I’d like to share my experience as a visually impaired gamer in order to illustrate how things that are not accessible can be made accessible in hopes of inspiring others to make an activity they are passionate about work for them.

Understanding Visual Impairment

It’s always challenging to articulate to sighted people what seeing is like for me. I’ve been visually impaired my entire life, so I don’t know anything else but what I see, mostly a large blind spot in my central vision.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s just say my level of vision is… pretty bad. I’ve also been a gamer since I was old enough to pick up a controller back in the Nintendo Entertainment System era.

Adapting to Gaming Challenges

I recall finding cheat codes and using tools like GameShark and Game Genie to even the playing field. Games that featured parts with time limits to complete a particular task, like collecting five tokens in under two minutes, proved extra challenging for me.

This is when I would find a cheat code for unlimited time (I’m looking at you, Super Mario 64).

In addition to cheat codes and general hacking (which would eventually contribute to my interest in software development), I also used magnification. I would play GameBoy games under my CCTV (desktop magnifier) and use Windows Magnifier on the computer. Eventually, the computer became my primary gaming vehicle.

There is a lot more flexibility in hacking games to make them accessible that consoles lack. Once OCR became viable, this would be another tool in my gaming accessibility arsenal. Instead of reading lots of text, such as an in-game menu or inventory screen, I’d run OCR via NVDA to read it for me.

The Challenge of Retroactive Accessibility

As we all know, utilizing assistive technology to make software accessible retroactively isn’t the best approach to software development. Accessibility is most effective when implemented from the beginning.

Gaming presents a complex challenge to this rule, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. In fact, many games are fully accessible to blind and visually impaired players. Typically, this means audio-only games.

Sometimes, these games may also include a visual component. Ideally, the visual elements should only parallel the audio experience, creating a more equitable experience.

MUDs: A Game-Changer for Visually Impaired Gamers

One such genre of games is known as MUDs (Multi-user Dungeon). MUDs have been around for decades and are essentially text-based games played in a command-line interface. A screen reader reads the text output while the player types commands into a text box.

MUDs use a Telnet client to communicate with a server where other players are connected. You can interact with other players via in-game chat channels or directly if you are nearby. These games operate in real-time; believe it or not, there is no turn-based aspect. Some of these games even feature sound effects and music for added immersion. The most interesting point to note is that sighted players and blind or low-vision players can play together on equal footing.

In fact, no one ever knows who is actually blind or low vision unless they divulge that information personally. I think this illustrates the best-case scenarios for creating an equitable gaming experience.

The Power of Imagination and Social Interaction

“But Anthony, there are no graphics? How does that work?”

Well, text adventure games are powered by the most powerful graphics engine in existence: your imagination. I’ve never felt as immersed in another world through movies and TV as I do when reading.

The social aspect can truly create a unique experience as you role-play with other characters on quests, become part of a clan, make friends and enemies, and, of course, embark on adventures!

Some MUDs, like Alter Aeon and Materia Magica, have a large population of screen reader users. Imagine a fantasy world where everyone is blind or has low vision. Other MUDs I enjoy include StarWars MUD, Cosmic Rage, Starmourn, all the Iron Realm games, and Cyber Sphere.

A Call for Equitable Digital Experiences

My hope is that the rest of the digital world can draw inspiration from MUDs as they find creative and innovative ways to create an equitable experience for all.

We often focus on necessities like shopping, online banking, and other essential aspects of the digital world for individuals with disabilities. Still, many other areas of digital interaction, such as gaming, are often overlooked.

People with disabilities require more than just the bare minimum of digital accessibility; they also need art, creative outlets, and social opportunities in the digital realm. I believe gaming, particularly MUDs, can demonstrate that creating an equitable digital experience is indeed attainable.

The post What We Can Learn about Digital Accessibility from Gaming first appeared on Allyant.

You can’t read any of the buttons or links. The images are just black squares, and all the text looks exactly the same—no larger text for headings, no bold or italic font, nothing. The page is just a wall of text with random black squares where images should go. Blank buttons permeate the page, their purpose a mystery that could bring success or epic failure as you roll the dice on activating them.

This nightmarish scenario is all too familiar for those of us who are Blind or visually impaired and rely on assistive technology (AT) to perform daily digital tasks.

