Hi Tom.
I wasn't actually thinking of developers making specifically designed
educational games to teach something (although it's obviously good when that
happens as with the Looktell voiceover tutorial), just of presenting some of
the games we already have as education exercises in pointing out what can be
learnt from them.
For example, many of the space invaders style audio titles encourage sound
memorization and identification, several first person games like shades of
doom require the player to learn techniques for navigating space from only
audio information, while more recently on the Iphone we're seeing games like
audio defense zombie arena that actually require movement in space. And that
is not to speak of games that require use of a screen reader's standard
functions. As I said, I learnt far more about how to use the internet and
all of Supernova's navigation functions through playing online games than I
ever did through direct teaching or through trying to use it for work, same
goes for Vo on the Iphone.
I think that would be a good way to present games to organizations, if their
motivation is based on work and efficiency, particularly sinse these days
sighted kids will be using the internet, social media and games on computers
and learning far more than just what they're taught in Information
technology classes in school.
As to the stigma of gamers, I'd be interested to see that discussion, sinse
while like a lot of group sterriotypes I suspect it's a bit more pronounced
in the states than in the Uk the "gamer = lazy social outcast" belief
certainly exists over hear as well and I agree is entirely irrational
compared to other interests, ---- then again collective assumptions are
rarely rational anyway, (if it were rational I wouldn't refer to it as the
collective).
In the mainstream world at least this idea of games as toys and gamers as
over grown kids is falling off I think, particularly as the gamer generation
grows up, although as usual I suspect this is where blindness organizations
might be behind the times.
Still all the more reason to think of having some sort of word out there.
All the best,
Dark.
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