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Program: MASH 5.7 (Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper) Made by: Bellcraft Technolgies Type: Shareware ($24.95 after fully functional 30 day evaluation) Review by: Joseph de Leon
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What is an Agent?
One of the most useful and personable features of any MS Office application is the integrated assistant, Clippy. Whether you have a question or want to perform a search on help topics, Clippy can be an engaging way to learn how to use little known features. These assistants, known as MS Agents, not only appear in MS Office, but can also be incorporated into websites. Many people use MS Agents to create a personal online greeter that can perform searches, give a tour of the website and more. MS Agents come in a wide variety of character styles. The default character can be replaced with any of a variety of ready-made agents. One of the best places online to find free MS Agents is at http://www.bellcraft.com. But what if you wanted to create your own MS Agent character?Creating an Agent
The process of creating an MS Agent can be a complex process. In a nutshell, a character is drawn (3d renders, cell by cell illustrations, etc.) and multiple still files (in the .BMP format) are then imported into ACE (Microsoft Agent Character Editor, available for free on the Microsoft website). The still images (which, when played one-after-the-other, create an animation) are then assigned to a behavior in ACE. Common behaviors include Appear (shows the MS Agent appear on screen), Idle (shows the MS Agent do something when not in use for a specified amount of time, like yawn) and Disappear (plays the animation that shows the MS Agent disappear from the screen). The MS Agent is then exported as an agent file (.ACD Agent Character Definition). The final step in this process involves creating the order of events that will occur when the user interacts with the MS Agent. For example, when the MS Agent first appears on the screen, you might have the MS Agent ask the user a question: "Would you like me to give you a tour?" If the user clicks yes, you can program the MS Agent to the websites navigation area, point to it and say, "Click on a button to move between topics". If the user clicks no, you can have the MS Agent disappear from the screen. The MS Agent can either speak (via a separate program called Lernout and Hauspie TruVoice Text To Speech Engine http://www.lhsl.com) or display text speech bubbles.What MASH does
MASH is a program that is used at the end of the design process and is used to create scripts that make the MS Agent come to life. MASH allows the designer to control in what order behaviors occur. MASH also allows the designer to control variables that give the MS Agent a lot of character. One set of states, called Idle, allows the designer to control how much time must elapse without user input before the state is played. There are three levels of Idle so one scenario could be: play Idle1 (character blinks eyes) after a few seconds of inactivity; play Idle2 (character paces around) after continued inactivity; play Idle3 (character yawns) after even more continued inactivity. MASH also allows you to control such settings as Voice (allows you to control pitch, speed and volume which all combine to make for many unique sounding voices), what the font and text balloon will look like when the character speaks, whispers or thinks, and what kind of greeting the MS Agent will give based on time of day. The MS Agent can be programmed to move around the screen and make comments and gesture in various directions. MASH records the sequence of events as a script which can be exported in a variety of ways. The most popular format is as an executable (.EXE) file. Regardless of what format is used, the actual Agent Character Definition file in addition to the MS Agent program must reside locally on the computer or the script will not work. The level of control over the MS Agent is very powerful and can generate some life-like characters.Conclusion
I have created several MS Agents and although MASH is not required to make agents, it makes controlling the characters movements and speech a snap. MASH is quite easy to use. It operates on a top down manor, meaning you typically start at the top of a category and work your way down a list of options. The controls on the left allow you to move between categories. A simple toolbar provides shortcuts to common actions like New Document, Play Script, etc. The main section of the interface allows the user to control category specific options. The "Main" category gives the user control over moving the agent around the screen, loading gestures in a particular order and making the MS Agent speak. The "Adv Speak" category allows the user to control the MS Agents voice. A running script appears at the bottom of the list and keeps track of all the MS Agents gestures and dialogue. A running testing environment allows the designer to preview what the script will look like to the end-user. Bellcraft Technologies offers a great, inexpensive product. Bellcraft Technologies supports MASH by providing a place for developers to post free-to-download MS Agents.
Here is an example of an MS Agent I created
