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Quake For the Blind

Posted by timothy on from the really-fast-braille dept.

Kirby-meister writes: "An interesting article on The Boston Globe talks of a company, ZForm, which has modified Quake for the visually-impaired. The article also goes into an interesting discussion on how visual our world is becoming, possibly leaving the visually-disabled behind the technological advances."

2 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. Well, it's hardly surprising... by brooks_talley · · Score: 5, Insightful
    ''Over the last five years,'' Chong said, ''we have become increasingly concerned that the rising use of digital media will leave out the blind.''

    Well, what about the industrial revolution? My guess is that the rise of heavy machinery and high speed transportation probably made it more difficult for the blind.

    My theory (though it's hardly original) is that the digital world is on course to mimic the real world in as many ways as possible. One day, having a poor sense of smell could be a serious liability in FPS games.

    I certainly have sympathy for the blind -- I'm color blind myself, and routinely get myself killed in FPS and other games where "good" things are green and "bad" things are red, but both colors have the same saturation and luminosity as bad things.

    I commend those doing what they can to make the digital world more inclusive, but the fact of the matter is that, in realistic digital environments, those with sensory limitations are going to have an increasingly hard time.

    Cheers
    -b

  2. The blind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The blind have always had to deal with a world that was made for the sighted. For a very long time, the blind, if they didn't have family that wanted to take care of them, were forced to beg on the streets to continue living. Before Braille, they couldn't read. Before seeing-eye dogs, they couldn't move safely many places.

    If anything, new technologies allow the blind more freedom and ability than ever before. There's always hope that one day technology will advance enough that no one will have to be blind.

    And, I know some of this from experience. I'm still blind in one eye, but being able to have a lens implant in the other has allowed me to do things such as drive, and read without super thick glasses.