[games_access] You Can Make a Difference

[Sandra Uhling]

Hi,

Nice idea for my blog.
Maybe I can ask blind gamer to write positive things about good mainstream
games.

Best regards,
Sandra

> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-
> bounces at igda.org] Im Auftrag von D. Michelle Hinn
> Gesendet: Donnerstag, 3. Dezember 2009 20:14
> An: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List
> Betreff: Re: [games_access] You Can Make a Difference
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> It would be very interesting to know who on the list has bought an
> accessible game for themselves or others and what the reactions were so
> that we could send email to those companies so that they know that what
> they are doing or have done HAS made a difference.
> 
> $$ talks...and I and others can speak at conferences about what to
> include in games. But to that...I know that I (and others!) also get
> the financial question. It's one thing to predict what COULD be gained
> monetarily but it's another to provide and encourage feedback from
> users as a group, as individuals, and from gamers with disabilities.
> It's these stories and advocacy about gamers with disabilities on
> AbleGamers, Game Forward, One Switch, Game Informer, and others (sorry
> to have left out any news/information sources -- just picked a couple
> off the top of my head) that make a real emotional impact...and also
> give companies the knowledge that they are doing the right thing AND
> that what they do IS increasing sales. Even yesterday's story in Game
> Informer -- although it was about an unfortunate situation -- resulted
> in very interesting forum posts on that site. Randy himself has been
> fielding posts on the list and when he got on the forums, wow, that
> resulted in a very different tone as people actually started READING
> the story and looking up how many people that setting has helped --
> those with and without disabilities. (Unfortunately, continued
> inquiries to Infinity Ward and Activision remain unanswered).
> 
> John raises an excellent point -- let's talk about what we and others
> have BOUGHT to support game accessibility whether for themselves or for
> friends and family. And lets get that information to the companies.
> This doesn't have to be just FROM the SIG but let's all work on this as
> a group but also as individuals to help game companies realize that
> their efforts have made a difference via a financial perspective.
> 
> Just my 2 cents of support. :) And, yes, I have bought some game titles
> and controllers for community centers and when I get back from running
> a few errands I'll tell you about those so that you know I'm not just
> talking out of both sides of my mouth! :)
> 
> Michelle
> 
> On Dec 3, 2009, at 4:08 AM, John Bannick wrote:
> 
> 
> 	Folks,
> 
> 	The SIG does more to make computer games accessible than anywhere
> else I've found on the Web.
> 
> 	Here's something additional we all can do this month.
> 
> 	1. Buy accessible games as gifts (Not necessarily ours, but
> anyones’)
> 	2. Suggest to friends and family that accessible games make good
> gifts
> 	3. And, most importantly, suggest to everyone who’ll stand still
> for a minute that they tell game companies when they’ve bought their
> game because it was accessible.
> 
> 	Our own 7-128 Software recently released Visit Salem, a
> travelogue game. It includes over 6 hours of audio descriptions,
> history, architecture, music and interviews. It’s also totally
> inaccessible to players who are blind, deaf, or motion-impaired.
> 
> 	Why? Because it would take an additional 6 months to make it
> accessible. Even with a code base that includes a lot of accessibility
> features and useful guidance from John Oliveira, a colleague and head
> of our Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, and from you and other
> folks I know in the accessibility community.
> 
> 	I’d love to make it accessible to players who are blind, or deaf,
> or motion-impaired. But the consensus among our management team is that
> there are too few potential sales to justify the effort and expense, at
> least at this time.
> 
> 	Game margins are razor slim. Electronic Arts lost tens of
> millions of dollars this year, also last year. The difference between
> profit and loss at our small mainstream company is tiny.
> 
> 	Posts by other colleagues suggest that a few more sales could
> help pay their light bills, too.
> 
> 	Posts by Barrie, Dark, Mark Barlet, Brian Papineau, and my own
> experience here suggest that some mainstream game companies do respond
> positively when you tell them “I buy your stuff because you make it
> work for me. I buy other people’s stuff when you don’t” (Recent news
> notwithstanding)
> 
> 	So, over the next few weeks you personally can make a difference
> by bugging people to buy accessible games and for them to tell
> developers when they do.
> 
> 	John Bannick
> 	Chief Technical Officer
> 	7-128 Software
> 
> 
> 
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