Post by Steve Farrelly @ 02:22pm 10/01/20 | 0 Comments
And we honestly caaarrnlll'ts vaaytsh. Sorry, a twist this way, a release that way... that's better: and we honestly can't wait. The game sat in an open beta throughout the second half of last year, but now Brisbane-based Affable Games has dropped its full release date, which sees full release this month.
That being January 30 for both PC and Nintendo Switch. Here's the local studio's words on the milestone:
Speaking Simulator, the hilarious game about an android struggling to infiltrate human society, initiates its plan for world domination on Nintendo Switch™ January 30, launching simultaneously alongside the previously announced PC and Mac versions coming to Steam.
At the behest of an adorably malevolent but incredibly inept AI, venture forth into the human world as a robot built to live among them. Customise the android’s appearance, then utilise the latest in humanoid mouth technology to assimilate and ascend. How hard can talking to people be, anyway? Robots do not have social anxiety and existential dread...right?
Start off simple with first dates and job interviews, but as the android further ingrains itself into society, survive public speaking nightmares like wedding toasts and eulogies. Take too long between words or misplace the tongue and the robot will get nervous, causing its face to explode. Humans tend to find this suspicious. It’s hard to blend in when an android’s piston-powered tongue knocks out its teeth.
Simultaneously flail the tongue and manoeuvre lips with tricky controls to simulate human speech. Speaking Simulator utilises the most realistic gibberish system in all of gaming, created with real linguistic theory. One hand controls tongue placement, requiring quick presses on red buttons inside the mouth. The other hand elongates or purses the lips to form words. PC players can use webcams to control the android’s mouth movements.
Chase a high score in each level by sounding like a natural speaker. Unlock new upgrades adding layers of difficulty and increasing the score threshold. Use Socio-Optic Dynamics to make just the right amount of eye contact and Expressive Facial Pistons for some good ol’ human eyebrow wiggling. When all that stress is too much, blow off steam at a club in Self Expression Mode, where humans and robots can dance the night away.
“Words are hard, and a lot of us who are unquestionably human take that for granted,” said Jed Dawson, co-founder at Affable Games. “When we started making Speaking Simulator we realised the concept of pushing words out of mouth-holes is actually incredibly funny and gross, and therefore ripe for a comedy game.”
Speaking Simulator will be available in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese January 30 on Nintendo Switch and PC/Mac via Steam.
Check out the game's latest trailer embedded below, and make sure to jump on board this hilarious concept either for the laughs, or to just support the local development community.