Introduction
Hello! My name is Jake, I'm an indie game developer. I'm here today to emphasize the need for blind accessibility in the game industry and I'm making games that use my own unique system for accessibility. I believe this system can be further developed to make most video games accessible.
_________________________________________________________________________
I also have a strong desire to add subtitles for the hearing impaired and special button mod for the physically impaired, resulting in a versatile video game that can be played by most anyone.
_________________________________________________________________________
With funding I raise here, I can develop my system further into technology that can allow most any story-oriented action video game to become accessible. I can add the new system to some of my own video games and offer them to the projects of other developers.
_________________________________________________________________________
Goals
- Enhance my created system to make most video games accessible
- Experiment with other options for blind such as touch (smart objects and toys)
- Include my created system in one or two of my own video games
- Present my methods for accessibility to organizations
- Help aid in the awareness of game accessibility
When you support, I'll keep you closely informed of progress, feature podcasts and journal updates and will send you game and accessibility technology content!
_________________________________ ________________________________________
About Me
I'm passionate about artwork, telling stories and video games (including video game culture). My art's been published on Steam, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Big Fish Games and I have a PS4 title in development. I have many blind friends and I enjoy playing audio games. The accessible game I'm working on features professional voice over actors known for their work on Playstation 4, WiiU, Xbox One and Netflix titles.
The Vision
Not too long ago I was developing some casual games and one day took notice to a news story about a blind kid who was playing a Legend of Zelda game using pre-typed move lists. I went to play the game without sight and noticed that the only reason for frequent falling or failing was (just like real life) the inability to determine what was a short distance away from the player. Hazards and enemies couldn't effectively be determined. I thought to myself... if that character could throw something out at the nearby surface, and it returned to tell him what it was, he could know exactly what was anywhere. Accessibility was also outside the player's reach due to the fact that menus couldn't be heard aloud for what they were. I thought, if the dialogue and menus were read aloud, the game could become accessible to the blind. This would turn a video game into an audio game essentially. Audio games are quite popular, but my interest was in creating audio games that felt and behaved more like video games and especially in helping to make the world of existing video games more accessible to the blind. Games like Legend of Zelda.
As a game developer I knew that audio cues and projectiles were not difficult to program. I felt that blind people have just as much a right and interest in enjoying video games as sighted people and that there are many reasons for wanting to play besides absorbing vivid visuals. Social interaction at school and friend making, experiencing the uniqueness some famous games are known for, playing without assistance, multiplayer and participating on Steam were just a few reasons for bringing blind accessibility to video games. I set out to experiment with video games that featured such cues in my laboratory... and by laboratory I mean in my bedroom with my laptop.
_________________________________________________________________________
Results
Within a few months I had developed a real-time game called Airik the Cleric with a protagonist of the same name. Accompanying him on his journey is a funny robot sidekick named scout. The quirky and spherical scout, when thrown at a nearby surface or significant object, states that object aloud. Coupling this unique system with full voiced over dialogue for cutscenes and an open world for exploring, I made a Zelda-like game which could be played by someone with no vision. The game was nicely received. GameAccessibility called it 'a game that blind gamers have long only dreamed of'.
Notes and Improvements
I wanted to make many improvements to Airik's scouting system, so I later created rotational control options. My games have real-time processing and controller compatibility with full voice over dialogue. I place into the dialogue descriptions that would provide information on locations, key items and characters in simplified form (e.g. Be sure and speak with Ally the Engineer near the windmill plains east of the village). This helps to make the game more immersive and doesn't take up time with things like tutorials. I didn't want to do a lot of 'hand holding' or make the point of the game 'feeling around' or 'searching slowly' as this didn't seem fun (just because I occasionally saw a blind person doing this, doesn't mean they'd like to as a central game mechanic). I wanted blind gamers to feel like they could run, jump, attack, open treasure chests and perform special moves with ease, helping to create the illusion they weren't really blind. I desired for it to be like a good book that causes you to forget the letters on the page, though I'm not sure how close I came to this result, I felt it was becoming somewhat close.
_________________________________________________________________________
What you can do
Your part in this is necessary. Contributions make this possible. I want your name in the credits and I'll keep you posted on the progress and tell you about the good things that follow. With funding I raise here, I can develop my system further into a 'wrapper' tool that can allow most any story-oriented action video game to become blind accessible. I can add these systems to my own video games and offer them to the projects of other developers. You can also tell others about blind accessibility and maybe share this campaign on Facebook or Twitter. Thousands of blind members have also tried my accessible systems and I've made many changes and additions following their insightful feedback.
"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible. Then they seem improbable,
and then, when we sommon the will, they soon became inevitable." -Christopher Reeve
___________________________________________________________________
Conclusion
I find creative solutions for game accessibility and accessibility in general an amazing pass time with endless possibilities. I want blind people everywhere to enjoy the benefits of accessibility made possible by the caring support of organizations and people like you. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jake Pawloski,
Artist, Developer