Just sitting here and having some coffee, browsing the site looking for interesting tidbits to read while i caffinate myself. And i thought, because pen and paper RPGs are so imaginative, and if some of the visual obsticles like die rolling could be overcome, maybe it could be a solid source of entertainment for people who are visually impaired? Maybe it already is somehow, i have no idea.
If i understand it right, people who lack one sense, will be able to make their other senses a bit stronger due to the fact that they have to rely on them a bit more. Like a person who cant see, but can hear or notice details via hearing a bit better than those of us who can see. So i would guess that people who are visually impaired may also be able to imagine things in a more detailed and rich manner. If this is true, i would think pen and paper (obvious visual obsticles overcome) would be a great source of entertainment for them.
Anyone know if something like this is already being done? With technology today, ive got to think that somehow its possible.
I have no fear of being flamed for bad ideas (path to success is paved by failure) so by all means, flame away :-)
Just sitting here and having some coffee, browsing the site looking for interesting tidbits to read while i caffinate myself. And i thought, because pen and paper RPGs are so imaginative, and if some of the visual obsticles like die rolling could be overcome, maybe it could be a solid source of entertainment for people who are visually impaired? Maybe it already is somehow, i have no idea.
If i understand it right, people who lack one sense, will be able to make their other senses a bit stronger due to the fact that they have to rely on them a bit more. Like a person who cant see, but can hear or notice details via hearing a bit better than those of us who can see. So i would guess that people who are visually impaired may also be able to imagine things in a more detailed and rich manner. If this is true, i would think pen and paper (obvious visual obsticles overcome) would be a great source of entertainment for them.
Anyone know if something like this is already being done? With technology today, ive got to think that somehow its possible.
I have no fear of being flamed for bad ideas (path to success is paved by failure) so by all means, flame away :-)
64oz Games makes board games accessible, and I imagine they'd be willing to do at least a partial consultation on what it would take to make RPGs accessible. Or at least, point you in the right direction. They're good people.
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My best friend just lost his sight in an unfortunate car accident about 6 months ago. Recently hanging out with him, he expressed his interest in tabletop gaming again, specifically Pathfinder, which he knew I was involved in. I'm planning on playing like I would with any group (I typically play Society).
At first, it'll involve getting a good dice tray so he can find/roll/return the dice where he can find them. Of course, we'll be helping with positioning/character sheet/reading the dice at first (he's just starting courses for braille).
Moving forward, I'll be looking for dice that are functional for him (big so he can feel the numbers, finding raised numbers, or braille, 3d printing has come a long way).
Character sheets would be next - some way for him to have a tactile life counter would be good - everything else can just be printed in braille, especially while he's playing fighter/barbarian characters.
As far as the map goes, I've been leaning two directions - while I always like the map (Society play uses it and there are many spells/feats that take tactical positioning into effect) I'd be willing to go one of two ways on it -
Keeping the board but coming up with shorthand to describe the layout - especially when he's just caring about 'kill something else, preferrably that which is threatening my friends' - it's easy for the party to assist him in positioning.
Otherwise, forgoing the map completely would be a change from what I'm used to and an exercise for me as a GM.
Outside of the 'logistics' side of playing the game - I look forward to not being able to show pictures of things. Exercising my ability to describe the scene, set the mood, and put life into NPCs will be welcome and I believe can only develop me further as a GM.
If anyone has any advice or has tried any of this, I'd love to hear.
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Ok pathfinder peeps, this fits right into my wheelhouse! I’m blind and I play all the time. In fact I am usually the GM of our group. Any questions, feel free to ask.
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There's a gentleman that plays in my area that is visual impaired. His friend (sister?) usually plays with him and reads off the dice to him. The GM describes the map layout and placement of characters and he gives his character's actions. It works just fine. He doesn't have all his numbers memorized so someone helps him with his character sheet but he has fun all the same.
There's some considerations when he sits down at the table, but really it's not much more work for other people than helping someone new to gaming.
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Ok pathfinder peeps, this fits right into my wheelhouse! I’m blind and I play all the time. In fact I am usually the GM of our group. Any questions, feel free to ask.
