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Disabled gamers, when I first thought on this I thought there can't be that many as depending on how disabled some are it would be very hard for a lot of them to be able to fully interact with a game. Or is it?
The number of people who have a disability of some kind has risen and no doubt will continue. So should developers maybe use a percentage of their time and abilities to cater for their needs. If you think about it, it's a part of the market that isn't really used and could bring in extra money so surely that's good business for the developers.
The majority of us will have no disability and most of us probably take the whole gaming experience for granted. We come on here and discuss how great one game is or how poor a game and how it could be improved. Now imagine that you were deaf, would this spoil the game for you? Would the whole experience have changed and would you still play games in the same way that you normally do? Or imagine you have only one arm or lost a lot of the movement in some parts of your body. Would this make you stop playing games or make it harder for you to do?
When I first think of being disabled I think off being blind or deaf. The first of these is probably the hardest to make games for. If you can't see what is going on then most of the experience is gone. To me gaming for blind people just doesn't work and I don't see it working for some time, if ever.
As for deaf people, gaming is possible, the only difference is not having the ability to hear the sound. Many games these days have subtitles when someone talks and there are a great number of games that use very little sound. I didn't realise just how popular games were to disabled people until the other day when I watched a friends brother (who suffers from downes syndrome) and a few of his friends who all have some kind of disability, play on his playstation 2 and they all enjoyed it although they may not be able to enjoy it as much as the rest of us. I decided to try find out more and discovered a lot of sites that review games that they see suitable for deaf people.
More options could be included to cater for deaf people, like when someone talks the text is outputted on the screen (like in Red Faction) but these take more time and cost more to do so many are overlooked. But I think that the money would be made up with the extra sales.
I know how much gaming means and has meant in the past to me, and I hope that others have enjoyed it as much maybe more. That's why I would like to see more done by developers to offer the same kind of service to those who have extra needs. A lot is being done to make life better for disabled people but gaming hasn't done a lot to help. Everywhere you look there is some kind of assistance given to those who need it yet gaming hasn't really offered much help, certainly not as much as it could. Is it just something that we have to accept? Is gaming just not suited to disabled people?
But there are a lot more disabilities, some people have restricted movement, either by loss of limbs, damaged limbs or through another disability. Surely special controls could be developed and extra peripherals that make gaming possible to lots more could be produced. New technology is produced everyday and some of the things that are possible to do are quite mind-blowing. There are more peripherals being developed for people with disabilities, which in my view is a good thing. One day motion sensors may be at a standard where people don't need to use a mouse or analogue stick to control certain things in games. Hopefully in time there will be a lot more options to make gaming available to all who want to be able to do it, no matter what problems they may have.
We all play games for many different reasons, for fun mostly but also to relieve boredom, entertain us, but games can also improve certain skills which are essential in life. For example, co-ordination, hand-eye co-ordination, reaction times and keyboard and mouse skills. These improvements for disabled people can be very beneficial and something that most of us take for granted. I know that a few day care centres that help disabled people see gaming and using computers as part of learning and helping those with special needs.
There are many people who are classified as being disabled, some in my view worse than others although I would imagine them all to be hard to live with. Surely there is a part of the market here that could be quite a profit maker as it has yet to be fully catered for. I'm not saying that developers should make games only for disabled people and continue to make others for the rest of us. What I would like to see is more options included (subtitles for example) and more peripherals that make it easier for disabled people to use. This is quite a touchy subject, sorry if anyone is offended by it. It is hard as a lot want to be treated normally yet so many don't want to be left out and made to different. One thing that is known is that there are a lot of disabled people out there who play games to the best they can that would love extra's that could improve the whole experience for them.
So what are your views? Should more be done to help those that are disabled in some way to help them play games. Do you think that the way things are is fine? Please post your views.
I would ask you all to put yourself in their shoes and try it yourself. Try play a game with the sound muted or play using only one arm. It certainly isn't the same and in many cases hard to do. That's why I think more should be done to help.
The number of people who have a disability of some kind has risen and no doubt will continue. So should developers maybe use a percentage of their time and abilities to cater for their needs. If you think about it, it's a part of the market that isn't really used and could bring in extra money so surely that's good business for the developers.
