Toxic behavior and bullying in multiplayer gaming could become a thing of the past thanks to voice moderation software solution VoicePatrol.
The unique moderation tool has been designed with children’s safety in mind and is quickly being picked up by indie game developers, particularly those targeting younger audiences.
VoicePatrol has been co-developed by experienced Machine Learning (ML) engineer Matei Andrei, and 3 engineer teammates who designed the software having become personally frustrated by the increasing levels of toxic behavior demonstrated in multiplayer gaming sessions.
“I wanted to create a better gaming experience for everyone and realized there was potential for a moderation tool while preserving free speech,” he said. It has already received glowing praise from Continuum XR, the gaming studio which created Monkey Doo.
Utilizing his skills in ML engineering, Matei has overcome various technical challenges in integrating audio ML tools and created a faster, more affordable, and more accurate moderation tool in VoicePatrol.
“When society is becoming more concerned about bullying and toxic attitudes online, VoicePatrol can play an important role in fast moderation, as well as data security and user privacy, particularly for indie game developers catering to a younger audience,” he said.
“The biggest problem was differentiating in real time between people with aggressive language, but not bad enough to ruin the experience, versus the obnoxious, even dangerous people. The latter has to be eliminated so that everyone, from myself to children to the game developers, all have a good, safe, peaceful experience.”
He added: “For game developers in general, installing our moderation tech is a simple one-step, set-it-and-forget-it deal. It’s easy to integrate and fast in detecting, reporting and neutralizing toxic behavior. We’ve noticed that indie games catering to children had the highest impact.”
VoicePatrol presently supports platforms in English, but there are plans to expand it to other languages, such as Portuguese, Spanish, French, German and Arabic.
Its development comes at a time when new laws are set to be enacted in the US to make online safety better. One is specific to California and is called the Kids Code, while another, called the Children’s Online Safety Act, is presently with the Senate.
The developers have received investment backing from investor Ruxandra Muys-Stoian, who also separately co-founded investment club, the WIT Angels Club. She said: “My investment thesis is straightforward: I back technical teams that lower entry barriers in markets dominated by slow, costly products serving only large customers.
“These teams unlock market potential, and I help them capture it. VoicePatrol fits this profile, and favorable upcoming legislation is an added bonus.”
Developers who already integrated the advanced software have spoken highly of its effectiveness. Spencer Cook, CEO of Continuum XR, added: “We implemented the VoicePatrol voice moderation service into Monkey Doo in early 2024, and we have been thrilled with the results.
“A safe environment is essential to our games, and VoicePatrol made that possible without breaking the bank. They have been easy to work with, reliable, and always a step ahead.”
Waylon Fisher, COO of Clique Games, also confirmed: “At Clique Games, we specialize in marketing innovative games. VoicePatrol provides a cost-effective solution that is easy to implement and quickly reports toxic behavior. This helps us maintain a safe environment for players, allowing us to focus on what we do best—marketing games.”
For more information about VoicePatrol: https://www.voicepatrol.dev/.
