Audyssey;

Games Accessible to the Blind

Issue :  52 3rd  2007

Edited by Ron Schamerhorn



Fun, Friendship, Knowledge, Charity



+++

Welcome

Welcome to the  50th issue of Audyssey. This magazine is dedicated to the 
discussion of games which, through accident or design, are accessible to the 
blind either with or without sighted assistance.

In this publication I've attempted to pack in a whole bunch of great 
information about gaming and the ongoing developments that are taking place. 
Notenavigation markers. Three plus-signs are placed above any articles or 
sections. Within these

sections, two plus-signs denote the start of a new sub-section. Smaller

divisions are marked by a single plus-sign. This allows people to use

their search capabilities to go quickly to the next division they are

interested in. For instance, the "Letters" section is preceded by three

plus-signs. Each letter within it has two plus-signs before it. Answers

to letters have a single plus-sign before them.



+++

Contents:

Welcome

>From The Editor

Letters

RTFM online help for accessible games

Video games' new frontier:  -

Accessible Multiplatform Games?

Phil's Funnies

Chatting with Creators

Are role playing games changing the way we view gaming?

News From Game Developers

Game Announcements and Reviews

Contacting Us

Distribution Information and Submission Policies



+++

>From the Editor



  Firstly let me wish aHappy Holidays to one and all.  I hope this seson 
allows time with friends, family and wonderful times.

  This issue of the magazine does have some great information.  I feel the 
letters section is above average with some links to various articles about 
accessible gaming which provide a good read.  The articles number about 
three this time which discuss various points involved with gaming.  The 
developer has a number of recent releases aand updates.  Lastly the Chatting 
with creators section is in this issue, this time with Mathew of the online 
game Sryth.

  Also I wish everyone the best of the season, I'm going to try and keep 
warm here in Canada, and Enjoy this issue of Audyysey!





+++

Letters

  In this section the content is taken from the list primarily, but may also 
include something I receive directly.  Generally these are of course game 
related, but perhaps not a review or announcement as such.  Sometimes it 
might just be someone's thought's about a game or genre of game.  I hope 
these prove interesting and informative.



++

Folks,



In my humble opinion, the blind community isn't notably different from any 
other collective re entitlement attitudes,

or, for that matter, proportion of lazy thinkers, or people who behave

unwisely.

People are just people: good and less good.

As for how this affects our sales:

Most computer games end up in the bargain bin and lose money.

Most computer companies lose money.

Even EA posts losses some quarters.

Games are not as essential to potential customers as groceries.

We do it because it's fun, same as actors.

If you want to make money doing software, build financial systems.

Been there, done that, ugh!

If you want more sales, suggest you let additional markets know of your 
games.

Try the Family Friendly market. Except for some of Jim's racier stuff.

Try the Seniors market. Old folks got tired eyes.

Try the Female Gamers market. You might be surprised.

Maybe even the Educational market, like VIP games does.

The Casual Games market is really competitive, but the latest issue of 
Inside Gamesutra has an excellent review of that

market

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15955.



There's opportunities in other disabilities markets too.

Richard's Game Accessibility Project has some great pointers.

Then there are 7 large English speaking countries besides ours.

Look where Azabat and Bavisoft are on the Web.

 From what I've seen these past few months,

this is a knowledgeable bunch of people who are passionate about what they 
do.

Let's have some fun.



John Bannick

CTO

7-128 Software



++

Hi all,

Here's a fun article I found in today's Guardian from the UK, reliving those 
wonderful sport's games, just sort of choosing the best 1980's ones.

Enjoy

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/11/02/joy_of_six_retro_sports_games.html



++



You mentioned "...true 3D environments are almost impossible to relate to

in an audio only format."

If you haven't seen it yet, check out the article "Playing by Ear: Creating

Blind-Accessible Games",

GamaSutra, May 20, 2002, by Gavin Andresen. It's at

www.gamasutra.com/resource_guide/20020520/andersen_pfv.htm.

He's got some specific techniques that could be coded.

Not that true 3D is easy at all, even with some good techniques.



John



++

Hi all,

I'd like to mention a problem which I think we as audio and blind gamers 
should really take seriously and somehow solve. The problem is this: we must 
have

some sort of central site which houses abandonware of our games. This is, 
not just so that we can access them later if we need to, but also because I 
think

it's a real pity that if so much effort has been put into developing an 
audio game, we should be able to play it if the developer abandons the 
project

or closes the site down. I'm talking about many  games here, The Blind Eye, 
Tarzan Junior, The Savage Gambit, Shell Shock, PCS DOS stuff, all sorts of 
these games really can't be found easily if at all.

I know that people could say that people should have backed up files when 
downloading, but, take my case, for example, where the problem is that

a few years ago when I was downloading them, flash sticks weren't that 
cheap, and my old laptop didn't have any sort of CD writer. I only backed up 
what

could fit on a wonderful floppy disk, and my new  computer now doesn't have 
a drive for them! And what will happen if more  audio game developers who 
made a game decide to close down? Just a bit

of advice here, back up all your game files you have, as you never know if, 
for example, a company like Spoonbill or UA Games, or anyone for that matter

can't, or decide to abandon distribution of their games entirely. We have 
now got much more choice when it comes to gaming, but I still don't think 
that that allows us to forget or ignore the older stuff.

Ari



+++

RTFM: Online Help for Accessible Games

By John Bannick



As developers, a big frustration is that players don't read our online help, 
yet they complain when they don't know what to do next. This is the reality.

Here's how we can deal with it, based on observations from our group's 
playtesting.



Part 1. Types of Help:

All of help can be divided into the following categories:

1. The Help button and F1 key

2. Faceplate Help

3. Stealth Help

4. Help Prompts

5. Frequently Asked Questions

6. Tutorials



1. The Help Button and F1 Key:

Players expect a Help button and / or to get help from the F1 key. Our 
playtesting reveals that no one uses either, ever, at all. So much for all 
that work.  When asked, playtesters say that their experience with other 
software is that online help is useless. My experience with commercial 
software development

is that the folks who write online help are given neither the time nor the 
information necessary to do a decent job. This isn't likely to change. 
Therefore, we can expect our players to continue to ignore the Help button 
and F1 Help.

We still use the F1 key because that's what user's expect, though we still 
don't see playtesters using it. However, when we renamed our Help button the

"How To" button, we saw playtesters use it.



2. Faceplate Help:

Faceplate help is a block of text displayed as part of the panel itself. It 
doesn't require any action on the player's part in order to be displayed. It's

a separate block of text; not a label to a control. It tells the player what 
to do next or explains the current panel.

The problems with faceplate help are:

1. Limited real-estate in a graphical user interface

2. Context ambiguity in an audio user interface

3. Information overload in either after the first time it's displayed

Still, if used judiciously, faceplate help can be useful.



3. Stealth Help:

Stealth help is what we call help that pops up the first time, and only the 
first time, a player starts to play a game. It's part of the main panel, not

a separate dialog box. It is not labeled as "Help."

Stealth help tells the player what the objective of the game is and gives 
simple 1, 2, 3 instructions for how to play the game.

We observe playtesters actually reading Stealth Help.



4. Help Prompts:

Players get into a game and then ask, "What do I do next?"  Well, they could 
press the F1 key or select the Help button. But they don't.

We use a timer to detect how long it's been since the player used the 
keyboard or mouse. After 60 seconds,  a dialog appears that suggests the 
next thing

the player might do.

This suggestion is not specific to the content of the game; for instance: 
"Ask Cecil why he was playing tennis instead of attending the ball with his 
parents."

Rather we suggest: "To ask the next question, press the letter A key."

The dialog contains a checkbox that tells the program not to display any 
more help prompts. This is similar to commercial file download dialogs that 
say

"Close this dialog automatically after the file is downloaded."

We've observed playtesters read and use these help prompts.

BTW. We call our help prompts, "The Idle Twit", as in: when you are idle, it 
twits you.



5. Frequently Asked Questions:

The format of FAQ help is to have an index at the top and the indexed 
questions and answers below.

Computer users are familiar with FAQs on Web sites. Our Web statistics 
indicate that people read ours.



We use the FAQ format for our "How To" help pages. We've observed 
playtesters use them. The suspicion here is that the format itself breaks 
the player from

their prejudice against traditional help and stimulates their prejudice in 
favor of FAQs.



6. Tutorials:

We don't use them. Our objective is to make simple games that are so 
intuitive that tutorials are unnecessary.

Still, some excellent games have lots of features and options just as part 
of the game.

Our reading of the various gaming forums indicates that players want 
tutorials for those types of games.



Part 2. Accessibility Issues:



The three things our group focuses on are:

a. Bandwidth

b. Context

c. Linearity



Even with speech speeded up, it takes longer to hear online help than it 
does to read it. With Braille output this is even more the case.  So help 
that

is going to be spoken needs to be less verbose and have some sort of indexed 
access such as the use of headers. We try to be sensitive to bandwidth.

It's important to players who are either blind or sighted that they not lose 
the context of where they are. Help content needs to relate specifically to

where the player is in a game. Players who are blind need to have a way to 
know that they are in a help dialog and not in the game itself. We include 
specific

text to that effect in our "Idle Twit" dialog.

Linearity is the same issue in games as for Web pages. Audio or Braille 
output is linear; reading is not. Accessible online help must include some 
kind

of indexing for direct access. FAQs are how we do that.



Part 3. General Techniques:



1. Progressive Revelation:

Good business correspondence and news articles are built on a pyramid. Start 
with the specific point you're trying to make. Follow that with the details.

Good online help uses the same technique. This makes it less likely that the 
player will bail out because they can't immediately find what they want. It

also makes it easier for the player to exit after they have found what they 
want.



2. Repetition

Homer (the Greek poet, not Simpson) used repeated phrases to make the Illiad 
and the Odyssey more entertaining and understandable.  Using consistent 
phrasing,

format, and organization throughout our online help has the same benefits.

The player knows where to find things and what to expect when they get 
there.



2. Verbosity Management:

A novice player needs information that an experienced player finds boring.

Our use of Stealth Help and The Idle Twit is how we address this. Another 
method is to have a verbosity setting in a game's control panel.



