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Rocky

From Agentpedia, the Microsoft Agent encyclopedia


Rocky
NameRocky
Developer(s)Microsoft Corporation
Initial releaseJune 7th, 1999 Microsoft Agent 2.0 only.
October 1996[1]Microsoft Actor only.
DescriptionIf you fall into a ravine, call Lassie. If you need help in Office, call Rocky.
Extra dataGot a question? Put me to work.~~Problem? Relax, I'm on it.~~Don't worry, I'm fully Office-trained.^^Here's your reminder.~~You asked me to remind you about this.
Animations50 Microsoft Agent 2.0 only. / 36 Microsoft Actor only.
TTS voiceNone
Downloadhttps://tmafe.com/classic-ms-agents/ROCKY.ACS Microsoft Agent 2.0 only.
https://tmafe.com/classic-ms-actors/ROCKY.act Microsoft Actor only.

Rocky is a Microsoft Agent and Microsoft Actor character developed by Microsoft Corporation. From 1996 to 1998, Rocky would be utilized in a variety of Microsoft software, including the planned successor of Microsoft Bob and both versions of Microsoft Greetings Workshop, and would later made as a Microsoft Agent character in Office 2000. He was part of the Office Assistant feature of Microsoft Office, which allowed for an animated character to assist the user or answer questions. His appearance is a tan dog with a red collar.

Usage

Microsoft Bob 2.0

Main article: Microsoft Bob 2.0

During the development of Microsoft Bob 2.0, Microsoft commissioned FunArts Software to design the Rocky character for Microsoft Office,[2] and would use the character internally for Microsoft Bob 2.0 to replace Rover from the original Microsoft Bob.[3] However, as Microsoft Bob 2.0 was scrapped in 1996, Rocky would never officially be utilized for this role, and his .ACT file alongside various Microsoft Bob 2.0 user interface elements would be recycled for use in Microsoft Greetings Workshop.

Microsoft Greetings Workshop 1.0 and 2.0

Following the discontinuation of Microsoft Bob 2.0, several components of Microsoft Bob 2.0 were utilized to develop Microsoft Greetings Workshop, including the Rocky character itself. However, Microsoft Greetings Workshop 1.0 and 2.0 both have different versions of the Rocky character, with both still identifying the character as "Rover" in some areas, a direct result of the early discontinuation of Microsoft Bob 2.0.

In Microsoft Greetings Workshop 1.0 and 2.0, Rocky would be positioned in the bottom-right corner of the software with a word balloon featuring various options for the user to choose from, and would react accordingly when certain events occurred, such as a user starting a new project or chose to navigate the Microsoft Greetings Workshop website.[4]

Microsoft Office

Main article: Office Assistant

Rocky was first made as a default character in Microsoft Office 98, and was later made available as a downloadable add-on for Microsoft Office 97 on Windows. However, due to a lawsuit between Microsoft Corporation and Inner Workings, a Scottish video game company in 1999, Rocky was removed from the officeupdate.microsoft.com website.[3][5]

Despite this, Rocky would continue to be bundled with some versions of Microsoft Office 97,[6] and would later be ported to Microsoft Agent with the release of Microsoft Office 2000, and would continue to be bundled with both Office XP and Office 2003 as a result of the character being favorable during testing.[7]

As with other Office Assistants, he appeared whenever the program determined the user could be assisted. For example, typing an address followed by "Dear" would cause the Assistant to appear with the message, "It looks like you're writing a letter. Would you like help?"

