Hi Tom.
This is exactly the same problem here in the Uk, indeed here it is worse
sinse the Rnib dominates everything so much with their atitude, and even if
someone did! make an accessible product of some sort, most people wouldn't
get to here about it if the Rnib didn't give their blessing, ---- as a case
in point, look at how the Rnib promotes the Azabat games but does nothing
for other developers of audio games at all.
Brailling other games such as compatibility is something my mum and I have
routinely done for years, but it's amazing the Rnib never offer other
options. In particular, when i was eighteen I tried to persuade the rnib to
create braille D&D dice, sinse it's pretty hard to think of a more! equal
activity that blind people could participate in than tabletop rp, but I was
frankly told there was no interest.
in the end my mum and I brailled most dice accept for the D20, and the first
year I spent playing D&D I just did some creative maths to get a D10 to act
as a D20.
of course these days, i know that Gma dice can replace physical dice quite
successfully, but the Rnib's reluctance to have anything to do with rp is
pretty symptomatic, and also extends into them not producing any sf or
fantasy books in accessible form, and assuming in the products they sell
that every blind person has a carer or assistant they once attempted to sell
me a talking watch that couldn't be set by me on my own, on the basis that
"my carer could do it" and were very none plussed when i replied "what
carer"
For audio games however, it occurs to me that editing the wikipedia artical
could be a good start, sinse looking over it recently it did occur to me
that it is pretty incomplete, and also highlighting on that artical the
problems of Aph, the rnib and similar having such a simplified view of blind
people which then bleeds over into game creation would probably be a good,
and simple way of publicizing the fact that not all blind people are over 60
(and besides, even if they are, there are at least a couple of over 60
gamers who don't! just play bingo, for instance I know a couple who are
regular and quite high level core exiles players :D.
It's funny actually, sinse had Bryan not specifically recommended me shades
of doom, I'd probably not have got into playing audio games at all. I saw
the page on whitestick.co.uk back in about 2003, but sinse the entries I
looked at seemed to be crosswords or traditional card, dice and puzzle
games, or to specifically say they were "for blind people" it never actually
occurred to me, who had been playing mainstream games for years that games
"for blind people" could actually be any good, let alone comparable.
Beware the grue!
Dark.
---
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