Things are getting better, gradually. This is encouraging. Thanks.
---
If guns cause crime, pencils cause misspelled words.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Ward" <thomasward1...@gmail.com>
To: <jbann...@7128.com>; "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2009 9:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Accessible Mainstream Games
Hi John,
It is my belief that good accessibility always begins at the academic
level. One thing we blind computer users face is young developers are just
not taught how to create accessible software from day one. In the passed
when i was enrolled at Wright State University they ran you through the
basics, and out the door you go. There was no discussion how this or that
application could be made accessible or a list of guidelines that should
be met in order to insure a high level of accessibility. As a result most
Windows applications are released and then adapted for our needs down the
road through scripting, communication with the developers, etc. In other
words fixing the problem after the fact.
I am glad to say however that this is beginning to change. As you well
know after Sun introduced the Java Swing toolkit accessibility has become
a much higher priority for Java developers, and there is lots more
documentation on access considerations than there were 10 years ago at
this time. Apple has totally redesigned there Cocoa API for Mac OS so that
accessibility is not an after thought but a core component of there user
interface. That will pay off in the end because the Cocoa books I have
read do at least cover accessibility considerations at some point. It also
helps that voice over comes with Mac OS allowing developers to test the
user interface before shipping said product. Ubuntu Linux also has adopted
this design approach to accessibility and it is slowly but surely paying
off. More and more Linux developers are becoming aware of access issues
and are beginning to meet some level of accessibility out of the box now.
It isn't perfect, but making access a core component brings it immediately
to a developers attention. This idea of access first has been something
Windows has lacked, and for that reason we have suffered for far too long.
With games we find ourselves in the same boat. You can pick up any game
programming book, and i can tell you at least 2/3 of the book is on
graphics design and how to get the coolest eye candy. Very little is
actually discussed about input and sound. You May get one possably two
chapters on each. The rest is devoted to graphics, graphics, and more
graphics. Perhaps if we want to really be successful we need to go to the
source, the authors, teachers, and the people who influence a programmers
early education. Contact the author who is writing the next Killer Games
in C# and give him pointers about including Sapi 5 in his/her game
examples to speak scores, maybe add more 3D audio, something to get
him/her thinking about access issues. Then, a new game programmer will
read and get ideas how he/she can help.
HTH
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