Character data

Character data for Rocky Microsoft Agent 2.0 only.
File name: ROCKY.ACS
Description: If you fall into a ravine, call Lassie. If you need help in Office, call Rocky.
Extra data: Got a question? Put me to work.~~Problem? Relax, I'm on it.~~Don't worry, I'm fully Office-trained.^^Here's your reminder.~~You asked me to remind you about this.
File size: 2.936 MB
Animations: 50
TTS voice: <Speech Output Disabled/No TTS Engine Found>
GUID: {375AB502-BD4C-11D0-BD18-0000F803AA3A}
TTSMode ID: <Speech Output Disabled/No TTS Engine Found>
TTS speed: 170
TTS pitch: 0
Width: 124px
Length: 93px


Actor data for Rocky Microsoft Actor only.
File name: ROCKY.ACT
Description: If you fall into a ravine, call Lassie. If you need help in Office, call Rocky.
Pick Me: Got a question? Put me to work.~~Problem? Relax, I'm on it.~~Don't worry, I'm fully Office-trained.^^Here's your reminder.~~You asked me to remind you about this.
File size: 2.19 MB
Animations: 36
Width: 166px
Length: 125px


  • The default animation frame of Rocky.
    The default animation frame of Rocky.
  • Rocky inside of the Office 2000 character gallery.
    Rocky inside of the Office 2000 character gallery.
  • Rocky as featured in the unreleased Microsoft Bob 2.0.[8]
    Rocky as featured in the unreleased Microsoft Bob 2.0.[8]
  • Rocky inside of Microsoft Greetings Workshop 2.0.
    Rocky inside of Microsoft Greetings Workshop 2.0.
  • Rocky inside of the Office 2001 character gallery.
    Rocky inside of the Office 2001 character gallery.
  • Rocky as pictured on the FunArts Software website.[2]
    Rocky as pictured on the FunArts Software website.[2]

Trivia

This article contains controversial content about either a character or software. Even though the creator of the character or software is deemed controversial, it should be clear you should not harass anybody involved in the situation, as it makes problems worse.
Reason: Lawsuit from Inner Workings that resulted in their own demise.
After Inner Workings' collapse, Rocky was re-added in Office 2000.
  • Rocky was involved with a lawsuit with a Scottish video game company Inner Workings in 1999, who believed that Rocky looked too similar to a character of theirs named Lemon Dog, in which Microsoft denied that Rocky and Lemon Dog were similar[3]. Although Inner Workings managed to beat Microsoft in court, the company could not make enough money and later collapsed[9].
    • The Inner Workings lawsuit may be why Rocky was removed as a downloadable character in the Office Update website. Despite this, he would later be reinstated as a default character in Office 2000.
  • Rocky was initially made as a successor to Rover[3]. His inclusion in Microsoft Office 2000 may have been a replacement to PowerPup, a super-hero dog assistant that was present in Microsoft Office 97.
    • However, both him and PowerPup were both featured in Office 98.
  • Unlike Links, Rocky has his ACS file named as "ROCKY.ACS" rather than "OFFDOG.ACS".
  • Rocky was one of the five assistants originally being exclusive to MacOS, the other four being F1, Bosgrove, Max, and Earl.
    • However, Both Rocky and F1 later gotten Windows versions via the Office Update website, and became the only assistants that were later ported to Office 2000.
  • According to FunArts' Rocky page, the character was created using cel-style animation with hand-drawn artwork.[2]

References

  1. ↑ https://news.microsoft.com/source/1996/09/11/microsoft-and-hallmark-connections-team-up-to-offer-microsoft-greetings-workshop/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://web.archive.org/web/19980119201802fw_/http://www.funarts.com/rocky.htm
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20010226054957/http://news2.thdo.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/the_company_file/newsid_277000/277890.stm
  4. ↑ https://news.microsoft.com/source/1997/10/16/microsoft-and-hallmark-connections-announce-new-version-of-greetings-workshop-featuring-new-technology-for-creating-multimedia-greetings-for-the-internet/
  5. ↑ https://www.graci.org/downloads/
  6. ↑ https://ia801507.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/7/items/ms-off97pro-jpn/OFFICE97PRO.ISO
  7. ↑ https://groups.google.com/g/microsoft.public.msagent/c/BI-ayTpJ80g/m/ZsXbks_XLFQJ
  8. ↑ https://msbob.org/index.php/community/314-marisa-giancarla/photos/album?albumid=22
  9. ↑ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12005128.the-days-of-lemon-dog-are-over-as-inner-workings-finally-bites-the-dust/
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