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This is a request for suggestions and feedback.

TriadCity originates in the MUD genre, and began its life in a thoroughly vision-centric mode. The GUI clients pop-up new windows to display signs, the visual descriptions are vastly more detailed than the other senses. We've come a long way to enable MUD clients, and to make the world more friendly to blind players. Still, vision is the "primary" sense, the others are secondary. We can change this, but, should we?

For example, a player may find herself in a dark room with no light source. What should she be able to do there? Can she still Bandage a wounded comrade? Can she use the ATM?

Players who are blind IRL will reply, "Of course!" - and may find the question itself off-putting. Sighted players, though, are likely to find the restrictions realistic. TC has the concept of perception skills, so, a player with no light source in a dark room can still use the ATM if their touch skill or perhaps others are advanced enough. But it does seem appropriate to cause them restrictions they're unused to.

An interesting way around this could be to let players choose their "primary sense". When entering new rooms or examining items, that would be the sense description which is presented to them. I like the concept, but, realistically, there would be really enormous difficulties retrofitting 20,000+ vision-centric rooms with sufficient hearing, touch and smell descriptions to make this a reasonable investment of limited resources - time, mostly.

An alternate approach which is emerging in discussion with several of y'all is to write an entirely new world, from the ground up, where the sense of vision is either non-existent or extremely downplayed. A world specifically for blind players - and hopefully written largely by blind players. I started a new thread here to kick that idea around.

What do you think? Feedback and suggestions much appreciated.

SmartMonsters' Bulletin Boards Post early, post often.

SmartMonsters' Bulletin Boards
Post early, post often.