Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Anyone do any sort of game development when they were sighted? Curious to hear if there were similar hobbies to fill the itch. (self.Blind)
submitted by Ajv2324
Hello gang. First let me say that I'm currently sighted - but I've been diagnosed with Myopic Macular Degeneration at 26 (first bleed about two months ago), and am quite aware that the odds of me having the vision I currently have within ~10 years are not spectacular, lol.
I've been coming to terms with the reality of the situation and am getting better. One thing that concerns me, though, is that one of my strongest passions is game development.
I love the process, I love the programming, making the music, the art, bringing it all together, writing a story, and most of all, watching people play through my creations and leave feedback.
Many of my other hobbies (rock climbing, playing music, frisbee golf, skateboarding, chillin with the homies, even some gaming with MUDs and such) have adaptive solutions that I could learn to use should my sight get to the point where I can't "do" them like "normal" anymore.
BUT, I can't think of anything for game design/development except maybe DMing for DnD or something? Anyone have any advice or ideas?
I've been coming to terms with the reality of the situation and am getting better. One thing that concerns me, though, is that one of my strongest passions is game development.
I love the process, I love the programming, making the music, the art, bringing it all together, writing a story, and most of all, watching people play through my creations and leave feedback.
Many of my other hobbies (rock climbing, playing music, frisbee golf, skateboarding, chillin with the homies, even some gaming with MUDs and such) have adaptive solutions that I could learn to use should my sight get to the point where I can't "do" them like "normal" anymore.
BUT, I can't think of anything for game design/development except maybe DMing for DnD or something? Anyone have any advice or ideas?
SirJektive 2 points 2y ago
Am blind from birth, have done game development before, though with sighted friends. I think even if you can't see, you can still experience most of the creative fulfillment. Game dev is more fun with friends anyway, and you can still talk about and engage in the visual creative process with them, even if you can't see the results yourself. The non-visual parts like storytelling, worldbuilding, sound, level design, mechanics, game engine, etc, are much more readily accessible.
Also you can consider developing for MUDs, audiogames, interactive novels, etc.
edit: I'm also a full-time software developer, so the programming part is definitely not a sight issue.
Also you can consider developing for MUDs, audiogames, interactive novels, etc.
edit: I'm also a full-time software developer, so the programming part is definitely not a sight issue.
Ajv2324 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Thanks for the reply! That's an idea I didn't think about - I've always done the dev work pretty much in isolation. Could be fun to work with people.
Were you sighted when you learned to program? I'm wondering how hard the transition would be - I'm a professional dev as well :). It's a solid gig so I'd love to keep it going should my sight deteriorate to the point where I can't see the screen anymore
EDIT: Also I'm starting to get really curious about MUDs... I played a lot of runescape for a while, lol. Happy to know that that kind of gaming is very alive and well in the VIP community.
Were you sighted when you learned to program? I'm wondering how hard the transition would be - I'm a professional dev as well :). It's a solid gig so I'd love to keep it going should my sight deteriorate to the point where I can't see the screen anymore
EDIT: Also I'm starting to get really curious about MUDs... I played a lot of runescape for a while, lol. Happy to know that that kind of gaming is very alive and well in the VIP community.
SirJektive 1 points 2y ago
Nah, I never had any functional site, so I can't say much about the transition. But programming is pretty accessible, since everything can be done by keyboard anyway. Just need a bit of time to get used to listening to the screen reader. You can get started now.
Not as popular anymore, but MUDs are definitely still alive and kicking. I do a bit of MUD development as a hobby, myself.
Not as popular anymore, but MUDs are definitely still alive and kicking. I do a bit of MUD development as a hobby, myself.
Ajv2324 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
That's a good idea about the screen reader. I can just take my contacts out to test my abilities, lol.
SirJektive 1 points 2y ago
Yeah! If you're on Windows, NVDA is an excellent and open-source screen reader.
One tip for using a screen reader for coding is to enable speaking of indentation and set punctuation level to the highest setting, since these are not usually the default and it helps a lot.
One tip for using a screen reader for coding is to enable speaking of indentation and set punctuation level to the highest setting, since these are not usually the default and it helps a lot.
nadmaximus 1 points 2y ago
The 'state of the art' of MUDs is still, basically, in the same place it was in the 1990s. They could be so much better. There is the opportunity to make a game engine which is inherently accessible, in an equality of opportunity way.
Basically, it's a frontier that hasn't advanced significantly in decades. There's plenty of room for a solo designer/developer to make something that advances that frontier.
Also don't forget about VR. I think it has a lot of potential for games for people with visual impairment or blindness. The head tracking, stereo/3d sound, controller and hand tracking, plus the ability to give the player direct control over which part of their visual field is 'aimed at' things are all interesting.
Basically, it's a frontier that hasn't advanced significantly in decades. There's plenty of room for a solo designer/developer to make something that advances that frontier.
Also don't forget about VR. I think it has a lot of potential for games for people with visual impairment or blindness. The head tracking, stereo/3d sound, controller and hand tracking, plus the ability to give the player direct control over which part of their visual field is 'aimed at' things are all interesting.
Ajv2324 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Since getting my diagnosis, I have been trying to come up with ideas for games I could make while still sighted that I could play with my friends and stuff should things go kaput. I was also surprised by the pretty big lack of titles in the field.
Fridux 1 points 2y ago
Game development was the last thing I got into before going totally blind, and was even making a game engine for learning purposes. Unfortunately I lost 90% of my ability to deal with complex code along with my sight so I ended up scrapping the project, but with all the theory that I learned I ended up making a small iOS game using Apple's SceneKit, SpriteKit, and GameplayKit just to show my niece how easy it is, so I can safely assert that at least the programming side is still very much possible without any sight.
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