Tough Choices

Written By Derrick Fountain

Immersive voice-activated storytelling for smart speakers

As Head of R&D at TRT World, I led the strategy and product development behind one of the first interactive audio storytelling experiences launched by a global broadcaster on Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

Overview
In 2017, TRT World launched Tough Choices, an interactive voice app for Amazon Echo that immersed users in the human cost of war through branching storylines. Listeners were guided through emotionally charged scenarios, making life-or-death decisions using only their voice.

My Role
As product lead for TRT World’s smart speaker initiative, I was responsible for:

  • Product Strategy & Innovation: Defined roadmap and feature set for voice-first storytelling products

  • Content Development: Led narrative design and collaboration with journalists and audio producers

  • Voice UX Design: Developed interaction models for natural, multi-language voice commands

  • Launch & Marketing: Drove GTM execution including platform publishing, PR, and audience outreach

Key Achievements

  • One of the first voice-activated games by a global broadcaster

  • Launched on Amazon Echo devices worldwide under the command “Alexa, enable Tough Choices”

  • Helped shape TRT’s approach to voice UX, moving from TTS to immersive human-narrated content

  • Laid foundation for two additional voice apps across news and entertainment formats

Why It Mattered
Tough Choices pushed the boundaries of smart speaker experiences at a time when most content was static or purely informational. It demonstrated the power of voice-first platforms to deliver empathy, narrative depth, and user agency — all without a screen.

Derrick Fountain
Previous

Bloom
Next

Blackbox