Hi Tom.
Well the Vb issue is a separate one, but to just concentrate on design for
the second, I agree taht there is a place for games like Azabat, and
certainly they have produced some unique games, however what irritates me
about their company isn't just the running from the cd it's the attitude of
avoiding! adding basic features and other elements to their games in an
effort to keep them symple.
For example, in their anagram and mathematics style games, you have no
ability to input an answer, or have the computer keep score, also, though
the games run with the timer it is simply an audio sound file of a ticking
clock that the user ignores or not as they wish. Effectively, the game is
not using the power of the computer at all to create challenge, interest or
extra possibilities for the puzzle, you could do pretty much the same thing
with an audio timer and a bag of tactile scrabble letters.
Bare in mind This wasn't due to the developer's lack of skill, indeed he did
add the feature to have the computer produce a generic list of answers with
the anagram from the dictionary (albeit it is up to the user to do
everything in his/her head as to whether he/she got any of those answers).
The developer stated his decision to do this was because he "wanted to have
it as a game where people could just yell out" but what is really the point
of that?
Compare this to the Bg anagrams game of spoonbill or indeed the anagrams
game from allinplay, both of which are considderably cheaper than azabat's
version, have far more features (including in the case of allinplay online
competition), and are customizable with respect to time, challenge, score
etc, all of which customizations could be easily set for a person in the
game and saved by someone else, (though they're not hard to set on their
own).
Another example might be pontes backgammon, which impressed me so much I
bought the game. Loads of features, customizable background, play against
the computer on various difficculties, or play online, or indeed with
someone else at the same machine, different rule sets, even different ways
of viewing the board, (you can play witht the mouse if you wish), not to
mention several language packs, yet to start a game you just start the
program and hit enter, (everything is found in the settings menue).
While Azabat was certainly the first to create an accessible backgammon
game, and they still have the only backgammon game with graphics, in terms
of customization, features and just plane design Pontes is an amazingly well
put together affair, (plus it's cheaper too).
while as I said I have nothing against card, word or puzzle games, and
indeed enjoy them myself on occasion, like any games the better designed the
better the game, and it just seems Azabat chose to design the games without!
features, complexities or indeed in some cases much interaction at all in
gthe guise of "simplicity" ---- and yet this is what the Rnib promotes as a
standard for modern
and complete audio computer games for blind people!
Oh,nd to prvent this turning into a witchunt on Azabat, a very similar
example is talking crossword puzzles, vs Bg crosswords from spoonbill, which
even lets you import crosswords in different formats from actual newspapers!
again, why do certain people and organizations have the idea that "for the
blind" means skimping on decent design?
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
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