Hi Tom.
Agreed on all counts, certainly my attempt contacting Capcom over low vision
access issues and their huge amounts of 3D games (this was in the days
before I discovered audio games existed), failed horribly.
Nintendo were much more sympathetic when i spoke to them on the phone
reguarding Wii menue access, however their organization was such that even
though the chap I spoke to at Nintendo Uk would've liked to put things
forward, there was no way even for him to get in touch with the main
developement centers in the Us or Japan to progress the issue any further.
I'd agree about Sryth, having had chats with the Gm over the last four
years. I admit that these days I'm slightly less happy on some of the
directions Sryth is taking, ---- automating many processes such as travel
and finding adventures which in the passed were freely explorable, and
focusing heavily on stat based competitions betwene players, ---- in fact
the day Sryth goes full pvp is the day that Ekitrina hangs up her sword, but
it is good that the game is both accessible and that the Gm is open to
discussion.
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Ward" <[email protected]>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 4:33 AM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Accessible Mainstream Games
Hi Dark,
Yeah, I have to agree it will begin with indipendant markets first.
Smaller developers are more open to new ideas and suggestions then the
mainstream big larger corperations. I can remember last year me and
another person contacted Sony about possably adding voice output to the
menus and various other access improvements for the platform.
Unfortunately, we never got passed the low level guys in the customer
service department. All we got for our multiple e-mails is "thank you for
your suggestion, we can not disclose future plans for the Playstation,
they don't allow their developers to speak to the public about new feature
ideas, and basically get lost."
Really quite sad because we can't even have a reasonable discussion with
these people about access issues because they have lots of middlemen who
act important, talk important, and have 0 power at all. When you ask them
to send you up the chain of command they give you the "sorry, I am not
alloud to do that," speal. So we are really screwed by there internal
polacies as muchas anything else. I suppose if someone got on talk radio,
a television show, put an article in the paper about the waySony was
treating accessibility they might crawl out of the woodwork claiming total
ignorance. In a since they'd be telling the truth since they put the
middlemen there to deflect you and I from talking to them one on one so
nothing we say ever gets braught to their attention. I'm sorry to say I
know of no other way to get there attention than by sticking there face in
it by making it a public media issue, or taking them to court and
performing a class action law suit. Neither way will make them any more
willing to talk, and will make them angry if nothing else.
One reason I support Sryth is I can have a one on one dialog with the
developer. Get to know him, and he listens when I have an idea, comment,
or suggestion. Even if he never takes my input at least I feel better
knowing I was heard. Not so with Sony or the other big companies. they
blow you off without a backwards glance. As if you were a pesky fly or
something.
dark wrote:
As I've said before, I see independent game developers as very much the
future of game access.
they are small enough both to have a dialogue with, and that the sales of
games to Vi gamers can actually make a difference to them.
While it would be fantastic if the likes of midway, Capcom or nintendo
were to include access features, I'm not certain with their high turn
over of produced games, and their need to sell literally millions of
copies that it would be from a purely capitalistic point of view worth
their while.
Of course this isn't to say that I think the efforts of Igda etc
shouldn't be directed at those companies just that I'd be more surprised
if something came of it.
From the independent games point of view, while I appreciate the
findings of
7-128 on the number of website actually devoted to gaming for the motion
or hearing impared, it does seem that the issues involved are much more
well known, sinse independent games like retroremakes and the indi games
showcase have accessibility guidelines and sections which focus
exclusively upon those areas but have litle to no mention of sound access
at all.
While I don't doubt the findings of the servay, it appears from the
experience i've had that Vi access is less known about in general by the
vast majority of independent games developers than other forms of
access, ----- which probably explains the larger amount of specialized
resources available.
Obviously as with most of these sorts of findings though it's dependent
upon where you look, and it might just be I've stumbled upon the few
handy resources available in this area.
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
---
Gamers mailing list __ [email protected]
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].
---
Gamers mailing list __ [email protected]
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].
