[nabs-l] accessible video games

[David Andrews]

Well, you make some good points, but the two situations are not the 
same and I still am not convinced.

Yes, some people say the Blind Driver Challenge is a waste.  Many of 
us think it is important.  We the blind are either paying for it 
ourselves, or raising the money.  This is different from compelling a 
third party to do it for us.  Secondly, most people can see the 
importance of being able to drive, and most of us, sighted and blind 
alike, would not put playing video games in the same place.  Yes, we 
could learn valuable things from it, but it frankly would be a hard 
sell to members and outsiders.

For me it is a pretty low priority.  I work in rehab and it is 
getting harder to get blind guys jobs, even entry level jobs, in part 
because of more complex computer systems and software.  This, and the 
BDC and other ythings should be a higher priority.

Finally, I am guilty too, this is mostly off topic for this list.  Sorry!

Dave

At 05:53 PM 9/18/2011, you wrote:
>Dave,
>   Some people would say the blind driver challenge is a waste of time
>and money which would be better spent on something practical and
>possible and it's a valid point.  But I think lots of us agree that
>it's a risk worth taking because of the potential benefits.
>   Now I'm not suggesting accessible video games would be as valuable
>for us as a car we could drive, but if our goal is to help us live on
>terms of equality with the sighted world then it's certainly within
>the scope of that mission.  Should pressuring gaming companies to at
>least try and make something accessible be one of the top priorities
>of the nNFB?  Of course not.  But is it something worth pursuing?  I
>say so.  After all, it's very possible, some would say likely, that
>the blind driver challenge will just be a waste of millions of dollars
>that could be put into something actually useful.  I think this is a
>similar situation, on a much smaller scale.  Thoughts, anyone?
>   Best,
>Kirt
>
>On 9/17/11, Juan Munoz <jcmunoz1989 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > My favorite games are the only games I know for sure I can play, and
> > those are fighting games, in particular, Mortal Kombat games. The
> > newer versions of these incorporate stereo surroundsound, meaning that
> > the location of my fighter is very easy for me to keep track of. I
> > grew up with some sight before losing it, and therefore was able to
> > play games like Tetris, Super Mario, and 007. I do get nastalgic when
> > I hear my nephews play newer versions of my childhood games, and often
> > wonder how these could be made accessible without taking away from the
> > enjoyment of both blind and sighted players. The only thing I can
> > think of is to at least have audible menu options read allowed by
> > either human or synthesized speech so that we can customise player
> > options, create online accounts on XBOX Live and PSN, etc. Beyond
> > this, I've got nothing, but wouldn't that be quite the huge leap
> > forward?
> >
> > Respectfully,
> > JC
> >
> > On 9/17/11, Patrick Molloy <ptrck.molloy at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Thanks for all of your thoughts. It seems like game companies should
> >> at least try and make their games accessible. What's the worst that
> >> could happen? Furthermore, how will we know unless we try?
> >> Patrick
> >>
> >> On 9/16/11, David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com> wrote:
> >>> We are just to small a market for it to be worth their while.  And
> >>> ... in many instances, it just wouldn't be possible.  Many games are
> >>> based on eye-hand coordination and can't be reproduced with sound or
> >>> other  modalities in the same way.
> >>>
> >>> Dave
> >>>
> >>> At 08:00 PM 9/14/2011, you wrote:
> >>>>Hi All,
> >>>>I'm curious to get your thoughts on this question that's been in the
> >>>>back of my mind recently: Why haven't mainstream video game companies
> >>>>even attempted to make their products accessible to blind people?
> >>>>Wouldn't it grow their profits? And would it be all that difficult to
> >>>>make a video game accessible? We have described movies, after all, and
> >>>>there's the blind driver car. If they can make an accessible CAR, why
> >>>>not video games? What do others think about this issue?
> >>>>Patrick
> >>>
> >>>
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> >>
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> >
> >
> > --
> > Respectfully,
> >
> > Juan Carlos Munoz, President
> > Texas Association Of Blind Students
> > www.nfbtx.org/tabs
> > Phone: (832) 378-8632