Land of the Blind: Audio Games: Games Without Graphics

Audio games have existed in some form for quite a long time, the first example being the 80s handheld Simon and its clones. It wasn’t until the advent of text-to-speech with the Apple II Echo add-on when the options really opened up to the blind. Now, we can enjoy many other titles, such as interactive fiction like Crystal Cave and the massive Aemon adventures series. The Apple II Echo was pretty well known among blind computer enthusiasts; it was actually my first introduction to computers back in the very early 90s. Sadly, however, when computers evolved and Apple discontinued the Apple II line in favor of the Macintosh, and Microsoft with its new Windows operating system, blind gamers wanting games to play on the PC didn’t have too many options. There was a bit of a drought for sometime, until about the year 2000, when a game called Grizzly Gulch: Western Extravaganza came into being from a company called Bavisoft.

Here is the game’s description, from Bavisoft’s website.

It’s like nothing you’ve experienced before – a game you have to hear to believe. 
Grizzly Gulch Western Extravaganza is a virtual world set in the Old West 
created purely from sound imagery. Would you like to settle into the Saloon for 
a game of chance, or try to make a name for yourself upholding the law against 
some of the worst outlaws in the West with your trusty six-shooter in blazing 
arcade style gun battles? It’s all up to you. 
An evolving storyline, fully playable casino, and action sequences as a 
gunfighter plus so much more, all come together to make this an unforgettable 
trip to the Old West for gamers of all ages.

Sure, the voice acting was extremely corny, the production values weren’t all that spectacular, and the gun-fighting mechanic was fairly simple — you’d hear a thug in either the left, right or center; you had to position your gun with the left and right arrows until it was on the area where the speech came from, and press the up arrow to fire. Despite these flaws, the game was truly revolutionary for its time. Never before was there a game like it designed for the blind, with self-voicing menus and a great many sound effects. But where Grizzly Gulch was truly revolutionary was in what it began. Soon after, many blind programmers (and even a few sighted ones) saw the potential for audio games, and began writing games of their own. About a year or so after Grizzly Gulch’s release, the audio games market sprang up and quickly grew. Soon there were a great deal of games and genres to choose from. Space invaders style games like Alien Outback and Troopanum, simulations like Lone Wolf (a submarine sim) and tank commander, 3d shooters like Shades of Doom, adventure games like Monkey Business and Treasure Hunt, and side-scrollers like Super Liam.

Since audio games rely very heavily on positional audio, it’s a good idea to wear headphones. Also, if you’re using a screen reader, you’ll want to turn it off or put it to sleep, since many keys will interfere with the game while the screen reader is active. It’s quite amazing to think that audio games in their present form have only existed for a decade, but have already come so far. I look forward to seeing how they evolve next.

Here are some sites that might be of interest to anyone wanting to find out more about audio games:
www.audiogames.net – the main community website for everything about audio games, as well as a database and active forums.
www.l-works.net – home of L-works, my friend Liam’s site, creator of Super Liam and Judgment Day. (Currently down)
www.bpcprograms.com – home of BCP programs SD, creator of treasure hunt and the upcoming Three D Velocity.

 
“In The Land of The Blind” is a weekly column discussing the unique perspectives of a blind gamer geek.

About Mike

Mike Breedlove, AKA Stirlock, is Geek Life's resident blind gamer from California. While he enjoys most types of games out there, arcade style beat 'em ups and RPGs are his personal favorite genres. It is his firm belief that Snatcher is the best game ever made, and he still hopes, (even if in vain,) that whenever Hedeo Kojima announces a new game, it will be related to Snatcher. He's a fan of Nintendo's Mother series, and thinks it is a crime against humanity that an official translation was never made to Mother 3.

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