Wow, it really has been a while, but improvements in technology have given me an idea of how to improve upon the original Dial-a-Grue phone.
The idea is to use a small embedded computer, this time a $9 “chip” computer and actually embed it into a gutted phone.  From there I can use text-to-speech (tts) and speech-to-text (stt) engines to allow you to play Zork, Adventure, and a variety of other games just by listening to the descriptions in the handset and speaking the commands back to the phone.
I’ve already got a passable prototype of the software running by building modules for Jasper. Â I’m using the pocketsphinx stt engine currently, and the results are acceptable, but not stellar. Â I’ll try to get some samples up soon.