BreakEscape/planning_notes/npc/progress/VOICE_MESSAGES_SUMMARY.md

Voice Messages Feature Summary

✅ Implementation Complete

Voice messages are now fully integrated into the phone-chat minigame system!

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What Was Changed

1. UI Rendering (js/minigames/phone-chat/phone-chat-ui.js)

Modified: addMessage() method (lines 277-350)

Before:

• All messages rendered as simple text bubbles

After:

• Detects "voice:" prefix in message text
• Renders voice message UI for voice content
• Renders regular text bubble for normal messages

Code:

const isVoiceMessage = trimmedText.toLowerCase().startsWith('voice:');

if (isVoiceMessage) {
    // Extract transcript
    const transcript = trimmedText.substring(6).trim();
    
    // Render voice UI with play button + waveform + transcript
} else {
    // Render regular text bubble
}

2. Runtime Conversion (js/utils/phone-message-converter.js)

Modified: toInkJSON() method (lines 7-50)

Added:

• Automatic "voice: " prefix for phoneObject.voice properties

Code:

let messageText = phoneObject.voice || phoneObject.text || '';

// Add "voice: " prefix if this is a voice message
if (phoneObject.voice) {
    messageText = `voice: ${messageText}`;
}

Result: Old scenario JSON with voice property automatically gets voice message UI!

3. Test Examples

Created:

• scenarios/ink/voice-message-example.ink - Pure voice message
• scenarios/ink/mixed-message-example.ink - Mix of text and voice
• scenarios/compiled/voice-message-example.json - Compiled
• scenarios/compiled/mixed-message-example.json - Compiled

Updated: test-phone-chat-minigame.html

• Added IT Team NPC (pure voice)
• Added David NPC (mixed messages)

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How to Use

Method 1: Ink Files (Manual)

Write voice: prefix in your Ink story:

=== start ===
voice: This is a voice message from security.
-> END

Method 2: Scenario JSON (Automatic)

Use voice property in phone objects:

{
  "type": "phone",
  "name": "Security Alert",
  "phoneId": "player_phone",
  "voice": "Security breach detected!",
  "sender": "Security Team"
}

Both methods produce the same voice message UI!

---

Visual Result

Voice Message UI

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  ▶️  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~         │  ← Play button + waveform
│                                  │
│  📄 Transcript:                  │
│  Security breach detected in     │  ← Message text
│  server room. Code: 4829.        │
│                                  │
│                          2:18 PM │  ← Timestamp
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Regular Text UI

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  Hey! How's it going?            │  ← Plain text
│                          2:18 PM │  ← Timestamp
└─────────────────────────────────┘

---

Assets Used

All assets already exist in the project:

• ✅ assets/icons/play.png - Play button icon
• ✅ assets/mini-games/audio.png - Audio waveform sprite
• ✅ css/phone.css - Voice message styling (lines 311-370)

No new assets needed!

---

Testing

Quick Test

1. Open test-phone-chat-minigame.html
2. Click "Register Test NPCs"
3. Click "📱 Open Phone"
4. Open "IT Team" contact → See voice message UI
5. Open "David - Tech Support" → See mixed text + voice

Expected Behavior

• IT Team: Single voice message with waveform
• David: First message is text, then voice message after choice
• Both show appropriate UI for each message type

---

Backward Compatibility

✅ Old Ink Files

Files without voice: prefix still work:

=== start ===
This is a regular message.
-> END

Result: Regular text bubble (unchanged)

✅ Old Scenario JSON

Phone objects with text property:

{"type": "phone", "text": "Hello"}

Result: Regular text bubble

Phone objects with voice property:

{"type": "phone", "voice": "Hello"}

Result: Voice message UI (automatic!)

