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"Behind every disability is a gamer"

Imagine you have extreme trouble hearing or every colour your eyes see look the same......

Playing Fifa with your mates, not being able to distinguish which team you are by the colour of the strips...... Playing Red Alert, but not being able to hear the in-game commentary.

Not a nice thought is it? Yet there are hundreds and thousands of people out there in that situation.

How would you feel?

I’m unable to put myself in their situation, but I’m guessing they must be pretty furious. I really haven’t seen any development into games to aid the “disabled” which I think is unfair. Some games are starting to include subtitles which I assume are fairly useful, but lets face it, your average game player is most likely using a 14” TV sitting in their bedroom. Do game developers really think the average consumer can read the tiny little text, while playing an action full game?
Yes, subtitles are a little step forward, but not the leap that most people with disabilities are looking for.

***** TESTING MODE *****

Switch on your TV, turn the sound off, and squint your eyes.

What can you see? What can you hear? Not a blooming lot!

Not quite the experience you would want from watching TV is it, yet this is what I expect some people have to cope with when playing games.

***** TESTING COMPLETE *****

You can open your eyes now.....

We’ve established that there is a problem in the gaming market, but how can we solve or improve this situation?

I don’t particularly like the thought of having little arrows pointing towards the area on the screen the sound is coming from or every object with the colour name written on it. But there must be an easier way.

Giving the user a CHOICE is always a welcome start. Why not provide the game player with a customization menu where he/she can adjust the size of the text/subtitles, adjust the shading and light, adjust the viewpoint within the game.

Have a little think of a games option screen..... To my knowledge there is very little or nothing on these subjects and I cant understand why there isn’t. Game developers need to be put under more pressure to include these simple features.

I sympathize for people with disabilities, not because they have “problems” but the fact that games don’t offer the support they should.

Now with DVD it opens up more doors, more features can be installed, but will the developers include them? Most games are made in a few different countries and therefore need translating, why not at the same time make a subtitle version? Surely seeing a smile on a child’s face is worth the time and effort. :-D

Only time will tell if any of this is taken up but I feel so sorry for people unable to play such great games for the sake of not having these basic options.

Behind every disability is a gamer.

Thanks for Reading,

Dav1d

Yeah, ummmmmm OKAY......

Anyone back to the topic. :-D

Yes, David, who knows where this could take us? And stop trying to queer the deal, Vottanator, David and I have something very special...

If this is freaking you out David I'll stop I'm only joking of course.

Dav1d wrote:
> Thanks for the comments.
>


That's okay. But just don't forget to call me in the morning!

Thanks for the comments.

It's just I think its an important issue within the Gaming World, and with the amount of money being invested into games these days I dont see why certain people should suffer just because they have a disability.

I have a friend who finds it hard to hear sometimes yet he's a game fanatic. Im sure game developers could could introduce something that made gaming better for people like him.

Seinfeld_Enthusiast wrote:
> Too true. I smell GAD. GAD smells good. Me like the way you smell,
> David, hmmm, yes, muahahaha...


Ooooh, you're in there Dave. Go buy him a drink, and call me in the morning.

Good post there Mr. I've been in a fight so I'm well 'ard.

It's a good point. It would be really annoying if you couldn't hear anything in the game, but since that is a small minority of people nothing serious is gonna happen. It's all about the profits to developers, isn't it?

Too true. I smell GAD. GAD smells good. Me like the way you smell, David, hmmm, yes, muahahaha...

I thought from the title it was some Declan Swan-type spoof story but it was actually very informative.

nice post there david. one of my friends is colour blind and he is the most fanatical gamer i have come across.

Good topic, me thinks you've got Gad. :0)

But you're right, there are a lot of situations where gamers without hearing, or a specific disability, could find the game very difficult to follow. Games that don't allow subtitles are a bit stupid, really.

The games industry has only got really big recently, but your point is a good one.
Intergrating things in games for people with disabilities will probably come into its own in a few years. Give it time.
Imagine not being able to hear Red Alerts comentry! You would be pretty screwed.