I'm the same way. My mom and dad are 54 and 55 respectively, and both have
occasionally tried their hand at video games, my dad more than my mom. Then
about six years ago I brought my Game Cube out to Idaho for them to try and
lo and behold they ended up buying one for themselves that following
Christmas. Now they also own a Wii. Ironic since my mom used to hate video
games with a passion and now she and my dad bowl on the Wii most weekends.
Homer: Hey, uh, could you go across the street and get me a slice of pizza?
Vender: No pizza. Only Khlav Kalash.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Ward" <thomasward1...@gmail.com>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 5:37 PM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Future of accessible games
Hi Dark,
Yes, your opinion holds a lot of truth, and I don't doubt as the so-called
baby boomer generation reaches into their 60's and 70's things will begin
changing for the better for us. My dad has just turned 60 and he grew up
watching the original Star Trek, Lost in Space, Time Tunnel, and other
science fiction programs. Plus during the 80's when the Atari was at its
height he would now and again play games with me as well as my mom. So
they certainly were no strangers to a good arcade game or two, and my
friends parents would play some Atari games as well. As a result video
games has touched that generation although maybe not as much as those of
my generation.
When we talk about my generation, those who played the original Atari all
the time, we are now are in our 30's and 40's. We have kids of our own
playing the latest XBox and Play Station titles, and our kids are carrying
on our video game playing traditions. Many of us in our 30's and 40's
still enjoy a good video game or two, and we aren't getting any younger.
Sooner or later we are going to be the Grandma and Grandpa Jones of
tomorrow. At that point accessible video games, talking microwaves, the
availability of certain types of books, whatever is going to become in
more demand. Those who didn't grow up with video games such as my
grandparents generation don't really care about talking microwaves,
accessible Star Wars books, or the latest video game. However, when my
generation replaces them as the elderly suddenly it may turn out to be a
different story.
You mentioned a good point about how the interests and expectations of one
generation can be very different even if it is separated by no more than
10 or 15 years. This reminds me of our discussion about side-scrollers. A
game like Megaman certainly changed from its origins in the 1980's and
what was available 10-years later in the 1990's. A kid born in the 70's
who played the original Megaman would no doubt treasure it as one of the
great classics of the 1980's. However, a kid born in the 80's and grew up
playing the newer 90's versions would find the original boring, lacking
features, and pretty over rated. That's just a small example of how views
about what is and is not of interest can change when it comes to gaming in
a relatively short amount of time.
Anyway, as you pointed out as our generation aproaches our 60's more and
more content that isn't accessible today may become so later on when it is
in more demand. This is definitely the long view, but it is all a matter
of supply and demand. We will see how those people who commented on the
Gamespot.com article feel in 20 or 30 years when their sight is failing,
they need glasses, the screen is fuzzy, and it isn't quite as easy to
play. When it effects that group as a whole the shoe will be finally on
the other foot, and they'll think back on what they said in their youth.
They may live to eat their own words.
dark wrote:
My own personal belief, is that what will change access will also be the
force which will change the Uk libraries thinking on accessible
books, ----- time.
There is no point denying, %70 of visually impared people are over the
age of 60, ----- and %50 are over the age of 70.
Currently, that comprises people who grew up in the 1940's and 50's.
such people are not naturally interested in science fiction, fantasy
or, ---- by extention computer games.
At a recent doctor who convention however, the oldest people there were
my dad's age, betwene 50 and 60, ---- having grown up in the 1960's, ----
much like my parents, they watched Doctor who, original Startrek, Blake
7, quatermass, buck rogers etc.
Over the next ten years, that group of people will start to lose their
sight, ---- and will have significantly different reading interests to
those who grew up ten years earlier.
thus, sf books and films will have to be made accessible for them.
Similarly, people who grew up in the 1970's with the Atari 2600 etc;
playing games like Joust, space invaders, original If etc, are currently
40 or so.
the head of retroremakes.com, ---- a die hard gamer if there ever was
one, is himself 40.
In 20 years, when these people begin to lose their sight, they aren't
going to want to give up life long gaming hobbies simply because they can
no longer see.
At that stage, game companies, both mainstream and independent will
suddenly have a group of older customers who will demand games, ---
and, ---- as Bryan said earlier, it won't be quite so devorced from
public consciousness when grandma Jones wants to play her atari but can't
because she can no longer see the screen.
Game companies and independent developers have already produced
adaptations for both deaf and physically impared people, ---- but (even
with deafness), in these cases they are disabilities which affect a
larger proportion of younger people who are themselves playing and buying
computer games.
Were circumstances reversed, I could well imagine those self same people
on gamespot who said a blind person playing a graphical game was
impossible, would say it was similarly impossible for someone who was
paralized from the kneck down to play graphical games, ---- yet head
tracker adapTations for pc games and the wii eXIST, ---- AND WHILE NOT
PERFECT, CERTAINLY ALLOW PEOPLE WITH SUCH DISABILITIES TO PLAY MORE GAMES
THAN PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAREMENT CAN.
I'm thus very much of the opinion that the situation will indeed
change, ----- though convincing game companies (or library services for
that matter), of the truth of this is something of an uphill struggle
currently.
Beware the grue!
Dark.
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