Hi Damien,
Well, I do see how that can and is a problem for you. In a game such as
Tank Commander you can't just remember directions. You have to improvise
as the tactical situation changes. Knowing where everything is in
relation to you will help in making choices how to avoid an attack or
plan a attack. The same sort of skills are helpful when using an iPhone.
With something like an iPhone it is helpful to know where a certain
button is in relation to the one you are pointing at. Visualizing, as it
were, the layout helps me keep track of if a button I want is up, down,,
left, or right of where my finger is pointing. I try to keep that mental
image or layout in my mind as I move around as its the only way I keep
track of where I am at, what I'm doing, and can dial a phone number
fairly quickly on a touchscreen after some practice and memorization.
What it comes down to is that spacial orientation is a skill like any
other. Some people have it others don't. I know plenty of people who
can't spell and they are sighted. I know more people who can't do
fractions or figure out how to solve basic algebra problems let alone
trig or geometry. That doesn't mean those people are dumb, but for
whatever reason they aren't mentally equipped to retain that skill in
memory.
To return to an analogy I used earlier you are like the cane traveler
who must be in constant contact with land marks like trash cans, lamp,
polls, tree lawn, etc in order to get around. Those who use touchscreens
are like guide dog users who don't need constant physical contact with
the environment and are alright if the dog avoids trash cans, lamp
polls, parked cars, etc because we use our other senses like smell and
hearing to give us clues to where we are.
Cheers!
On 4/22/2012 7:26 AM, Damien Pendleton wrote:
Hi Thomas,
I think you've hit the nail on the head with me. I've never been
sighted and therefore never been able to really visualise things. It's
like even in the real world, I constantly find myself wondering why
cars and pedestrians don't bother going straight forwards rather than
sideways, only to be told, "They are going forwards". This is also
significant in a gaming context, I think this is why I struggle with
games such as Shades of Doom. To be able to at least think that I
could play GMA Tank Commander, I had to listen to someone else play it
and then memorise all the directions, but I couldn't visualise the world.
Plus, as I said in a previous post, my fingers are constantly in the
way so I can never quite perform the correct action to get it to do
what I want, and that is so frustrating. The amount of times I wanted
to chuck my stupid IPhone out the window was more than I could count.
Regards,
Damien.
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