Note: The writer did such a great job of writing the article that I didn't feel it was right to change anything. These are only the highlights of the posting.
I'm often met with baffled statements such as "But how do you even read the computer screen?" and "How can you possibly play games if you're blind?" Well let me tell you folks, it isn't easy.
Playing video games, on the other hand, is an increasingly difficult venture. It seems odd that, with all of today's technology, video games are becoming less and less accessible.
I use a special "high contrast" color scheme which changes the background color of every web page and most applications to black and, by contrast, turns the text color to white. This simple inversion of the colors improves the clarity of what I am looking at by about 400%, since the darker background color is much easier on my eyes.
Grandia 3 opted for a much more "modern" look, with smaller text windows and brighter backgrounds. If it weren't for the game's voice acting, I would have had trouble ever completing the game because I wouldn't have been able to understand the story…
It seems the RPG trend nowadays is to move away from the classic turn-based formula and in to an action-RPG style.
… despite the increasing number of games released each year, there are fewer and fewer titles which someone like myself can successfully play.
There is also the matter of other accessibility features which are simple to implement but sometimes ignored; I once read the plight of a deaf gamer on a message board asking for a copy of Grandia 3's script because the game lacks a simple subtitle feature for its voice acted parts!
I recognize that innovation is important, especially in the video game industry, but that doesn't mean we need to ignore some of the simpler things in life. I find myself playing fewer games, and getting less excited about games, because I fear that every new title I purchase (or even rent) may simply be too difficult to play these days. I know which genres in general to avoid, but isn't there some way that the industry can take a look at the needs of all its users and try to find some way – even something simple like changing text colors or including subtitles – to make games playable for as many people as possible?
Perhaps one day the technology will be in place to correct all visual impairments, but until that day I can only hope that people sit up and take notice of others' plights and do their own part to help.
SOURCE: GameSpot
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