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I’ve always needed a personal coach when it comes to multiplayer combat for Call of Duty, and now Activision is providing one via Amazon’s Alexa voice-recognition assistant. Starting today, you can use the Call of Duty Alexa Skill for Call of Duty: WWII on Amazon Alexa devices.
Using a soldier’s voice, it provides personalized player coaching, based on the data from your actual gameplay. It can tell you if you need to switch weapons for a specific map or change your tactics. Using natural language voice recognition and machine learning analysis, Alexa can generate 250,000 distinct responses to more than 2,500 questions about the game and your individual performance.
“It’s like having an experienced player sitting next to you while you play,” said Monte Lutz, senior vice president of consumer engagement at Activision, in an interview with GamesBeat. “We asked the question, ‘Is there a way to understand how a person is playing and give them tips that can help them become a better player?’ The result is a Call of Duty coach that helps you become a better player.”
The beta version is available today on Amazon Alexa devices, and you can also get variations on it via a web site on the PC. Lutz said the company got the idea based on watching the results that playes get from skilled personal coaches.
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The Alexa Skill will give you updates on in-game achievements and the ability to stay connected with and compare your play with friends. You can ask Alexa how to improve your skills, and it can make recommendations based on the match you just completed. You can also ask if your friends are playing online. The skill is available for free on any Alexa-enabled device via the Alexa companion app.
Above: The Battle of the Bulge in Call of Duty: WWII.
The app uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to create personalized recommendations, including specific loadouts, play styles, maps, modes, perks and divisions for each player. Using cluster analysis, the machine learning model analyzes more than 20 factors, including accuracy, movement, engagement distance, K/D, shots, score per minute, time played and relationships to other players to make personalized recommendations for each player, Lutz said.
The Skill then uses natural language generation to create personalized responses to questions about the game and an individual’s performance. Using a soldier-like voice, the Skill can deliver 250,000 distinct responses that incorporate real-time statistics, status and recommendations from the game.
“Alexa allows us to have direct voice interaction,” Lutz said. “The response is customized and personalized to you. It compares how you did on 20 factors to other players who have a similar style. You can change your loadout to be better in your next match.”
Above: Call of Duty Alexa Skill is in beta testing now.
By the way, my current rank in Call of Duty: WWII is 3,579,284. I’ve played 455 games across more than 48 hours, and I have about 3,695 kills and a kill-death ratio of 0.80. I’m more than halfway to my second Prestige rank, but I haven’t had time to play in a while.
The Call of Duty Alexa Skill can be used during a match, in between matches, or away from the game. You’ll find 15 categories of features available in the Call of Duty Alexa Skill, including recommendations, match summaries, highlights of your recent gameplay, social features such as whether friends are playing, comparison stats to your friends, contract and order status, in-game news, and game feature descriptions.
Activision built the Call of Duty Alexa Skill with its own in-house team during the past year.
“The idea was to extend the game beyond the game, and to get to fun faster,” Lutz said.
