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Re: Web-based games

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From: Nolan Darilek
Date: Aug 26, 2020 2:25PM

I'd caution against dismissing audio games outright because that's all
some of us can do. I myself am blind. If I could create games with
graphics, or could actually afford to hire someone for the visuals, I
would. And, all things being equal, I'd prefer an accessible inclusive
game to an audio-only game. That said, I have bunches of game ideas
kicking around in my skull, some that I genuinely think push the state
of the art in game accessibility, and I'm not going to *not* do those
because all I can muster is audio. :)


That said, if you have the ability to do something that isn't
audio-only, please do. That's part of why I added accessibility to an
open source engine, because I'd actually like to collaborate alongside
sighted developers to build more inclusively.


Anyhow, I don't want to go too far off-topic for a web development list.
I just wanted to plug audio games a bit, even if I'm simultaneously
creating them while knowing they aren't our future.

On 8/26/20 3:17 PM, Lucy GRECO wrote:
> HELLO:
> I WOULD REACH OUT TO Ian Hamilton https://twitter.com/ianhamilton_
> AS HE IS ONE OF THE TOP PEOPLE IN GAME ACCESSIBILITY.
> I WOULD RECOMMEND STAYING AWAY FROM AUDIO ONLY GAMES IT DRIVES ME AND
> OTHER BLIND PEOPLE CRAZY WHEN WE FIND A GOOD GAME THAT OUR SITED
> FRIENDS WON'T PLAY.
> i PLAY GAMES TO BE SOCIAL AND I DON'T ONLY WANT TO PLAY WITH OTHER BLIND
> PEOPLE. SO MAKE SURE IT'S INCLUSIVE TO EVERYONE NOT JUST BLIND OR KEYBOARD
> ONLY ETCETERA.
>
> I DID FIND AN INTERESTING NEW PLATFORM A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT IS IN
> PUBLIC ALPHA BUT I AM NOT GOING TO SHARE THE LINK HERE AS THE FILE I
> DOWNLOADED TURNED OUT TO HAVE SOME PRETTY CRITICAL VIRUSES IN IT. AND THEY
> DID BREAK THE RULE I HAVE OF NOT BEING AUDEO
> ONLY.
> SMILE EVEN A PRIMITIVE MAP IS BETTER THEN NO MAP AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED
> LUYC
>
> Lucia Greco
> Web Accessibility Evangelist
> IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
> University of California, Berkeley
> (510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
> http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
> Follow me on twitter @accessaces
>
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 26, 2020 at 12:23 PM Patrick H. Lauke < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> wrote:
>
>> On 26/08/2020 19:45, <EMAIL REMOVED> wrote:
>>> The latest Syntax podcast includes a discussion of creating a
>> minesweeper-style Web game with the React framework. The hosts suggested
>> using React's pointer events. That made me cringe. I know little about
>> React or its pointer events, but I assume that using them excludes keyboard
>> users. Perhaps they will work on touch screens?
>>
>> Pointer Events (which, as far as I know, is what React uses natively,
>> with polyfills/fallbacks for older browsers that don't implement them)
>> are an event model that covers all possible pointer-type inputs (mouse,
>> stylus, touchscreen). Using pointer events makes sure that stuff works
>> on various desktop/mobile/tablet/hybrid devices and with various input
>> types.
>>
>> And yes, pointer events on their own won't help/do anything for keyboard
>> users (and the PE spec warns about this directly - see the note in the
>> introduction https://w3c.github.io/pointerevents/#intro)
>>
>> Full disclosure: I'm chair of the WG and co-editor of the spec ;)
>>
>>> today I did some searching and found skimpy resources for a developer
>> wanting to create an accessible Web game. Does anyone have suggestions for
>> reading materials on this topic.
>>
>> It depends heavily on the type of game. In general, action/realtime
>> games will be exceedingly hard to make fully accessible (including
>> screen reader/AT users), while turn-based simple games are much easier
>> to accommodate with mostly general web-development concepts like making
>> sure there are focusable/keyboard operable controls, that content is
>> semantically structured, etc.
>>
>> There's of course also varying levels of "accessible". Just making a
>> game keyboard accessible is much easier than also conveying the current
>> state (e.g. the whole "mine field") to an AT user in a sensible way (a
>> giant table/grid for instance). And you may even end up making something
>> that is technically accessible to screen reader users, but so utterly
>> tedious to navigate and use, that you may as well not bother.
>>
>> Sorry, no simple answer or pointer...just that, unless we're talking
>> really basic games, making even a moderately complex game fully
>> accessible can be extremely challenging.
>>
>> P
>> --
>> Patrick H. Lauke
>>
>> https://www.splintered.co.uk/ | https://github.com/patrickhlauke
>> https://flickr.com/photos/redux/ | https://www.deviantart.com/redux
>> twitter: @patrick_h_lauke | skype: patrick_h_lauke
>> >> >> >> >>
> > > >