Voice Commands in EchoQuest: Play Completely Hands-Free
For players who can't use a keyboard or mouse — whether due to motor disabilities, repetitive strain injuries, recovery from surgery, or simply preferring to play while their hands are busy with something else — EchoQuest's voice command system makes the full game experience accessible via speech alone. You can play an entire campaign, from the title screen to the final scene, without ever touching a physical input device. That's not a marketing line; it's a tested capability we treat as a release-blocking baseline.
This post is a complete guide to voice play. We cover how the system works under the hood, how to set it up for the best accuracy, what voice navigation can do beyond submitting actions, and how voice combines with other accessibility tools to produce a fully hands-free, eyes-free experience. If you're new to voice control or sceptical that it can carry a full RPG session, the walkthrough below should answer most of your concerns.
How It Works
EchoQuest uses the Web Speech API, available in Chrome and Edge, to convert your spoken words into text in real time. The Web Speech API is the same speech-recognition technology that powers many enterprise dictation tools and accessibility apps. It runs primarily server-side in the browser vendor's infrastructure, but it's exposed as a standard API any web page can call. When you activate voice input (by pressing the microphone button or its keyboard shortcut), you speak your action out loud. It's transcribed and submitted to the AI Game Master exactly as if you'd typed it.
There's no special command syntax. Just speak naturally: "I ask the guard where the prisoner was taken" or "I try to pick the lock on the chest" or "I look around the room for anything out of place." The transcription is forwarded to the GM verbatim, so you never have to learn a special vocabulary or memorise specific phrases.
The voice path stays consistent with the rest of EchoQuest's accessibility design: it's a different way to issue the same commands, not a separate "voice mode" with reduced features. Every action you can take by typing, you can take by speaking, and the game responds identically either way.
Setting Up Voice Input
- Open EchoQuest in Chrome or Edge (Firefox support is limited by browser API availability — Safari support is partial and we recommend Chrome or Edge if either is available to you)
- When prompted, allow microphone access. EchoQuest only listens when you've explicitly activated voice input — there's no always-on listening
- During a game session, click the microphone icon in the input area, or press V to activate
- Speak your action clearly — a transcription preview appears as you speak so you can see what's being captured before it's submitted
- Pause briefly when done; the transcription submits automatically, or press Enter to submit manually if you want explicit control
If you're using a screen reader, the voice activation button announces its current state ("Voice input on" or "Voice input off") and is fully keyboard-reachable.
Navigation Voice Commands
Beyond submitting actions, you can navigate the game UI by voice:
| Say | Action |
|---|---|
| "Option one / two / three" | Select a suggested choice |
| "Replay" | Repeat the last narration |
| "Pause" / "Resume" | Toggle TTS narration |
| "Settings" | Open the settings panel |
| "Help" | Open the keyboard/voice shortcut overlay |
| "Cancel" | Close any open dialog |
| "Inventory" | Open the character inventory panel |
| "Stats" | Open the character stats panel |
These navigation commands are processed locally — they don't require AI inference and trigger immediately. Action submissions, by contrast, go through the AI GM and produce narrated responses.
A useful pattern: combine voice navigation with voice actions in a single session. "Option two" picks the second suggested choice. Then "I draw my sword and step toward the door" submits a custom action. Then "Replay" if you need the response read again. The game remains responsive throughout, and your hands never leave wherever they happen to be.
Tips for Best Accuracy
- Use a headset or directional microphone — ambient noise significantly degrades transcription accuracy. Built-in laptop mics work but are noticeably less reliable than even a basic USB headset
- Speak at a moderate pace — the API transcribes better at conversational speed than very fast or very slow speech. If you're naturally a fast speaker, slowing down by twenty percent often eliminates most transcription errors
- Unique character names — if your world uses fantasy names, spell them out phonetically the first time and the API will often pick them up for the rest of the session. Some players keep a small character-name reference open during the first scene to help with pronunciation
- Rephrase if needed — if a transcription comes out wrong, just speak the correction; the AI GM handles small inconsistencies gracefully and will respond to "I meant to say I draw the dagger, not the dragon" as fluidly as to a perfectly transcribed action
- Quiet rooms help — even a high-end mic struggles with TV-on-in-the-background. Voice plays best in the same conditions that make any audio call easier
- Check microphone gain — too high causes clipping, too low causes drop-outs. Most operating systems have a microphone test built into accessibility settings; spend two minutes calibrating before a long session
Combining Voice and Screen Reader
If you use both voice input and a screen reader, you can set the screen reader to announce new narration automatically. The combination creates a fully hands-free, eyes-free experience: you speak your actions, the game responds, the screen reader reads the response aloud, you respond again. The rhythm is remarkably close to a phone call with a very patient, very imaginative friend.
This is the use case we're most proud of — a complete RPG experience for players with both visual and motor disabilities. If you're in this category, please reach out. We learn the most from your feedback, and we want to know whenever something doesn't work.
Beyond Disability: Why Sighted Players Use Voice
A growing number of EchoQuest players use voice input not because they need to, but because they prefer it. Voice play feels different from typing. The session has a cadence closer to spoken storytelling. Your character's voice and your voice are the same voice for a moment, which can produce a kind of immersion typed play never quite reaches.
Some players use voice for action submission and keyboard for navigation. Some use voice while doing chores around the house — the game waits while they cook, then responds when they speak. Some use voice as a way to give their wrists a break during long sessions. There's no wrong combination, and you can switch in and out at any time.
