Hi all, I would like to answer the initial question of this thread,
which was if MUD is text and screen readers read text why some MUD games are
said to be more accessible than others.
First is the technical issue of how they handle all the miscellaneous
text symbols you get with ASCII in the game text. Like with maps and signs and
other such things. Some games have very good handling of this where it'll say
like "the inn is west and the guild is south" and others will have a whole
bunch of symbols there which to us using screen readers, well it sounds like a
whole bunch of punctuation with no meaning. And some games have an easy and
explicitly stated and eplained way to turn things like those maps off which you
find from the get-go, others have it where you can find it eventually, some
where you have to ask around other players or the admins. Least this has been
some of my experience over two years of playing a whole lot of MUD games and
settling on a small handful, and mainly sticking to one you folks here told me
of (that'd be new worlds Ateraan these days).
Then I have run across some games where IDK if is my screen reader
(Voiceover on IOS) or my client (mudrammer) or who knows, but I have found some
games where the game seems to lag no matter how fast my net connection is, and
combat can be a pain to a nightmar depending.
Then there is the helpful-ness of players and admin folks.
I have found most games have good friendly environments where people
are more than willing and often happy to help blind and visually impaired
people out. Though I have found a couple where other players were impatient
jerks and even one where an admin busted my chops so unercifully for not being
able to follow directions clearly for the fully sighted and that admin was such
a jerk I am still tempted to just bad-feedback the game to hell. Luckily such
has only been the one for me. But I do judge a game by how well is a blind
newbie treated. A truly positive experience was my first moments of lensmoor,
which is why I am still trying to get folks to play it, besides that you can
create/craft/restring pretty much anything and everything there, the main draw
was that in the opening five minutes I was there two longtime players found me
and said "you don't want that crap starter equipment, if you don't mind coming
with us?" And their second question was "you seem having trouble with that map
junk, do you mind us asking if you use a screen reader/are blind" and I knew it
was a game I would spend near a year in cause everyone there has been like
that, least everyone I met.
Then is how many blind/visually impaired people play the game. Is
there any kind of blind resources as a dedicated part of the game. While I
wish Ateraan had more flexible crafting option for non-merchants I will say
that a huge percentage of the players (actually like half the folks I know
among the group my character Danya has met) are in oud blind players channels.
So if you're on Ateraaan try finding me as Danya and if you get to
lensmoor look for me as Rythia or as Vyra. But I do hope I have given some
ideas as to why if MUD is text why some are said to be more accessible than
others.
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