[Freeciv-Dev] Re: freeciv accessibility to the blind

[Paul Zastoupil <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, Aug 20, 2003 at 10:45:58AM +0200, Christian Knoke wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 20, 2003 at 08:00:29AM +0000, Per I. Mathisen wrote:
> > On Tue, 19 Aug 2003, Zachary wrote:
> > > I have been aware of freeciv for about six or seven months and have come
> > > to notice something quite rare in computer games today. Namely, that
> > > this game is accessible to blind and visually impaired players.I am a
> > > windows user, so I cant comment on the x-windows release.
> > 
> > Which windows client is this? There are three of them now.
> > 
> > > I was just wondering if their was any possibility of creating an even
> > > more accessible version, using speech through a sound card or better yet
> > > interfacing with screen readers directly. If this were possible, I would
> > > be forever obliged to whoever could accomplish it, I feel that it has
> > > potential, and am quite willing to wait for anything that might come of
> > > this.
> > 
> > Ideas and code for improving accessibility are most welcome. Speaking for
> > myself, I have no idea how these things work.
> 
> One idea I bear for some time is a speech output (take it as a fourth
> messages option). That can free you from these popups, that I think are
> sometimes quite annoying.
> 
> This can also warn you, when enemy units approach.
> 
> Since most freeciv messages consist of simple patterns, it should be
> possible to record, store, and build them together, in ogg format for
> example (Translators will need a mike :=).

I think this is a really bad idea.  TTS (Text to speach) should be
used.  The only reason someone would want to do this in a game is if you
got some real voice talent and it added more than just information.

> The main issue is the map, though. Do you have any suggestions how this can
> be made accessible for the blind? I fear there is no technique available to
> achieve this.
> 
> Christian
> 

-- 
Paul Zastoupil