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Kereth · 10-30-2008, 08:23 AM

Exactly my point, actually. You can make subtitles for movies and audio tapes for books, but nobody goes back to making movies that are strictly silent just to accomodate those who cannot hear.

Similarly, accessibility issues are always a concern, but to use a hypothetical example, say your game designer finds a way to, with their own custom client, incorporate a semi-graphical element to gameplay, like pseudo-real time battle animations, or converting their overworld to an ascii map completely in place of room descriptions. Depending on the execution, this or numerous other ideas of this nature may prove to have some appeal for a game, but they could also completely exclude a blind player. One cannot justifiably say that it is unethical to make a game with these features, at least not without saying that graphic MMOs are unethical in this way, or that comic books descriminate against the blind or audiotapes against the deaf, or saying that a MUD written in English descriminates against people who don't speak that language.

Game designers have the job or providing good content for their players. It is a job they choose to do, and one which they may or may not get paid for. While it is awesome when they go to extra lengths to provide content that is completely universal, they are not morally bound to that. Many MUDs have no blind players at all. If they want blind players, they'll have to do something to accomodate them, including eliminating graphical interfaces, keeping color non-vital, keeping necessary text from scrolling faster than it can be processed with a screen reader, and so forth. Game designers need to weigh the amount of time this will take to construct, or the amount of gameplay quality that will be lost, against the actually likelihood and number of potential seeing-impared players who may come their way.

Now, let's extend the town analogy real quick. Elevators and such things are placed in public buildings because people who cannot use the stairs need them to get around. This is a good thing to have. Signs are written in braille so that people who cannot see can still read them. This is fantastic. Stoplights, however, are not available in braille. Why not? Seeing is required to drive. It's just part of how driving works. Now, we still allow cars, because people who can see can use them. Just the same, we still allow graphical games and graphical functions in games, because people who can see can play them.

Again, to reiterate, one of the great advantages of MUDs is that they can still be played by people even without the ability to play a graphical game, whether that is because their computer can't handle it, because they cannot see, or whatever else. Any MUD designer needs to realize that when they employ graphics, they are giving up these last real advantages they possess over MMO's and similar games. The power of imagination is not going to be a substitute forever, just as it was not with silent, black-and-white films. This also needs to be taken into the balance.

10-30-2008, 08:23 AM	#15
Kereth Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Home MUD: www.retromud.org Posts: 61	Re: Going Graphical Exactly my point, actually. You can make subtitles for movies and audio tapes for books, but nobody goes back to making movies that are strictly silent just to accomodate those who cannot hear. Similarly, accessibility issues are always a concern, but to use a hypothetical example, say your game designer finds a way to, with their own custom client, incorporate a semi-graphical element to gameplay, like pseudo-real time battle animations, or converting their overworld to an ascii map completely in place of room descriptions. Depending on the execution, this or numerous other ideas of this nature may prove to have some appeal for a game, but they could also completely exclude a blind player. One cannot justifiably say that it is unethical to make a game with these features, at least not without saying that graphic MMOs are unethical in this way, or that comic books descriminate against the blind or audiotapes against the deaf, or saying that a MUD written in English descriminates against people who don't speak that language. Game designers have the job or providing good content for their players. It is a job they choose to do, and one which they may or may not get paid for. While it is awesome when they go to extra lengths to provide content that is completely universal, they are not morally bound to that. Many MUDs have no blind players at all. If they want blind players, they'll have to do something to accomodate them, including eliminating graphical interfaces, keeping color non-vital, keeping necessary text from scrolling faster than it can be processed with a screen reader, and so forth. Game designers need to weigh the amount of time this will take to construct, or the amount of gameplay quality that will be lost, against the actually likelihood and number of potential seeing-impared players who may come their way. Now, let's extend the town analogy real quick. Elevators and such things are placed in public buildings because people who cannot use the stairs need them to get around. This is a good thing to have. Signs are written in braille so that people who cannot see can still read them. This is fantastic. Stoplights, however, are not available in braille. Why not? Seeing is required to drive. It's just part of how driving works. Now, we still allow cars, because people who can see can use them. Just the same, we still allow graphical games and graphical functions in games, because people who can see can play them. Again, to reiterate, one of the great advantages of MUDs is that they can still be played by people even without the ability to play a graphical game, whether that is because their computer can't handle it, because they cannot see, or whatever else. Any MUD designer needs to realize that when they employ graphics, they are giving up these last real advantages they possess over MMO's and similar games. The power of imagination is not going to be a substitute forever, just as it was not with silent, black-and-white films. This also needs to be taken into the balance.