I haven’t been active on here for quite a while, but I could really use the community’s help.
I was asked to run some Dungeon World for a new group (traditional roleplayers, who now use a diceless system, would be new to collaborative RPGs) that includes a blind member. I have never GM’d for a blind person before and I am a little concerned of how much DW relies on sight to navigate one’s class moves. I want to do everything not to make them feel like they are missing out on anything or have to memorize all their moves.
We would play online, over teamspeak as it is what this group is using now. I would rather stay with something they are used to, then introduce any new software, but maybe you know of any better blind friendly solutions for playing online?
But, the crux of my post is asking for advice for running DW or other PbtA games online for blind players. Anyone has experience with it?
Should I switch to something that does not rely on player moves as much, like World of Dungeons perhaps?
Thanks in advance,
On the recent +1 Forward podcast about the game Dead Scare they talk with a game designer who addresses accessibilty in gaming, particularly for those with visual impairment.
On the recent +1 Forward podcast about the game Dead Scare they talk with a game designer who addresses accessibilty in gaming, particularly for those with visual impairment.
I would definitely work with the player in question as you never know what you might be overlooking in regards to their comfort level and access to various technologies (text to audio translation, etc.)
I would definitely work with the player in question as you never know what you might be overlooking in regards to their comfort level and access to various technologies (text to audio translation, etc.)
Have you asked the player what access tools they use or need? They may already have it all worked out.
Have you asked the player what access tools they use or need? They may already have it all worked out.
This might be a good resource. Among other things there is also the link to the Modifier podcast interview with Aser Tolentino which might be of help.
But there are more links to other tools and resources on there.
writingalchemy.net – Accessibility Resources for Gaming
This might be a good resource. Among other things there is also the link to the Modifier podcast interview with Aser Tolentino which might be of help.
But there are more links to other tools and resources on there.
writingalchemy.net – Accessibility Resources for Gaming
Tight layouts and multiple columns (a VERY common feature of PbtA playbooks) can be murder on a PDF reader. If I had a blind player, I would take their play book and copy and paste it into another document in a linear format so they can easily navigate it. You can also replace any images with a small text blurb or use alt-text.
Tight layouts and multiple columns (a VERY common feature of PbtA playbooks) can be murder on a PDF reader. If I had a blind player, I would take their play book and copy and paste it into another document in a linear format so they can easily navigate it. You can also replace any images with a small text blurb or use alt-text.
I haven’t talked with the player yet, I don’t know him personally, only through the friend who asked me to run for them.
I wanted to do some research on my ahead of time so I know what topics to bring up when I talk with him next week.
Thank you for the links and advice, making a screen reader friendly version of the playbooks is a great idea.
I haven’t talked with the player yet, I don’t know him personally, only through the friend who asked me to run for them.
I wanted to do some research on my ahead of time so I know what topics to bring up when I talk with him next week.
Thank you for the links and advice, making a screen reader friendly version of the playbooks is a great idea.
Maybe also pass on the link to the DW SRD? He probably has the tools to use standard websites and there he can have access to text only playbooks and moves and stuff.
dungeonworldsrd.com – Dungeon World SRD
Maybe also pass on the link to the DW SRD? He probably has the tools to use standard websites and there he can have access to text only playbooks and moves and stuff.
dungeonworldsrd.com – Dungeon World SRD
Yeah, have him try out the SRD with a screenreader; the
tags might make it parseable.
Yeah, have him try out the SRD with a screenreader; the
tags might make it parseable.
I get that they are a friend of a friend but the best thing you could do as a first step to accommodate them is make the effort to reach out.
I get that they are a friend of a friend but the best thing you could do as a first step to accommodate them is make the effort to reach out.
Second Justin Ford’s advice.
Second Justin Ford’s advice.
I have reached out tonight to try to arrange a meeting.
Right now I am thinking of modifying World of Dungeons, so there are still some custom moves for the game, but PCs only have stats and some skills (that prevent you from failing), maybe some abilities.
I have reached out tonight to try to arrange a meeting.
Right now I am thinking of modifying World of Dungeons, so there are still some custom moves for the game, but PCs only have stats and some skills (that prevent you from failing), maybe some abilities.
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Just ask them what they need directly. They will know best what works for them in terms of accessibility.
Just ask them what they need directly. They will know best what works for them in terms of accessibility.
Just a quick update after conversation with the player.
* The DW pdf is working well with screen readers, better than the SRD website apparently. Although a .epub or .mobi would be even better as screen readers are better with navigating with those.
* The amount of moves is not too overwhelming, although me (GM) and another player will have a copy of the blind player’s character sheet to help navigate class moves during the game. This is faster than using a screen reader.
* We will use a dice roller plugin for TeamSpeak3 and read the outcomes, as the text chat is not easy to navigate to blind players. I am investigating the possibility of modifying the dice rolling script to include text to speech, but it might be beyond my programming skills.
I will come back with more info after our first session.
Just a quick update after conversation with the player.
* The DW pdf is working well with screen readers, better than the SRD website apparently. Although a .epub or .mobi would be even better as screen readers are better with navigating with those.
* The amount of moves is not too overwhelming, although me (GM) and another player will have a copy of the blind player’s character sheet to help navigate class moves during the game. This is faster than using a screen reader.
* We will use a dice roller plugin for TeamSpeak3 and read the outcomes, as the text chat is not easy to navigate to blind players. I am investigating the possibility of modifying the dice rolling script to include text to speech, but it might be beyond my programming skills.
I will come back with more info after our first session.
Good to hear that you are finding the tools to make this happen.
Good to hear that you are finding the tools to make this happen.