4. Information Filtering

A specific category of player may need information content that other 
players don't need. This help can be grouped separately so it's easy to find 
and the

player doesn't have to wade through irrelevant text.

We use the F2 key to present online help that is filtered and organized 
specifically for players who are blind or visually impaired.

We've observed our blind and visually impaired playtesters use this F2 help.



Final Words:

The best help is presenting a simple, intuitive user interface that requires 
a minimum of online help.  The practical takeaway for game developers is to

put our limited time into simplifying our user interfaces rather than using 
online help as a bandaid.



+++

Video games' new frontier: The visually impaired -

sent in by Phil Vlasik



I think this article is important enough for the blind community to post it

in full:

Video games' new frontier: The visually impaired -

from CNN.com

By Steve Mollman

September 4, 2007



. Story Highlights

. New interactive music video game developed for visually impaired

. Nintendo Wii's Wiimote controller or keyboard used to play

. Developers hope game will also be played online by mainstream players

Forget shoot-em-up addicts -- video games are reaching out to the rest of

us.

The greatest symbol of this is the Wii console from Nintendo. Its innovative

wireless control -- the Wiimote -- has even non-gamers excited as they swing

it through the air to control, say, a tennis racket on the screen.

Wii's Wiimote may play a pivotal role in bringing the visually impaired into

the electronic gaming fold.

But not quite everyone has been reached. One group is still largely ignored

by video game makers: the blind.

With that in mind, a team of researchers at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game

Lab in Massachusetts set out this summer to make a music-based video game

that's designed for mainstream players and also accessible to the blind.

Appropriately, perhaps, they incorporated the Wiimote into the game-play,

though it's optional.

The resulting DJ game, designed for the PC, is called AudiOdyssey. In it,

players try to lay down different tracks in a song by swinging and waving

the Wiimote in time with the beats. Or they can just use keyboard controls.

The game reminded this writer of my lack of any rhythm whatsoever. I used

the keyboard version, where you're instructed to follow the beat by hitting

an arrow key. Miss a beat and you get an ugly sound. Things sounded pretty

ugly. But I did start to get a little better after 15 minutes and was

awarded occasionally by crowd cheers. It's a fun game. And I got a kick out 
of it.

So did 41-year-old Alicia Verlager. For her, though, the fun is a bit more

significant. She's visually impaired.

"Play is one of the ways in which people build relationships," she notes.

"It's fun to take on the challenge of a game and take turns encouraging and

Laughing at each other's sillier mistakes. That's the experience I am really 
craving in a game -- the social aspects."

AudiOdyssey is presently single-player only, and there's no scoring system.

But a multiplayer online version will be released in a few months.

Intriguingly, players in this version won't necessarily know whether their 
opponent is blind -- and it won't make a difference in the game.

"Ideally, they shouldn't even know that it is designed with the visually

impaired in mind, since we want to make a 'mainstream' game," says Eitan

Glinert, a 25-year-old grad student at GAMBIT and the lead researcher on 
AudiOdyssey, which is his thesis.

That said, "after they find out that the game is designed to be accessible,

it increases awareness," he adds.

 Though using the Wiimote isn't necessary, Glinert believes it's a more fun

and expressive option. From a development standpoint, getting the Wiimote to

work with a PC game (it's meant to be used only with Nintendo's Wii) was a

considerable engineering challenge.

And players who want to use the device will have to do a little extra work,

as well, including linking a Wiimote to a PC wirelessly via Bluetooth signal

(instructions on how to do this are included with the game).

Verlager believes AudiOdyssey's use of the Wiimote makes it unique among

accessible games. It's also, as far as she knows, the first accessible music

game for blind players. A startup called All inPlay offers online games,

including poker, designed to allow play between blind and sighted users.

For Verlager, it's important that games be mainstream and inclusive --

rather than "special" and for blind players.

"I really get frustrated with the way blind people are portrayed as if they

live in isolation from the rest of the world and have no sighted family or

friends," she says.

Media, which includes video games, "is something people share and

participate in together, a way of building relationships and exploring

feelings and attitudes about real life," she says.

For now, AudiOdyssey is an "early concept prototype," says Glinert. But

"ultimately, we'd love to bring the game to consoles," he adds. "If we get

the chance we'll definitely move quickly on that."

The current version of AudiOdyssey is available for free at the GAMBIT Game

Lab Web site.

http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/

Here is the game direct download link:

http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/summer2007/AudiOdysseyinstall.exe

It is 120 MB in size.



+++

Accessible Multiplatform Games?

By Thomas Ward



For many years accessible software such as games, screen readers, OCR

software, screen magnification, etc was primarily designed for the

Microsoft Dos and Windows platforms. It was rare a developer wrote

something accessible for a computer running Mac OS or Linux. However,

since the passage of Section 508 allot of companies including those who

target Mac and Linux operating systems have been developing more

accessible software for the blind as well as other handicaps. For

example, the Mac Cocoa API allows a developer to provide almost instant

accessibility out of the box. The GTK+ 2.0 API does rather the same

thing for FreeBSD, Solaris, and Linux based operating systems. Now, that

these operating systems have become more blind user friendly more and

more blind computer users are experimenting and even switching to

non-Windows based platforms. However, accessible gaming for these

platforms is still lacking.

Fortunately, for accessible game developers there are some very good

programming languages available which directly targets the specific and

often sticky issue of how to write a program that will support Windows,

Mac, Linux, Solaris, all at the same time. Two of these languages are

Python and Java. Both are generally platform independent languages and

can be designed to support a wide array of operating systems and cross

platform APIs.

Perhaps one of the easiest multiplatform programming languages to learn

and use is Python. It is an extremely powerful programming language that

has very clear, readable syntax,, strong introspection capabilities,,

intuitive object orientation,, natural expression of procedural code,,

full modularity, hierarchical packages,, exception-based error

handling,, very high level dynamic data types,, extensive standard

libraries and third party modules for virtually every task,, extensions

and modules easily written in C, C++, Java, or .NET languages.

Python can easily integrate with COM,, .NET,, and CORBA applications.

Basically, you can say, "it's in there."

Recently the Python programming language has had some growing support in

the accessible development community. For example, the NVDA screen

reader for Windows, the Orca Screen Reader for Linux, and the Sound RTS

game have all been written in Python. Which only proves that the

language is well suited for development of accessible games and products.

Another very popular multiplatform language is Java designed by Sun

Microsystems. Unlike most programming languages it was designed by Sun

specifically to address the issue of running the same application on

multiple operating systems without creating a new version of the program

for each operating system. Java is easier than C++ to learn, is fully

object oriented, and since version 1.4.2 has shipped with platform

independent libraries specifically designed for Java based gaming. Java

has been growing in support among mainstream game developers in such new

Java based titles including: Madden NFL 2008, Metal of Honor, Turbo 21,

MVP Baseball 2007, as well as a variety of card and board games. Java

has proven to be well suited for games, and can be used to create

multiplatform games. Not just for computers, but for some mobile phones

as well.

Currently, USA Games Interactive is considering the possibility of

switching to a platform independent language sometime in 2008. It is

uncertain which language we will use for our development, but recent

thoughts are that the next release of STFC, STFC 2.0, will be developed

in a platform independent language like Java or Python. No final

decisions have been reached about STFC 2 and the programming language

the engine will be designed in, but it is certain we look forward to

expanding into other operating system markets beyond Windows.

At USA Games your input is very important to us. if you have an interest

in seeing multiplatform based games write me at:

tward@usagames.us

and we will consider your opinions, suggestions, and thoughts about

multiplatform games.



+++

Games we'd like to play,

by Phil Vlasak,



Dumbledore and the Castle of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Phil jumping at the news that Dumbledore  was gay, slows the voice of Sarah

down and creates a new game...



There is an intruder in the most famous Wizard castle in the land.

Late in the evening of July seven, a young female was spotted entering

Hogwwarts  school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

 "She looked to be about eighteen." reported the Caretaker Filch to the

headmaster.

 Dumbledore did not want to stop his great bowling game but realized that 
the

girl might get into trouble.

Dumbledore  knew if Filch got his hands on her, he would string her up by

the ankles in his office.

 And while Albus  often enjoyed an evening hanging up-side-down, he did not

think the girl would appreciate it. So Dumbledore   put down his bowling

ball and strode over to his desk, and under a copy of Magical knitting

patterns magazine, picked up his Death Stick to confront the intruder.

The Castle of Witchcraft and Wizardry game transports Albus   and you into a

world of fantasy filled with secret passageways and hidden chambers. He

explores the castle searching for the girl while cleaning up the loose 
magical items, confronting the creepy creatures knowing at any minute, 
disaster may strike and his current lover might decide to leave the bowling 
alley.

So, take a trip with Albus   to Hogwwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry

and pay a visit to the ghost's Deathday party in the dungeon,

pop into the kitchen for a chat with the sometimes sexy House-Elf Dobby,

walk down to Hogsmeade for a spot of Firewhisky in the Hog's Head,

try to calm down the cranky caretaker and his maniacal obsessions, ,

pick up plenty of coins to buy sweets at the sweet shop, ,

and finally, hold on tight as you fly on a broom trying to catch the

illusive teenage girl.



+++

Chatting With Creators

  This section as the title infers is exactly that.  An informal question 
and answer with one of the game developers.  The focus isn't only on the 
game, but also to find out more about the person or people who create the 
games we all enjoy playing!  This time the chat is with Mathew Yarrows, who 
many know as the man behind the popular online RPG of Sryth: The Age of 
Igtheon.  I hope everyone enjoys reading the interview below.



Ron: All right, I think to begin we'll start with some background info about

yourself.  so how about just general info about you?  We'll get into gaming

shortly.



Mathew's answer: As most players know, my name is Matthew Yarrows, and I'm 
the

owner, designer, writer, and gamemaster for Sryth: The Age of Igtheon. I'm

a computer hobbyist and an avid writer. I'm in my early 30s (yes let's

stress EARLY, hehe), married to the love of my life, Stacia, and the father

of an ever-inspiring 4 and a half year old daughter named Emma, whose lively

and imaginative play never ceases to produce ideas for the game -- she is to

blame for the Catamaroks, the Destroyer Crab (from the fifth Proving 
Grounds),

and the Troll-Bont (all long stories!).

