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The Blind Fragging the Blind

Posted by Zonk on from the ears-of-the-ninja dept.

fastfinge writes "With the recent wired article, the Blind Fragging the Blind, the audio games industry is getting some much deserved coverage. Starting out from 3 or 4 games in 1998, the list of audio games has grown to over 150 titles, and shows no signs of slowing."

38 comments

  1. No game review is complete without... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Screenshots! I want screenshots!

    1. Re:No game review is complete without... by arhar · · Score: 0

      You heartless bastard.

  2. Cheat Codes by clickster · · Score: 4, Funny

    So how do you use cheat codes? At the splash screen, but before the "Start Game" option comes up, just yell out "UP, SQUARE, DOWN, RIGHT, RIGHT, L-1, R-1, CIRCLE" and of course the ever popular "UP DOWN UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A SELECT START"

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    1. Re:Cheat Codes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's up up down down, youngster...

    2. Re:Cheat Codes by clickster · · Score: 1

      It's been a while since I played Contra, pops :)

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      If you mod me down, I shall become less powerful than you could possibly imagine.
    3. Re:Cheat Codes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you mod me down, and I shall become less powerful than you could possibly imagine.

      Take out the unnecessary "and" dude, or change it to "then". Remember: if...then, not if...and. Or remove the "If you" from the front. Any way you slice it, your local Grammar Nazi is here to help. Now move along, citizen.

    4. Re:Cheat Codes by urbaer · · Score: 2, Funny

      Cheat codes always make me think of Space Channel 5... "Up, Down, Up, Down, Chu, Chu, Chu!"

    5. Re:Cheat Codes by Drawkcab · · Score: 2, Informative

      Just because they're blind doesn't mean they can't use joysticks, gamepads, or keyboards.

    6. Re:Cheat Codes by clickster · · Score: 1

      I think you left off the "you insensitive clod"

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      If you mod me down, I shall become less powerful than you could possibly imagine.
    7. Re:Cheat Codes by fastfinge · · Score: 3, Informative

      Cheats work like they work in every other game (I think).

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  3. ESRL at UNT by xMonkey · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Entertainment Software Research Group at UNT has an audio only game research project going on.

    Something I was recently thining about gettng involved with.

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    Now I've seen Everything
    1. Re:ESRL at UNT by gmaestro · · Score: 1

      Perhaps a dumb question, but is CEMI involved with this project at all? Anyone at the college of music involved? This is the kind of project I would have died to be a part of as an undergrad.

  4. ob quote by justforaday · · Score: 4, Funny

    It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

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    1. Re:ob quote by Knight2K · · Score: 3, Funny

      More like:

      It's quiet. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

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  5. obligatory Rez reference by St.+Arbirix · · Score: 1, Funny

    Apparently Rez is a popular sound based game since it also includes physical feedback.

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    Direct away from face when opening.
    1. Re:obligatory Rez reference by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      Yes, but is it any fun to play? Even if you don't have a ch1xx0r sitting around in her underwear? :

  6. Glaucoma by superpulpsicle · · Score: 1

    That always horrify me. My eyes always feel strained after playing lots of games or spending insane number of hours in front of the screen. I always wonder if there is something to it.

    1. Re:Glaucoma by Ayaress · · Score: 1

      What kind of monitor? I have a big CRT on one computer, and an LCD on the other. The CRT gives me the same thing, but I can usually play on my LCD monitor all day without issues. Sitting back on my couch, I can play console games on the TV all I want and I usually don't get headaches either.

    2. Re:Glaucoma by superpulpsicle · · Score: 1

      Yeah I got a 19-inch CRT. That's all I have.

  7. SCTV invented this first by British · · Score: 1

    Anyone remember the Second City Televison skit with Jerry Todd(played by Rick Moranis) advertising "audio games"? Hilarious commercial. He just puts on a pair of headphones, his a few buttons and you hear gunshots, etc.

  8. so how do you play them by monkeyserver.com · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How did they turn doom or quake into an audio game. They seem to mention a bunch of times that they did this, but how? I'm just wondering how you play that. any insight?

