Wonder wants games for the blind

By Robert Purchese Published 14 December, 2009

Motown singer challenges industry.

Legendary Motown singer Stevie Wonder has challenged the games industry to produce content for blind people like himself.

Wonder presented The Beatles: Rock Band with the Best Music Game award at this weekend's Spike VGA 2009 extravangza and had this message for the audience: "I want to see the companies that make these video games make them accessible so that people like myself can enjoy them too."

Videogames, in their current state, rely almost exclusively on visual input to challenge the player. Whether rumble feedback and the new flock of motion sensing equipment can overcome Wonder's particular hurdle remains to be seen.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (52) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DaveLev #1 2 years ago

    It may be a nice thing to do this, but doesn't make any business sense at all. How many more customers will you get for making it available to blind people and how much does it cost to develop, i can't see the revenue out doing the development costs.

  • Crazyreyn #2 2 years ago

    I can only see indies tackling this one at great length.

  • JahB #3 2 years ago

    this beats the point. it's kinda like saying he wants to produce movies for blind people...

  • Reihn #4 2 years ago

    Well, I think it would be awesome if there were at least a few audio only games. You could do some interesting stuff - start with an interactive radio drama, and see how creative you can get from there.

    If it ever does happen, I'd just hope that 'games for the blind' aren't as garbage as, say, 'games for christians'.. ; )

  • DoctorZoidberg #5 2 years ago

    I just can't see blind people playing video games.

  • PlugMonkey #6 2 years ago

    this beats the point. it's kinda like saying he wants to produce movies for blind people...

    You mean like radio plays? Well, they already exist.

    Radio games don't.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #7 2 years ago

    Maybe they could just add audio description.

    I'd intended that to be facetious, but I guess it could work wth stuff that isn't twitch-based. Although you'd have to wait half an hour as someone described the movement and position of everything visible in a turn of Civ.

    But even as a sighted person, I'd be texmpted by Phoenix Wright: Justice is Blind.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #8 2 years ago

    I just can't see blind people playing video games.

    Neither can they! ba-doom-tish.

    Thank you, I'll be here all week, try the veal...

  • hulahoops #9 2 years ago

    He's just fed up with getting pwned at MW2.

  • Golgo #10 2 years ago

    It's a fair challenge. Good on him.
    Anyway, Soundvoyager on GBA (in Bit-Generations series) is a good start.
    Excellent game for blind people, that. And sighted people, too.

  • jjolley #11 2 years ago

    This is just stupid in the extreme. As a blind person myself, I except that there are some things that are impractical to play. I'm not expecting to play bioshock or mass effect, but sports games I at least have a go at. I own two PS3s, An Iphone, Ipod touch etc, etc. Wonder's done nothing for the blind community himself either. Everyone has jumped over backwards to support the guy, giving him access to music technology packages and such. The support he gets with the software never filters down to the blind community either. He's a blind icon to many, to me he's a waste of time. I put him in the same camp as blunket, had the chance to make a real difference, ended up doing nothing. David Flunked it I call him.

    Either way, companies aren't going to step up to the plate and make games accessible because some american spoilt brat wants it.

  • PlugMonkey #12 2 years ago

    [link url=http://www.b scgames.com/bsc_products.asp
    ]http://www.b scgames.com/bsc_products.asp
    [/link]

    Can anyone work out what the hell is going on on Level 2 of Troopanum 2?

    My ears aren't up to the job.

  • TeaFiend #13 2 years ago

    I remember playing a game for blind people when at university. It was like the old text based adventures. "You are in a dark corridor." and then pressing keys to go in directions and each room was described. The game was a black screen. Interesting idea but I cannot see it being a big money maker.

  • jjolley #14 2 years ago

    At TeaFiend:
    I think you may be thinking of "shades of doom". That was written by gma games at [link url=http://www.gmagames.com.]http://www.gmagames.com.[/link] It was an interesting experiment but did nothing for me personally. I'm not really a fan of blindy things generally, I'd much rather integrate with sighted people and enjoy what's hot at the time if you see what i'm meaning.

  • jim1975 #15 2 years ago

    what about some kind of brail hero game

  • jjolley #16 2 years ago

    You'd be surprised at how expensive braille displays are, hence why i'm not using one on this macintosh. They can be upwards of 3 K. Braille hero will probably sell less than anything else for that reason.

  • afray #17 2 years ago

    @jjolley out of interest, how do you use an iphone when blind?

  • Markusdragon #18 2 years ago

    Audio text adventures is probably the simplest place to start. Cheap to make, not particularly alien in design to even the least initiated into gaming culture, and not even vaguely reliant upon twitch mechanics or seeing things ahead of time.

  • hulahoops #19 2 years ago

    "@jjolley out of interest, how do you use an iphone when blind?"

    Isn't that the internet equivalent of saying "He's not really blind! Look!" and then hurling something at his face?

  • jjolley #20 2 years ago

    At afray:
    The iPhone 3GS includes VoiceOver, a screen reader. Basically, it turns the touch screen into a speaking interface. The phone is controlled via gestures that are used instead of the traditional ones. For instance, Flicking left/right moves between elements, doublt tapping an element is the same as a single tap for the sighted user. It's also possible to touch the screen at any location and hear what's under your finger.