I live in northern Connecticut and do nearly all of the Sryth development

and writing on my trusty IBM Thinkpad, running Fedora Linux.



Ron: Next what was your first gaming experience the title, system

etc?  Computer or console styles you've played over the years?  Favourite

titles and so on.



Mathew's answer: My first computer gaming experience were two text 
adventures on

the Tandy Color Computer: Raaka-Tu and Pyrmaid 2000 (for those who may

remember them). After that I played Dungeons of Daggorath (still on the

Tandy Color Computer) until the game brought about the ruin of my

spacebar! I thank my parents for getting the computer (the Tandy Color 
Computer)

as it was my introduction to computers and the start of what has been a 
lifelong

love of computer games! I was also an avid gamer on the Commodore Amiga in 
the late 1980s and

enjoyed games like the Bard's Tale series. One game that I played 
extensively on the Amiga that probably directly and indirectly influenced 
the design of Sryth, was Beyond Zork. It took the standard text adventure 
game and added some great

role-playing elements to it. I'm not sure if Beyond Zork is still available 
anywhere, but if you can find it, it's definitely worth spending some time 
with!

I haven't played many of the more recent computer games, with the exception 
of Diablo I and Diablo II which I thought were both great fun.



Ron: What was your initial reaction when you found out your game was 
accessible

to blind and visually impaired players?



Mathew's answer: I had not set out to make Sryth an accessible game, but I 
was surprised and delighted to learn that by its text-based nature and some 
accidents of design it was accessible to blind and visually-impaired gamers. 
I created Sryth as a text-based game because those are the sorts of games I 
would enjoy playing, so the fact that it's accessible to all players is 
great and I'll make sure it stays that way.



Ron:   Did you have to change the code for Sryth or did it work from the

beginning for blind/vi players?



Mathew's answer: It worked from the beginning for all players, so just by an 
accident of design it was accessible. I've made a few changes to some 
different things in the game after receiving player suggestions regarding 
accessibility, but they have all been fairly small changes.



Ron: A question from AC

"I don't know how others feel about this suggestion, but I think it may be

manageable and maybe even beneficial to game play.

What about selling kepbekk leaves or kepbekk elixirs for either gold and/or

adventure tokens?

Besides, maybe Mathew could put a limit on the amount of kepbekk leaves

and/or elixirs you can buy.

Most importantly, what does Mathew think? smile"



Mathew's answer: I've received this suggestion quite a bit from players and 
have it on my list for things to implement in the near future. As the player 
has

suggested, there would likely be a limit to how many healing elixirs and/or

leaves a player could acquire within a given timeframe.



Ron:  During combat, if you obtain a MR bonus which says something like

You execute a stroke worthy of your Master level of mastery in Weaponry:

> Slashing...

> @ +36 MR for this round.

> Why is it regardless of how much your mr increases the damage on your 
> enemy

> doesn't go up accordingly?  I'll hit an extra 2 or 3 points if I roll and

> get 11 or 27.



Mathew's answer: The damage you do against your opponent depends on the 
number

you roll, as compared with the difference between your Melee Rating and

that of your enemy. There is a cap to the difference between the two

Melee Ratings, so it's very possible that a large increase in your Melee

Rating may not provide a similarly large increase in damage done to your

opponent, and in some cases it may not provide any increase in damage at

all (if you already had a Melee Rating much higher than your opponent's,

etc.)



Ron:   How long has Sryth been around?



Mathew's answer: The first beta for Sryth was launched in late 2002 and the 
game was officially live in the summer of 2003. The game didn't truly enter 
into

its current version until late 2004.



Ron:  For nestalgia sake, what was Sryth like in the early days?



Mathew's answer: The first few versions of Sryth were quite a bit different 
in appearance and other aspects than what the game is like today. Combat had 
fewer

options and the game mechanics did not work as smoothly as they do now.

Since those early days things have become more streamlined, giving the

game a more recognizable look and feel throughout.



Ron:    Anything further on what got you interested in developing a text 
rpg?



Mathew's answer: My friends and I played Dungeons and Dragons for a handful 
of years, and I always (willingly) took on the role of the GM, since I 
enjoyed coming up with adventure scenarios more than I liked playing. In 
those tabletop

RPGs there aren't really any visual aids, so you have to paint the

pictures of what's going on in your own imagination -- which seems to

work out for the best, since everyone is allowed to imagine it in their

own way.

 I wanted to create a game that attempted to capture the spirit of

tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, etc., where players were

presented with written/verbal descriptions of what was going on and

could then imagine/visualize it any way they saw fit. That's what I had

always liked about other text adventure games I had played on computers.



Ron:   I'm asking this out of complete curiosity.  Could you list the best 
of

the currently available weapons/armour?  Are they findable or is it Tallys?



Mathew's answer: Probably the best weapons and armour currently in the game 
are available at Tallys's, and would include the Dragongem collection. Some 
items,

however, not available at Tallys, are very powerful as well and would

include things like the Runeskin items, the Shimmering Silver weapons,

and Iakor's items (also part of the Runeskin scenario).

 An upcoming scenario will of course feature the chance for characters to

acquire the fabled Sword of Merzekk, which will be a very unique and

powerful weapon.



Ron:   Off hand how many of the Sryth adventurer's Guild and those with free

accounts are blind/vi?  If you would know that is.



Mathew's answer: I would have to guess at the number as I have no way of 
truly knowing, but offhand I would say that perhaps 10 to 15 percent of the 
players are blind/visually-impaired. I could be way off on that guess, but 
that's the best I can estimate as I have no way to really track that.



Ron:  from Mongwen

"A lot of the newer weapons have special attacks, and if you're lucky, they

can be nasty.  I've seen signatures on the sryth forum with weapons doing

better than a hundred points in damage.  My experience, however, is that

they most often seem to do only a couple points of damage, when the enemy's

special attacks are nearly guaranteed to be 8, 10, 15, 20, or better.  Also,

you're right that the special attacks in our weapons don't happen often,

especially when compared to the enemy's attack.  The enemy's attack is

guaranteed to happen at least once during a fight.  Our weapons never seem

to go off when actually needed."

  An interesting point.  How does that get calculated?



Mathew's answer: Weapons that have special attacks have a small chance 
during each round of combat to execute that special attack. Some weapons 
only have a small range of damage they can do per special attack, while 
others have a chance to do several different levels of damage. When the 
weapon executes its special attack, the system then determines (if 
necessary) what level that attack is. The chance of the weapon executing its 
highest level attack (those are the ones that undoubtedly spawned the forum 
signatures you mentioned) are quite rare. If you use a particular weapon all 
the time, you will eventually see its entire range of special attacks.

Enemy special attacks have undergone certain revisions since they were first 
introduced. They were added to bring more balance to combat, as the combat 
system gives the advantage

to the player's character by design. For example, rolls of 1 or 2 during 
combat have a good chance of being rerolled automatically by the system (you 
won't even know you rolled a 1 or a 2 when it happens). The chance for the 
reroll is increased if your character

has a high luck score. The last revision of the enemy special attacks made 
it so that if you roll equal to or higher than the number you need against 
your enemy, your enemy's chance of executing any special attacks they may 
have is greatly reduced. In most cases a successful combat roll will 
completely remove the chance for an enemy to unleash a special attack.



Ron: I'm curious as to how you manage to keep coming up with the excellent

storylines for things such as the Proving Grounds Silver Crest and

Solundor's Grand Ring of Illusion?  Just to mention a couple.



Mathew's answer: I try to come up with adventures that I would enjoy playing 
as a gamer. Many adventures/storylines start out as just a phrase I jot down 
while I'm working on other parts of the game. My wife, Stacia, comes up with 
many of the adventure ideas, usually in the form of short synopses which I 
then revise, expand, and make ready for play.



Ron: from list member Casey

"I would like to know if it will ever be possible to fight other AG members

in a turn by turn fight?"



Mathew's answer: Yes, it's possible that we will see players have the 
ability to challenge other players in turn-by-turn fights at some point in 
the future. Such scenarios won't impact characters in any way, although 
wins/losses may be recorded for bragging rights of course.



Ron:    What factors decided in having Sryth become a full-time undertaking?



Mathew's answer: What really motivated the decision to take on Sryth 
full-time was the positive response I received from players regarding the 
game. I knew that to give the players the game they deserved (and the game I 
wanted to produce) working on Sryth needed to become a full-time effort. 
And, I enjoy creating the game immensely, so the thought of being able to 
pursue it full-time was a great motivator!



Ron: this one being asked by Darren

"I would really like to know when the text version of the map will be

available for us to make use of? Because I find myself getting rather lost

if I want to get anywhere and it's most frustrating."



Mathew's answer: The text version of the map is on the list of things that 
will be added in the very near future. It will be a text version of the 
graphical map of the Kingdom of Tysa (the game's official map), and will be 
broken down into the nine sectors that make up the realm. There will be an 
overall description of the map, as well as a detailed description of each of 
the nine sectors. The text description will flow from point to point on 
whatever portion of the map it is focused on and will describe in what 
direction

its moving to reach the next point -- it will be a narrative/descriptive 
version of the map.



Ron: Lisa would like to know

"Is there any way to cut-down on the number of frames?  Especially the ones

between the main and the fight frame?"



Mathew's answer: The number of frames in the game is something that will 
hopefully be addressed in an update not too, too far down the road. I would 
like to cut down on the number of frames and to also improve the performance 
of the combat screen.



Ron: Is there anything coming up for Sryth you could give us a hint at?



Mathew's answer: As I write this, I'm preparing the final scenarios in the 
current Proving Grounds event for play. Upon the completion of the fifth 
Proving Grounds event, the focus will be on adventures and new places to 
explore in the Kingdom of Tysa. Two areas that are

in the works include the Forest of Fogbough and the Saarngard Isle. The 
Adventurer Collective will also be expanded, and will include the ability to 
acquire and train familiars, which are pets that are magically bound to 
their owners. Familiars will be able to aid their owners in combat and 
perhaps other game situations.



