I think the overarching point here is not Apple and its stance on graphics, but rather the novelty of audio games. Think how much hubbub arises when some mainstream developer decides to create an audio adventure--Papa Sangre, Zombies! Run!, Aurify, etc. The reason audio-only programs aren't seen as just another form of program is because of their rarity. There are half a million apps in the app store, and I would guess than less than 100 are audio only programs. If we say there are exactly 500,000 apps, and 100 are audio only, we're looking at 0.02% of all apps. Apple isn't looking at profit, but rather wants to avoid the loss it would accrue from spending customer service time telling people "No. Your phone isn't broken. It's an audio-only program." I think your idea of a picture that says "audio only program" is a good one, and it would probably work. It's not a matter of flashiness, but rather understandability for the sighted user who hasn't bought the 0.02% of audio-only apps. Ryan
-----Original Message----- From: gamers-boun...@audyssey.org [mailto:gamers-boun...@audyssey.org] On Behalf Of dark Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2012 4:53 PM To: Gamers Discussion list Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Audio Archery news. Hi Charlese. I'm afraid I just do not agree on the basis that an audio game does not output graphically. It is not a question of who uses the ap, so much as the medium in which it outputs. If a photo editing program outputs images, no sound is needed for the control or correct running of such a program. Most audio software does have visual controls, but this is a matter of the interfaced use used to control such a program, not the ouput, if it were, apple would reffuse any audio playing program that did not have something like the video show in winamp to output visual effects during playback of the music. An audio game however is! controled, and output entirely in audio, just as a photo editing program is output and controled entirely in images. If you are not going to demand extra output for the one, why for the other? i do not doubt that your reason, that the software must! appeal to a sighted user and Apple considders only visual presentation is correct, but to my mind this is eronius thinking when it comes to audio games. As someone with a small degree of vision who plays both audio, and graphical games (albeit most are old, or at least in retro style), I do believe that just as purely text based games still have a place and a unique style of their own, so do audio games. To take an example, in swamp, the fact that it's the surface you walk on and the loudness of your movements which attracts the zombies, but by the same tocan that you yourself must avoid zombies by ear gives a very unique twist to the game, sinse you really need to watch where you walk, and what weapons you use. These are not features used in a graphical game, sinse obviously even if some game or other did feature blind zombies that navigated by sound (though I haven't heard of any that has), your character would still! by virtue of the graphics have an advantage, being able to for instance see your way to walk around patches of noisey gravel. In swamp however, the fact that you and the zombies are on a more equal footing, neither having the advantage of full overview gives a really unique feeling to the game that you wouldn't get in something fully graphical. So, swamp is unique because! it is an audio game, and as I believe has been said previously, deserves recognition not merely in it's status of being accessible, but in it's status of being audio, just as a fine radio drama deserves recognition for being a radio drama, and neither a book nor a film. it is however this I think apple are missing by their insistance on flashy graphics, sinse they are considdering not what an audio game is! but only how it will appeal to their customers and sell more phones. Rather than saying "we are a company who support all! forms of art" they are saying "we are a company who insist! things look and feel a certain way, even when this is of no relevance to the things themselves" it'd be like insisting that every radio drama comes with pictures of all the characters, or that every novel be written as a comic with the story told in pictures as well as words. Of course, apple being the huge, multinational corporation that just wants more ticks on it's prophit sheet, none of this makes a difference even if we told it to them, sinse "a corporation that cares" is something of a contradiction in terms. Just because we are forced to accept something however by virtue of Apples control on things doesn't make it right, which is really my point. yes, Liam and other audio game devs will! have to have graphics for their games in order that they have the correct, flashy look apple wants, this however doesn't mean they should! just as even though capcom, nintendo etc don't give a flying monkey's rear for game access doesn't mean that game access is unimportant. Beware the grue! Dark. --- 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://mail.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.
