Twenty Thousand Hertz Explores the World of Blind Video Gaming
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In talking with Steve Saylor - video game superfan, game consultant, and host of YouTube channel Blind Gamer - Dallas Taylor explains that roughly 7.5 million Americans have some form of visual impairment, but only 10% have no vision whatsoever. For Saylor, his condition nystagmus causes extreme blurriness in his vision. When sitting about a foot and a half away from his 50" TV, Saylor describes how he is able to see the screen, but not all of the information essential to the video game's experience. In consulting with game companies on blockbuster titles like Watch Dogs: Legion, Assassin's Creed Valhalla and The Last of Us Part II, he has helped implement innovative accessibility options, from enhanced sonic cues and descriptions to high-contrast modes and more. Saylor recently worked with Xbox on "Power Your Dreams," a project that turned his actual dreams into an audio art piece.
Disability rights activist Connor Scott-Gardner is as big a gamer as Steve Saylor, but his condition of Leber congenital amaurosis means he has been almost totally blind since birth. In order to play a video game, he needs to be able to access everything non-visually, so when he tried his first audio game it was a complete revelation. Dating back to the 1980s, audio games have their roots in "Text Adventure" games that were eventually integrated with text-to-speech engines. Modern audio games now include a huge variety of music, sound effects and dialogue, ranging from first-person shooters such as Shades of Doom to racing games like Top Speed, RPGs including Paladin of the Sky, and Scott-Gardner's own Beyond the Ice. These games build entire worlds and vivid environments from sound alone.
For blind gamers, sound isn't just part of the game, it often is the game. But even for sighted players, recent innovations like 3D audio have demonstrated the incredible power of harnessing a higher potential of sound. "Just like immersive audio and stunning graphics, great accessibility options can help erase the borders of the screen, and put you in the world of a game," Dallas Taylor concludes. "These settings might seem like they're just for a specific group of people, but the truth is that anyone can benefit from them."
For more Blindness Awareness Month episodes of Twenty Thousand Hertz, revisit "Blind Sports," illustrating how blind athletes rely on their ears to hit a pitch, block a throw, and charge across a field, and "Listening to the Movies," a story originally produced by Radiotopia podcast Blind Guy Travels about audio descriptions for film and TV.
About Twenty Thousand Hertz
Twenty Thousand Hertz is a lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. With 20 million+ lifetime downloads, 125,000+ listeners per episode, and 3 Webby awards to its name, Twenty Thousand Hertz is the world's leading podcast about sound. Episodes of Twenty Thousand Hertz have been featured on 99% Invisible, Endless Thread, and Every Little Thing. The show has also been covered by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Salon, Popular Science, and many others.
About Dallas Taylor
Dallas Taylor is the host and creator of Twenty Thousand Hertz, a lovingly crafted podcast revealing the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds. Dallas is also the Creative Director of Defacto Sound, where he has led thousands of high-profile sound design projects - from blockbuster trailers and advertising campaigns, to major television series and Sundance award-winning films. Additionally, Dallas is a TED mainstage speaker, a regular contributor to major publications, and a respected thought leader on the narrative power of sound.
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