The majority of us will have no disability and most of us probably take the whole gaming experience for granted. We come on here and discuss how great one game is or how poor a game and how it could be improved. Now imagine that you were deaf, would this spoil the game for you? Would the whole experience have changed and would you still play games in the same way that you normally do? Or imagine you have only one arm or lost a lot of the movement in some parts of your body. Would this make you stop playing games or make it harder for you to do?
When I first think of being disabled I think off being blind or deaf. The first of these is probably the hardest to make games for. If you can't see what is going on then most of the experience is gone. To me gaming for blind people just doesn't work and I don't see it working for some time, if ever.
As for deaf people, gaming is possible, the only difference is not having the ability to hear the sound. Many games these days have subtitles when someone talks and there are a great number of games that use very little sound. I didn't realise just how popular games were to disabled people until the other day when I watched a friends brother (who suffers from downes syndrome) and a few of his friends who all have some kind of disability, play on his playstation 2 and they all enjoyed it although they may not be able to enjoy it as much as the rest of us. I decided to try find out more and discovered a lot of sites that review games that they see suitable for deaf people.
More options could be included to cater for deaf people, like when someone talks the text is outputted on the screen (like in Red Faction) but these take more time and cost more to do so many are overlooked. But I think that the money would be made up with the extra sales.
I know how much gaming means and has meant in the past to me, and I hope that others have enjoyed it as much maybe more. That's why I would like to see more done by developers to offer the same kind of service to those who have extra needs. A lot is being done to make life better for disabled people but gaming hasn't done a lot to help. Everywhere you look there is some kind of assistance given to those who need it yet gaming hasn't really offered much help, certainly not as much as it could. Is it just something that we have to accept? Is gaming just not suited to disabled people?
But there are a lot more disabilities, some people have restricted movement, either by loss of limbs, damaged limbs or through another disability. Surely special controls could be developed and extra peripherals that make gaming possible to lots more could be produced. New technology is produced everyday and some of the things that are possible to do are quite mind-blowing. There are more peripherals being developed for people with disabilities, which in my view is a good thing. One day motion sensors may be at a standard where people don't need to use a mouse or analogue stick to control certain things in games. Hopefully in time there will be a lot more options to make gaming available to all who want to be able to do it, no matter what problems they may have.
We all play games for many different reasons, for fun mostly but also to relieve boredom, entertain us, but games can also improve certain skills which are essential in life. For example, co-ordination, hand-eye co-ordination, reaction times and keyboard and mouse skills. These improvements for disabled people can be very beneficial and something that most of us take for granted. I know that a few day care centres that help disabled people see gaming and using computers as part of learning and helping those with special needs.
There are many people who are classified as being disabled, some in my view worse than others although I would imagine them all to be hard to live with. Surely there is a part of the market here that could be quite a profit maker as it has yet to be fully catered for. I'm not saying that developers should make games only for disabled people and continue to make others for the rest of us. What I would like to see is more options included (subtitles for example) and more peripherals that make it easier for disabled people to use. This is quite a touchy subject, sorry if anyone is offended by it. It is hard as a lot want to be treated normally yet so many don't want to be left out and made to different. One thing that is known is that there are a lot of disabled people out there who play games to the best they can that would love extra's that could improve the whole experience for them.
So what are your views? Should more be done to help those that are disabled in some way to help them play games. Do you think that the way things are is fine? Please post your views.
I would ask you all to put yourself in their shoes and try it yourself. Try play a game with the sound muted or play using only one arm. It certainly isn't the same and in many cases hard to do. That's why I think more should be done to help.
My favourite part of games mags is their letters page. So, whilst reading one mag I jumped straight to the letter page.
The top letter was by a deaf person explaining that not enough developers have in game subtitles, and that it's not even hard to implement. As you might expect, the magazine's response was saying that it was aweful that developers don't do this, and that they should.
Next month, and I check the letters page. Top letter was a response to the one mentioned above. Basically the person writing was saying "In last months letter section, the response that you gave to (insert name) was no more than 'We are sorry that you are blind and we don't want to hurt your feelings'. Disabled people are not just fragile people who have a weak emotional structure- I know many disabled people myself, and the thing they hate most is being treated like fragile children. Why don't you just admit that the proportion of gamers who are disabled is very low, and games companies-who are in the industry for money after all- would rather shift the gamne early than spend time adding extra options!"
The magazine's response was laughable to this.