Ron:I'd like to again extend my gratitude to you for taking time out to lend 
a

hand with this, and answer questions that myself and others are wondering

about one very fun, challenging, and great game.  All the best to you and

long live Sryth!



Mathew's answer: Thanks for taking the time to read my answers! I thank all 
the Sryth players for their support, kind and encouraging words. I'm happy 
to be able to bring the game to everyone!



+++

Are Roll Playing Games

Changing The Way We View Gaming

By Thomas Ward



Since the beginning of oral and written human history the art of story

telling has instructed, inspired, and inflamed the imagination of

humankind for centuries. Many of these stories still remain to this day

as old fables, myths, and legends. Such classic works as Homers'

Odyssey, Virgils' Aeneid, or Dantes' Inferno remain today as great works

of story telling and writing. They have lasted for centuries, and will

continue for centuries to come.

Story telling remains a fixation, a need, a desire for humankind for

many reasons. On one level it allows the reader to follow the heroes

quest with the  fictional hero through countless adventures. We rejoice

when the fictional hero succeeds and feel genuine sorrow and perhaps

anger when the hero fails or even dies. On another level the story is

not about the heroes at all, but a quest for self discovery in the world

of imagination.

Most of all stories are a way for us to communicate our deepest fears,

thoughts and feelings disguised as characters, people, places and

things.. John Milton, in his work Paradise Lost, describes hell a

completely different way from the way we think of hell, and his version

of Satan takes on the persona of a fallen hero, a rebel, a character

humankind can easily identify with. Identifying with the character or

characters is essentially the point of writing or telling a well crafted

story.

Roll playing games have taken the art of story telling to a completely

new level. Unlike normal games where you go around the board collecting

money, blast flying saucers out of the sky with lasers blazing, play

cards, etc roll playing games allow the gamer to become an active part

in the story. Not only is the gamer a player but he or she also decides

how the story turns out based on several decisions made before, during and 
after

the game gets started.

Any good roll playing game weather it is a classic paper and pen style

rpg or a computer based rpg allows for the creation of the player's

character. In a Dungeons and Dragons type rpg the player can select

class, race, and special skills for his or her character. Depending on

what was picked his or her character might end up having special magic

skills, special weapon skills, various other special skills, that will

aid him or her in completing the adventure. In team play several

different characters may provide an interesting array of unique

characters and skills with each character playing an important roll in

the game play.

For example, your party of characters may have just successfully

navigated through the black swamp, and have arrived at the tomb of the

undead where vast treasures await you and your party inside. Problem is

the lever that opens the stone door is behind a pile of rubble. Perhaps

there is a narrow space where a small person could get in and pull the

lever. It just happens one in your party is a dwarf and he can crawl in

between the rubble and the lever and pull it. Alternatively there is a

mage in your party who can change into some small creature to get inside

and pull that lever or levitate the rubble away. Either way it turns out

you find yourself playing as a team, and experiencing the adventure

together.

What I personally find satisfying in a really good roll playing game is

the character creation. Not only do you get to roll for stats such as

combat, stamina, ora, spirit, etc but you can design from scratch who

your character is and who they are in the game world. Perhaps you are a

powerful mage who is the high priest of the kingdom of Elron, a dwarf

warrior from Iron Mountain, a boarder ranger from the town of Blackwood,

etc. Adding a character's place to live, work, and other background

information allows the gamer to become closely attached to the character

and the story on a deeply personal level. Allot of your thoughts,

feelings, moral up bringing, etc will shape your game character and be

projected into the shared game experience.

For example, you and your party were walking down a lonely dirt road

when you and your party come across a group of bandits attacking a wagon

full of men and women. You and your party decide to jump in and defend

the wagon. The moral game player who dislikes killing in real life may

choose to knock out his bandit opponents, tie them up, and take them to

the nearest town for the authorities to take care of. The aggressive

gamer may choose to draw his or her sword and kill every bandit. The

more calculating gamer may kill many bandits, keep one alive, to

question to find out who was in charge of the robbery and why they were

interested in that wagon. Which would result in information the moral

and aggressive character missed.

If interactive story telling, roll playing games, have so dramatically

changed the way we think of story telling imagine how much it has

effected the way we see gaming. In traditional games side-scrollers,

first person shooters, etc all players begin at the same starting point

and end at the same ending point. The storyline, if the game has one,

unfolds for the gamers at a predictable and linear rate for everyone.

Roll playing games completely redefine the way games unfold and are

fluid rather than linear.

For example, a gamer playing an electronic roll playing game may choose

to under take the Dragon's Hollow adventure before taking on the Black

Forest adventure etc. The story unfolds at the gamers choice, and by

doing so each game will turn out different.

In addition character combat status, stamina, etc isn't as fixed as is

in typical games. In a typical game such as Shades of Doom you begin

with a rather generic character who over the course of the game collects

better weapons and armor, but the game does not offer a wider range of

choices. In a roll playing game a character might begin with poor armor

and weapons, but over the course of his or her adventures may buy,

steel, or win different classes of armor. It is possible, for example,

to have a poor piece of armor but come into possession of a well crafted

piece of armor without having to up grade through the poor, common,

sturdy, well crafted linear progression of upgrades.

One major bridge between good roll playing games and popular stories is

the quest for magical and powerful weapons which will improve your

characters stats. For example, in the tales of King Arthur Merlin placed

the sword, Excalibur, in a stone that only Arthur could pull out. In the

latest Harry Potter book, the Deathly Hallows, the plot spent allot of

time searching for the legendary Elder Wand. As with Arthur or Harry

Potter the quest for special items is all part of the fun of under

taking the imaginary adventure. Being able to use those special items

in   future adventures is even more fun.

As a result of the popularity of roll playing based games video game

companies have began producing complex and interesting roll playing

games. In the late 1980's Nintendo Entertainment introduced to the NES

platform a roll playing style game called the Legend of Zelda. While not

as complex as paper and pen roll playing games it had huge success and I

found it a very fun and interesting game to play. As time went on more

and more computer based roll playing games like Heroes Might and Magic,

Final Fantasy, etc became available and prove that roll playing games

could be the most successful style of gaming yet. It is doubtful

traditional arcade, first person shooters, strategy based games will

disappear, but I do think roll playing games will continue to grow and

become a very important way to play games. With the creation of the

internet it is now possible for hundreds of eager gamers to create

characters and battle it out over electronic battle fields, and take

group quests through virtual game worlds complete with sights, sounds,

and virtual reality. undoubtedly roll playing games have a bright and

interesting future.



+++

News from Developers



++

News from 7-128



The 7-128 Software Game Book



The Engine

. The Game Book program is the ENGINE that runs all of our games.

. The Game Book allows all our games to work with the same controls.

. The Game Book makes our Easy button, BigType, High Contrast, JAWS, 
self-voicing, and other accessibility features available for all games.

. The Game Book comes initially with FOUR games.

. The Game Book will store up to 100 of our games.



The Games:

 Inspector Cyndi in Newport - Mysteries

Newport, Rhode Island in the 1890's is the summer home to the Astors, 
Vanderbilts, and Morgans, the Worthingtons, Statelys, and the Huffingtons.

You are a Newport Police Detective. Travel around Newport questioning 
witnesses. Inspector Cyndi is a world renowned detective on loan from the 
Vienna Metropolitan Police, here to help you solve the mysteries!



The six currently available Inspector Cyndi in Newport games include:

 Death Nell

Nell Langtree, the Worthington's Upstairs Maid has been found dead in the 
Worthington library. There is no obvious cause, but Constable Duffy suspects 
foul play!

Ten suspects. Was it Townsend the butler?  Was it O'Brien, the Worthington 
horse trainer with radical leanings?  Was it a Worthington?

 Lights Out

Muffy Huffington's engagement ring has been stolen, right off her finger.

What will her fiance, Royal Tarkington, do if it is not recovered? Was it 
taken by one of the young ladies who were sitting with Muffy when the new 
electric lights went out?  Was it one of the servants?  Where did it go?

 When Irish Spies are Smiling

The submarine Holland 5 has vanished from the Newport Torpedo Station dock.

Have those Fenians have struck again?

Who was on that dock on the night of the twenty-third? Why did the Watch 
hear singing?  Where were Father MacNamara's parishioners on Sunday?

 Fall from Grace

Helen Grace Stately has vanished from the steamship Plymouth, just as it 
arrived in Newport from New York. A note has been found. Has Helen Grace 
been abducted by Irish nationalists? Could that handsome First Mate have 
gone a bit overboard? Or is her suitor, Freddy Foxworthy involved?

 Unfinished Symphony

Mrs. Worthington's toy symphony was going along splendidly until the trumpet 
player keeled over into the potted palm. Constable Duffy suspects foul play!

Was it Miss Alice Chalmers, the French teacher? Or one of the unhappy hired 
musicians. Was it the Grafin Josepha von Vogelhuber? And just what is a 
Graphin,

anyway?



Puzzle and Word Games

 There are four accessible puzzle and word games available now:

 Kim's Game

In Rudyard Kipling's book, Kim, a boy was challenged to memorize a set of 
objects, and then to pick those objects out of a larger set of objects.

Kim's Game challenges your memory.

There are ten levels, each with an increasing number of objects to remember.

 Orchestra

The instruments play when you select them. But can you remember their 
original order?

Orchestra challenges your spatial memory.

There are ten levels, each with an increasing number of objects to remember 
and place in their original sequence.

 The Definitions Game

Definitions is a word game that says a word and you select its meaning from 
a menu. Not as easy as it sounds when you're racing the clock. It's a good 
brain training game.

 The Synonyms and Antonyms Game

Synonyms and Antonyms is another word game.

It speaks either Synonym or Antonym and a word, and then speaks a list of 
words. You pick the synonym or antonym from a menu.

Its surprisingly challenging, given that you never know whether you're going 
to be asked for a synonym or antonym and that you're working against the 
clock.

It has 10 levels and an Easy button.



Accessibility for All

Affordable:

. The Game Book, including  4 initial games, costs $25.

. Individual games cost $5 - $10 each.

. Our games play on Windows computers available in 2000.

. The Game Book and games work with Windows 98, XP, and Vista.



Understandable:

. None of our games requires a manual.

