I'm blind and I would know if there is someone that consider important the accessibility, from a blind in particular, when develop a new game. I don't speak about an audio game, I'm speaking about a video game that implements a TTS or a GUI compatible with screen readers!
1 Answer
Unfortunately, right now, "games that blind people can play" are pretty much just audio games. The problem is that a lot of modern games rely heavily on visuals, for feedback and as an interface. In addition, many games require fast reflexes, and a TTS or screen reader would slow the player down quite a lot. Additionally, most games use a different output system than the built in operating system one, and screen readers are probably not built to handle that.
For now, designing a game that works well for a blind person and a sighted person would be tricky. There's probably a few games that are like this, but they most likely have very good sound design, as well as audio cues for different menu items. I can't think of too many that fit this requirement.
Finally, there's likely some companies out there who design games specifically for accessibility, but the quality of those games might vary by a large amount, and the games are almost certainly more expensive than a typical game.
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1\$\begingroup\$ Don't forget, there's a significant following of blind players for interactive fiction that work with the accessibility tools that Filippo mentioned. Check out the documentary Get Lamp to see examples (getlamp.com). Granted, I.F. and text adventures are still a pretty niche genre, but it's something to think about. \$\endgroup\$michael.bartnett– michael.bartnett2011-12-03 06:41:14 +00:00Commented Dec 3, 2011 at 6:41
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\$\begingroup\$ @ thedaian : well, I begun blind five years ago and I know the world of video games... \$\endgroup\$Filippo1980– Filippo19802011-12-03 08:08:23 +00:00Commented Dec 3, 2011 at 8:08
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2\$\begingroup\$ @ thedaian : I want to say that, for me, the real problem is that the companies don't see the advantage to create a GUI accessible... An example? Football Manager? Can you tell me which is the problem to create a "audio GUI"? \$\endgroup\$Filippo1980– Filippo19802011-12-03 08:16:07 +00:00Commented Dec 3, 2011 at 8:16
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\$\begingroup\$ @ bearcdp : thanks for your comments! Now I will see the site that you linked! \$\endgroup\$Filippo1980– Filippo19802011-12-03 08:20:12 +00:00Commented Dec 3, 2011 at 8:20
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2\$\begingroup\$ @Filippo1980 sadly, like many other things in life, the decision is based in money: if money_earnt/money_spent > 1, it's a possible feature (I think this is called ROI, Return on Investment, in economics.) \$\endgroup\$kaoD– kaoD2011-12-06 01:00:00 +00:00Commented Dec 6, 2011 at 1:00