Dev Log

2/1/25
Almost immediately after sending out the survey to various groups, I found that not only is it tremendously difficult to connect with individuals for feedback, but there were also groups I had been overlooking:

• Light sensitivity

• Epilepsy

• Cognitive disabilities

• Neurodivergent individuals

I initially presumed that many of these needs could be met with minimal additional options; however, it’s a matter of discovering what those options are.

2/5/25
The idea of creating a radial tonal navigation system for a sightless 2D platformer is far more challenging than I initially expected. The primary issue is how to communicate not just the direction and height of a platform, but also where the edge is—and what to do when there’s a mixture of information, such as an enemy on it. You could create a soundscape of harmonious tones that work together tonally so they aren’t annoying or obstructive to the information being conveyed, but then you’re essentially creating a musical game with locational information. That feels like it’s drifting off track.

2/9/25
Using the tools I plan to use for the sightless first-person shooter seems more sensible. If you provide a nodal pathway on the "golden path" in a game, you could offer options for automatic attacking and blocking if the player wishes, with audio cues for those who prefer manual control. This does reduce the complexity of the problem—but it also reduces the depth of the game play. There may not be another option.

2/11/25
My inability to gather meaningful information from surveys is a foreseeable disaster when it comes to studying this material. Not only do people hate taking surveys, but reaching the right individuals through forums, Discord channels, and Reddit pages is another level of difficulty. It’s quite troubling because, without people who are truly capable of testing the ideas earnestly, it’s difficult to gauge their quality. All I can do is continue posting the survey in various places, perhaps be more upfront about my academic background, and see what comes of it. I knew there was a high chance of failure with many of these ideas—I just hoped it would take longer than the first month to encounter it.

2/13/25
In a conversation I was slightly dreading—knowing the survey aspect of this study was, at best, moot, and that the idea of designing a sightless 2D platformer eluded me—I was reminded that the best thing I can do in life is fail at things. Winnie pointed out that creating a sightless 2D platformer using nodal navigation kind of undercuts the whole purpose of attempting to make something that truly explores what an accessible platformer can be. The reason it works in The Last of Us is because its focus is on communicating the story—not the true experience of a shooter. To my dismay, that was a valuable insight. Creating a tool that allows people to “get through” a game has little to do with playing it.

2/16/25
I’ve kept thinking about this question, and though I would like to focus on making something that could be implemented in pre-existing platformers not originally created with accessibility in mind—because, to me, the alternative is creating a game focused solely on accessibility à la audio games, which I have little interest in—that approach doesn’t address my core curiosity: bringing accessibility into more mainstream implementation.

But it has made me think more carefully. The goal of imbuing an experience through accessible means is a slightly different question than simply creating frameworks for existing genres to be accessed by people who can’t see. I didn’t want any specific accessibility need to dictate the construction of the game itself—just to find ways to address access for each one.

But that may be jumping too far ahead in the process. I should just start with a game that is built from the beginning with the affordance of being playable without sight. Yes, it will require different practices than those used for sighted players—but thinking it doesn’t address my question is foolish. It may very well be the essential first step toward a more robust framework in the future.

2/28/25
Creating something that organically guides a player through an environment—to the correct path and toward other discoveries—is intensely difficult. The standard shapes and design techniques used in 2D platformers suddenly take on much more complicated issues. Shapes that used to serve as visual cues for where to go now lack any communicative power. Worse, some even lead to overly complicated scenarios that now require design adjustments.

All communication—even simple navigational cues—must now occur through audio. At first, just giving direct cues through in-world NPCs seemed enough, and perhaps it is when designing more challenging levels. But for now, ensuring that more people can easily navigate the level is a larger concern and my primary focus.

3/14/25
After falling behind on some work and developing more specific audio cues, I now need to re-record some vocal lines to provide clearer guidance to players. After this, wherever this level ends up is where it needs to stay—I need to move on to the next project.

Realizations like: “audio that is stylistically degraded is too difficult for many players to understand—especially when it is the sole medium for conveying instructions”—are simply not tenable design choices.

Of course, I find that difficult to accept. My desire for something ironclad in this demo is strong, but entirely unrealistic. Hopefully, I feel better about the next demo.