September 04, 2024

17 Accessibility Unlocked: How Blind Players Enjoy the Video Games We Take for Granted | SightlessKombat, Aure, & Ohylli

1 hour 25 minutes

SightlessKombat is a video game streamer and reviewer, who also consults on some of the industry's biggest titles: "God of War," "Sea of Thieves," "Horizon: Forbidden West," and more. Yet he has never seen a single pixel.

That's because he was born blind — completely without vision. But he was drawn to video games from a young age because ... well, they're awesome.

So, how does he actually *play* them? The answer is, it depends. Game and Internet accessibility has come a long way since the '80s and '90s. But many in the blind community still rely on volunteers to mod screen readers into games. The process is tireless, collaborative, and very community driven.

This week on INFLUENCE, Matt sits down with 3(!) guests to talk about video game accessibility. Aure is a German programmer who recently released a screen reading mod for the wildly popular deck-building poker-like "Balatro," allowing blind players to enjoy the game for the first time. SightlessKombat is the aforementioned streamer, game reviewer, and Accessible Gaming Officer at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in the UK. And Ohylli is a legally blind accessibility advocate (and "Balatro" enthusiast!) based in Finland.

They discuss the amazing tools that make wildly complex games like "Factorio" and "Stardew Valley" accessible to blind players, how 3D action games like "Sea of Thieves" and "Star Wars: Outlaws" are played without sight, and why studios that make games more accessible can reap unexpected profits.

Follow Aure's modding work: https://github.com/Aurelius7309

Subscribe to SightlessKombat: https://linktr.ee/sightlesskombat

Follow Ohylli: https://x.com/ohylli

Special thanks to u/matrheine on Reddit

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