Review of computer games for blind users
It is difficult to imagine the modern world without computer games. In 2023 alone, Russian users spent on computer games and in-game goods 161 billion rubles.
However, there is a category of people for whom the path to the world of gaming is often closed – these are blind people. “Ordinary” computer games are inaccessible to a blind user because they involve a graphical interface and focus on the visual component. The only exceptions here are, perhaps, text quests, browser games and MUDs. Basically, computer games accessible to blind users are created specifically for them. Therefore, their variety is incomparable to the variety of “regular” games. In this article we will talk about some of the most interesting computer games for the Microsoft Windows operating system that are available to blind users. After the description of each game, you can listen to a short video illustrating how the game is organized.
The review was prepared by Vladimir Dovydenkov, author and co-founder of the portal for blind people Tiflocomp, with the support of the team of a basic course on digital literacy for blind people, created by the inclusive Everland project in partnership with Beeline and the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment.
In general, games for blind users can be divided into 2 types:
· Text, that is, game events are voiced using screen access programs (screen readers);
· Sound – these are games in which the screen reader needs to be turned off, and all feedback comes through game sounds and recorded messages;
· Combined games. These are games in which control is carried out both using a screen access program and using sound prompts in the game itself.
1. Technoshock
Official site: http://www.tiflocomp.ru/games/ts/
Genre: shooter
User Interactions: own sound
Age restrictions: 12+
The game is twenty years old, but it is impossible not to mention it in this review, since it is the first domestic game of this level. It is still quite playable even on modern versions of Windows.
This is a classic shooter – that is, a game in which the main task is to destroy opponents in every possible way while fulfilling your mission. The Skynet supercomputer has seized power, and the robots have begun a brutal war against humans. Professor Pavlov invents a new weapon that can turn the tide and defeat the mechanical enemy! But the Skynet supercomputer finds out about Pavlov’s invention and, having destroyed his weapon, captures the professor along with his assistant. A special unit of the resistance forces is tasked with breaking into the building where the professor and assistant are being held and freeing them. But something went wrong, and the entire squad was destroyed by robots at the very beginning of the operation! Only your character survived! And there is no turning back – you will have to fight robots and save people from captivity.
You can listen to the video here: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/NyG2m7TCcPnfOQ
2. Humans VS. robots (HVR)
Official site: http://olimp.chat-uspeh.ru/hvr_uspeh/
Genre: multiplayer shooter quest
User interaction: custom sound and screen reader
Age restrictions: 12+
Classic multiplayer multi-level shooter adventure game. The player controls the character, completing various tasks, assignments, quests and simultaneously destroying robots in different guises. All actions take place on a map, each map has a coordinate grid. Maps differ from each other in their environment, the number and characteristics of robots, the presence of artifacts, rooms, buildings, and have mutual transitions. As experience increases, the level increases, and more and more new tools become available.
The game is multiplayer, which means that several people can be in the game at the same time and everyone can communicate freely with each other. Moreover, there is both a general chat and a private one.
The game has quite a lot of bugs, but it is constantly being improved by the development team.
You can listen to the video here: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/T5Vl10ca1OAIwg
3. Orbit
Official site: https://www.sitedia.narod.ru/games.htm
Genre: shooter
User interaction: custom sound and screen reader
Age restrictions: 12+
Legend: “around the planet, in stationary orbits, there are 4 orbital fortresses, in the corners of the tetrahedron. Fortresses are designed to protect the inhabited world. The player controls one of these fortresses. The task is to repel enemy attacks of the invading army.” Bonuses (imperials) are awarded for downed ships. You can use bonuses to buy shells, weapons or energy batteries. There are a total of 6 types of different weapons in the game, but from the beginning of the game the only one that fires simple projectiles will be available.
The toy is voiced quite decently, but a screen reader is also required: all statistical information and information about goals is voiced through a screen reader.
