Hi all, I'd like to make some reflections on John's verry thought-provoking message. I haven't been following the previous discussion, so my coments only pertains to the message below.
I'm not a developer myself just a blind philosophical Linux-nerd from Sweden. :-) On Sun, 9 Sep 2007, John Bannick wrote: > Our company's research shows that: > > 1. It takes about 40 professionals 18 - 24 months and 6 - 10 million > dollars to produce a class A computer game. But the budget and maybe also the development time would probably be a little less considering that games for the blind are mostly audio-based. No need for graphics/animation work etc. > 3. If you distribute a game through stores, less than 10% of the price goes > to the developer. A higher percentage would go to the developer of games for the blind, if, as is the case today, the games are mostly distributed trhough the web, and marketed through free channels. I think that the best strategy for people developing game sfor the blind is to market their games worldwide through all available blindness related channels - the lbindgamers list perhaps being the most important one. > 4. If you distribute a game through the Web, only 1% of people who play a > free demo actually buy a game. I dare say the number for potential buyers is slightly higher among specialized markets like the blind/visual impairment market, especially considering the relatively few titles available. > On the other hand, if you are coding for people who are blind, > > 1. There are 250 - 300 blind accessible games available on the Web. > 2. Almost all of those are totally free. > 3. Comments on the forums indicate that even the free games have trouble > getting people to play them. Personally I think that the commercial audio games that are available do hold a higher quality than the freely games thet are currently available. Most freebies available seem to be small, research-oriented or experimental games, which of course are important for the development of the blind/V-I gaming industry, but perhaps not very appealing for the average player. I believe larger games and games of higher quality would attract more players. > 4. And, 70 - 80 percent of people who are blind in the US are > either > unemployed or underemployed, so there's not a lot of cash > there. True, but this would pose a greater problem in a more competitive market. It's true that the buying power of blidn people is less, but the entertainment options available to spend money on are also less. Continued happy gaming/developing, Tobias --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
