Everyone plays computer games or knows someone who does. This hip new hobby is sweeping the national papers in cry storms of black ink and primordial jokes, with citizens experiencing literally hours of fun on the new Medal Of Honour game or racing each other on The Grand Theft Auto. The visceral nature of this high-tech, low brow pastime is often lost on those that are visually impaired, they often have no idea how the 64-bit graphics on the latest xbox is any different from the olden days gone by of Pac-Man and it's hit DLC, Ms. Pac-Man. Of course, blind people are able to play some modern games by listening to sounds and memorizing patterns, some manufacturers have experimented with lycra suits fitted with vibrating paddles that give an extra-sensory perception for enjoying the latest beat-em-up. But what about a video game made for blind people by blind people? Well what about it?
Ryan McBiudden is an entrepreneur using crowd sourcing to fund his mad-cap idea. We talk over Skype in separate coffee shops, talking loudly. I ask him to tell me all about the game as I slurp my Americano.
"It's simple. In this first-person shooter you play a blind man. There are no visual graphics at all, not even menus. Gamers have to rely entirely on sound." he says.
"Whoa."
"This is the world experienced by the visually impaired. It's heavily imagination based, with gamers having to construct a 3D map in their heads in order to navigate the post-apocalyptic city."
"Whoa, post-apocalypse? Now you got my attention." I say, dribbling coffee from my grinning mouth.
"It's a prequel to Day Of The Triffids. You play a character called Jack who wakes up completely blind and have to explore a world invaded by...alien plants? I think it's an invasion. They might have been there all along, I can't remember. Anyway, that's the game."
"Sounds good, I'll give it five stars. What's the multiplayer like?"
"We wanted to focus on delivering an excellent single player experience, though we're also working on-" he says. I pick up the laptop and smash it to bits against the table in front of me, hitting it over and over again, screaming as my brain boils inside my skull.