Those customers who don’t need assistive technology to access the web would snatch up those tickets, the last of those gadgets, or the last cheap plane ticket while those who need to use assistive technology are still pressing all the blank, unlabeled buttons to see what they do, arrowing around the page frantically, smashing their keyboards against the wall, etc.

To make this scenario even worse, this is all easily avoidable and fixable.

Assistive technology, such as a screen reader, is designed to understand standard HTML. That means that if AT can’t interpret a button, link, or other standard HTML element, someone has broken it, so AT users can’t use a web page as intended.

What’s more, even if some developer made an element inaccessible, we have a sort of digital duct tape to fix such issues. Enter ARIA.

ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications)

ARIA gives us handy HTML attributes we can put as duct tape over the leaky pipes and broken support struts that make up a web page. Oh, and this duct tape is invisible to everyone except those who use AT.

I have been using a screen reader for almost thirty years and have really seen some stuff (no pun intended).

Like nearly all screen reader users, I have been that person in the mentioned scenario many times.

It did use to be way worse decades ago of course; pages would need to refresh when you are in the middle of reading a lengthy article for school, throwing your screen reader focus all the way back to the top of the page, searching for a “download” or “submit” button in vain because the aforementioned element is an animated image with a JavaScript function that is only looking for mouse clicks.

Headings

Another accessibility problem I used to see all the time was a web page that did not have any headings.

Screen reader users rely on headings to provide structure to a page. You can quickly jump around a page that has properly marked-up headings. Without them, you have to press up and down arrow keys ad nauseum until you find what you are looking for.

Mostly, it is the websites not owned by a large group, such as personal pages that may not have headings. If I get to a web page and I hear my screen reader say “no headings available” when I press the ‘H’ key, I’m noping out of there in a hurry.

Luckily, the rise of CMS (Content Management System, like WordPress) has helped with this since their templates typically have headings, albeit not in a logical order, but they at least have headings.

Now imagine a team of dedicated, talented accessibility engineers whose continuing mission is to seek out inaccessible content, explore strange, new websites, and boldly go where no team of accessibility engineers has gone before.

Such a team would share their values of equitability, access for all, and expertise in making the digital world accessible.

Imagine a world where no one has difficulty using a digital environment due to their ability. Imagine a world where typing just a few keys to label a button for screen reader users or putting a simple <h1> tag on a heading makes a world of difference in someone else’s life. Imagine that doing such a simple thing allows that person to purchase that fancy, new gadget, those much sought-after concert tickets, or that plane ticket to that dream vacation.

The post Common Yet Easily Fixable Accessibility Issues I Encounter on Most Websites as a Blind User first appeared on Allyant.

Onset of vision-related issues

When I was seven years old, I started having trouble seeing what was written on the chalkboard at school. I worked with an optometrist, trying to get a prescription for glasses that would help, but with no success.

I’d eventually go through a series of ophthalmologists before winding up with the diagnosis of Stargardts, a form of Macular Degeneration that causes loss of central vision. “Wait, so not everyone has a little blob of light in the middle of their vision that acts like a targeting reticle in a first-person video game?” was a sentence I recall uttering when all this was explained to me.

Vision services and assistive technology (AT) at school

I received vision services at school right away. I started learning Braille, assistive technology, and screen readers, mastering tools that would later prove essential in diverse digital spaces. Little did I know at the time I’d one day make a career out of this, consulting on accessibility features for platforms like an online casino to ensure seamless navigation for users relying on those same screen readers. I’d continue these kinds of vision services throughout my school years. Single-digit JAWS versions faded into double-digit JAWS versions, bulky magnification equipment became smaller, and I’d dabble in GPS navigators and OCR devices like the good ol’ KNFB reader.

My gaming experience

I still continued to game. My vision has stayed relatively stable my entire life, even if my youthful focus and reflexes have waned. One day, my Dad brought home a Playstation 2. This was a big turning point in gaming. 

Final Fantasy X, Tony Hawk’s Pro-skater 3, Armored Core, Splinter Cell, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Spider-Man 2, Madden NFL 2004, just to name a few. Turn-based games were particularly good for me since I could take all the time I needed to see what was happening and read menus. 