✅ Existing NPCs

All registered NPCs continue working:

• Interactive chats unchanged
• Simple messages work with both text and voice
• Mixed content supported

---

Use Cases

Perfect for Voice Messages

• 🚨 Security alerts: "Emergency! Evacuate floor 3!"
• 📞 Voicemail: "Hey, call me back when you get this"
• 🔑 Sensitive info: "The code is 4-8-2-9"
• 😰 Dramatic moments: "I think someone is following me..."
• 📋 Instructions: "Go to server room, enter PIN 4829"

Keep as Text

• 💬 Casual chat: "Hey! What's up?"
• ❓ Questions: "Did you finish the report?"
• 👍 Quick replies: "Got it, thanks!"
• 📝 Typed messages: General conversation

---

Technical Details

Message Flow

1. Ink Story outputs: "voice: Message here"
2. phone-chat-minigame.js calls: ui.addMessage('npc', text)
3. phone-chat-ui.js detects "voice:" prefix
4. Rendering: Voice UI or text bubble
5. Display: Appropriate HTML structure

Detection Logic

// Case-insensitive check
const isVoiceMessage = trimmedText.toLowerCase().startsWith('voice:');

// Extract transcript (remove prefix)
const transcript = trimmedText.substring(6).trim();

HTML Structure

<!-- Voice Message -->
<div class="message-bubble npc">
    <div class="voice-message-display">
        <div class="audio-controls">
            <div class="play-button">
                <img src="assets/icons/play.png">
            </div>
            <img src="assets/mini-games/audio.png" class="audio-sprite">
        </div>
        <div class="transcript">
            <strong>Transcript:</strong><br>
            Extracted message text
        </div>
    </div>
    <div class="message-time">2:18</div>
</div>

---

Advantages

1. Visual Variety

• Mix text and voice for engaging conversations
• Different message types convey different meanings
• More realistic phone experience

2. Zero Configuration

• Works with existing Ink files
• No new assets needed
• Backward compatible
• Automatic conversion for scenarios

3. Game Design Flexibility

• Use voice for important/urgent messages
• Use text for casual conversation
• Mix both in same conversation
• Natural storytelling tool

4. Educational Value

• Demonstrates different communication types
• Shows security concepts (voice vs text)
• Realistic cyber-physical scenarios

---

Current Limitations

What Works

• ✅ Voice message detection via voice: prefix
• ✅ Visual UI with play button + waveform
• ✅ Transcript display
• ✅ Automatic conversion from scenario JSON
• ✅ Mixed text + voice conversations
• ✅ Backward compatibility

Not Implemented (Future)

• ❌ Actual audio playback (decorative only)
• ❌ Animated waveforms
• ❌ Player voice responses
• ❌ Audio file attachments
• ❌ Recording functionality

These are UI enhancements, not core features

---

Examples

Example 1: Security Alert (Pure Voice)

=== start ===
voice: Security alert! Unauthorized access detected in server room. Changed access code to 4829.
-> END

Example 2: Mixed Conversation

=== start ===
Hey! Thanks for getting back to me.

+ [No problem!]
    voice: I can't type this safely. The director is listening. Meet me at the server room at midnight.
    + + [Got it]
        Perfect. See you then.
        -> END

Example 3: Voicemail Chain

=== start ===
voice: First voicemail - I need to talk to you urgently.

+ [Listen to next message]
    voice: Second voicemail - It's about the security breach. Call me.
    + + [Listen to final message]
        voice: Final message - I found evidence. It's in locker 42.
        -> END

---

Documentation

Created comprehensive docs:

• ✅ VOICE_MESSAGES.md - Full feature documentation
• ✅ VOICE_MESSAGES_SUMMARY.md - This summary
• ✅ Code comments in phone-chat-ui.js
• ✅ Examples in scenarios/ink/

---

Summary

What: Voice message UI in phone-chat system

How: Prefix messages with "voice:" in Ink files

Why: Visual variety, realism, game design flexibility

Status: ✅ Fully Implemented & Tested

Integration:

• ✅ Works with Ink files (manual prefix)
• ✅ Works with scenario JSON (automatic conversion)
• ✅ Backward compatible with all existing code
• ✅ Zero breaking changes

It just works! 🎤

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Version: 1.0
Date: 2025-10-30
Author: GitHub Copilot
Status: Complete