You can play Rock, Paper, Scissors on Amazon Echo right out of the box. But it took Octavio Menocal to write a more advanced Alexa skill based on Sheldon Cooper’s favorite permutation, Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. (Watch The Big Bang Theory’s physicist explain the rules and how in the end, “as it always has, rock crushes scissors.”)
A software engineer at the Nicaraguan office of the digital advertising agency RAIN, Menocal improved on the original Echo game not only by including variables for a reptile and the Star Trek Vulcan hand salute, but also by making it a true contest between you and Alexa—scoring each round, explaining why you won or lost, and tracking totals. When she’s victorious, Alexa is not above a little schoolyard taunting, saying, “I’m the best in this game. Come back to challenge me — I’ll be waiting for you.”
Menocal created this Alexa skill just for fun, but developing innovative voice experiences is serious business at RAIN. An innovative thought leader in the realm of voice development, the agency has released pioneering custom Alexa skills for clients, among them Campbell’s Kitchen and, just in time for Mother’s Day, voice-enabled bouquet deliveries from 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.
While his official role at RAIN is that of Android developer, Menocal enjoys working with Alexa and has already created additional skills, including Currency Converter and Sage of Elements. The Echo isn’t available yet in Nicaragua, so he’s especially pleased to be at the forefront of creating excitement around voice technology in his home country. And Menocal found the learning curve easy thanks to numerous programming training resources available, including Alexa documentation, webinars, and live sessions with Amazon evangelists.
To play Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock, enable the skill in the Alexa app and say, "Alexa, open lizard Spock."
Are you ready to build your first (or next) Alexa skill? Build a custom skill or use one of our easy tutorials to get started quickly.