  • jjolley #21 2 years ago

    At Markusdragon:
    Interactive fiction is certainly accessible enough. Zoom for OS X is a superb interpreter for those programs. As someone who is within that community of users, Inform 7 at http://www.inform7.com is an interesting language for writing your own adventures. It's based on Natural Language programming.

  • kangarootoo #22 2 years ago

    @JahB

    What, like movies with sound you mean?

    You think blind people never enjoy films?

    Fool.

  • kangarootoo #23 2 years ago

    Singing games like SingStar and Lips would almost meet the challenge (menu navigation not withstanding). So long as you know the songs, you can play perfectly well based on hearing alone.

  • jjolley #24 2 years ago

    At kangarootoo:
    Singstar is alright I suppose. The only issue for me is actually knowing what your score is at the end. It's possible to have some idea based on the sounds after the song, the baby crying for instance or the fireworks but that's it. Menu navigation in all games is something to learn and memorise. It's that simple really, the menus don't speak obviously.

  • mkreku #25 2 years ago

    Sounds like something to implement for the Rock Band makers. Make a mode where, instead of following the little blocks scrolling down on your screen, you need to replicate with your instrument of choice what you hear. Like, first play a short sequence of the real music and then tone it down and let you continue. Or something.

    Not sure how it would work when everyone's hammering away at their plastic toy instruments at the same time though..

  • kangarootoo #26 2 years ago

    @jjolley

    Good points.

    I never really thought about the surrounding parts of the game. I guess if you don't know how well you are doing during and after gameplay, its not really much of a game.
    Edited by 1 at 14/12/09 @ 14:28

  • jjolley #27 2 years ago

    At kangarootoo:
    You're right of course. That's why Ive always prefered games with a lot of spoken narration/commentary. I'm especially a fan of American sports as they seem to have the realism down to a tee.

    To the poster discussing Rockband, I think it's always going to be one of those games that may be just difficult. The discussion a month or so back regarding DJ Hero exemplifies this.

    The only music orriented game I did have a go with was something called "Space channel 5" for the dreamcast at that time. It was accessible enough but there were some stages that couldn't be done because the values changed and weren't anounced.

  • WinterSnowblind #28 2 years ago

    I'm all for this.

    There's definitely a lot of problems, and I'm not sure how a blind person could ever play something like Super Mario.
    But thinking more along the lines of RPG's? I don't see why that wouldn't be possible, with the effort put in.

  • oldfruit #29 2 years ago

    How about a mode of L4D2 multiplayer with a team co-operatvely playing with a blind player? Seems like it may be good fun for both blind and seeing players, and present a huge communication challenge. You would need to playing with people you trust though...

  • kangarootoo #30 2 years ago

    @oldfruit

    The cooperative lilt of L4D seems like a suitable one, but I wonder what would the role of the blind player actually be?

    If the core fps aspect of game makes the gunning inaccessible, the role would appear to be that of an in-game dependant, being told when to run and when to wait.

    Not sure how much fun that would be, and if anything it sounds like it would highlight the barrier created by the disability (sorry if those aren't the best terms in which to frame it) rather than remove it.

  • AcheHurts #31 2 years ago

    I'm sure there was an audio only game on Xbox Indie games... The Pit ?

    And...

    Loads of Audio only games...
    [link url=http://www.audiog ames.net/index.php
    ]http://www.audiog ames.net/index.php
    [/link]

    And a nice article about games for the blind.
    http://uk .gamespot.com/xbox360/action/in...

  • kangarootoo #32 2 years ago

    Just had a nosey at Space Channel 5. Very nifty, if bizarre.

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=4mf7GfjvuXA
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=4mf7GfjvuXA
    [/link]

    "Super Successful Rescue!"

    :)

  • jjolley #33 2 years ago

    At kangarootoo:
    This is an interesting point. I think that attitudes in some online quarters is disgraceful anyway. I've had people disconnect from matches if i've told them i'm blind. Rather a shame really, some people take all of this too seriously.

    The points regarding L4D2 are well noted and I Agree. The difficulty would be understanding the environment as well.

  • autogunner #34 2 years ago

    there is a mod for half life 2 where you play as a blind monk in a monastery being guided around by other blind monks. I was actually thinking about this last night, using surround sound you could model sound adsorption of different surfaces and echo times to determine how far walls are away from you.

  • jjolley #35 2 years ago

    At AcheHurts:
    I did actually buy the pit. It wasn't all that amazing really, the idea was alright I suppose but it was more of an audio tech demo than a really interesting game. Perhaps it would be good for newcomers.

  • jjolley #36 2 years ago

    At autogunner:
    I'm assuming this kind of work is already being done. My partner has been working her way through F.E.A.R 2. The sound design within that game is above reproach really. I can at least follow along with her, giving her warnings of pending doom or should that be F.E.A.R?

    PS, why did they choose to write it with fullstops? Does the text stand out any different?