. There is a special F2 key for help that is organized specifically for 
players who are blind.

. If you are unsure of what to do next, wait a minute and the Idle Twit will 
suggest your next move.



Accessible:

. The Game Book and all of the above games, and their installation programs 
work with JAWS and also self-voice.

. The Game Book and all of our games use larger print.

. Neither the Game Book nor any of our games is color-dependent.

. Players with different challenges can play together. Scoring is adjusted 
automatically.



The Game Book and our games are available via electronic download from our 
Web site, or on CD via the US Mail.



The Game Book and all games have free downloadable demos.



John Banick



++

News from All In Play

11/26/07



Season's Greetings from All inPlay,



Whether you're warming yourself by the fire or working on your tan in

the land down under, we hope this finds you well and enjoying the start of 
this holiday season.



We have some news that should further brighten your day. The All inPlay

Holiday Sale is back!



For a limited time, you can treat your friends, family, or even yourself, to 
a year of All inPlay games for the reduced price of $69.95 - that is over a

26% savings from the monthly rate!



Here's how it works:



Visit the All inPlay store at:



http://allinplay.com/participate/gift_membership.php



Select a 1, 3, 6, or 12 month gift membership. When you submit your credit 
card information we'll send you two e-mails. One is your receipt, the other 
has

instructions on how to redeem the gift. You can forward that e-mail to the 
person receiving this gift.



The recipient can then either log into an existing account or create a new 
account and redeem their gift. Important: Don't redeem the gift from your 
account, unless you're planning to give yourself a gift.



It's that simple.



If you have any problems during the process, you can give us a call at

(413) 585-9690 between 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. U.S. eastern time and

we'll be happy to help you.



Cheers,

The All inPlay Team



++

News from Blind Adrenelin

10/02/07



  The new update to Rail Racer is here for all owners of the full version.

  This update includes a new item you can purchase for your racer called the 
nitro burner, which gives you ten seconds of nitro boost to use as you like.

  Also, you can now use the shift a command to find out what your jump 
altitude was on your last jump, helping greatly to make your jumps more 
accurate.

  There have been some minor bug fixes and a few new chat commands added as 
well.

  Check the main site page at

http://www.blindAdrenaline.com

for the new download and instructions on the new features.

  Please note you will have to have this update installed to race online 
after Friday Oct. 5, so hurry on over to the web site and grab it while it 
is hot.

if you haven't signed up to the tournament system, you can get hooked up 
while you

are there  for some of the most fun competition available for the blind.

  Happy racing!

  Che



+

10/03/07



  Hi all,

  For those interested in the podcast of Sarah's Rail Racer review and

tutorial, you can get it here:

http://www.blindadrenaline.com/uploads/railRacerReview.mp3

And believe it or not, I didn't have to pay her a dime to say those nice

things about RR, grin.

  Later,

  Che



++

News from Draconis  Entertainment

11/23/07



Greetings gamers,

We've been quiet over here at Draconis.  There's been a lot going on,

and we have one major new project that will have you all very excited

soon.  We hope to release details on the new title in the not-too-

distant future.  In the meantime, please check out our holiday sales

that are beginning today and help support Draconis.  We thank you all

for your continued loyalty.  The wait for our new title will be well

worth it.



Draconis Entertainment

"Feel the power...wield the magic..."

http://www.DraconisEntertainment.com



++

News from Dreamtech Interactive

11/10/07



Okay, you fast action arcade lovers,

Wrecking ball beta 1 is out at

www.dti.us.tt

and has lots of new sound effects and bonuses.  It has ten levels and two 
modes of game play--classic mode, called Super Breakout, in which you start 
by

hitting the ball with your paddle--not launching it as in previous versions, 
and Wrecking Ball mode where you launch the ball.  Nearly everything you do

in the game other than checking stats and adjusting volume can be done with 
the mouse, but if you prefer the keyboard you can play too.  (Personally, I

play with both keyboard and mouse.)

The newest thing, besides the modes and the fact that the bonuses actually 
work in this version, is that when the ball hits the ceiling, the blocks 
aren't

the only things to shrink--your mouse-controlled paddle does too.

The manual should explain everything you need to know about how to play.

Oh, the bug where the paddle caught the ball is fixed--it only makes the 
ball move while it's moving so keyboard players don't have to worry about 
the unwanted paddle.

If you have ideas on how to improve the game, let me know.  There are more 
plans in the works, such as additional bonuses, but most of what I'll be 
doing

is getting the TTS stuff out and replacing it with human speech--and oh 
yeah, I've decided to make it donationware--mostly because I don't have the 
slightest

idea on programming licensing stuff and just don't feel like messing with 
it, so have fun.



Ken Downey

President

DreamTechInteractive!



+

10/18/07



The new version of Air hockey is up and ready to go.  Get it at

http://tbrn.net/modgirl/Ken's%20games

I'd like some feedback on a few points.

1.  Since this is the first game where the mouse moves things both 
vertically and horizontally, do you need a system letting you know that the 
paddle is

in line to hit the puck?  We could implement this by a few means, such as a 
sound that gets louder the closer the paddle is to the puck, as in the 
jousting

game, or different beeps indicating either vertical or horizontal alignment. 
If you need positional assistance, what is harder--getting it lined up 
horizontally

or vertically?

By the way, the mouse button functions have changed a bit.  They are:

Button 1: sets your paddle to center and closest to you.  Very handy!

Button 2: reports the puck's speed, x then y, then the mouse's speed--x then 
y.  Negative numbers mean movement left or down.

The source code is also included, so if any of u are using vb6 and want to 
know how to get mouse support, go at it!  Also, if you want to modify the 
game,

go ahead--just remember to please send me a copy and keep my name on it 
along with other credits.

While this game has a huge way to go before completion, I hope you enjoy it. 
I know it's not the strategy game yall crave, but it does push the envelope

in some ways.  Imagine a game where you use the mouse exclusively for 
navigation, without any keyboard input.  Also, I plan to incorporate mouse 
support into Wrecking Ball.

By the way, if you only play with the keyboard, you might as well not 
download this version--I only fixed mouse related issues.  Next, I'll work 
on the

AI--make him smarter and put difficulty  levels in the game and so on, as 
well as working to make the mouse support better.



Ken Downey

President

DreamTechInteractive!



++

News From GMA Games

11/01/07



This is not a game exactly, but we are well along in the writing and

user-testing of an accessible mud client.  For those who are not familiar

with muds or mud clients here is an explanation.

A mud is normally described as a a multi-user online text based game.  In

most cases, the actual game should be accessible, but the clients are either

under powered, inaccessible, or both.  In most cases they require screen

reader scripts and take some time and technical knowledge to get going. The

client we are working on should allow a non-technical person to get up and

running aalmost immediately. Muds have many types of themes such as

medieval, Lord of the Rings, science fiction based, social, and so on.

There are hundreds to choose from and so it isn't hard to find something you

like.  In general they are free, or nominally priced.

I can't say when it will be out, but it should be within the next two

months.



Regards,

David Greenwood

DavidGreenwood@GMAGames.com

http://www.GMAGames.com



++

News from Kitchen's Inc.

11/26/07

Hi,



I have put a new file up on my web site.

file name WinHH.exe  file size 2.2 meg

You are Homer, the Harley riding motorcycle dare devil.  You have brought 
three of your specially modified Harley Davidson motorcycles to a small oval 
race

track to try to set the record for the number of school buses you can jump.

Note* you will need to disable your screen reader to play this game.

You can find the file on my free windows sapi5 text to speech games page.



BFN

     Jim



+

09/08/07



Hi,



I have put baseball version 4 up on my site.  It fixes the bug where on some 
computers the half inning stats were not being spoken.

The file can be found on my free windows text to speech games page.

file name winbase4.exe file size 4.1 meg



BFN

     Jim



+

09/06/07



Hi,

I have put a new file up on my web site.

File name wintgf7.exe. File size 86k.

Four new trivia files, Amusement Rides, Classic Commercials

 Harry Potter 2, and the Terminator Series



BFN

     Jim



+

11/05/07

Hi,



As some of you may know, the new game that I am working on is named Homer on 
a Harley.  It is all about the first or second video game that I ever 
played.

 You are Homer on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. You must build up the 
correct speed to jump the successive number of school buses.

BTW Saturday evening I got to break bread and sit and talk for an hour and a 
half with the producer slash writer of the Simpson's show Michael Reiss and

then listen to him give a talk to an audience.  It was great!  He was 
hilarious.  My friend Kathy, the umpire from my baseball game took me.

I don't know if I will have the game out by Christmas or not, but it is 
coming along nicely.



BFN

     Jim



++

News from RS Games

10/31/07



Hello Audyssey,

I am Ryan of RS Games. You may know me as the *poor* creator of Guess

The Voice. Well, I have gotten much better at programming. I had this

idea in a dream, that you would hit either left, right, or down arrow

for left, right or middle sounds. It is called Shoot Da Me and is ready

for public beta. Here is a quick list of features right now for

Public Beta 1:

� Main Menu

 20 Levels, gets faster each level

 Unlimited Support

 Using DirectInput 8

 Score and Health

 Sapi and Sounds

All of my beta testers have not gone up to level 20, only 12. It is very

challenging. The game will be available tonight at 11:59 PM EST,

technically October 31, 2007 or Halloween. The game is at

www.rsgames.co.nr,

Please, from now on, only use

www.rsgames.co.nr.

On that site, you may download Shoot Da Me Public Beta 1 tonight. It is 
stable, and it's really fun, unlike GSV. I

highly recommend you try it, several people cannot wait for it. It will

be in .ZIP or .RAR, on SendSpace, YouSentIt and My Computer. If you want

more information on the server for my computer, please go to

www.rsgames.co.nr

and find the link about the Server. This is only Public Beta and includes 
all features above, so have fun.

Features in the Future:

 Score Posting

 Trophies

 Unlockables

 Mini and Bonus Games

 Difficulty Levels

 Dialog (Enemy Interaction)

 Thank You and I hope you finally enjoy an RS Games Game!



Your Fellow Gamer,

Ryan Smith

RS Games



++

News from PCS Games

11/26/07



Sarah and the Castle of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Patch4,  for version 1.0.

