Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? As usual my brain keeps trying to come up with ways to do everything I can't so here it is, how could we potentially accessify paintball, nerf or laser tag? The gun type is mostly personal preference here since I believe all have similar potential, though paintball might require some more effort to learn how to maintain the marker and some more persuading since there's a myth going around that paintball hurts like hell. I understand that there's a tradition among paintball players of exagerrating the pain involved, I guess it's just macho nonsense at work yet again. So here goes.There are two major decisions to be made regarding approach, firstly do we go all visually impaired or do we attempt to integrate with sighted players and secondly do we play with a sighted guide of some kind or do we play independently.Going all VI is a tempting route but it has many issues, as does full integration. You're limiting the potential number and location of games you can play in to those specially organised for VI players, you will likely have issues gaining enough potential players so numbers will become a problem, you're also increasing the amount of support required to handle people going to the bathroom and in and out of the play area if nothing else. On the upside it gives the most even game since everyone can use a blindfold or blacked out safety goggles/mask, finding a suitable venue would be potentially a problem but if it could be found a level area with nothing to trip over and no hard objects to bump into would be fantastic. I understand that paintball sites sometimes use inflatable obstacles to provide cover and these would be great since running into them wouldn't be dangerous, sighted players do it often enough from what I gather, and their locations could be represented on a tactile map for us to examine before play.Full integration would provide challenges in terms of sighted players not wanting to d eal with us weighing them down and we would obviously be at a disadvantage, however it would massively increase the availability of games. In the case of paintball we could offset this slightly by making use of smoke grenades though I'm under no illusions that it would still be an uphill struggle in terms of player performance. There is the potential for a mix and match solution where a portion of each team is VI and a portion is fully sighted, if you could get a handfull of VI people and have some sighted friends who are willing to join in this could be the best of both worlds.Now on to the nitty gritty. Having a sighted guide would be a decent solution in many ways though response time may be slower, you would also need to work out whether the guide counts as an additional player and whether they carry a gun, as well as whether a hit on them counts against you or not. This last point could be awkward since sighted players may not have time to distinguish between the tw o of you in the heat of action, and a VI player may be aiming at footsteps or other sounds which could be either you, your guide or both. There's also the matter of hearing each other clearly, as well as the simple matter of finding sighted friends willing to perform this role for you, and doubling the amount of protective gear required. Just as a note one theoretical though likely expensive and difficult to set up approach could be mounting a camera on yourself and having your guide outside the play area using a tablet or similar to monitor you and communicate via radio.Going without sighted help could either be in the form of pure independent play or using some as yet uninvented aid. Using a cane wouldn't be the most practical thing for such a fast paced game so we'd be relying on sound and other cues, this would probably work best in an all VI or mixed group. An aid could consist of some kind of range sensor and a vibration motor changing in intensity, however things like the iGlasses with built in ultrasound sensors wouldn't be wise for paintball for obvious safety reasons though if they don't interfere with multiples working in the same area they could work for laser tag and nerf. I'm also trying to think of a low tech solution taking a leaf out of GoalBall's book using cords but I can't think of where they would be attatched to right now. On the plus side some paintball masks contain a space for a fan to reduce fogging of the lens and a peak, we obviously wouldn't benefit directly from either but the fan space could be used to house portions of an electronic aid while the peak might make a handy mounting spot for camera and/or sensors. Such a mask would not only be suitable for paintball but would be great for Nerf too since it's always possible for a nerf dart to hit someone in the eye at close range, especially when like us we couldn't be too selective about where we hi
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? Laser quest at least does have an assistance rule for the gear, or at anyrate about 20 years ago they used to. You wear the pack with the targit, and your guide has a second gun which is slaved to your pack. This is also a good offset for the disadvantage, ie, two guns to one shootable targit vs having to go around the arena holding someone's arm, although it still has the problem of finding other players by sound, which is difficult given how noisey the laser quest arenas used to be. That I suspect would be the major problem, though I'm sure some digital tech could be added to the guns to give an audiogame like targit experience, although financing such tech would still be problematic..For navigation, there is also the solution I use for getting around on stage, (or at least making sure I don't fall off the front), namely sash cord and tape.The problem however is even if a commercial arena were willing to take on these sorts of access fixes, whether t hey would make for something competitive I don't know. My own laser quest games with a guide I wasn't exactly Mr. Invincible and always got the lowest score, it was just something I did for friends birthday parties. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194419#p194419 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? Dark pretty much said everything that I would say. So I'd just echo what he said and emphasize that all I think are truly necessary would be some sort of audio censor equipment or even a vibration motor. But of course, this would be something that would cost a fortune. A friend of mine who practices MMA was talking about starting a VI fight club... that would be fun. hahaha. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194424#p194424 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? Thanks for that info regarding LaserQuest Dark, it's good to know.If a company were to produce an aid it would indeed cost an absolute fortune, as is the case with the target shooting gear I understand. The sad fact is that ultrasound or even laser rangefinding sensors while not cheap wouldn't be impossible in terms of price if someone had the skills to make a DIY set up.I did mention the possibility of using cords in my original post and my major problem with that is the possibility of a trailing cord to cause trips as well as getting generally tangled around any obstacles or even itself.My biggest concern with it all is still friendly fire. Obviously laserquest and similar could potentially be set up so friendly fire is turned off and problem fixed, the other types of game are less clear.Oh and regarding the vote so people know, military simulation forms of paintball and airsoft are where players are placed in a scenario a little like LARP a nd expected to fight a fictional battle. This commonly involves being out in the play area for very long periods with preset objectives while also having the guns focussed on realistic appearance rather than pure performance. I simply included this in the voting options for completeness frankly. