Hi everyone. One of the constant suggestions I have received from people is to write about gaming. As a child, I would often play Spyro, Mario, Nintendogs, Pokemon, Tarzan and more, but I am no longer a gamer and only play The Sims now. So today, Jonathan Morgan has agreed to write a guest post for us.
The zombie shuffles towards us. It moans piteously as its feet drag over the aging stone of Castle Ravencurse. My companions and I power up with a flurry of divine blessings and strength boosting spells before stepping forward to challenge that undead horror.
A mud, or multi user dungeon, is a type of online game, in which you and other players connect and go upon adventures with each other. From fantasy, to scifi, to horror, to post-apocalypse, muds come in a wide variety of genres, themes and styles. The key for me as a blind gamer, is they’re accessible to me
Jonathan Morgan
Screen readers and MUD Gaming
Screen readers have come a long way in my day. In the early 1990’s when I first began using them, they were bulky devices that you plugged into your computer. Often garbled robotic voices provided a rudimentary experience, allowing you to type and read simple documents. Now the voices are much more human-like, and they provide more advanced navigational tools and have the ability to read emojis and even give simple descriptions of pictures. Though these are wonderful advancements, screen readers of course cannot keep up with popular graphics based games like World of Warcraft. I have to go the simpler option and play text based games.
MUDs happily fill this role.
Any MUD (Multi-user Dungeon) that I’ve played is text based, similar to those old text adventure games from the 1980’s like Zork. The scenery, monsters and other beings, buildings, weapons and other items are all described in text, with few to no graphics. Screen reading software, such as Jaws for Windows or NVDA, reads the text in the game to me, letting the action play out in my imagination.
Connecting to MUD
To connect to muds you need a special mud client. These are programs that allow you to game with numerous types of short cuts and other features allowing you to customize text size, colours and colour contrast and numerous other details. I use a client specially designed for blind players called VIPMud. It works specifically with several screen readers such as Jaws or NVDA, and also has self-voicing options if you do not have a screen reader but still want speech.
Additionally it comes with flexible accessibility options to make your gaming experience easier, and to add extra fun to the games you’re playing. For example, I have a selection of sound affects for VIPMud to play to supplement the information Jaws reads to me. Warning tones when my health points get low, a chyme to alert me when I’ve defeated a monster and silly sounds like burps, are just a few examples.
Other Gaming Alternatives
Of course, other options besides MUDs exist. For those times I want to play alone there are a variety of audio games. An audio game relies on rich sound environments rather than the graphics sighted gamers are used to. Through complex mixes of sounds and directional sound, you navigate your environment.
A popular example is Shades of Doom produced by GMA Games, the maker of VIPMud. In this game, you explore an old biotech facility. Sounds alert you to computer chips which you can collect.
Monsters lurk in many of the halls. Shades of Doom heavily uses directional sound. For example, if a monster approaches you from the left, you’ll hear it out of your left speaker or earphone. You can then turn using the arrow keys to face it directly which adjusts the sound so you hear the monster’s growls through both speakers or earphones.
Why game?
I have a genetic disease called Fibrous Dysplasia. As a child, I was able to actively run and play and had 2020 vision. As I grew older, Fibrous Dysplasia gradually deformed my skeleton, greatly increasing the risk of bone fractures which limited by ability to walk or stand unsupported. Some of that deformity damaged my optic nerves when I was eight years old, leaving me blind.
Most days I live quite happily, but sometimes feel a sense of nostalgia, missing the soldier and Robin Hood games I used to play.
When I lost my sight, I fell in love with audio books. Audio books draw me into a world of beautiful fantasy, magical creatures, worlds filled with situations and challenges outside of anything I know as normal. Lost in daydreams from my hospital bed, or stuck in the repetition of exercises during post surgical rehab, I wanted so much to leap into those fantasy worlds be they magic or scifi. Yet, as much as I love books, there are times I want to participate in the action.
Too often in real life, I am viewed as different, fragile or helpless. Gaming enables me to join in a live story and become just another adventurer. In a game world I can leave behind the stereotypes of my disabilities. I can cast aside my walker and become a warrior wielding an enchanted blade or wizard conjuring balls of fire to hurl at my foes.
Disabled or not, we all have boring things we must do. Paying bills, doing laundry and the dreaded cleaning the toilet are just the tip of the iceberg.
Despite the differences non-disabled people see in me, my day to day life is really quite dull. This is another reason I enjoy gaming. Like any other person, I do not have magical abilities. Nor can I strap on a suit of armor or zip through hyperspace. Delving into imaginary quests and battles is one way to escape from those stresses of every day life.
Thanks for Reading
I would like to thank Jonathan for this post, and can say the audio games sound fun and intriguing to myself. Do have a look at Jonathan’s website and follow him on social media. Additionally, feel free to join my Facebook group, Disabled & Mental Health Blogging Network.