----- Original Message ----- From: "Amy Ruell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 3:13 PM Subject: [Blindad] New Accessible games
> Hello all, > Just wanted you to know about this company, with which I am familiar. Here > is an article about them. If you want to learn about their accessible > games, > go to: www.7128.com. They're really nice people and have worked to ensure > that as many of their games are accessible as possible. They consulted > with > the computer group over which I preside to make their games accessible. > > Partners in life, business > 'Intentional family' forms video game company > By Steven Rosenberg, Globe Staff | February 15, 2007 > Shortly after 7 each morning, Eleanor Robinson puts on a pot of coffee in > her kitchen and sits down and reads the newspaper with her husband, Earle. > Within minutes, they're usually joined by John Bannick or David Brown or > Cynthia Geller or Marcia Morrison. There is no one single surname on the > doorbell of the 30-room Victorian house that overlooks the North River in > Salem. No matter, say the six people who have lived together for much of > the > last 20 years. "What we are is an intentional family," explained Geller, a > Detroit -born actress and political fund-raiser. More than 20 years ago, > before the Internet and the widespread use of personal computers and video > games, the six met while playing the tabletop, fantasy role-playing game, > Dungeons & Dragons. By 1989, they were in the middle of what would become > a > 12-year Dungeons & Dragons game, and the core players of the group decided > that it made sense to buy a house together. Since then, they have moved > from > their original house in Somerville to Salem, endured the death of a > founding > member of their group, grown gray together, and, last month, launched > 7-128 > Software, at 7128.com. The company's name refers to seven people living > together inside of Route 128 and counts John Bannick's wife, Barbara, a > librarian and house member who died six years ago. The company sells > puzzles > and downloadable video games that contain no sexual or violent content and > can also be played by those who are deaf and blind. The games, aimed at > baby > boomers and the senior gaming market, range from $5 to $10. "They don't > want > violence or sex," Eleanor Robinson said of the gamers 7128.com hopes to > attract. "They want family-friendly games that they are perfectly content > to > play with their kids." To date, the group has produced about 60 games and > is > issuing a new release every Thursday. Most of the games are set among > mansions in Newport, R.I., in the 1890s. When players need help in solving > the games' mysteries, they click on an image of Inspector Cyndi (Geller), > a > Viennese police detective. Like Geller, all of the housemates have a role > in > creating the games. Bannick and Eleanor Robinson helped create the > computer > programs; Earle Robinson, a former Army officer, did the photography; > Brown, > a retired social worker, did the writing and research; and Morrison, a > former rock 'n' roll singer, helped with the audio. After five years of > planning and about 18 months of programming, filming, and storyboarding -- > many of the stories were conceived over dinner or a couple of glasses of > wine -- the business launched on Jan. 1. The group has relied on > word-of-mouth advertising, sending e-mails about the website to their > large > coterie of fellow gamers, and so far, the six are satisfied with the > response. "We're already making money," said Eleanor Robinson, 72, a > former > teacher and Marine officer who lives on the second floor of the Salem > house > with her husband. The Robinson s, like the rest of their partners and > housemates, say their business goal dovetails with the co-op's collective > goals: "We want to make enough money to pay our mortgage," said Eleanor > Robinson. While they have separate apartments inside the house, the > residents nearly always leave their doors open, attend group meals > frequently, and pool their expenses, with some paying more according to > net > worth. While group members often travel together -- including a sojourn to > London for a month -- they say one of the biggest benefits of living > together is knowing that they won't die alone. As they age, caring for one > another has become paramount for all of the house members. "We don't want > to > be alone, basically," said Earle Robinson, who has been married to Eleanor > for 49 years and has three children and eight grandchildren. "It's a big, > cold world out there if you're alone. It's easier to do things for other > people than have things done for you." Several years ago, the group came > together to support Bannick's wife when she was diagnosed with brain > cancer. > "They'd feed her, dress her, and just be there and sit with her," Bannick > said. "Before she died, Barbara said, 'I feel like my family is taking > care > of me.' " After Bannick's wife died, his 89-year-old mother, Marjorie, > moved > in and lived another three years with the support of the group. This type > of > support is comforting to the Robinsons and their children. "Our children > are > quite happy with it," said Eleanor Robinson. "They don't have to worry > that > Mom and Dad are getting older and are alone. They know that there's > somebody > that will get a hold of them if they need them." Besides the third floor, > where the business office is set up, the most likely place for the > housemates to meet is the Robinsons' second-floor apartment. Their > apartment > is the fastest way for Bannick to get to his top-floor office, and for > Geller to get to the laundry room. It's also where long impromptu > conversations take place and where house meetings are held. At the > meetings, > they discuss house finances and maintenance, and clear up disputes. "If > there is an argument, we are able to back off, sit down, and settle it," > Geller said. "You can't live in that kind of proximity with a lot of > people > without there being disagreements, and sometimes big disagreements. It's > like a marriage: You have to be sufficiently committed to the relationship > that you want to solve the problems." House members also say that, besides > trust, their ability to communicate effectively has allowed them to stay > together and start a business. "I'd say the biggest challenge is > maintaining > the schmooze," Eleanor Robinson said. "Communication is the number one > thing. You have to make sure that everybody's in the loop, everybody's > consulted, everybody has air time. We do that with our house, and with our > business. The lifestyle and the work style are absolutely identical." > Steven > Rosenberg can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > C Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Blindad mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://babel-fish.us/mailman/listinfo/blindad_babel-fish.us > > > __________ NOD32 2067 (20070217) Information __________ > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > http://www.eset.com > > _______________________________________________ Gamers mailing list .. Gamers@audyssey.org To unsubscribe send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can visit http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org to make any subscription changes via the web.