  • YourMessageHere #37 2 years ago

    In all fairness, evidence is still missing of Stevie Wonder doing music for the deaf...

  • Sunyavadin #38 2 years ago

    This thread has some of the funniest one liners EG has had in months!

  • kangarootoo #39 2 years ago

    @jjolley

    "I've had people disconnect from matches if i've told them i'm blind. Rather a shame really, some people take all of this too seriously."

    If its any consolation, acting like a dick is the one way that nobhead kids online don't discriminate. Their idiocy is often as not universally delivered to all comers :)


    And I think F.E.A.R is supposed to stand for something. Probably something too scary to write it straight out.

    Ah, it apparently stands for "First Encounter Assault Recon". Talk about hammering a square peg into a round hole

  • Mkwone #40 2 years ago

    I think it's a achieveable i'm just not sure how in depth a game could be. as a seeing person playing a game without visuals could be pretty intense. The best i can imagine at the moment is a QTE game that's on the rails with a narrator describing whats happening on screen and the player controls the action either by vocals or traditional controller.

    Another one is a maze game utilising the dualshock controller vibrating the closer you get to the target, a bit like Marco, Polo.

  • jambo74 #41 2 years ago

    That's why they are called Video Games. Mind you with tactile feedback who knows....

  • sneetch #42 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo
    If the core fps aspect of game makes the gunning inaccessible, the role would appear to be that of an in-game dependant, being told when to run and when to wait.

    Choosing the direction would be the tricky part "come towards me" wouldn't work too well in the current client, that could be fixed to a degree with better voice sources and some kind of feedback to tell you you're running face first into a wall or the door is a little to the left and so on.

    Your average MMO on the other hand would be a lot more accessible given the way the games are designed and played. You can even auto-follow another player and concentrate on your own section of the game, ranged damage and healing roles would be easiest.

  • jambo74 #43 2 years ago

    Hang on, the amount of complaints the music guys made about a music game for people who can't play.
    How about getting your house in order first Wonder.

  • kangarootoo #44 2 years ago

    "That's why they are called Video Games"

    What does that really mean though? That we shouldn't try and make video games more accessible, because it would be semantically incorrect to do so?

  • Kikizosan #45 2 years ago

    The majority of games developers don't even cater for colourblind people, never mind fully blind people. It seems like something the web/iPhone developers could work on. I experimented with games for the blind back in uni, and can see it's totally possible, and something you could sell quite well to sighted gamers too, with the right concept.

  • jjolley #46 2 years ago

    At kangarootoo:
    Thanks for the input regarding people acting arseholes online. You're right, sometimes it's just luck of the draw who you get to play with.

    Thanks also for the clarification on F.E.A.R, would never have guessed that one in a million years.

  • jjolley #47 2 years ago

    I'm not so sure about specialist games for blind people. I've always been of the view that it's a sighted world we live in. Accomodations are all well and good to a point, but if the blind expect everything to be available to them, where would we be in the future? Many disabled people act like spoilt brats generally if they don't get what they want. The DDA has proven that.

  • Smoped #48 2 years ago

    @YourMessageHere: Well, Jamiroquai has been making Stevie Wonder records for the deaf for years. Does that count?

  • Rubarack #49 2 years ago

    Every now and then I've wondered what kind of games I could play if I was blind, I largely settled on braille versions of Magic: The Gathering and playing D&D Online (actual D&D not the action RPG by Turbine). It's quite impressive to read about the variety of games players can adapt to. Ultimately though it's something it seems unlikely to ever hit the mainstream.

  • rprince #50 2 years ago

    The co-operative L4D2 idea is almost a good one. I can imagine some sort of co-op game in the mould of the TV show Knightmare: the blind player has the controller, and the sighted player just has to guide the blind player to the goal.

  • driesel #51 2 years ago

    I'm doing a design project at school myself for bettering the interaction between visually impaired and sighted users in multiplayer exergames (games which are driven by body movement). But I'm struggling really hard to pin down really valuable ideas and interaction concepts that would actually appeal to both blind and sighted users. I was thinking about expanding on the proof-of-concept game that Demor is. That's a really interesting and inspiational location-based 3D audio game that takes the player outside and enables actual 360 degree gameplay, something which very few gaming platforms achieve. It could be interesting to enable the actual computing of the game on some sort of mobile device, like in the form of an iphone app. It would still require quality headphones and tracking sensors, though.
    I really think this is the only viable way to introduce audio-based games. Very few sighted gamers will even look at audio-based games with the plethora of visual immersiveness we have today. At least not on traditional, that is screen-based, gaming platforms. Having all these mobile devices with really great processing capabilities and the inherent impossiblity of using screens in many mobile situations (riding bike, walking...) could finally provide the perfect liftoff for audio games. I immagine it could take the form of some sort of modular equipment using GPS for position and UMTS for data transfers. You could actually map sounds in a city environment or on distinct areas and create a really immersive sound-based game ('catch that sound' for instance)...
    Could that be something interesting?

  • jambo74 #52 2 years ago

    Wonder - make music for the deaf and then we will talk....