by akkamaddi » Sat Dec 15, 2018 8:44 am
OK, I tried to post and the page refreshed... :-(
Shorter version, I think this would be an excellent idea. An online game I've played regularly since 2014 has a very loyal vision impaired community.
A simple idea: A Sonar Bar that can pop up along the top or bottom of the screen.
Have a few generic icons for events: "Tarr", "Party Gordo", "Jingling Coins", "Machine Alert" (extractor ready), and there are probably a few that I missed.
When an event occurs, the icon flashes in the direction of the event, and then waves pulse across the bar, fading until they completely vanish near the opposite end. That way, if the player is facing the wrong direction, they still see a wave moving and fading, so they know what direction to turn.
I would recommend not having generic bounces and squees be part of the Sonar Bar, unless they can be disabled. Otherwise, it could be filled with white noise.
I don't think this would be too difficult to implement, given the game already has an engine for stereo sound. Also, it would fit in with the "in game" technology and lore very easily. Just have it off by default, and enabled in the options. It may get in the way of some players, but for a hearing impaired player, it could really change the experience of the game.