It seems that voice technology in multiplayer gaming might just be the next big thing; at any rate, you would think that, after hearing a pair of recent announcements.

　　Resounding Technology announced Roger Wilco, an application that will allow multiplayer gamers to talk to each other while playing games such as Quake, Diablo, or Starcraft. Canadian company ShadowFactor Software Inc. announced its Battlefield Communicator, what it calls "a real-time voice communication package designed and optimized for use with multiplayer games."

　　Resounding's Roger Wilco will allow up to four players to talk to each other without requiring a dedicated server. The technology mixes players' voices with the game's audio. The technology is currently in its beta test phase and can be downloaded from the Resounding site. It requires DirectSound, a microphone and a soundcard capable of full-duplex audio, a Pentium 166 or better processor, 2MB disk space, and a 28.8K-or-better modem.

　　Battlefield Communicator allows two players to talk to each other, sharing a soundcard with games. With the addition of the Battlefield Communicator Dedicated Server, up to 15 players can participate in voice conferences whilst playing. A demo of the technology is available for download from the ShadowFactor web site. The dedicated server is in the public beta stage.