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    http://monkeyserver.com --- weeeeee
    1. Re:so how do you play them by Suddenly_Dead · · Score: 1

      See for yourself, it's apparently a free and opensource project (though Quake itself, the main data files and such, are not. Just download the shareware Quake)

      http://www.agrip.org.uk/DownloadPage

    2. Re:so how do you play them by fastfinge · · Score: 5, Informative

      As someone who plays these things all the time, it's not that hard. You need a decent headset (speakers will NOT cut it! A wonderful way to die.) and a good multichannel sound card (to avoid skipping and crap), but if you've got a recent machine you probably have this already. When you first start you'll find it strange; things sound just real enough to screw you up (unless you're playing the "arcade style" games and then everything sounds totally fake). If you've never played any sort of audio game, I'd start with dark destroyer. Yeah, the voiceover and script in this is really, really, really tacky, and it's sort of a rip off of troopanum, but it still somehow manages to be entertaining. Once you're able to hit stuff without seeing it, then move on to shades of doom. I would make some sort of comment about this, accept I must be the only blind person unable to win at this game and it makes me sad. I always get lost and then I fall into a pit and die. The layout in this is simple, too. I'm just unable to shoot at stuff and worry about energy and weapons and keep track of where the hell I am. I haven't yet figured out if this is because of the design of the game; nobody has given me the oppertunity to shoot at stuff and keep track of weapons while wandering round a research base in real life yet. I'm available, though. Oh, and in closing, the best review quote from the www.audiogames.net website is: "The game sounds a bit like a recording of Jim's porn collection mixed with the Simpsons." Only in an audio game. No, it's not nearly as much fun as it sounds.

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    3. Re:so how do you play them by monkeyserver.com · · Score: 1

      thx for the review! I figured it was kinda like that, but I was wondering if there were voice prompts, like that told you how much amo you had, or what gun you were using. I can't figure that stuff out even when I can see the screen (I suck a fps games). I can see how trying to remember where you have gone and where you are going would make it even more difficult.

      Kudos to these people for make a version of this that is playable for all!

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      http://monkeyserver.com --- weeeeee
    4. Re:so how do you play them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      Kudos to these people for make a version of this that is playable for all!

      Im deaf you senstitite clod!

    5. Re:so how do you play them by fastfinge · · Score: 1

      Ah, I think you were looking for this, then.



      Sorry, sorry! Couldn't resist. What you really wanted was this. Screenshots here and here.



      Silly posts get silly answers. :-)

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    6. Re:so how do you play them by doppe1 · · Score: 1
      I'm just wondering how you play that. any insight?

      Marco!

  9. Sounds (literally) like a cooll idea, but... by gozar · · Score: 1
    I started digging around for the games, and found Sonic Invaders. Unfortunately, I won't be able to try it until I get home, but I was a little surprised about the requirements:
    • P4, 512MB
    • Direct X
    • Demo is 36MB!

    Ok, the sounds might make it larger than it would seem, but 36MB and requires a P4? What's next? 64MB of video RAM?

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    What, me worry?
  10. Completely Insensitive post by snuf23 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Where is the link to the game screenshots?

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    Sometimes my arms bend back.
  11. I wonder if this tech could be turned around? by Julian+Morrison · · Score: 3, Funny

    Might not these sorts of game's audio UI be backported to the real world? Suppose for example, a car which had audio-linked radar sensors, audio blips and beeps for the indicators, drumbeat for speedometer, etc. Then the blind could drive in regular traffic...

    1. Re:I wonder if this tech could be turned around? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They already do, or I asume by the way the idiots are driving that they must be blind.

    2. Re:I wonder if this tech could be turned around? by orgelspieler · · Score: 1

      You may be interested in this newsworthy product called vOICe.

  12. Finally... by cyberfelon2k5 · · Score: 1

    ...we have a way to play games at work without getting caught.

  13. Ob. by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Ob. "This thread is useless without pics!"

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  14. Shades of doom.. shades of dumb by Foo2rama · · Score: 1

    http://www.gmagames.com/sod.html

    listen to the opening sequence MP3. First that has to be the worst voice acting I have ever heard and I play japanese imports... Second can the guy go more then a sentance without using a descriptive word useless to someone who is blind?

    "As the horizen falls past your canopy"
    "Stacks of white data chips"

    Is this guy that dumb to make such a huge oversite?

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    ---In a time of Chimpanzees I was a Monkey.
    1. Re:Shades of doom.. shades of dumb by fastfinge · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dude. In the audio games world, that voice acting is fairly good. I can show you lots worse, if you like. Audio Game companies don't have the money it would take to get experts; look at the sales figures in the wired article. As for your other problem, GMA Games lead programmer and all around developer is completely blind himself. Blind people read books, listen to radio, etc, etc, etc. We're soaking in visual references those of us born blind can have no understanding of; we tend to have strong associations between colors and other things (white=clean/medical/walls/roof/blank/nothing wred=blood/hot/angry/blushing/fire black=evil/dark/strong blue=cold/sad/bruised if you want a couple off the top of my head) that usually work just as well. If SOD went out of its way not to use things like that it would feel a lot more jarring to me; something would be missing.

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  15. Sweet!! by Further82 · · Score: 1

    It's a good thing all these quality audio games are comming out. I just got myself a brand new GeSound 6800GT, it gets over 9000 points in AudioMark 05! w00t!

  16. Being blind... by CaseM · · Score: 1

    I can't read this article you insensitive clod