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194431#p194431 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? When I've used sash cord on stage, trailing edges isn't an issue sinse the tape is very efficient, and sinse the floors of most laser quest arenas at least are hardboard that would probably work. Of course, you'd need the arena to participate in the idea, not to mention the audio gear. I also don't know if navigation by feet would work either. On stage it is fine, but on stage I'm using it as a "stop here" marker to prevent myself walking off and I'm not usually doing anything more than a light jog. A full run might be another matter, particularly sinse when your running your feet are off the floor for longer meaning your more likely to miss tactile floor markers.I actually think a Vi fight club would be more possible, especially in terms of what you'd need to set it up :d. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194439#p194439 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? When I've used sash cord on stage, trailing edges isn't an issue sinse the tape is very efficient, and sinse the floors of most laser quest arenas at least are hardboard that would probably work. Of course, you'd need the arena to participate in the idea, not to mention the audio gear. I also don't know if navigation by feet would work either. On stage it is fine, but on stage I'm using it as a "stop here" marker to prevent myself walking off and I'm not usually doing anything more than a light jog. A full run might be another matter, particularly sinse when your running your feet are off the floor for longer meaning your more likely to miss tactile floor markers.I actually think a Vi fight club would be more possible, especially in terms of what you'd need to set it up :d.Btw, the reason i do not myself Larp, though I have many friends who do is indeed the visual imparement reason, sinse if I am going to rp i don� 39;t want to be the blind man who sits in the corner, I want to be just as much in with the adventure as everyone else. Interestingly enough a friend of mine who has recently had to start using a wheel chair says exactly the same thing. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194439#p194439 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? Hello, I aveplayed paintball for a while now and got myself familiar with the game and have my tactics to hit my opponents.When we are playing, I can concentrate on the footstepps of the other gnpeope and this helps me with navigating aroud theplayinfield. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194453#p194453 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? hi.I've played laser tag a few times and I think that the game really has potential for accessibility. first we were able to choose between different sounds so one team had a set of sounds and the other team other sounds. this helped us a lot in distinguishing between teams. also when you play laser tag you don't get hit by anything but you have a bandana on your head which makes a sound if you are hit. I think that a vibration motor could be added to announce when you have a target in front of the gun because all the guns and bandanas are connected this would not be so hard hard to do. I played with a group of blind people. it was fun but the arena was not so accessible. luckily they let us wander around a few minutes before the match to get familiar with the arena. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194465#p194465 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? Dark, my mention of LARP was in the very loose sense that there's a scenario. Where the roleplay aspect of "milsim" starts and ends is the scenario, there isn't really any roleplaying since theoretically any tactics that work in real life would work with paintball or airsoft guns. The major exception as I noted is that people tend to wear more military style clothing with guns modified to look more like real firearms.Simba, interesting to know. Have you any special method for telling who is on which team? Also do you find you get to know the locations of obstacles in your local field? I'm also assuming you're using the site rental markers.Nin, again interesting. I know as a child the Sega LockOn infra red guns had a feature whereby when you were aiming at an opponent's headband it would bleep to warn them and play another sound when hit. Something like that should be very feasible, though it would require a continual beam being sent out from the gun which differs in some way from the "firing" beam to inform the receiver when it is being "painted" and then some kind of response to signal the gun that the headband has picked up the beam. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194476#p194476 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? Dark, the one down thing about a VI fight club would be that everyone would have to know some form of combat sport or style whether that be a martial art or any different type of combat sport. But I agree... definitely an easier option, and a lot of blind people would probably get a kick out of it... no pun intended.Simba and Nin, good to know about both your experiences... I love paintball and laser tag both, but have never tried either. And for the record, I think cord would be a good idea... I'm a goalball player, and cord on the ground isn't so hard to feel if it's think enough and has tape over it to hold it in place, even if you're running. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194493#p194493 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? Ah, I had misunderstood and thought the cord was attatched to the players. That was why I had concerns about tangles and tripping, because the cord would have been moving around. That makes a lot more sense now. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194496#p194496 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? When we play Goalball, the cord and tape is placed on the floor in key spots to draw out the appearance of the court. That way by shuffling their feet can tell exactly where they are on the court. Cords atatched to players would not work at all for the type of sport goalball is. hahaha. Though it'd be a fun experiment to see how wheter a team could function well tied together. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194498#p194498 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag?
Re: Hypothetical: Accessifying paintball/nerf/laser tag? Hi,I can't say I've gotten the chance to try laser tag, but I'd be interested in it. URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=194514#p194514 ___ Audiogames-reflector mailing list Audiogames-reflector@sabahattin-gucukoglu.com https://sabahattin-gucukoglu.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/audiogames-reflector