For those who downloaded the full game, here is a smaller patch that fixes

some bugs.

http://www.pcsgames.net/Sarah-Patch4.exe

Sarah Patch4.

It is 19.6 MB, finished November 26, 2007.

Many people did not like the objects calling out their names so I made an

attempt to limit this and replaced the name with a sound effect.

This makes the game a little more difficult as you will have to examine or

scan an object to tell what it is.

Once you recognize the sound though, the game will become easier and I hope

more enjoyable.

Object detector.

You hit O to turn this object detector on and when you walk through the

halls you will hear

suit of armor in four feet.

or trick step in two feet.

To turn this feature off hit o again.

New Spells.

I moved the apparate to the spell list. And I added two new spells,

Homenum revelio and disillusicorpus.

You can find out what they do in the full spell list.

I changed the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw common rooms to match Jo's

description in the last book and from her answers to interview questions.

I also moved some of the rooms and doors around, especially on the ground

floor and basement.

I connected the Kitchen wing with the Hufflepuff wing with an east west

corridor.

And I moved the kitchen door to the center of that corridor.

I also put an antiChamber door in the Great Hall.

There is a new object in your inventory, your Potion Making Kit.

At the beginning of the game it is empty, but when you pick up a potion it

goes right into the kit.

You can drop the kit and later pick it up.

You can check how many of the seven potions you have by hitting x on it from

your inventory.

I added new creatures in the Forbidden Forest and in the lake.

I now allow you to get on and ride the flying Motorbike, but you have to

find it first.

I also added a few new magical items and books around the castle and

especially in the Headmaster's office.



Patch 4 has all the bug fixes that were in Patch 1, 2, and 3, so I removed

them.

It is to be installed in the same folder as the full Sarah install.

Unless there are any problems, I will eventually include the patch into the

full version.

You can try out the first game chapter which includes the Ground floor, and

Basement.

You can play this chapter as many times as you wish.

A registration key will unlock all 14 chapters.

Sarah and the Castle of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is sold through a

collaboration with Draconis Entertainment.

the Draconis Entertainment home page.

The price for a registration key that unlocks the full game is $31.95 US.



If you have any questions, E-mail Phil Vlasak,

phil@pcsgames.net

We make games that tickle your ears.



++

News from Spoonbill Software

11/18/07

Hi,

This is to announce the release of a new version, BG Uno 1.1 which includes

a fix for a reported bug. In BG Uno 1.0, when you were down to 2 cards and 
you played a Skip card, the next player around was not skipped. This has 
been

fixed in BG Uno 1.1. In addition, you can now use the arrow keys to step 
through your cards when you are deciding which color to choose for a Wild 
card.

In BG Uno 1.0 this was not possible.

If you would like a copy of BG Uno 1.1, just reply to this email requesting 
BG Uno 1.1. Please also state your full name to enable me to easily locate 
you

in my records. Thank you.



Regards

Ian Humphreys

Spoonbill Software

Albany, Western Australia



+

Hi,

We are pleased to announce the release of BG Uno, the accessible version of 
the popular card game, Uno. This is the thirteenth game in the blind gamers

series. You may read a full description of the game on Spoonbill Software's 
Blind gamers page at:

http://www.omninet.net.au/~irhumph/blindgamers.htm

If you would like a copy of this game, email me with your full name and 
country of residence and I will gladly send you one. This email is being 
distributed

to approximately 1000 clients so please allow up to one week for delivery 
from the date of ordering.



Ian Humphreys

Spoonbill Software

Albany, Western Australia



++

News from USA Games Interactive

11/25/07



Attention USA Games Customers!



Hello Gamers,

We at USA Games have started compiling our Alchemy records into a

database so we can begin shipping Monte product keys in early December.

However, since our Monte and Raceway sales records are years out of date

we wish to make sure all of the contact information is up to date. Here

is what to do.

Send an email to

info@usagames.us

with the subject contact information.

We need the following information.



1. The product or products on pre-order.

2. The name of the person who placed the order. For example if your

father, mother, or legal guardian made the payment give their name as a

point of contact.If you made your own payment your name as it shows up

on your credit card. This is required for payment varification.

3. Your current email address so product keys can be emailed to you.

4. A current phone number. This is required in case we are unable to

reach you by email.

5. A postal address. This is required if you ordered a product disk.



Thank you.

Sincerely,

Thomas Ward

Owner of USA Games Interactive

Email:

info@usagames.us

Web Site:

http://www.usagames.us



+

11/23/07



Montezuma's Revenge News



Hello gamers,

USA Games Interactive would like to make our customers of Montezuma's

Revenge aware of some late breaking changes involving Montezuma's

Revenge. As of December 1, 2007 USA Games will be renaming Montezuma's

Revenge to Montezuma's Return. The new version of Monte will be very

similar to the classic Montezuma's Revenge though it will have some

differences which will allow USA Games to copyright the game as an

original work. Changes included in the new version will be as described

below.

First, we at USA Games felt the game should be given a new name. We

could site many reasons that brought us to this decision, but the one

that really stands out is the game has already been legally copyrighted

under that name in 1984.

Second, a good number of gamers really expressed interest in playing the

game using our former character Angela. We also feel this is a good

idea. Not only does it make the game a bit different from the original,

but we liked her character our selves. We have hand picked all new

effects for Angela, and she has already been placed into the game.

Third, from the beginning of its development Monte hasn't exactly been

purely designed on a one to one comparison with the classic. For

example, in our version magic potions are used rather than magic

amulets. The difference in their use is miner, but it does stand out as

a difference between the two games.

in addition when it came to building the levels into an accessible

format we at USA Games used our poetic license to alter them some to

provide maximum accessibility or added a trap here or there to make the

game more challenging or fun.

In the end I personally don't think our version of Montezuma's Revenge

has stayed true to Montezuma's Revenge. However, since this version is a

vastly updated and perhaps even improved version I think it can be built

around the idea of a sequel where the main character isn't Panama Joe

but some other hero or heroin following the same or similar adventure.

Thus Montezuma's Return.

As of Nov. 23, 2007 USA Games has finally introduced the ability to

register the game using a product key. This is a major step forward for

us as we will be able to ship product keys to pre-ordered customers

fairly soon.

We wish you all a happy holiday, and hope to have 1.0 ready with in the

month.



+

11/16/07



Hello gamers,

USA Games would like to announce the availability of Montezuma's Revenge

public beta 6. This new release of the game offers some substantial

changes since beta 5 including: initial game pad and joystick support,

the m key will announce the distance to monsters, magic potions will now

give you 20 seconds of invincibility from monster atacks, several bug

fixes, some new icons, updated manual, and more.

As always previous versions of Montezuma's Revenge should be removed

prier to installing this latest test build. To get it visit our web site at

http://www.usagames.us/games.php



Sincerely,

Thomas Ward

President of USA Games Interactive

http://www.usagames.us



+

Holiday Sales

 From USA Games Interactive



Hello gamers,

It seams it is that time of year again when we begin looking for that

perfect gift for that friend or loved one, dream of Santa on his slay,

sing Jingle Bells, watch reruns of White Christmas, and generally enjoy

the holidays in our own way. This year USA Games would like to

especially extend a happy holidays to our friends and supporters around

the world. This year we have something special for all our customers and

friends. This Christmas season watch our web site

http://www.usagames.us

for details about the pending release of Montezuma's Revenge 1.0.

As of the November 15, 2007 test release of Montezuma's Revenge the

basic game engine and operation is complete. Over the course of the next

month USA Games Interactive will be scripting the remaining levels , do

final testing, and add the product key registration feature to the game.

As of the time of this writing USA Games Interactive is also in the

process of designing our online store powered by Paypal.com's instant

payment notification system. Once the store is completed simply go to

our web site

http://www.usagames.us

and click on the store or buy now options on the site. You will be able

to select Montezuma's Revenge from a list, and simply select the Buy Now

option from the store page. You will be redirected to paypal.com for

credit card payment and verification. After payment is complete you will

be redirected to a download page where you may download the full release

of the game, and should receive a product key by email with in 1 to 7

business days.

Montezuma's Revenge 1.0 is currently scheduled to go on sale sometime in

December 2007, and will sell for $35.00 USD. So check the USA Games

Interactive site often, and happy holidays to all of you.



+

What's Ahead In 2008

 From USA Games Interactive



Greetings gamers,

As 2007 comes to an end USA Games has began preparing for even bigger

and better game projects for 2008. In this article we hope to shed some

light on what 2008 holds in store.



Genesis 3D

For many years now most audio based games have been restricted to a

completely 2 dimensional environment. Even good first person games such

as Sarah, Shades of Doom, and Monkey Business remain fixed in a 2d

environment though they may fake 3d in some instances. The Genesis 3D

engine is an all new engine from USA Games which will emerge the audio

based gamer in a truly 3d environment.

Unlike many other accessible audio games designed for the blind Genesis

3D offers an entire range of player movements such as: climbing, walking

running, jumping, doing flips, crawling, swimming, using safety drops,

etc all in a virtual 3d environment. The Genesis 3D engine also allows

the player to carry and use a variety of tools and weapons such as:

guns, swords, laser sights, torches, keys, etc. Future additions of the

engine will allow the player to acquire and drive a variety of vehicles

such as motor cycles, boats, planes, and other vehicles the player

acquires during the course of the game.

Why is Genesis 3D so important to audio gamers? Genesis 3D is planned to

be the engine that drives an entire new generation of 3d audio based

first person games that are equal to or based on games like: Tomb

Raider, Star Wars, Halo, Resident Evil, Gear Wars, and so on. Frankly,

there is currently nothing like it in the audio games market today.

For example, imagine yourself in a castle trapped in a room. You find a

switch along the wall, you pull it, and a trap door opens a few feet

away you need to safety drop through, to find a hidden chamber below the

room you are in to continue your quest.

In another example imagine yourself in a truly 3D Star Wars game aboard

an Imperial Star Destroyer. You might not be able to access a control

room via the door because it is locked, but you might be able to climb

an access ladder near by, crawl through an air  duct, cut a hole through

a grate with your light saber, and safety drop into the control room

taking some Imperial storm troopers by surprise.

