Potter Spells

Inspiration

I have always loved Harry Potter and the magic of the world. The way that Alexa allows users to interact with it is similarly 'magical' and I wanted to provide a fun experience that younger users can enjoy and learn from. While they are only learning Harry Potter spells, learning is a mindset and keeping younger users engaged and learning can lead them to be life-long learners.

What it does

This Alexa skill provides users with spells from the Harry Potter Universe and walks them through the pronunciation and effects of the spell.

How I built it

Used Node.js to make a similar setup to a 'fact' skill and then used it to return spells.

Challenges I ran into

Using SSML to get the pronunciation of the spells correct. This was a fun challenge however as it required me to delve into how SSML works and how to have Alexa say certain phrases.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

The pronunciation of the spells and completion of the skill, this is one of the first ones I have created and has inspired me to become more involved in local meetups and Alexa Skill creation.

What I learned

I learned a lot about Intents and Utterances as they at first were causing errors in the application however it gave me a chance to dive in and better understand how Alexa skills are built from beginning to end.

What's next for Potter Spells

I would like to make it more advanced and provide more utterances/more ways to interact with the skill. My initial idea is to create a sort of 'rock, paper, scissors' with spells and a mode where Alexa can cast a spell and the user has to 'defend' against it with the counter spells.

Built With

• node.js