Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Interactive Fiction tips (self.Blind)
submitted 5.284131172839506y ago by EndlessReverberation
Hello everyone. My wife and I have been wanting to play some Interactive fiction games. I'm trying to figure out the best option to play these games on Windows 10 with NVDA. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions? I tried Filfre, but I have had trouble getting it to work well with NVDA. What apps do people tend to use? I will use JAWS if I need to, but I would rather use NVDA. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
AllHarlowsEve 2 points 5y ago
Would you consider playing DnD? I play it 3 days a week and I'm near totally blind.
One game was found on Reddit, one from Twitter and the third from a Discord group I'd joined after being invited via Twitter. It's definitely doable.
One game was found on Reddit, one from Twitter and the third from a Discord group I'd joined after being invited via Twitter. It's definitely doable.
EndlessReverberation [OP] 1 points 5y ago
Hi AllHarlowsEve, I might be interested in DnD, I really don't know anything about it. Are these games you play local, or do you play online with people some how?
AllHarlowsEve 1 points 5y ago
I play online using a website called Roll 20 and using a voice chat app called Discord.
There's a really active, great DnD community on Twitter, and even here on Reddit, there's a pretty good one.
Are you more into fantasy, space, star wars, lovecraft, monsters, etc?
There are so many tabletop role playing games, AKA TTRPG's, that there's a little something for everyone.
I currently have a DnD 5E, dungeons and dragons' fifth edition, game going, as well as starfinder, a space version of Pathfinder, which is like, a sister game to DnD, as well as a Monster of the Week, like Supernatural meets the X Files, crossed with Scooby Doo meets Buffy depending on how your Keeper, that game's version of a Dungeon Master, DM, or Game Master, GM, wants to do it.
There are a bunch of subreddits for it, and quite a few blind and VI players. 2 out of my 3 games have multiple people who are blind or visually impaired, not just me.
The main question I have is how comfortable are you with a screen reader, and would you be willing to try different things if it doesn't work perfectly?
My starfinder sheet, made before the official starfinder sheet went onto Roll20, is a pain to navigate, honestly. But, if I can't do something, my GM is always willing to help.
Also, any GM worth their weight in feces will be willing to help you plot, plan, and map using words instead of images, which is fairly common.
I know some of the subs are:
- /r/roll20
- /r/dnd
- /r/starfinder
- /r/lfg
- /r/roll20LFG
There's a really active, great DnD community on Twitter, and even here on Reddit, there's a pretty good one.
Are you more into fantasy, space, star wars, lovecraft, monsters, etc?
There are so many tabletop role playing games, AKA TTRPG's, that there's a little something for everyone.
I currently have a DnD 5E, dungeons and dragons' fifth edition, game going, as well as starfinder, a space version of Pathfinder, which is like, a sister game to DnD, as well as a Monster of the Week, like Supernatural meets the X Files, crossed with Scooby Doo meets Buffy depending on how your Keeper, that game's version of a Dungeon Master, DM, or Game Master, GM, wants to do it.
There are a bunch of subreddits for it, and quite a few blind and VI players. 2 out of my 3 games have multiple people who are blind or visually impaired, not just me.
The main question I have is how comfortable are you with a screen reader, and would you be willing to try different things if it doesn't work perfectly?
My starfinder sheet, made before the official starfinder sheet went onto Roll20, is a pain to navigate, honestly. But, if I can't do something, my GM is always willing to help.
Also, any GM worth their weight in feces will be willing to help you plot, plan, and map using words instead of images, which is fairly common.
I know some of the subs are:
- /r/roll20
- /r/dnd
- /r/starfinder
- /r/lfg
- /r/roll20LFG
redstone1337 2 points 5y ago
If you're both looking to do something together, maybe try a MUD. You can access some via the Windows telnet client.
EndlessReverberation [OP] 1 points 5y ago
We might have to check that out. I know in the past when I have looked into MUDS they seem a little overwhelming/hard to get into, but if we found the right one maybe it would be worth it. Does anyone have any MUDS they like? FYI, My wife and I are not really into fighting games.