But do you see my point? Of course games should have facilities to help disabled people, but the fact they don't just shows how little income companies get from disabled gamers.
It's capitalism. I don't agree with it, but it's just one of the many things wrong with this world
Logan
The top letter was by a deaf person explaining that not enough developers have in game subtitles, and that it's not even hard to implement. As you might expect, the magazine's response was saying that it was aweful that developers don't do this, and that they should.
Next month, and I check the letters page. Top letter was a response to the one mentioned above. Basically the person writing was saying "In last months letter section, the response that you gave to (insert name) was no more than 'We are sorry that you are blind and we don't want to hurt your feelings'. Disabled people are not just fragile people who have a weak emotional structure- I know many disabled people myself, and the thing they hate most is being treated like fragile children. Why don't you just admit that the proportion of gamers who are disabled is very low, and games companies-who are in the industry for money after all- would rather shift the gamne early than spend time adding extra options!"
The magazine's response was laughable to this.
But do you see my point? Of course games should have facilities to help disabled people, but the fact they don't just shows how little income companies get from disabled gamers.
It's capitalism. I don't agree with it, but it's just one of the many things wrong with this world
Logan
Good points. I think you are missing a bit though. I don't mean that we change the way the games are made just to cater for those with disabilities, just add extra features that could help them. That way everyone is happy.
It is obvious that people with certain disabilities will never be able to play games or play them in the same way that we do. But still there will be a percentage of them (it may be a small one) that would love the chance to play games. The main aim of developers is to make quality games hat people will buy and to also make a profit from them. More money would come from the small percentage of the disabled gamers as there aren't many who actually do cater for their needs.
Obviously its not up to what you or I think. If the developers don't want to waste money and time then they wont.
It is obvious that people with certain disabilities will never be able to play games or play them in the same way that we do. But still there will be a percentage of them (it may be a small one) that would love the chance to play games. The main aim of developers is to make quality games hat people will buy and to also make a profit from them. More money would come from the small percentage of the disabled gamers as there aren't many who actually do cater for their needs.
Obviously its not up to what you or I think. If the developers don't want to waste money and time then they wont.
I have a great fear of ever being disabled. I would that I thanked God everyday for my health, but I do forget.
I don't really see how disabled people can play games, remember, as you've pointed out, Ali, a disability can be anything from not being able to read, all the way up to almost complete paralysation*. So for games compnaies to cater for one collective or group and leave out the other would mean many legal battles and even more so lots of upset people!
I wish that everyone in the world had health as good as mine, but they don't. The majority do, and so game companies like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft cater for the masses. Do you really think that any of the big-time players will worry about little Johnny with one arm who is stuck in a Hospital in a village just outside of Crewe? hell no... they probably don't know he's there, but they do know about people with disabilities, yet they do nothing.
A good question to ask would be "What would you do about disabled gaming, if you were a games company?"
To answer that honeslty I wouldn't do a thing... call me a monster, or an ogre, but where is the good in making 150 people in a county happy for a while, but at the same time putting normal families in jeapordy because you can't afford to keep the staff on as a result of the lack of customers wanting a Disabled-X20 Joy Pad?! There is none...
We all have limits in life, some people can't run, others can't read, some are horrible people, some can't stop crying from depression... trying to even life out is never going to work... because we're trying to play God...
...And that's just 'not cricket'.
There are some VERY gifted disabled people in the world... people look on the outside to try and sum people up... which, in my opinion, is the stupidest thing ever. Disabled people might not like gaming, they might like to compose poems, or find pleasure in preaching their faith...
But you know what... I think something should be done... because although the overall effect may be negative and rectifying natures mistakes would be minimal, TO THAT ONE PERSON, IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE!
I don't really see how disabled people can play games, remember, as you've pointed out, Ali, a disability can be anything from not being able to read, all the way up to almost complete paralysation*. So for games compnaies to cater for one collective or group and leave out the other would mean many legal battles and even more so lots of upset people!
I wish that everyone in the world had health as good as mine, but they don't. The majority do, and so game companies like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft cater for the masses. Do you really think that any of the big-time players will worry about little Johnny with one arm who is stuck in a Hospital in a village just outside of Crewe? hell no... they probably don't know he's there, but they do know about people with disabilities, yet they do nothing.
A good question to ask would be "What would you do about disabled gaming, if you were a games company?"
