- Have been thinking about writing a game for the blind since a long time
- Got an opportunity when a couple of High School Kids came up with the requirement
- Many options were experimented on: Scratch, Unity, etc
- It was decided to Keep it Simple and modding an existing game
- What other better than to implement in python and use python games
- Used an example from here PyGame Pythonprogramming.net example
- This is a car game where one has to avoid blocks in its path or falling on it
- To make it suitable for blind playing, visual representation of a block falling on the car or not and the speed of it falling were alerted to the user by means of different sounds; one tone for block not being in line with the car, one tone for slow rate of drop on the car and one tone for rapid rate of drop on the car. So hearing these sound clues, one can use the cursor keys to escape the falling blocks. This can be seen in the video.
- One can also play comfortably with their eyes closed.
- It can be improved further: sounds, interaction, etc. Later ?
Building the PlotClock by Joo from ThingiVerse with English Character support Plotters are fun things. One can move in a 2D space and do very interesting things. Been fascinated by plotters from a long time. Notable mentions like the Drawbot, AxiDraw, EggBot, etc. Always wanted to build a small inexpensive one which did not require too many components or a lot of domain knowledge. One of my favourite past-times is to ThingSurf ie check which open source designs are available and try to make them, either on Thingiverse or Printables, etc. Its a lot of fun and because these provide designs for real-world things, one can study and learn from them and also extend them to do other things. There is also a requirement of a device that will be a low-power notice board, like a limited power device that will just consume power for a short time, do some useful work, maybe display a message and go back to sleep. Things written on a sheet of paper remain visible for a long time. So it wo...
Amazing!
ReplyDeleteNever realised that effectively all games are made for people with vision. After all, it's hand "eye" co-ordination for a reason. So great idea for a game, designed for the blind.
Some suggestions for future updates...
You can take advantage of their hearing abilities better by increasing the volume and frequency of the sound, as the obstacles get closer, to give a better sense of speed and distance. You can also add some sound effects like whooshes, to give them a more immersive experience.
Hi Ganesh,
DeleteThank you for the comment and feedback. It was written pretty much in a hurry so it is how it is. Also still have to see how the blind people will play/adapt to the experience.
Anyways it's written in python so if you get a chance to test it or extend it, it'll be good.
Thanks to Ady and Nitish also for the use-case and implementation.
Thanks!