Amonwilde 1 points 5y ago
Install the Windows Frotz add-on on this page. There's a link there to download Windows Frotz for free as well.
https://jeff.tdrealms.com/index.php?page=NVDA
Frotz is mainly for z-machine games, which is a lot of games but not all of them. There's another interactive fiction add-on there but I haven't tested it out.
I'll also just say that the experience using Windows Frotz with the add-on is pretty nice.
https://jeff.tdrealms.com/index.php?page=NVDA
Frotz is mainly for z-machine games, which is a lot of games but not all of them. There's another interactive fiction add-on there but I haven't tested it out.
I'll also just say that the experience using Windows Frotz with the add-on is pretty nice.
EndlessReverberation [OP] 1 points 5y ago
Thanks Amonwilde. I actually tried out Frotz with the NVDA add on right after I made this post. I agree that it works well. It was a good recommendation. Speaking of recommendations,do you have any favorite I F games?
Amonwilde 2 points 5y ago
Yes! I recommend:
Counterfeit Monkey - Possibly not the easiest game to play completely blind, since it's in part about spelling. But an amazing game. You have to escape a banana republic with only a gizmo that lets you change items by changing one letter in their names.
Kerkerkruip - Not an adventure game, more of a roguelike RPG. You have to defeat seven monsters in a dungeon while growing more powerful. The game changes each time you play it, and the order in which you kill the monsters is critical to success.
Spider and Web - Just thinking about this game gives me chills. This game has the single best puzzle in any game I've ever played. You'll know which one I'm talking about after you solve it. Try not to use a walkthrough until the end sequence, which is fine but not as important to not ruin as the rest of the game.
Superluminal Vagrant Twin - A weird game, in that the "rooms" are not rooms, but planets. The game is sort of zoomed out in a weird way that gets rid of a lot of clutter. Has some fun easter eggs and the writing is great, if spare.
Treasures of a Slaver's Kingdom - The writing in this game is a take-off of Conan and is great purple prose. Some RPG elements. A good laugh if the premise appeals to you.
Varicella - Most of these recs aren't very puzzle focused, but this one is. An interesting protagonist and some strange and memorable characters.
Hard Puzzle - Don't play this game. I'm warning you!
For accessible text games, I'd also recommend trying the Choice of Games series if you haven't already. I've enjoyed the Lost Heir triology and a number of others.
Counterfeit Monkey - Possibly not the easiest game to play completely blind, since it's in part about spelling. But an amazing game. You have to escape a banana republic with only a gizmo that lets you change items by changing one letter in their names.
Kerkerkruip - Not an adventure game, more of a roguelike RPG. You have to defeat seven monsters in a dungeon while growing more powerful. The game changes each time you play it, and the order in which you kill the monsters is critical to success.
Spider and Web - Just thinking about this game gives me chills. This game has the single best puzzle in any game I've ever played. You'll know which one I'm talking about after you solve it. Try not to use a walkthrough until the end sequence, which is fine but not as important to not ruin as the rest of the game.
Superluminal Vagrant Twin - A weird game, in that the "rooms" are not rooms, but planets. The game is sort of zoomed out in a weird way that gets rid of a lot of clutter. Has some fun easter eggs and the writing is great, if spare.
Treasures of a Slaver's Kingdom - The writing in this game is a take-off of Conan and is great purple prose. Some RPG elements. A good laugh if the premise appeals to you.
Varicella - Most of these recs aren't very puzzle focused, but this one is. An interesting protagonist and some strange and memorable characters.
Hard Puzzle - Don't play this game. I'm warning you!
For accessible text games, I'd also recommend trying the Choice of Games series if you haven't already. I've enjoyed the Lost Heir triology and a number of others.
