[games_access] You Can Make a Difference

[D. Michelle Hinn]

Just a post script -- I DEFINITELY understand living on a limited  
income, especially after this last year, but I'm not only talking  
about $60 games and $300 (and up!) controllers, but also shareware  
games that are much lower in cost. :)

Feedback to ALL companies and individuals making accessible games and/ 
or games with accessible features go a LONG way to making a company  
or individual feel like, wow, I AM making a difference. :)

Michelle

On Dec 3, 2009, at 1:14 PM, D. Michelle Hinn wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> It would be very interesting to know who on the list has bought an  
> accessible game for themselves or others and what the reactions  
> were so that we could send email to those companies so that they  
> know that what they are doing or have done HAS made a difference.
>
> $$ talks...and I and others can speak at conferences about what to  
> include in games. But to that...I know that I (and others!) also  
> get the financial question. It's one thing to predict what COULD be  
> gained monetarily but it's another to provide and encourage  
> feedback from users as a group, as individuals, and from gamers  
> with disabilities. It's these stories and advocacy about gamers  
> with disabilities on AbleGamers, Game Forward, One Switch, Game  
> Informer, and others (sorry to have left out any news/information  
> sources -- just picked a couple off the top of my head) that make a  
> real emotional impact...and also give companies the knowledge that  
> they are doing the right thing AND that what they do IS increasing  
> sales. Even yesterday's story in Game Informer -- although it was  
> about an unfortunate situation -- resulted in very interesting  
> forum posts on that site. Randy himself has been fielding posts on  
> the list and when he got on the forums, wow, that resulted in a  
> very different tone as people actually started READING the story  
> and looking up how many people that setting has helped -- those  
> with and without disabilities. (Unfortunately, continued inquiries  
> to Infinity Ward and Activision remain unanswered).
>
> John raises an excellent point -- let's talk about what we and  
> others have BOUGHT to support game accessibility whether for  
> themselves or for friends and family. And lets get that information  
> to the companies. This doesn't have to be just FROM the SIG but  
> let's all work on this as a group but also as individuals to help  
> game companies realize that their efforts have made a difference  
> via a financial perspective.
>
> Just my 2 cents of support. :) And, yes, I have bought some game  
> titles and controllers for community centers and when I get back  
> from running a few errands I'll tell you about those so that you  
> know I'm not just talking out of both sides of my mouth! :)
>
> Michelle
>
> On Dec 3, 2009, at 4:08 AM, John Bannick wrote:
>
>> Folks,
>>
>> The SIG does more to make computer games accessible than anywhere  
>> else I've found on the Web.
>>
>> Here's something additional we all can do this month.
>>
>> 1. Buy accessible games as gifts (Not necessarily ours, but anyones’)
>> 2. Suggest to friends and family that accessible games make good  
>> gifts
>> 3. And, most importantly, suggest to everyone who’ll stand still  
>> for a minute that they tell game companies when they’ve bought  
>> their game because it was accessible.
>>
>> Our own 7-128 Software recently released Visit Salem, a travelogue  
>> game. It includes over 6 hours of audio descriptions, history,  
>> architecture, music and interviews. It’s also totally inaccessible  
>> to players who are blind, deaf, or motion-impaired.
>>
>> Why? Because it would take an additional 6 months to make it  
>> accessible. Even with a code base that includes a lot of  
>> accessibility features and useful guidance from John Oliveira, a  
>> colleague and head of our Massachusetts Commission for the Blind,  
>> and from you and other folks I know in the accessibility community.
>>
>> I’d love to make it accessible to players who are blind, or deaf,  
>> or motion-impaired. But the consensus among our management team is  
>> that there are too few potential sales to justify the effort and  
>> expense, at least at this time.
>>
>> Game margins are razor slim. Electronic Arts lost tens of millions  
>> of dollars this year, also last year. The difference between  
>> profit and loss at our small mainstream company is tiny.
>>
>> Posts by other colleagues suggest that a few more sales could help  
>> pay their light bills, too.
>>
>> Posts by Barrie, Dark, Mark Barlet, Brian Papineau, and my own  
>> experience here suggest that some mainstream game companies do  
>> respond positively when you tell them “I buy your stuff because  
>> you make it work for me. I buy other people’s stuff when you  
>> don’t” (Recent news notwithstanding)
>>
>> So, over the next few weeks you personally can make a difference  
>> by bugging people to buy accessible games and for them to tell  
>> developers when they do.
>>
>> John Bannick
>> Chief Technical Officer
>> 7-128 Software
>>
>>
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>
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