It also takes the right kind of person to advertise playing accessible games. The trouble is, we in the blind and visually impaired community, by design and leadership and tendency, often come off as having an entitlement issue with whatever. I have a lot of friends I talk about game stuff with, and they're all comfortable experiencing my games and talking with me about theres. That's not always the case with every blind person, because, sadly, many of us don't really interrelate well. We're easily led to be upset that sighted people have a lot of games, and that is certainly true, but it doesn't make for much in the way of interesting gamer to gamer conversation, and it certainly doesn't make them want to play with us.
I'm not accusing anyone, by the way, just stating observed facts. I understand, on the audiogames.net front, that many of the muds and the like out there have impressive soundpacks, but they are not audiogames. They are muds. The thing to keep in mind is that we are separating ourselves from the sighted majority. We are often taught that that is appropriate, but it won't work and isn't sustainable. I know it would mean purchasing another domain or consolidating a bit, but a more sustainable model would be the inclusion of only audio-based stand-alone games, games meant to be primarily played, or equally playable, with audio, rather than relying on visual data for most of the interface elements. That's why I argue muds are not audio games, though they can be made into audio adventures. We could easily get many sighted people to come to audiogames.net, but a lot of those people will be turned off by text adventures who would not be turned off by, say, Shades of Doom, or Mysteries of the Ancients, or what have you. I don't have a problem with the fact that basically all the games on the page are accessibility minded. I mean, we're still the prime market for audio games, but we're not the only market anymore, and we are running a relatively exclusive site, not by choice but by, arguably, the design of the site itself. Yes, a visitor can search only for audio games on the site by using the search functions, but the big list of games on audiogames.net includes many titles that are fun, accessible, but aren't audiogames. Emon Delux, for example, has no audio at all. Nor do almost all of the game book style games. I argue that they don't, therefore, belong on the huge combo box of games on the bottom of the site's homepage. I would go so far as to question whether they should be given their own database entries on a site devoted to audiogames at all. It isn't that I don't like the games. Far from that, in fact. I love a good text game. I love mudding. I just don't think we're sending the right message out to the world if we turn a site about audio gaming into a site about blind gaming. That's what Audyssey's for, right? Let it do its job. I know that you guys are mostly not going to like all the things I'm saying, but do consider them carefully before you dismiss them as too strange or unhelpful. turn Audyssey.org into what Audiogames.net is now, and redesign, somewhat, the audiogames.net site. Don't make it all flashy and pretty and graphically awesome if you don't want, but let the site be about what it's about. It would be a little odd, for example, for there to be car maintenance tips on a cooking site. Both are real life oriented. Both are useful, but cooking has little enough to do with cars, except that people ought to know how to handle both. Don't let blindness be the common theme of audiogames.net. It cheapens the experience of the site for the rest of the world who might otherwise feel connected with a market, and who might open that market up to us some more by vent of wanting to make similar games for themselves. Signed: Dakotah Rickard On 4/16/13, Thomas Ward <thomasward1...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Shaun, > > I haven't been following this topic too closely, but from what I have > read it sounds like your friends have a bit of an attitude problem. > What I mean by that is some sighted people will compromise with a > blind person and will play a game like Jim Kitchen's Monopoly even > though it has no graphics just for the experience of playing together. > Your friend on the other hand seems to have the attitude no graphics, > it sucks, so it is not worth his time which is his problem, and is not > the case with every sighted person out there. I am sure you two could > get into something like Alter Aeon which is text based and if he wants > 3d graphics and all that jazz that's just tough titty said the kitty > because you two don't have anything in common, and he isn't your > friend because he does not want to compromise. I have met a few people > like that, and I don't associate with them much on the subject of > games because we don't have anything in common. In short, it takes the > right kind of person to play accessible games with. > > Cheers! > > On 4/16/13, shaun everiss <sm.ever...@gmail.com> wrote: >> aah ok maybe the people I tried to introduce the games to were not >> that interested. >> oh well. > > --- > Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org > If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to > gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. > You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at > http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. > All messages are archived and can be searched and read at > http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org. > If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, > please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org. > --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. 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