EndlessReverberation [OP] 1 points 5y ago
Thank you very much for the suggestions Amonwilde. I was already planning on playing spider and web, so I am excited to hear your praise for it; think I will start that one today if I can. I have not played through many games myself yet, but my wife and I played through three over the weekend, here are my thoughts.
We really liked lost pig. The difficulty was good for beginners, and the length of the game was just right, with a small, manageable number of rooms; also, the main character was kind of endearing.
The Underoos that Ate New York was fun, if very short. I think it would be a good option for people’s very first If game, or, perhaps, a game for children.
Bronze had a pretty rich world, with lots of rooms to explore, although I got pretty board with it, so my wife finished it. It’s a little difficult to play as a blind person because the description of each room did not explain which options you have for moving to another room, IE you can go north, east, or west. This is because the game has a special system that gives you that info at the top of the window and the directions you have not tried yet are in red. NVDA was, for the most part, reading these directions, but since they would just read like, n ne se etc. it was a little harder to keep up with your options, and you can’t know which option is red. This game involves exploring dozens of rooms, so this small disadvantage can be pretty annoying; I guess it’s worth it if you like the world and are willing to be patient.
Although my wife and I have not played it together yet, I think my favorite game, so far, is still Violet, which I played on my own a few years ago.
We really liked lost pig. The difficulty was good for beginners, and the length of the game was just right, with a small, manageable number of rooms; also, the main character was kind of endearing.
The Underoos that Ate New York was fun, if very short. I think it would be a good option for people’s very first If game, or, perhaps, a game for children.
Bronze had a pretty rich world, with lots of rooms to explore, although I got pretty board with it, so my wife finished it. It’s a little difficult to play as a blind person because the description of each room did not explain which options you have for moving to another room, IE you can go north, east, or west. This is because the game has a special system that gives you that info at the top of the window and the directions you have not tried yet are in red. NVDA was, for the most part, reading these directions, but since they would just read like, n ne se etc. it was a little harder to keep up with your options, and you can’t know which option is red. This game involves exploring dozens of rooms, so this small disadvantage can be pretty annoying; I guess it’s worth it if you like the world and are willing to be patient.
Although my wife and I have not played it together yet, I think my favorite game, so far, is still Violet, which I played on my own a few years ago.
Amonwilde 2 points 5y ago
My response to Bronze was pretty much the same. Lovely description, I liked learning about the relationshipbetween beauty and the beast, but too much stuff and a little boring after a while. Lost Pig has some OK puzzles. I liove the voice of the protagonist, but I'm not really into super-heavy puzzle games, preferring story and optimzation puzzles usually.
kabellee 1 points 4y ago
Hi! I happened upon this post while searching for some other IF stuff.
Lost Pig and Violet are among my favourites. The most similar game to those that I really liked is Bob Bates's Thaumistry. It has a stand-alone Windows version that might work with a screen reader, or you can login to the website to download the TADS file for an interpreter app. I also recommend the following games I think would be accessible for beginners, screen readers and map-less play: Suveh Nux, Toby's Nose, Shade, The Dreamhold, Photopia, 9:05, Aisle, Galatea, Hoist Sail for the Heliopause and Home, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Plundered Hearts, Pytho's Mask, Weird City Interloper. The King of Shreds and Patches is another favourite--love the historical detail--but I made pretty heavy use of the in-game map.
Enjoy!
Lost Pig and Violet are among my favourites. The most similar game to those that I really liked is Bob Bates's Thaumistry. It has a stand-alone Windows version that might work with a screen reader, or you can login to the website to download the TADS file for an interpreter app. I also recommend the following games I think would be accessible for beginners, screen readers and map-less play: Suveh Nux, Toby's Nose, Shade, The Dreamhold, Photopia, 9:05, Aisle, Galatea, Hoist Sail for the Heliopause and Home, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Plundered Hearts, Pytho's Mask, Weird City Interloper. The King of Shreds and Patches is another favourite--love the historical detail--but I made pretty heavy use of the in-game map.
Enjoy!
[deleted] 1 points 5y ago
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