How much of your game ends up being abstracted/off the cuff? Where Pathfinder Society is fairly RAW (everything is written out, we use maps and grids, block text is provided) how much do you end up forgoing? I assume things are still dice based, but do you use a grid and minis still?
What type of dice do you use? Are there any other tools or resources that make your job easier?
And not meaning to offend - what type or level of blindness do you have and how does that effect your playing?
I think that it would be great if a company could sit down with the visually impared and develop some things that would really help them out. Find out what they would like to have developed so they could have an easier time playing. Maybe audio, special dice, i have no idea. Thats something best left described by those who could make the most use of it.
I just think, in my humble opinion, pen and paper RPGs could offer some great entertainment.
Ok pathfinder peeps, this fits right into my wheelhouse! I’m blind and I play all the time. In fact I am usually the GM of our group. Any questions, feel free to ask.is there an audio/visual(something like an audiobook) version of AP's, or a product that helps GM's create one?
Not that I know of. I use a program on my computer called JAWS. It reads practically anything text based, so I use mainly the PDF's for reference. Of course maps and pictures are challenging. You need someone to help you with that sort of thing.
Ok pathfinder peeps, this fits right into my wheelhouse! I’m blind and I play all the time. In fact I am usually the GM of our group. Any questions, feel free to ask.How much of your game ends up being abstracted/off the cuff? Where Pathfinder Society is fairly RAW (everything is written out, we use maps and grids, block text is provided) how much do you end up forgoing? I assume things are still dice based, but do you use a grid and minis still?
What type of dice do you use? Are there any other tools or resources that make your job easier?
And not meaning to offend - what type or level of blindness do you have and how does that effect your playing?
Most of my games are run pretty free-form. I always know the shape and size of the rooms and such with a helpful cohort. We never use minis or a grid. If I need a description that is given in box text, I cut and paste the text into a message so one of my players can read it aloud for me off their screen. Most of the time any more we play over skype, we all live pretty far away now days.
I use a dice roller for my numbers, and the program JAWS to read text off a PDF for me.
No offense at all. I am in effect totally blind. I only have a tiny bit of light perception over all. It doesn’t really affect my ability to play. I mostly memorize my character sheet if I am playing away from my computer, but when I’m near it, I have my own customize character sheet to reference. If there is a grid, then it only needs a bit more explanation for me to catch on.
Good questions.
Unlike Daredevil would have you believe, the remaining senses don't become stronger.They do. Not daredevil-esque, obviously, but your occipital cortex will actually start taking on other roles and thus literally increase your processing power for other things.
More so if you are blind from a young age, but to some extent any time. In fact, I've seen data from experiments where cortex began reorganizing itself to new tasks in literally MINUTES when research participants were fitted with glasses that simulated macular degeneration (loss of vision near the center of your point of gaze). The resources normally used to process that part of the visual field instead began to lend additional processing power to the more peripheral locations, extremely rapidly.
There are also all kinds of experiments with blind ferrets and conversely giving ferrets third eyes, and all sorts of things, and their brains will accommodate very well. I.e., with 3 eyes from birth, you can devote 1/3 of your occipital lobe to each eye instead of 1/2, no problem. And vice versa, as well as filling in for other senses to a less than perfectly efficient degree.
Um... Being blind, I can tell you that the senses actually don't get any better. You just learn how to use the other senses more efficiently. AKA, your brain has one less thing to pay attention too, therefor your other senses compensate by devoting more brain power to the endeavor, but your senses don't get better.
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Thank you very much Valantrix. This thread actually makes me excited. It was only two weeks ago we began discussing playing tabletop games again and I'm looking forward to the adjustments I'll have to make to make sure he can enjoy the game.
My friend hasn't yet started his classes for computer use and braille, but that will just open up more options.
What dice roller do you use?
If there are any other suggestions for programs or setups, they would be greatly appreciated. He's completely sightless. We switched him over to an iPhone since the voice/touch assistance was more intuitive (I even tried going without looking on both for a while) and I've been researching tablet/laptop options for him.