Xboz launches the Vale: Shadow of the Crown, the audio-based game developed for the blind. It is done available for Xbox and PC! We tell you how to play
The Vale: Shadow of the Crown, is an audio-based adventure game developed by the independent studio Falling Squirrel in collaboration with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and made and tested by blind and low vision players.
How does a game for blind people work?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/Zf5sAmloov4
In the game, you will navigate through a medieval setting as Alex, the second blind heir to a kingdom, who heads to the borderlands when her caravan is attacked by enemy soldiers. Alex has to travel the land alone, find weapons, learn spells, and fight enemies without seeing.
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In addition to the menus, which are presented in text and through an audio description, the only images in The Vale are colored blobs floating on a black screen. The behavior of the motes changes according to what happens in different scenes; They will turn blue and fall in the rain or mimic floating embers when Alex encounters a burning village.
A broader sensory experience – you’ll even have to fight blind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/TLHKqU84Jcs
Without visual information, the player has to listen to the sounds of the environment when moving. The game is based on 3D audio, so headphones are required. You move in the direction of the noisy metal to find the smithy, or to small squeaks and bites to find rats to smash in the inn’s basement.
You’ll even have to peel blind during combat you can raise your shield or move your sword right, left or forward, depending on where you hear the enemy.
The first users of the game, point out that it is nice to hear a voice explaining which buttons to press and when. In addition, the voice and sound design are animated as they serve as narrative tools and as navigational clues. For example, to choose between side missions, you will make decisions based on conversations, rather than reading through walls of text.
We assume that The Vale is just the beginning of more games accessible to the blind or partially sighted. Which can also be translated into the improvement of sensory experiences in games for all people.