Milton (game)
Encyclopedia
Milton is an electronic talking game. According to the patent, Milton was the first electronic talking game that allowed two people to play against each other. Previously released devices of this type, such as Speak & Spell
by Texas Instruments, were known primarily as teaching devices rather than competitive games.
It was manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley Company
in 1980 and invented by Jeffrey D. Breslow and Erick E. Erickson. The game is a single electronic unit with colored buttons, powered by an AC adapter.
, which is a wildly popular electronic game that was introduced in 1978, also by Milton Bradley. The object of Milton is to correctly recall and match up spoken phrases, as opposed to Simon's patterns of light and sound. Although the release of Milton may have been an attempt to cash in on Simon's popularity, the game did not meet with the same level of success.
There are 7 red and 7 yellow buttons on Milton. When the game begins, Milton recites 7 correctly completed three-word phrases. Player 1 then presses any one of the top red phrase buttons and listens to the beginning half of a phrase. The same player then presses one of the bottom yellow buttons and listens to the end of a phrase. If the match is correct, Player 1 scores a point and Player 2 takes a turn. If the match is incorrect, Milton will respond negatively with a sarcastic laugh, a razz sound, or by saying the attempt was "Garbage", "Ridiculous", "Absurd", or "No Way". A successful strategy is to remember the locations of incorrect matches, since on the next turn one may be able to use either the beginning or end of that phrase to complete another match successfully.
, Fat Albert
, or Cleveland from The Cleveland Show
.
At the time, electronics capable of speech
were a novelty. Due to limited memory, the speech synthesizer had to reuse various wave samples in multiple contexts, producing what is called "ersatz
speech." Programming and editing words through such a process was lengthy and involving for the designers.
While the game's chip only required 15 bytes of input, not all 15 bytes could be used to full precision
since that would have required 700K
of computer memory
and a bit rate
of 12,000 to produce a frame rate
of 100 Hz
—which was impractical(for the technology of the time).
The September 1980 Popular Mechanics
wrote, "We would have played more with Milton from Milton-Bradley, but the long line of people waiting to be insulted by this talking wonder discouraged us."
app called Memory Milton has been created, which attempts to recreate the experience of the original game.
Speak & Spell (toy)
The Speak & Spell line is a series of electronic handheld educational toys created by Texas Instruments that consist of a speech synthesizer, a keyboard, and a receptor slot to receive one of a collection of ROM game library modules...
by Texas Instruments, were known primarily as teaching devices rather than competitive games.
It was manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley Company
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
in 1980 and invented by Jeffrey D. Breslow and Erick E. Erickson. The game is a single electronic unit with colored buttons, powered by an AC adapter.
Gameplay
Milton is essentially a game of memory skill. It has some similarities to SimonSimon (game)
Simon is an electronic game of memory skill invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison, with the software programming being done by Lenny Cope and manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley. Simon was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and became an immediate success. It...
, which is a wildly popular electronic game that was introduced in 1978, also by Milton Bradley. The object of Milton is to correctly recall and match up spoken phrases, as opposed to Simon's patterns of light and sound. Although the release of Milton may have been an attempt to cash in on Simon's popularity, the game did not meet with the same level of success.
There are 7 red and 7 yellow buttons on Milton. When the game begins, Milton recites 7 correctly completed three-word phrases. Player 1 then presses any one of the top red phrase buttons and listens to the beginning half of a phrase. The same player then presses one of the bottom yellow buttons and listens to the end of a phrase. If the match is correct, Player 1 scores a point and Player 2 takes a turn. If the match is incorrect, Milton will respond negatively with a sarcastic laugh, a razz sound, or by saying the attempt was "Garbage", "Ridiculous", "Absurd", or "No Way". A successful strategy is to remember the locations of incorrect matches, since on the next turn one may be able to use either the beginning or end of that phrase to complete another match successfully.
Voice and technology
Milton's electronic voice was designed to sound more human by featuring an accent and casual dialect. Milton's voice and accent could be described as similar to Wolfman JackWolfman Jack
Robert Weston Smith, known commonly as Wolfman Jack was a gravelly voiced US disc jockey who became famous in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early career:...
, Fat Albert
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated series created, produced, and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and ran until 1985...
, or Cleveland from The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
.
At the time, electronics capable of speech
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
were a novelty. Due to limited memory, the speech synthesizer had to reuse various wave samples in multiple contexts, producing what is called "ersatz
Ersatz
Ersatz means 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'. It is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement...
speech." Programming and editing words through such a process was lengthy and involving for the designers.
While the game's chip only required 15 bytes of input, not all 15 bytes could be used to full precision
Precision (computer science)
In computer science, precision of a numerical quantity is a measure of the detail in which the quantity is expressed. This is usually measured in bits, but sometimes in decimal digits. It is related to precision in mathematics, which describes the number of digits that are used to express a...
since that would have required 700K
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
of computer memory
Computer memory
In computing, memory refers to the physical devices used to store programs or data on a temporary or permanent basis for use in a computer or other digital electronic device. The term primary memory is used for the information in physical systems which are fast In computing, memory refers to the...
and a bit rate
Bit rate
In telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
of 12,000 to produce a frame rate
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
of 100 Hz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
—which was impractical(for the technology of the time).
Reception
Milton was one of the seven games featured on the April 1980 cover of Playthings magazine for the Special Toy Fair issue.The September 1980 Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
wrote, "We would have played more with Milton from Milton-Bradley, but the long line of people waiting to be insulted by this talking wonder discouraged us."
Nostalgia
An iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
app called Memory Milton has been created, which attempts to recreate the experience of the original game.