The SpeakEasy Dialogue Controller
- J. Eugene Ball
The SpeakEasy dialogue controller interprets conversational scripts that control how a computer character interacts with a user. The scripts are written in a simple imperative programming language with special features designed to simplify the authoring of natural conversations. The paper explains the requirements for a conversational scripting language, based on experience with Microsoft’s Peedy the Parrot prototype. It then illustrates how those requirements have been addressed in the design of SpeakEasy. The interpreter has been packaged as an ActiveX object, and used in conjunction with the Microsoft Agent animated character to implement a series of Web guides which can lead a user on a tour of a portion of the World Wide Web.