I discovered my interest in stealth action games like Splinter Cell during this period. The ability to sneak around and take my time to strategize works well for me. Additionally, the contrast of colors while using thermal or night vision makes the game more enjoyable.

I also recall Runescape&—a medieval fantasy MMORPG (massively multiplayer online RPG)—being a big part of my middle school years. All my friends were hooked. As soon as we got home from school after talking all day about what we planned to do in the game when we got home, we’d all hop online and start playing together. 

This was perhaps the first time I had to use assistive technology to play a game. 

I don’t recall using any assistive technology for console gaming (because there wasn’t any assistive technology at the time for this). I remember getting into cheat codes a lot to even the odds in certain games. I needed more time to complete a timed mission, and Gameshark (a cheat device to hack console games) was my friend. I needed infinite health to pass a difficult part of a game so I could continue the game. The internet provided me with ways to adapt the game to my ability. 

Windows Magnifier

As for online computer games, I used magnification, specifically Windows Magnifier, which I still use today. I’d dock the magnification window in the upper right-hand corner of the screen to read and more accurately click on UI elements in the game screen. Also, with games like this, my friends and I would work together to accommodate my vision issues. 

For example, we’d use third-party voice chat software to coordinate in real-time. This way, I didn’t have to keep reading the group chat in-game, which is what most people did. I believe this gave us a great advantage when competing against other groups of players. This is an excellent example of how making adaptations or accommodations can help not only the person with a disability but everyone involved.

After I graduated high school, I went to college. Like many college students, I didn’t know what I wanted to do as far as a career went. I kept gaming. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3, and New Vegas were my favorites at the time. And then, the big one, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I started playing this game on Xbox before moving to PC gaming. 

This allowed me to use Windows Magnifier and other assistive technologies to play. I could zoom in with Magnifier to read, and this was when I started using the OCR (optical character recognition) built-in to screen readers to have NVDA read menus, inventory lists, and spell lists to me rather than straining my eyes with magnification. I ditched JAWS in favor of NVDA around this point, as NVDA can read whatever is under the mouse cursor, which has been a major game changer for me ever since.

Becoming a game developer

One day, I thought, “I have a lot of ideas for games; why don’t I give making one a go?” I started with RPG Maker 2000 and GameMaker.

I was intimidated by coding, so I used pre-made assets and scripts. Eventually, my creativity reached the point where there was no way to progress in game design other than to learn to code.

I started teaching myself GML (GameMaker Language similar to Python) and RGSS (Ruby Game Scripting System). After a couple of years of this, I thought, “Why don’t I get into software development as a career since I already have some experience?” I started an associate’s degree in software development at Minneapolis College. My programming skills grew by leaps and bounds. I focused on web development since web apps weren’t device or platform-specific.

After I graduated, COVID-19 hit, and I found myself with a lot of time on my hands while I searched for a job. This is when I published my first game, Omega Protocol: Sole Defender. This is a spaceship shooter roguelike (a procedurally generated genre of games that presents extra challenges). This started me on my idea for a trilogy of Omega Protocol games. I’m working through the prequel, Omega Protocol: S.T.A.R Squad set many years before the first game. 

I think I’ll make the third game a first-person game similar to Deus Ex (a series of first-person RPGs about transhumanism), another of my favorite games. I’m also hoping to publish a demo for another game I’ve been working on, RoboCore.

My journey with Allyant

Eventually, I joined Allyant as an accessibility engineer. I attribute many of my technical skills to the immense amount of programming I’ve done as an indie game developer. I’ve had to make things that are not made for people with vision issues accessible to me through various means or find alternative software that is more accessible.

For example, creating graphics and animation sheets is rather difficult for me. I’ve recently started using AI image generation to create graphics, which has opened up a world of possibilities for me in game design.

The main message I want to convey is that people with disabilities can accomplish anything they set their minds to. Where there is a will, there is a way. I had a strong passion and drive to create games, ultimately leading me to become a software developer.

If you want to check out the games I have made, you are welcome to visit my website: www.cyborgjackgames.com.

The post My Experience Using Assistive Technology as an Indie Game Developer first appeared on Allyant.