[games_access] Deaf-Blind Computer Games: Braille or Morse - food for thought

Wed Sep 17 13:47:01 EDT 2014

If I was personally working with a blind person wanting to have more stuff
to do, and they were inquisitive about programming, games, interesting
stuff, I would teach arduino and robots. I just built a feisty little car
that could provide a fun "reality meets gaming" So, let's say the blind
child starts with a noisy (from the motors) little motorized car that likes
to jerk around (making it hard to catch) but is in a loop where it slows
down and can be caught. When the child is older and actually programming,
the game could increase to include raised contained platforms, narrow
enough to make grabbing a malfunctioning robot from the playing field.
There could be audible pings from the front of the cars to give an angle of
direction. There would be a sensor that would be in the back that would
have to be protected. This could only be triggered if another player
"snuck" up behind player and crashed into back of the car. Each car would
have a different beeping sound, so each player could detect his own car.
 If integration of blind children with other children, the game could be
adapted into a team concept, where there was a degree of protection
involved, the blind child's car would "be the flag" and team work would be
taught, and the ability to recognize we all have differences, inabilities,
and abilities, strengths and weaknesses. I am building a new keyboard that
would be a good controller for this device, and actually built the car
robot two days ago, and it is feisty and noisy! It reminds me of r2d2.  If
you guys think we can get me kickstarter funded lol i could build all kinds
of interactive "real world + computer " games, one a day!  =)

On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 7:08 AM, Barrie Ellis <barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk
> wrote:

> Thanks for that info. Potentially very cool. Seems a good fit with this
> kind of stuff too:
> http://switchgaming.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/tangible-media-deaf-blind-gaming.html
>  and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZplTj8th0bE
>
> It had me wondering if anyone plays a game in binary one-switch style.
> Morse input, and morse output. Would be fascinating to find out.
>
> I dropped Sense a line too prior to your message. They'll get two in one
> day. I wonder what they'll make of it. :)
>
> Barrie
>
>
>
>
> On 17 September 2014 14:32, Ian Hamilton <i_h at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> One that I know of that has been designed with that in mind is sightlence:
>>
>> http://sightlence.com/
>>
>> That has been played by profoundly deaf-blind adults and children . The
>> adults he tested with had never played a game before, I don't know whether
>> the children had. I'm not sure if Mathias Nordvall is on the mailing
>> list or not but he'd be able to give some more information.
>>
>> If anyone reading isn't familiar with what Barrie means by braille
>> output, this what braille displays look like:
>>
>>
>> http://www.blinksoftinc.com/Products/Refreshable-Braille/Brailliant_in_use.jpg
>>
>> There is a game that has been made specifically for braille displays, a
>> version of Tetris where you can feel the objects moving down the display:
>>
>> http://www.audiogames.net/db.php?action=view&id=Dotris
>>
>> Braille displays work with screenreaders, the text is just output to the
>> pins instead of to speech synthesis. But reading speed is far slower than
>> audio screenreaders. So there are a fair few screenreader compatible games
>> that are suitable for people who are deafblind, but anything involving
>> dynamic notifications etc is probably out.
>>
>> As far as how many people with very little vision/hearing actually do
>> that or not I don't know, I've dropped Sense a line though, they should
>> have an idea.
>>
>> Ian
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 13:14:05 +0100
>> From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk
>> To: games_access at igda.org
>> Subject: [games_access] Deaf-Blind Computer Games: Braille or Morse -
>> food for thought
>>
>>
>> Does anyone out there have any knowledge of any deaf-blind computer games
>> that exist and/or methods to play?
>>
>> I'm aware of Morse Code based data-entry systems for switch / sip-puff
>> users. I'm aware of modern day braille output for computers. I've heard of
>> Morse buzzers so people can feel messages coming through.
>>
>> I'm not aware of any examples of people actually playing computer games
>> who are deaf-blind (I'm thinking almost no sight, and almost no hearing).
>>
>> It seems text based adventure games would be quite possible. But do
>> people actually do this.
>>
>> It seems grid based games that are tactile could be played over the
>> internet, using braille+keyboard or morse entry and morse buzzer...
>> Probably lots of other methods too.... Things like whack-a-mole seem
>> plausible.
>>
>> You could even have hybrid action + text games (obvious survival horror
>> thought.... describe an environment.... you can hear foot-steps.....
>> prepare to defend yourself...... - then recreate the foot steps in gentle
>> buzzes that get a bit louder... when you hear a panic buzz - mash your
>> button to fend off the attacker)... then go back to text description and
>> maybe an interface as simple as one tap for yes, two taps for no or braille
>> for yes/no. Here's some weird-stuff slightly related:
>> http://www.enigmaresearchgroup.com/article023.htm
>>
>> Being less obvious, you could recreate anything in a text adventure with
>> action / randomising elements, a bit like Regret of the Wind for
>> Dreamcast/Saturn.
>>
>> Any idea if any of this has ever taken place/takes place today?
>>
>> Seems like a logical progression for some of Eelke's V.I. work, maybe?
>> Maybe with hybrid display for those who have partial sight (and could aid
>> in the learning of braille / morse)....
>>
>> Barrie
>>
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>
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