willing to pay just to have this feature that Ive dreamt about for years lol. Im sure that many other Halo/Cortana fans would also be willing to pay for the pleasure of having their very own Cortana desktop AI.

If they can include a speech recognition interface for free with a copy of windows 7, then Im sure it wouldnt be too dificult to achieve what it is that I envision.

 

Hell, you could even include the AI's from the halo books, such as Mack, Sif, Deja... And because they have never been voiced before, it would mean you would be free to use whatever voice actor you like for them.

You could even include a toggleable "rampancy feature," which would make the AI appear to go rampant after a while, in the same way cortana's appearance changed in halo 4. (obviously only aesthetic... lol)

 

Anyways, I had no idea where to post this, so I thought I'd post it here. Hope you like the idea and end up persuing it. Thanks for many years of epic gaming moments