To answer that honeslty I wouldn't do a thing... call me a monster, or an ogre, but where is the good in making 150 people in a county happy for a while, but at the same time putting normal families in jeapordy because you can't afford to keep the staff on as a result of the lack of customers wanting a Disabled-X20 Joy Pad?! There is none...
We all have limits in life, some people can't run, others can't read, some are horrible people, some can't stop crying from depression... trying to even life out is never going to work... because we're trying to play God...
...And that's just 'not cricket'.
There are some VERY gifted disabled people in the world... people look on the outside to try and sum people up... which, in my opinion, is the stupidest thing ever. Disabled people might not like gaming, they might like to compose poems, or find pleasure in preaching their faith...
But you know what... I think something should be done... because although the overall effect may be negative and rectifying natures mistakes would be minimal, TO THAT ONE PERSON, IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE!
Disabled gamers, when I first thought on this I thought there can't be that many as depending on how disabled some are it would be very hard for a lot of them to be able to fully interact with a game. Or is it?
The number of people who have a disability of some kind has risen and no doubt will continue. So should developers maybe use a percentage of their time and abilities to cater for their needs. If you think about it, it's a part of the market that isn't really used and could bring in extra money so surely that's good business for the developers.
The majority of us will have no disability and most of us probably take the whole gaming experience for granted. We come on here and discuss how great one game is or how poor a game and how it could be improved. Now imagine that you were deaf, would this spoil the game for you? Would the whole experience have changed and would you still play games in the same way that you normally do? Or imagine you have only one arm or lost a lot of the movement in some parts of your body. Would this make you stop playing games or make it harder for you to do?
When I first think of being disabled I think off being blind or deaf. The first of these is probably the hardest to make games for. If you can't see what is going on then most of the experience is gone. To me gaming for blind people just doesn't work and I don't see it working for some time, if ever.
As for deaf people, gaming is possible, the only difference is not having the ability to hear the sound. Many games these days have subtitles when someone talks and there are a great number of games that use very little sound. I didn't realise just how popular games were to disabled people until the other day when I watched a friends brother (who suffers from downes syndrome) and a few of his friends who all have some kind of disability, play on his playstation 2 and they all enjoyed it although they may not be able to enjoy it as much as the rest of us. I decided to try find out more and discovered a lot of sites that review games that they see suitable for deaf people.
More options could be included to cater for deaf people, like when someone talks the text is outputted on the screen (like in Red Faction) but these take more time and cost more to do so many are overlooked. But I think that the money would be made up with the extra sales.
I know how much gaming means and has meant in the past to me, and I hope that others have enjoyed it as much maybe more. That's why I would like to see more done by developers to offer the same kind of service to those who have extra needs. A lot is being done to make life better for disabled people but gaming hasn't done a lot to help. Everywhere you look there is some kind of assistance given to those who need it yet gaming hasn't really offered much help, certainly not as much as it could. Is it just something that we have to accept? Is gaming just not suited to disabled people?
But there are a lot more disabilities, some people have restricted movement, either by loss of limbs, damaged limbs or through another disability. Surely special controls could be developed and extra peripherals that make gaming possible to lots more could be produced. New technology is produced everyday and some of the things that are possible to do are quite mind-blowing. There are more peripherals being developed for people with disabilities, which in my view is a good thing. One day motion sensors may be at a standard where people don't need to use a mouse or analogue stick to control certain things in games. Hopefully in time there will be a lot more options to make gaming available to all who want to be able to do it, no matter what problems they may have.
We all play games for many different reasons, for fun mostly but also to relieve boredom, entertain us, but games can also improve certain skills which are essential in life. For example, co-ordination, hand-eye co-ordination, reaction times and keyboard and mouse skills. These improvements for disabled people can be very beneficial and something that most of us take for granted. I know that a few day care centres that help disabled people see gaming and using computers as part of learning and helping those with special needs.
There are many people who are classified as being disabled, some in my view worse than others although I would imagine them all to be hard to live with. Surely there is a part of the market here that could be quite a profit maker as it has yet to be fully catered for. I'm not saying that developers should make games only for disabled people and continue to make others for the rest of us. What I would like to see is more options included (subtitles for example) and more peripherals that make it easier for disabled people to use. This is quite a touchy subject, sorry if anyone is offended by it. It is hard as a lot want to be treated normally yet so many don't want to be left out and made to different. One thing that is known is that there are a lot of disabled people out there who play games to the best they can that would love extra's that could improve the whole experience for them.
