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Games for the blind Test

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Author Comments

A concept for games for the legally blind.
Movement: WSAD

I would like to point out this is not a finished game, nor even a game. It is a concept test, a basic test of the core idea. I am working on a full version game that uses no graphics.

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now i know why its for blind, you cant get killed by red circles

So, I know the beeping is to alert you that there is something there. And, though I was able to close my eyes and navigate some it immediately became obvious to me that using circles for detection/interaction may not have been the best thing on your part. It makes walls seem very uneven. Consider these suggestions:

1. For walls use a rectangular hit box to trigger the sound. If the walls are dangerous you should have these stepped so that as you get closer to the wall the beeping increases. This will allow the player to know just how close they are to the wall. If the walls are safe to touch make the hitbox right at the wall so when you are touching it you know, an area around it isn't needed.

2. For the player, the player should not have a detection area that extends beyond it's "solid" presence. The reason being that overlapping hit boxes make it difficult to judge where something actually is, and can allow you to interact with two hit boxes when you are indeed clear to pass them.

3. If you must have a hit zone surrounding the player consider making it 4 interlocking hit zones with independent sounds. This way you can know where you are actually touching the object. Playing this as it stands (with the very lumpy hit boxes. It is not possible to tell if your side or bottom or top is touching. I was only able to make it about half way through with my eyes closed because I couldn't tell where I was touching.

For a simple maze based game for the blind this isn't a bad idea, but it does need some refining, The next version you make try implementing some of the suggestions that have been made and testing it on blindfolded friends. See how quickly if at all they are able to make it though the levels. and you can adjust things accordingly. I know this is a proof of concept, but consider killing the graphic interface all together. Add voice prompts for instructions explaining what each sound means, and a voice prompt at a new level.

I am giving this 2 and a half stars and I think that is generous given the amount of work that needs to be done. Keep trying though I think it is an interesting concept even for playing a game blind. Other people (on newgrounds even) have tried to make games that you didn't need to see to be able to play, or where the objective was to see nothing, the one that I can think of off the top of my head "Escape the cave" failed at it quite poorly. I think you can turn this into something decent though.

Jjoofy responds:

Thank you very much for the suggestions, your review was extremely helpful! I will be sure to explore all of your suggestions and ideas as I build and test this game.

Suggestions for later: Make the beeping more frantic when you get further into the red. That will be greatly appreciated if you remove the graphics. Maybe have instructions read out in the beginning so the legally blind can understand. If you touch the little red dot in the center of the red field, destroy the blue dot. I like the idea. If you improve it later I might play it again.

There needs to be a way to tell how far away the danger is. Right now, there's no difference between just touching red, and being up against the enemy. I suggest making the beep louder, faster, or higher pitched as we get closer to the center. Once you have that, you could create different types of obstacles, such as trapdoors that open and close every so often, with different sound effects for each. Also, in the full game, you need some kind of goal and more than one level. But I understand this is a concept test.

3/5 for the interesting idea. Would like to se-ehm, hear the full version when it comes out.

Credits & Info

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3,396
Faves:
3
Votes
11
Score
1.40 / 5.00

Uploaded
Jan 9, 2013
4:19 PM EST