Very well said Tom. One minor correction I actually live in central California not Canada.
Game on. Tom -----Original Message----- From: gamers-boun...@audyssey.org [mailto:gamers-boun...@audyssey.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Ward Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 12:32 AM To: Gamers Discussion list Subject: Re: [Audyssey] The importance of patronage Hi, Yeah, I've met a few narrow minded individuals like that. I was at a blind convention in Columbus one time, and I talked to a few other blind computer users there about the fact that I write accessible games and their opinions were a bit odd. One guy told me that since his computer was purchased by BSVI, I.E. through the state, that it was to only be used for work and nothing but work. Another common opinion I found, especially with older blind computer users, was that games were for younger people. The other Tom said earlier on list he has encountered this same opinion as well up in Canada so it must be pretty common among our more senior members. The thing is even if you make some of these people aware of the existance of accessible games not everyone is going to jump for it. There will be some opinion like "my computer must only be used for work" or "games are only for the young" that will determine their buying choices. That said, though, my parents generation, the Baby Boomers, are now getting up their in age. As Elenor's excellent article for 7-128 pointed out these are the people with most of the buying power world wide. They are going to start having health issues, especially vision loss, and the mainstream game industry isn't prepared for this eventuality. The rest of us who are creating accessible games will at least have a chance to get a real foot in the door if we can make this segment of the population aware we exist. We often forget that it was the Baby Boomers who were in their 30's when the Atari 2600 and original Nintendo Entertainment System was introduced in the 1980's. Unlike their parents generation they played Donkey Kong, Packman, Missile Command, Super Mario, and all the rest with their kids who are now my age. So now that my parents are old enough to retire what kinds of games are out there for them to play that isn't loded with complex 3d graphics, and is fully accessible when their vision begins to go? What kinds of games are available that harkens back to the games they know and love like Packman, Space Invaders, Missile Command, Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Time Pilot, Adventure Island, etc? Well, we've obviously got some of that available right now. DynaMan is basically an arcade game in the style of classic Packman. PCS Games Packman Talks is another great remake for the blind. As for Space Invaders we have Aliens in the Outback, Troopenum, Dark Destroyer, you name it. Since we already have some of the games they are likely to play it is rediculous that places like the RNIB aren't making the Baby Boomer generation aware that there are games on par with the games they knew 30 years ago. Cheers! On 4/27/11, shaun everiss <sm.ever...@gmail.com> wrote: > not to mention that some blind people refuse to play games in general > or associate with the wider community. One of these is a friend that > has quentin c because i have her the file but mostly plays with > rsgames clients. But thats it and only because people gave it to her > one day. --- 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. 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.
