[guide.chat] examples of the games on the blind computer games website
- From: vanessa <qwerty1234567a@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "GUIDE CHAT" <guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:26:29 -0000
Example Games
Here are good examples of blind-accessible games.
Some, like those from Niels Bauer Games, L-Works, or our own 7-128 Software,
are commercial and must be purchased, albeit for fairly low prices. Some, like
those from Jim Kitchen and Ian Humphreys, are totally FREE.
For each example game, we note specifically how it accomodates gamers who are
blind.
Niels Bauer Games
www.nielsbauergames.com
Independent developer of Commercial games for Windows. Currently three of their
games are blind-accessible: Smugglers 3, Smugglers 4, and TV Manager.
Smugglers 4 is a good example of how a trading and war game set in space can be
made blind-accessible.
Since Smugglers 4 does not self voice, gamers who are blind must use a screen
reader.
A Visually-impaired gamer option can be set from the Options panel. This adds
text to otherwise image-only controls.
The Supernova virtual cursor works with this added text as well as the normal
cases of block text, table text, and buttons with text labels. The JAWS cursor
does recognize the text, but has random behaviors that render it unusable for
this game.
You can also turn the Smuggler 4 background music off, making it possible to
hear the screen reader.
Industry rumor has it that his forthcoming Empires and Dungeons 2 will be
blind-accessible. Niels Bauer says, "Indeed, I am planning for blind
accessibility for all my future games."
Niels Bauer Games is a good example of how a few feature changes can produce
commercial-quality blind-accessible games.
7-128 Software
www.7128.com
We are an independent developer offering over 40 Commercial games for Windows,
25 of which are blind accessible.
Our game, Scrambled Sayings is a good demonstration of how to maintain context
for the blind gamer.
The Equals key turns the self-voicing on and off. The JAWS screen reader can
accept non-displayed text programatically sent to it. This is set in the
Controls panel. The two voices are never used together.
Scrambled sayings presents a saying such as "The absent are never without fault
nor the present without excuse." Each word has its letters scrambled. For
example: "hte astnbe aer neerv wuitouth fltau onr eth pnreste wtithou euscex."
The gamer types in the correct spelling of each word.
There's a panel of controls plus clock, score, and level displays. The Tab
order is: First word, controls from top to bottom, back to first word. Each
control and its numbered hotkey are spoken: "8 Controls"
Within the saying, the right and left arrows move among the words stopping on
the first letter of each word. Each word's position and its current spelling
are spoken: "Word 8 is E T H."
The Space bar speaks the entire puzzle. The F4, F5, and F6 keys speak the
current game score, clock, and level without changing the focus.
Selecting the Controls button displays the Controls dialog box. This dialog
speaks to the gamer when it displays, and when it exits. Within the Controls
dialog the tab order is top to bottom with each control, its numbered hotkey,
and its value spoken.
All 7-128 Software games follow the above pattern.
Scrambled Sayings is an example of how to maintaining context for the blind
gamer because:
Everything is spoken
Simply and
Consistently
It's also an example of a game that can be played via either a screen reader or
via its self voicing.
Kitchens Inc.
www.kitchensinc.net
kitchensinc.net is the first name most often heard when asked where to get good
FREE audio games.
As of January, 2011, Jim Kitchen has built over 33 audio-only games including
the popular Homer on a Harley game, as well as trivia, racing, arcade, sports,
word, and puzzle games. Warning: Not all of these games may be suitable for
children.
Jim's Hangman is a simple SAPI-based audio-only self-voicing game that
demonstrates how to tell the gamer what to do totally without text.
The game speaks clear instructions when it starts. The gamer types in the
letters of the word.
F1 speaks the word as far as you have guessed
F2 speaks whether the word is a person, place, or thing and letter count
F3 speaks the individual letters and blanks
F4 tries to say the word as it is
F5 speaks the used letters
F6 speaks the unused letters
F7 speaks the unused letters one at a time
F8 speaks the parts of the hangman
F9 changes the voice
F11 speaks game instructions
F12 speaks special key instructions
Ctl sets the voice speed
Esc exits the game
For either a blind or a sighted gamer, Jim's use of the F keys makes makes his
audio-only Hangman game easy to play.
Spoonbill Software
www.spoonbillsoftware.com.au/blindgamers.htm
Ian Humphreys is a retired computer programmer who makes FREE
commercial-quality computer games. As of the end of 2010, he's offering 17
audio and visual card and puzzle games that are playable on Windows by both
gamers who are blind and those who are sighted.
None of these games use a screen reader. All self-voice. His early games used
sound clips. His current games use SAPI.
Spoonbill's Blind-Gamers Free Cell Solitaire game demonstrates the combination
of context and instruction demonstrated by the Scrambled Sayings game and the
Hangman game described elsewhere on this page.
It's necessary to read the game's help file before starting the game. The help
text file provided can be read by a screen reader and includes #T# tags to help
audio navigation.
The program begins by telling you to hit either the N key to begin or Q to
exit. Each game begins by speaking the card exposed.
The play area is 8 empty cells and 8 rows of cards. The Right, Left, Up, and
Down arrows move you among the cards, each speaking as it gains focus. The
Enter key selects a card, which speaks when selected.
F1 tells you to look at the help file.
F2 re-speaks the last thing spoken
F3 speaks the status of the free cells
F4 speaks the status of the home cells
F5 speaks the status of the free cells and card columns
F6 speaks the game credits
F7 speaks the count of games won and lost
F8 decreases the voice speed
Shift F8 increases the voice speed
F9 turns background music off and on
F10 turns the game's column numbers option on and off
F11 turns the game's automatic card placement option on and off
F12 turns the keypad move option on and off
Various A - Z keys and combinations are used for control
Context is maintained by:
Using the Arrow keys for navigation
Using the Enter key for control
Using the F keys for information and options
In Blind-Gamers Free Cell Solitaire, the F keys provide a consistent means for
blind gamers to get information.
L-Works
www.l-works.net
Liam Erven is an independent developer of Commercial games for Windows. As of
2011 he offers 7 audio-only commercial games.
The Super Liam game is a audio-only side-scroller. It uses neither a screen
reader nor SAPI self-voicing. All instructions and sounds are recorded sound
clips.
Read the readme.txt file before playing the game. The game begins with a brief
introduction. You can hear enemies as they approach from either side.
The Left and Right Arrow keys walk you to the left and right.
The Left Shift key reverses the direction you're facing
The Up Arrow makes you jump
The Left Control key fires your laser
The Space bar makes you move faster
The P key pauses the game
Informational keys include:
H speaks your health
L speaks the number of lives remaining
S speaks the score for the level
T speaks the total score for the game
Various sounds announce walking, running, jumping, hits, misses, wounds,
power-ups, level-ups, and other events.
Super Liam demonstrates how a side-scroller can be made with an audio-only user
interface.
Podcasts
The Accessible GameBase (www.gamebase.info) has three podcasts on Audio Games:
Audio Games (Part 1)
Audio Games (Part 2)
Audio Games (Part 3)
Final Words
These examples demonstrate that quality blind accessible games can be made.
To find more blind accessible games, please look at our annual Top 25 Web Sites
for Gamers who are Blind list at www.7128.com.
John Bannick
Chief Technical Officer
7-128 Software
from
Vanessa The Google Girl.
my skype name is rainbowstar123
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