[games_access] Introduction

[hinn at uiuc.edu]

Hey DJ! Welcome!

I'm sure Reid Kimball will be emailing you any second now but he's behind the major push with closed captioning in gaming so you'll want to get together with him for sure. We actually have quite a bit in the works right now with regard to closed captioning (more soon) and so you've definitely found us at the right time to get in on the action!

So, again, welcome aboard for now and we're always glad to have new members!

Michelle
Chairperson, IGDA Game Accessibility SIG

---- Original message ----
>Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:00:29 -0400
>From: "DJ Bono" <ladysekhmet.dj at gmail.com>  
>Subject: [games_access] Introduction  
>To: games_access at igda.org
>
>   Hello,
>      I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is DJ,
>   and I've been playing games since I was young, and
>   my first console was the NES. Little did I know that
>   20 years later, I would be going to school in Game
>   Design.
>      The biggest hurdle that I overcame was my
>   deafness.
>   I've been deaf since I was born, and I'm proud to be
>   deaf. It wasn't until a year ago that it is time to
>   stand up for my rights due to my disability. I had
>   the ability to speak fluently, and communicate with
>   hearing people. Over time, I realized that even with
>   a disability like mine, I still needed help with
>   understanding what people are saying when I'm
>   attending a conference or group sessions. I used to
>   accept the fact that I will be okay without an
>   interpreter.
>        When I decided on a career change, my
>   perspective about video games has changed because my
>   eyes are starting to open and see that even to this
>   day and age, some of the greatest games are not
>   captioned or accessible for those who cannot hear.
>   Yes, some games are captioned, but not fully
>   intergrated. Such example would be the sounds in the
>   background. It should have something along the words
>   (warning beep), or whatever the NPC is saying in
>   Fable. I remember in the NES days, there was no
>   voice acting, and RPGs were in text. It wasn't a big
>   deal to me. Nowadays, I hardly see a game without
>   voice acting or various sounds you need to listen
>   for.
>          I have opened up the eyes of my fellow
>   student game designers that some games are not deaf
>   friendly. One person has said to me, "Thank you for
>   sharing your experiences, and when I design a game,
>   I will make sure that it is fully
>   captioned/subtitles. It's not fair".  If I can
>   influence him, he can influence someone else, and
>   that someone else can influence another...and so on.
>   It's like, Pay It Forward.
>
>       I've found my voice, and it's time for me to
>   stand up and teach people about it. I hope though
>   Game Accessibility and attending GDC, I can have my
>   voice seen (not heard...that's an oxymoron).
>
>   Keep on gaming!
>
>   DJ
>________________
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>games_access at igda.org
>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
.......................................
these are mediocre times and people are 
losing hope. it's hard for many people 
to believe that there are extraordinary 
things inside themselves, as well as 
others. i hope you can keep an open 
mind.
 -- "unbreakable"
.......................................