So what are your views? Should more be done to help those that are disabled in some way to help them play games. Do you think that the way things are is fine? Please post your views.
I would ask you all to put yourself in their shoes and try it yourself. Try play a game with the sound muted or play using only one arm. It certainly isn't the same and in many cases hard to do. That's why I think more should be done to help.
The number of people who have a disability of some kind has risen and no doubt will continue. So should developers maybe use a percentage of their time and abilities to cater for their needs. If you think about it, it's a part of the market that isn't really used and could bring in extra money so surely that's good business for the developers.
The majority of us will have no disability and most of us probably take the whole gaming experience for granted. We come on here and discuss how great one game is or how poor a game and how it could be improved. Now imagine that you were deaf, would this spoil the game for you? Would the whole experience have changed and would you still play games in the same way that you normally do? Or imagine you have only one arm or lost a lot of the movement in some parts of your body. Would this make you stop playing games or make it harder for you to do?
When I first think of being disabled I think off being blind or deaf. The first of these is probably the hardest to make games for. If you can't see what is going on then most of the experience is gone. To me gaming for blind people just doesn't work and I don't see it working for some time, if ever.
As for deaf people, gaming is possible, the only difference is not having the ability to hear the sound. Many games these days have subtitles when someone talks and there are a great number of games that use very little sound. I didn't realise just how popular games were to disabled people until the other day when I watched a friends brother (who suffers from downes syndrome) and a few of his friends who all have some kind of disability, play on his playstation 2 and they all enjoyed it although they may not be able to enjoy it as much as the rest of us. I decided to try find out more and discovered a lot of sites that review games that they see suitable for deaf people.
More options could be included to cater for deaf people, like when someone talks the text is outputted on the screen (like in Red Faction) but these take more time and cost more to do so many are overlooked. But I think that the money would be made up with the extra sales.
I know how much gaming means and has meant in the past to me, and I hope that others have enjoyed it as much maybe more. That's why I would like to see more done by developers to offer the same kind of service to those who have extra needs. A lot is being done to make life better for disabled people but gaming hasn't done a lot to help. Everywhere you look there is some kind of assistance given to those who need it yet gaming hasn't really offered much help, certainly not as much as it could. Is it just something that we have to accept? Is gaming just not suited to disabled people?
But there are a lot more disabilities, some people have restricted movement, either by loss of limbs, damaged limbs or through another disability. Surely special controls could be developed and extra peripherals that make gaming possible to lots more could be produced. New technology is produced everyday and some of the things that are possible to do are quite mind-blowing. There are more peripherals being developed for people with disabilities, which in my view is a good thing. One day motion sensors may be at a standard where people don't need to use a mouse or analogue stick to control certain things in games. Hopefully in time there will be a lot more options to make gaming available to all who want to be able to do it, no matter what problems they may have.
We all play games for many different reasons, for fun mostly but also to relieve boredom, entertain us, but games can also improve certain skills which are essential in life. For example, co-ordination, hand-eye co-ordination, reaction times and keyboard and mouse skills. These improvements for disabled people can be very beneficial and something that most of us take for granted. I know that a few day care centres that help disabled people see gaming and using computers as part of learning and helping those with special needs.
There are many people who are classified as being disabled, some in my view worse than others although I would imagine them all to be hard to live with. Surely there is a part of the market here that could be quite a profit maker as it has yet to be fully catered for. I'm not saying that developers should make games only for disabled people and continue to make others for the rest of us. What I would like to see is more options included (subtitles for example) and more peripherals that make it easier for disabled people to use. This is quite a touchy subject, sorry if anyone is offended by it. It is hard as a lot want to be treated normally yet so many don't want to be left out and made to different. One thing that is known is that there are a lot of disabled people out there who play games to the best they can that would love extra's that could improve the whole experience for them.
So what are your views? Should more be done to help those that are disabled in some way to help them play games. Do you think that the way things are is fine? Please post your views.
I would ask you all to put yourself in their shoes and try it yourself. Try play a game with the sound muted or play using only one arm. It certainly isn't the same and in many cases hard to do. That's why I think more should be done to help.