Bottom line the Genesis 3D game engine offers more complex puzzles,

navigation, and options for expanding audio games beyond a simple 2d

first person or shoot-m-up game.



Accessible Tomb Raider

In 2007 Edos Interactive released it's 8th Tomb Raider game named Tomb

Raider Anniversary. Tomb Raider Anniversary is a retelling and complete

remake of Edos original Tomb raider game written in 1996 for MS Dos,

Windows 3.1, and Windows 95. Unlike it's predecessor Anniversary offers

superior graphics design, additional moves, sound effects, and

unfortunately is more unaccessible for the blind gamer.

However, USA Games Interactive has plans sometime in 2008 of releasing

our own accessible version of Tomb Raider driven by the Genesis 3D

engine. Like Tomb Raider Anniversary our version will be fixed in a true

3D environment, offer several different combat and physical moves,

several different styles of weapons, a training level with Lara Croft at

her house, 15 standard levels of game play, and more.

For those of you who never played the original Tomb Raider or

Anniversary version here is the basic story of the game that started it

all.

Thousands of years ago when Atlantice was destroyed the four rulers of

Atlantice fled to safety in Egypt, Peru, and Greece taking with them the

pieces of the Scion. Centuries later Jaclin Natla  hires  British

treasure hunter, Lara Croft, to locate and find the lost pieces of the

Scion. Lara travels the world Rome, Greece, Peru, Egypt, and eventually

Atlantice to find the pieces of the Scion. Once she reaches Atlantice

she soon discovers Jaclin Natla, once the former queen of Atlantice,

wants the pieces of the Scion in an attempt to take over the world. Only

Lara Croft has the ability to defeat Jaclin Natla and her army of

genetic mutants before it is too late for mankind.

Throughout Lara's adventure she must face such enemies as wolves, lions,

mummies, bears, bats, and even a T-Rex. In addition she must locate and

learn to use  a pistil, 357 Magnum, shotgun, Uzi, laser sight, keys,

special artifacts, medipacks, and more.

If the game play and sound effects of Tomb Raider wasn't enough the

music has always been great in all of the Tomb Raider games. The music

is almost a legend in of itself.



USA Raceway

As many of you may know USA Games has big plans for USA Raceway this

coming year. Raceway is probably going to be the most involving and

exciting racing game of its kind. The game is based on games such as EA

Sports Nascar Thunder 2006 complete with a full season mode, ten game

race for the USA Raceway champion ship, several official Nascar tracks,

sponsors, drivers, and more. There never has been a game like this

produced with a true Nascar racing theme to it for the blind. Raceway

will especially target Nascar fans who want to feel what it is like to

get out there on the track and race at 215 MPH against 41 other cars on

the track.

We have been asked quite a bit about an online playing mode similar to

Rail Racer. Unfortunately, do to time and budget constraints we have

elected not to include an online racing feature in version 1.0 of

Raceway. However, we do feel it's single player mode, season based

racing schedule, realistic Nascar scoring, upgrades, etc will more than

make up for online racing.

Keep an eye out for USA raceway this up and coming year. We hope to see

you out there on the track.



+

11/05/07

Hi everyone,

I have just posted an all new Raceway trailer. New in this trailer is an

improved car engine with more mustle and speed sound to it, engine

accelleration as it builds speed, and I dropped in a racing song from an

80's rock band, Vixon, called Rev It Up. I also show off such things as

speed announcements, fuel announcements, lap announcements, lap time,

etc so you can here that as well. I have disabled the other AI cars on

the track so you can focus on the car I am driving. Basically, there is

nothing fancier in this trailer right now than me driving around the

demo track, but it is a nice demo of what is to come. Without further

ramble here is the trailer.

http://www.usagames.us/trailers.php

Let me know your thoughts of this trailer.

Cheers.



++

News from X-site Interactive

11/21/07



some of you may already know, but some not.

recently we've just released chopper challenge on x-sight-interactive.net.

we are now on 1.1, fixing a few minor issues in 1.0. not sure if anyone has 
mentioned cc on here, as i've only just resubscribed today.

*snip*

X-Sight has an amazing new game out!

Chopper Challenge. It's a super fun real time shoot-'em-up style game.

You are faceing the intimous Copter Man, a ruthless half-man,

half-machine, hired to finish you off. Fire at the Copter Man with your

laser gun, avoid bombs, pick up items and attempt to last the entire 10

minute battle, racking up as many points as possible! Go on to the

X-Sight Website, so you can download and play this amazing game!

*snip*

thanks.



Regards,

Damien Sadler



+++

Game announcements and reviews



  Game Announcements and Reviews:

Below are some of the new games available.  Though an old treasure or

two may be discussed also.  It's noteworthy that in some cases it's only

an announcement of a game, taken from the email list, and may not be a

full review,    or an official notice from the developer.  Reviews of games 
will not  appear in any particular order. The only exception to this will be

when  we have more than one review for a game. In this case, reviews will be 
placed consecutively so that it is easier to compare them.



++

Hi all.



They braught you Hattrick. They braught you Popomundo. Now here comes 
another one. BasketSim.

As the name suggests, this game puts you in control of a basketball team, of 
at the start, 12 players, as you buy players you get more and sell it 
decreases

but by default you get 12.

The reason I say that it's the hattrick team again is because the forums 
look exactly the same as Popomundos and Hattricks. The match reports are 
detailed,

similar to their flagship product. Though I might add that this is the most 
detailed they're ever gonna get I think.

The matches do have a few typos, but you can easally know what they mean, 
and there's a new match engine coming next season, and I think the 
off-season

is now so any players who want to start managing a team should start now.

This game's got a big playerbase and is bound to grow, especially with how 
fast popomundo whent up the ranks.

If you want to have a friendly with me, my team name is OAS. Also, I'll add 
that this is probably one of the teams best games for screen readers. 
Everything

is labled with heading, which is almost the same as hattrick but better 
here.

Here's the link:



http://www.basketsim.com



Enjoy. Hope to see ya on the court.



++

Hi,

I found something pretty cool while browsing the

rec.games.roguelike.announce newsgroup.



It's a role-playing game similar to games like Nethack and ADOM but based

on the Castlevania gameworld. In adition to the features commonly found in

such games there is also sound and music!

Bundled in the game download are MIDI arrangments of various tunes from

the Castlevania series that are used throughout the game as well ass very

decent sound effects. It's all very atmospheric and original.

The game features a good story and several game modes such as a prologue,

a prelude and a training mode in a dition to the main story mode.

The game requires a Java engine and has both a graphical and a text-based

interface. The text (console) mode worke dwell for me in Linux, so I

suppose it would work pretty well with Windows screen readers too.

Now, this is what I'd call a real Halloween treat! :-)



+

Hi,

This game requires a Java installation. You can grab one from

www.java.com.

The game itself is a .jar-file, but to start it you can use

the .bat-files found in the game folder. For those who don't know,

.bat-files are a sort of script-files that were common in the DOS

operating system and that can be used in Windows too. They are simple text

files containing commands in the command line environment.

The game itself is a roguelike game, meaning it's similar to Rogue, an

ancient predecessor to Nethack.

Monsters, items and geography in the gameworld are represented by

characters onn the screen. In modern roguelike games the characters are

often replaced by graphical tiles. I don't know if i.e. Jaws can be used

to label these tiles, but what I do know is that this particular game

(CastlevaniaRL) has a console mode, which in plain English means a text

mode.

I've found it to work in the Linux text console. Given that Nethack and

similar games seem to work with Jaws, I thought it might be possible even

for this game to work with Windows screen readers.

Happy gaming,

Tobias



++

Hi! I didn't see the start of this thread, so if this has already been

mentioned, I apologize. I just would like to recommend Discworld. It is by

far my favorite mud right now. There aren't any race choices, everyone is

human, but the game itself, to me at least is highly enjoyable, especially

if you're a fan of the discworld novels. Being familiar with the novels

definitely isn't manditory, and you can roleplay as much or as little as

you like. A google search will provide you with tons of resources for

making your play time on discworld as enjoyable as possible, and there are

a lot of really friendly people there.

Anyway, for anyone who might be interested in checking this mud out, the

address is discworld.imaginary.com, port 23.

My character is Eponine, and I'm more than happy to help any newbies out if

I can. In fact, I'm getting ready to go to a friend's house tomorrow so

that I can try to teach her how to play.

I hope this recommendation helps somebody find a new game to enjoy, and

that everyone is having a wonderful day.

Missy



++

Hi all,



For those of you who are interested in creating gamebooks, this is the 
place. There isn't many people signed up, or maybe they are, just aren't 
online,

but there's lots of new stories coming. It's got a nice rating system, it's 
got a wizard to help you create stories, and you can duel each other online

for some fun.



I would, if you're into modern adventure, recommend you play "Mommy, can I 
go out and kill tonight?" which is a crime-related gamebook. You've also got

Ground Zero, which is a long sci-fi interactive novel.



Keep in mind that you'll also find some stories that simply aren't worth 
your time, people make different quizzes and stuff. I'm there for action and 
adventure.



I'll be making stories soon; join me at

http://www.ChooseYourStory.com



Enjoy!



++

Hi friends!

I don't know if some of you already know this game! I have played it

For some months now and it's really great!

In this game, you control an F1 team from your virtual office and then you

must choose your suppliers, driver, designer and commercial director and set

up the car and race strategies!

It's completely accessible and really addictive!

You follow the practice, warmup and qualifications and obviously watch the

race live!

Check it out because we are in the start of a 29th season!

You can play it at:

www.f1time.com

Have fun,

Jorge



++

Hi.



http://if.illuminion.de/index.html



has most of the infocom games including Hitchhiker's available for download,

all you need to play them is a copy of win frotz. for copywrite issues, just

see their policy.



++

Judgement Day Trophies



Okay this is an email from liam:

game trophys:



tenderfoot

Given to the user after they beat the game for the first time on easy.



Marksman

have at least 65% accuracy and complete the game on easy



marksman plus

complete the game with 55% accuracy or higher on normal or hard



Renegade

have any thing lower than 15% accuracy and complete the game on any 
difficulty



untouchable

complete game with out losing any health on easy.



untouchable plus

complete the game with letting 3 or fewer enemies land on normal or hard 
modes.



average Joe

Beat the normal difficulty level.