You can listen to the video here: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/_H-iWHwvVNG8Iw
4. Eurofly
Official site: https://eurofly.stefankiss.sk/
Genre: simulator
User interaction: custom sound and screen reader
Age restrictions: 12+
Additional materials:
Detailed text materials in Russian on Eurofly 3
https://cyrmax.github.io/eurofly3-knowledge/
Detailed audio materials on Youtube (author Cyrmax Kirill Belousov)
VKontakte community
https://vk.com/euroflyrussia
The game originates from Slovakia, but has long and deservedly spread throughout the world. The player will not only have to take off, navigate the space and land, but also talk with the dispatcher, receive passengers, navigate the airport along taxiways and much, much more.
The level of immersion is impressive. The game is voiced very well. Everything is atmospheric and quite realistic. It has not yet been translated into Russian, but you can figure it out even with the most minimal knowledge of the language.
In addition to purely emotional impressions, the game can be extremely interesting and useful for lovers of geographical maps: it implements a convenient mechanism for orienting on the map. If you wish, you can understand the relative location of countries, capitals and large water bodies.
You can listen to the video here: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/UMAoqDCivhyP6A
5. TopSpeed 3
Official site: https://www.playinginthedark.net/
Genre: simulator
User interaction: own sound
Age restrictions: 6+
The famous gambling racing simulator. The player's task is to keep the sound of the engine exactly in the middle of the “sound picture”. The turns of the track will constantly shift it to the left, then to the right. Moreover, the sharpness of this shift depends on the nature of the turn and the speed of the vehicle. The turn can be “slightly left” or “sharply right”, and only a quick reaction and the right speed will allow you to stay on the track. The navigator will warn you about which turn ahead. The same navigator will report on the nature of the road surface: it could be asphalt, gravel or even water.
The dynamics of acceleration and braking, of course, also depend on the surface under the wheels and on the selected vehicle. There are a total of 13 vehicles in the game: from a mighty bus to a dynamic motorcycle. You can also select racing mode.
The game is fully voiced, no screen reader is needed here. The realism of the “sound picture” is not exceptional, but it is quite enough for immersion. The game is in English, but a very basic knowledge of the language is enough to start playing it.
You can listen to the video here: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/QRAPhv3qlI3zRA
6. GMA Tank Commander
Official site: https://www.gmagames.com/gtc1.shtml
Genre: shooter, simulator
User interaction: own sound
Age restrictions: 12+
Additional materials:
Help Guide in Russian
http://www.tiflocomp.ru/games/archive/action/gtc_manual.php
For this game we have made exceptions to the review rules. Firstly, it is paid and it will not be easy to buy it, since the developer is foreign. Secondly, it is in English, and Russian localization is not included in the official delivery. But this is such a classic and well-made game that it is absolutely impossible to ignore it in a game review.
This toy is a little bit of a simulator, a little bit of a shooter and a little bit of a quest all in one package. It simulates, as the name suggests, a tank. The controls are simple: move forward/backward, the turret rotates along with the tank. The weapon is already in the tank, you don’t have to look for it on the map. Moreover, the weapons are varied: standard shells, armor-piercing shells, a machine gun, homing missiles, cruise missiles and interceptor missiles. For different tasks, the player has a different set of weapons and at each moment of time he needs to decide: should he waste a valuable homing missile or try to knock out an enemy tank with a standard cannon?
The map in the game is based on sounds, there is no grid. The tank seems to move around the territory in real time. The sector is limited by rocks and water obstacles, and inside there may be forests and swamps.
The game is unique with interesting and varied tasks, high-quality sounds, a high-quality orientation and target detection system.
You can listen to the video here: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/OpdOvlckSbD-kQ
7.Ontoys
Official site: https://tiflo.space/ontoys/
Genre: card, sound, logic
User interaction: own sound and screen reader.
Age restrictions: 6+
This is not one game, but dozens of “board” games collected in one application. Thirty-one in total. They are divided into six categories: 12 card games, 10 logic games, 5 “militaristic” games, 2 audio games, 1 board game, 1 “guessing game”. All games have detailed rules and control instructions.
