He could also play the side scrollers of the day, which was mostly memorization, but also some real-time reaction.

One time we were talking about fps games and I stopped myself short of saying he couldn’t play. Who knows what this kid could do.

it’s a game, and he was ‘playing bits of it anyway’. he sent out a request for help because he clearly wanted to experience more of the game (that he was PLAYING), and there were some nice people who wanted to help him with that.

the key here is ‘playing’. you know – moving left, right, attacking, hitting combinations of buttons, getting out of the way when you know there’s a special attack coming, the satisfaction of killing a monster or completing a challenge, unlocking the next part of the story, etc, etc.. just like when anyone else does it, only his version (the version he has to visualise in his head) might possibly look a lot better than the 64bit one that you see on the screen. and erm, neither of them are actually ‘real’ anyway, by the way, and your experience of playing it is in no way ‘more real’ than his. it’s also not about aquiring a transferrable skill set. for anyone. it’s a computer game.

maybe he’d rather play zelda than some text adventure because he finds it much more fun and challenging, and maybe, shaneleslie, you should have better things to do with your time than telling blind people what they should do with theirs.

awesome achievement all round. i’m sure that everyone involved got a huge amount of satisfaction and fun from it.

If he really wants to play a game blind then he could have better spent his time and effort on a game that could be played blind – like the thousands of text adventure games that are out there (and more still being made), or any one of the thousands of text based MUDS MOOS or MUSHES, which predate the MMORPGs like World of Warcraft; and actually have real roleplaying involved.

Heck, with a screen reader you could even play any of the Rougelikes (Yendor, Nethack, ADOM).

There are many games that sightless people can play well. Even chess, in some cases. That would impress me more.

I’m a gamer myself, and I’ve never played any of the Zelda games to completion. Way to go, dude!

Life must be hard being so pessimistic.

Surely, you’d get a much, much better experience from something that you’re able to experience to a greater extent.

I know I didn’t find music anything but frustrating when I was deaf, albeit temporarily (yay brain damage).

I’d've thought for someone unable to see, playing a game like Zelda OOT would just be an exercise in frustration and really annoying noises, along with the fact his experience would be reduced to data entry. which doesn’t appeal to me.

Personally I’d be considerably more impressed if he’d done something playing to his abilities, or not directly into something he’s not actual able to overcome without a massive amount of assistance.

I’m all for helping people with disabilities do what they want, but this is akin to claiming you’ve run a marathon, when you’ve been pushed by someone else all the way in a wheelchair.

This is entirely awesome. If you disagree I hope that some day you’re part of something awesome and have someone crap all over it, just so you know how it feels.

B) Video game makers have a long history of ignoring handicapped people’s needs. Even otherwise able-bodied gamers with color-blindness have a hard time enjoying what so many of their peers spend free time with. Obviously video games are primarily a visual experience, but I hope that efforts like this one help game developers keep in mind people with different needs.

Amen.

I am astonished that people are down on this awesome dude; sure it’s not exactly the SAME thing as playing the game…

… but isn’t it um…. HARDER?!

Quick, list the top 5 most difficult games YOU have solved blind-but-with-support. Didn’t think so.

Ok, instead name all the other blind people who in their spare time demonstrate how easy it is to solve long rpg video games with help. Heck, or text games! Whatever. Didn’t think so.

But this is something else entirely; Jordan played through the game with a walkthrough (which I think is a better word for it, than “script”), one that just happens to be extraordinarily detailed.

Also — as someone pointed out: water temple. blind. I’m curious how they dealt with the real-timeness of Zelda. It’s not like a turn based roguelike. (then again, roguelikes are random). Did they find the timing of the patterns and tell him precisely when to move in order to avoid the octorocks? Is the timing always the same every time?

Otherwise I still don’t quite understand how they can do that with merely noting steps.

I am somewhat ashamed to say I have absolutely no idea what this string of words means.

This was to allow him to complete the game. Speed was not a factor.