Metal Marine

complete hard difficulty level



lead lovers

complete easy with out using any rockets or nukes



lead lovers plus

complete normal or hard with out using any rockets or nukes



close call

complete the game with less than 15 percent health



quick draw

beat commander ather with in 15 seconds on easy



Quick Draw Plus

beat Commander Ather with in 30 seconds on normal or hard.



imposible feat

Manage to complete ultra Mode



Confused Gunner

Play the game, and then lose with out shooting down a single enemy.



ather's lucky day

get destroyed with only one ship left in level 10



ather's really lucky day

get destroyed when commander ather's hover craft has five or less health 
points left.



self-destruct

accidently find the feature of the base that wasn't mentioned to you.



cheater

use cheat codes and beat the game



total loser

use cheat codes, but manage to get destroyed



gamer's paradise

collect all 20 in game trophys



bonus games:



Rocket Blaster

Shoot down at least 330 rockets



Rocket Blaster Plus

Shoot down more than 390 rockets



Super paratrooper

Collect at least 6 bonus bags



Ultra Paratrooper

Collect all 10 bonus bags, and land safely with 320 points or more



sticky fingers:

collect at least 20 weapons, and make it out of the warehouse with in 105 
seconds.



Super Sticky fingers

Collect 30 weapons and make it out of the warehouse before the warehouse 
explodes.



it takes a thief

earned by beating weapon search with out getting any weapons.



great number guesser

guess at least 8 numbers



super guesser. yes sir.

guess at least 12 numbers



beep

get bored enough to play beep



bonus round



collect all 10 bonus trophys



extra trophys:



oh boy a lobster

earned by typing "oh boy a lobster" in the cheat consoll



Jingle Bells

Play the game on Christmas



Independence Day

play the game on July fourth



12 13:

play the game at 12 13 AM or PM



1 20

start the game at 1 20 PM.



bored to death

let the game sit at the main menu for five minutes



number one

place first on any board



extra credit

collect all 7 extra trophys



Hope it helps.



++

Hi guys,

I have at last found Under The Ice, a strategic submarine text adventure, 
together with four other text adventures on this site, including the fantasy 
game

Braminor, and the Quest for this unpronounceable name. These were the first 
TA's I ever played in the typing class, before that I never knew games for 
the

blind ever existed. Torpedo away! here's the link

http://www.nostalgia8.org/disk826.htm



Ari



++

Hi all,



A new online  turn based roleplaying game has just came onto the scene due 
to an inspired KoL player. He made this game where you have to be a hero and

save twilight. It's like KoL superhero style.

Yes, there's quests, just like in KoL. And yes, he attempted to make the 
combat screen look the same, even the frames. But gagetears are cool, they 
can

make computers. What exactly we can do with these computers, I am unsure. I 
play KoL allot, and Jick was talking about this game on the show because 
since

he was a tester he can talk about it now; it's in public beta.

Check it out at:

http://www.twilightheroes.com

Enjoy, still trying to figure out where a mode of transportation is...



++

Hi all, if yu want rts with a save option and avility to creat maps and much 
more its out now.

get it here:

http://jlpo.free.fr/soundrts



++

Hello there,

I belong to a web site that deals with programming code.

it is called

http://www.planet-source-code.com



one of the most interesting files I downloaded frm this site a short time

back was a visual basic 6 version of deal or no deal.

It was more geared to a sighted person in its interface, and the code was

for a british version of deal or no deal.

The money amounts were in british pounds.

but it did work quite nice, and will work better with a blind person

tweaking the code.

It would really shine if we can get some audio bits from the real show to

mix into the game.

Robert



++

Hi all,

There are more text-based mobile phone games through wap. Just go to 
wap.kalador.com and then you click Home, and then on Games. There are about 
12 of them, all playable.



+

Hi all,

Am quite excited about this one. There are three accessible Wap games 
available at the following site

wap.worddial.com

They are: Top Gun, a game where you play against other users at war trying 
to shoot down their planes, a Kungfu game, and another one where you are a 
merchant.

Sorry if this posts sounds vague, have not really looked closely at these, 
but my friend who is also totally blind has been playing them successfully 
without

any problems with Mobilespeak for weeks, and I haven't tried them properly, 
but friend says, and on first looks it seems as if they are absolutely 100%

accessible.

Enjoy!

Ari



++

Hi,



For those of you who still enjoy Interactive Fiction, aka text

adventures, just a quick note to let you know that the Interactive

Fiction Compitition started yesterday.  What better excuse to play and

vote on over 20 free accessible text adventures?  You can find all the

information you'll need at:

http://www.ifcomp.org

Enjoy!



Note: Though you can no longer vote on the entries for this year, the 
results and other information are available.



+++

Contacting Us



All material for inclusion  in upcoming issues of Audyssey should be sent

to me at the following snail or email address:



Ron Schamerhorn

1180 Dorval Dr. #303

Oakville On L6M 3G1

[905]-842-1933

blindwonder@cogeco.ca

or

editor@audyssey.org

and to chat find me at

rschamerhorn@hotmail.com

for Windows/MSN messenger no email to this one please.



+++

Distribution Information and Submission Policies



This magazine is published on a quarterly basis, each issue appearing

no earlier than the fifteenth of the publication month for its quarter.

All submissions to be published in an issue must be in my possession a

minimum of two days before the issue is published. I use MS-Word to

produce Audyssey, and can therefore accept submissions in pretty much

any format. They may be sent either on a 3.5-inch floppy disk, or via

e-mail.

  Please write articles and letters about games or game-related

topics which interest you. They will likely interest me, and your

fellow readers. This magazine should and can be a

highly interesting and qualitative look at accessible gaming. To insure

that high quality is maintained, I'll need your

written contributions. I reserve the right to unilaterally make changes

to submissions if I deem it necessary to improve them grammatically or

enhance their understand ability. I will never make changes which will

alter the spirit of a submission.

All submissions must be in English. However, people need not be great

writers to have their work appear in Audyssey.

Many of our community come from different countries. Others are quite

young. Where possible, I try to preserve their

different styles of expression. The richness that this adds to the

Audyssey experience far outweighs any benefits

gained from having everything in prose so perfect as to be devoid of

life. Audyssey is a community and magazine built

on the need for blind people to have fun. There are no formal

structural requirements for submissions. Within reason,

they may be as long as necessary. Game reviews should all clearly state

who created the game being examined, where it

can be obtained, whether it can be played without sighted assistance,

and any system requirements or other critical

information. Although profanity is by no means banned, it should not be

used gratuitously. Submissions not published

in a current issue will be reserved for possible use in future issues

if appropriate.



* Those who are on the Audyssey  discussion list should be aware that I

often put materials from the list in the "Letters" section if I feel

that they warrant it.   Anything posted to this discussion list that in

some way stands out from the common and often lively ongoing  discourse

will be considered fair game for publishing unless it contains the

author's wish that it not be published. From now on, this is official policy 
of the Audyssey community.

This magazine is free in its electronic form, and will always remain

so. I'm writing this magazine as much

for my own interest as for everyone else's. Your articles, reviews, and

letters, as well as any games you might care to  send me, are what I'm

after. Send any games, articles, letters, or reviews via E-mail, or on

a cd or 3.5-inch disk in a self- addressed mailer if you want your

media returned to you. Please only send shareware or freeware games. It

is illegal to send commercial games unless you are their creator or

have obtained permission to do so. By sending me games, you will do

several things: first, and most obviously, you will earn my gratitude.

You will also insure that the games you send me are made available to

my readership as a whole. If you can, I recommend that you send e-mail.

I can send and receive attachments with ease. This way, no money will

be  wasted sending me a game I already have, and you'll get my reply

more quickly. You are responsible for shipping costs. That means,

either use a disk mailer which has your address on it, and is either

free matter for the blind, or is properly stamped. I can and will

gladly spare time to share  games and my knowledge of them, but cannot

currently spare money above what I spend hunting for new games. I

encourage all my readers to give my magazine to whoever they think will

appreciate it. Up-load it onto web pages and  bulletin board systems.

Copy it on disk for people, or print it out for sighted people who may

find it of value. The larger our community gets, the more

self-sustaining it will become.

Those who want to receive issues of Audyssey as they are published

should go to the following website and follow the available link.

http://www.audyssey.org



The Audyssey discussion list facilitates discussion about games

accessible to the blind between the publication of issues of Audyssey.

All are welcome as long as they respect their fellow community members

and keep in mind that the topic of the list is supposed to be games.

Other topics are allowed within reason as long as they don't begin to

monopolize the list traffic for too long. Newcomers should be advised

that  traffic is frequently fairly heavy.  Anyone participating in the

discussion list will have issues of Audyssey automatically sent to them

via E-mail. Representatives from all major developers of games for the

blind are actively participating on the list.  There are two moderators

keeping things civil and orderly. Be certain to read the Audyssey

Community Charter as all list members are expected to follow its rules.

If you want an active role in shaping the future of accessible games,

this is where you can dive right in. To subscribe to this discussion

list, as said above go to

http://www.audyssey.org

and follow the links on the page.



Stan Bobbitt has made Audyssey Magazine available in HTML format for

easy on-line browsing. To take advantage of this, you are invited to

visit our home-page. People can easily and quickly navigate through the

various articles and reviews, and directly download or visit the sites

of the games that interest them. This will be of especial benefit for

sighted people who wish to make use of Audyssey and/or join the growing

community surrounding it. The Audyssey community thanks Mr. Bobbitt for

his continued efforts on its behalf in this matter.



  Darren Duff also provides a home for Audyssey.



http://www.angelfire.com/music4/duffstuff/audyssey.html



Where the issues can be read, downloaded individually or one zip file

of all the issues.  Thanks Darren!



Another location to find Audyssey current and back issues is



http://www.audiogames.net/page.php?pagefile=audyssey



Thanks to Richard and those at Audio-games!



We extend our gratitude to Kelly Sapergia who has provided a place for all 
the issues of the magazine. .  You can find them at



www.ksapergia.net/audyssey.html




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