The world has been expanding for media in today's society. As I have mentioned previously, audio games, are sound versions of computer games for the visually impaired. Now, you can play games on mobile devices such as the Iphone. Such games further take advantage of screen reading software, and more people are playing them today.
However, it has been brought to my attention that blind people have had extremely difficult times with the apps store, specificly that of Apple's apps store. Concerns have been raised that Blind and sighted inviduals have been prevented from uploading games due to lack of a graphics display. This has only hastened the need for better awareness of accessibility and special needs.
Many of Apple's products, such as the new tablet, have been marketed as visually appealing. I can understand how visual appearance is important for a first impression, but I fail to see how graphics and visuals represent an exaustive and complete list of people's needs in entertainment. Factors such as a good storyline and great music and sound can also make a great game. It is actually sad in a way to know that initial looks are still given greater importance to substance, and this is the result. We should all do more to encourage objective ways of thinking.
As I mentioned before, I believe that sighted people would happily enjoy the concept of audio games, just simply for something different. I also feel once again, that sighted people are open minded enough to consider other forms of gaming to be exciting. I am glad at least Apple seems to be changing their minds, and plans maybe in the works to change policy. I hope we can see an active gaming community that enjoys any form of games to enjoy and share with their family and friends. I am excited to see how mobile devices impact audio games in the future.
Showing posts with label Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Games. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
Accessible mainstream video games
I have mentioned previously that video games are so popular, that even the visually impaired are aware of them. Blind people can also play computer games known as audio games, as I also mentioned in a previous post. However, there now appears to be actual mainstream video games that blind and visually impaired people can play.
A list of mainstream accessible video games has been created, and contains games from a variety of systems. Each of these games has been personally reviewed by the creater and maintainer of the list, and each game comes with a description of its accessibility. A lot of the games for the different systems are the same, but there is enough variety for a unique experience to be had on the different platforms. I will keep you posted as to updates to the list.
Copy the following in to your address bar:
http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?id=10067
I hope this will only work to bring blind and sighted gamers together. The increased accessibility of games for the visually impaired will only serve to spark creativity in computer games.
A list of mainstream accessible video games has been created, and contains games from a variety of systems. Each of these games has been personally reviewed by the creater and maintainer of the list, and each game comes with a description of its accessibility. A lot of the games for the different systems are the same, but there is enough variety for a unique experience to be had on the different platforms. I will keep you posted as to updates to the list.
Copy the following in to your address bar:
http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?id=10067
I hope this will only work to bring blind and sighted gamers together. The increased accessibility of games for the visually impaired will only serve to spark creativity in computer games.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Video Game Music
Every one loves music! Now fans of video games and the music contained within video games now have a resource to listen to and download there favorite tracks. If you go to www.vgmusic.com, you can find a variety of midi tracks of music from several platforms of games. Other sites are available, but they range in accessibility for the visually impaired, as well as general functionality and use. I myself can't get over the amazing style of the classic Final Fantasy music, and I always find more tracks to go back to from other games.
This is an amazing opportunity for the visually impaired to interact with a new form of music to listen to, and it's a nice break from mainstream music. It is not a leap to assume that blind and visually impaired people know of video games, they all have family members, friends, and class mates that have or currently play video games. Since sighted people talk about them, tv and the internet advertise them, and there popularity is always growing, it would be excellent if more visually impaired people got involved in this increasingly expanding aspect of pop culture. As a blind person myself, I have always been attracted to various forms of sound, and every visually impaired person I know has great love to audio and what music has to offer to the ears. So it is reasonable that blind people, like sighted people, will appreciate a new genre of music to listen to.
Vgmusic, the largest provider of free video game music to listen to and download, has a fully accessible site, and different consoles of video games to choose from. A search feature also allows you to narrow down your search even more, although having large tables to scan through in order to find a particular track to listen to can be tedious at times. With that said, I still highly recommend it as a way to opening your mind to a different category of pleasing music. Please follow and comment to let me know how you feel about this form of entertainment.
This is an amazing opportunity for the visually impaired to interact with a new form of music to listen to, and it's a nice break from mainstream music. It is not a leap to assume that blind and visually impaired people know of video games, they all have family members, friends, and class mates that have or currently play video games. Since sighted people talk about them, tv and the internet advertise them, and there popularity is always growing, it would be excellent if more visually impaired people got involved in this increasingly expanding aspect of pop culture. As a blind person myself, I have always been attracted to various forms of sound, and every visually impaired person I know has great love to audio and what music has to offer to the ears. So it is reasonable that blind people, like sighted people, will appreciate a new genre of music to listen to.
Vgmusic, the largest provider of free video game music to listen to and download, has a fully accessible site, and different consoles of video games to choose from. A search feature also allows you to narrow down your search even more, although having large tables to scan through in order to find a particular track to listen to can be tedious at times. With that said, I still highly recommend it as a way to opening your mind to a different category of pleasing music. Please follow and comment to let me know how you feel about this form of entertainment.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Games for the Blind
Many people these days play video games of some sort. Whether they play on a gaming console or a phone, millions of people around the world engage in playing video games every day. Not only do video games exist for sighted people, but also there are audio based games that are accessible to the blind and visually impaired.
These games use auditory backgrounds and sound effects to represent the environments, as well as text or audio descriptions of text with the game, that can be read by screen readers or heard through sappy speech. Menues are spoken and most of the time, arrow keys navigate these menues and the game will indicate when a highlighted option has been pressed. Sound effects also represent your character as well as other living beings. For example, different car engines might represent different racers in a racing game. You can find a variety of different audio games in different genres. The number of audio games is small in comparison to video games, but that number is growing every year.
The main hub for audio games that I have found is www.audiogames.net where you can find links to other audio game resources. The sight is fully accessible to screen reading software, and sighted people as well appreciate the web site's simple layout. I believe this is an incredible market for games, and I know sighted people would find this concept intriguing. I invite you to check out this future of gaming, and to appreciate the creativity that can be explored through a new form of entertainment. As always, let me know what you think and I look forward to your feedback.
These games use auditory backgrounds and sound effects to represent the environments, as well as text or audio descriptions of text with the game, that can be read by screen readers or heard through sappy speech. Menues are spoken and most of the time, arrow keys navigate these menues and the game will indicate when a highlighted option has been pressed. Sound effects also represent your character as well as other living beings. For example, different car engines might represent different racers in a racing game. You can find a variety of different audio games in different genres. The number of audio games is small in comparison to video games, but that number is growing every year.
The main hub for audio games that I have found is www.audiogames.net where you can find links to other audio game resources. The sight is fully accessible to screen reading software, and sighted people as well appreciate the web site's simple layout. I believe this is an incredible market for games, and I know sighted people would find this concept intriguing. I invite you to check out this future of gaming, and to appreciate the creativity that can be explored through a new form of entertainment. As always, let me know what you think and I look forward to your feedback.
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