Among other things, the program implements text and voice chats. So there is an opportunity not only to play, but also to communicate with each other. You can use text only, you can use both text and voice, or you can turn off the chat completely.
Games are voiced by both a screen reader and sound effects. Management as in a “regular” application: tabs, lists, buttons. Select with arrows, activate with space or Enter. Some of the information will need to be read by a screen reader, but there are also sound effects in the games.
You can listen to the video here: https://disk.yandex.ru/i/5dtDmsUxto9b9Q
8. SoundRTS
Official site: http://jlpo.free.fr/soundrts/
Genre: strategy
User interaction: custom sound and screen reader
Age restrictions: 12+
Additional materials:
Sound game SoundRTS: http://www.tiflocomp.ru/games/archive/strategy/soundrts.php
Guide to the game SoundRTS: http://www.tiflocomp.ru/games/archive/strategy/soundrts-ref.php
The player will have to develop his civilization in real time: build cities and castles, sawmills and blacksmiths, barracks and stables, mage towers and earthworks. Everything to defeat your opponent. It is important to choose the right strategy and manage resources correctly.
The playing field is a map divided into cells. Each cell has some areas: fields, roads, forests, gold mines. You can build buildings in the fields, extract resources from forests and mines, and you can move along roads to neighboring cells.
Different buildings provide different opportunities: the city hall will allow you to hire peasants for resource extraction and construction; the barracks makes it possible to hire warriors: soldiers, archers, knights…
To hire a knight you need to build a stable, to build a stable you need to update the town hall and build a blacksmith. To update the town hall you need to build a barracks. All this requires gold and wood. They are mined by peasants who can be hired at the town hall. And so on and so forth…
But at some point an enemy appears and tries to destroy the built buildings and kill the soldiers. And only the one who surpasses everyone in the number of warriors or their skills will win.
The game is very high quality, with good sound and lots of tips. A large number of maps with different organization of space and different amounts of resources.
You can listen to the video here: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/1oGy0xstKMFDDQ
9. TadsWrapper, PlainInstead
Official site:
TadsWrapper
PlainInstead
https://dialas.ru/platforms/plaininstead/
Genre: text games (quests).
User interaction: screen reader and custom sound.
Age restrictions: 6+
Additional materials:
Knowledge base of the Russian community of lovers of interactive literature and text games
https://ifwiki.ru/
A large online resource dedicated to text games and adaptation to screen reading programs
https://dialas.ru/
Text games (text quests) or interactive literature are a whole separate gaming genre. Each game is a literary text, but with the active participation of the player. It is the player who decides where to go, what to pick up and what to throw away, go to bed, give a flower or fight with someone… There are a lot of options. And all this with commands in text form or by activating the necessary buttons. By typing text commands, you can control the character: “look around the bushes”, “throw a stone”, “turn the handle”…
There are a huge variety of games in this format. Dozens of games of varying degrees of literature and varying degrees of complexity are already built into the game client, but they can also be downloaded separately. Some have a soundtrack. Some are completely audio, but these are rather exceptions. The main emphasis is on the screen reader and text information.
You need to play text quests using special programs, so-called “parsers”. There are two of them: TadsWrapper and PlainInstead. Both are adapted for screen readers.
Let's supplement the review with a list of the main gaming communities:
The oldest catalog of games, a little losing its relevance, but in it you can still find many descriptions and materials on the topic: “Computer games for the blind and visually impaired” http://www.tiflocomp.ru/games/
A live and constantly updated catalog with a lot of relevant materials. Many games in English, many paid games: “Tiflo-games – Games for blind and visually impaired people” https://tiflo-games.ru/, https://t.me/TifloGames
Electronic mail conference “Computer games for the blind and visually impaired”: https://subscribe.ru/catalog/industry.comp.tiflocomp.games/ or to subscribe, write a letter in free form to TC-Mode
