3 September, 2008 @ 11:17 am by Lioncourt
The BBC is reporting on a new technology being developed by a team of Japanese researchers which uses focused ultrasonic waves to produce the illusion of solid objects in mid-air to the sense of touch.
While still in its infancy, the researchers believe the technique could be used in video games to provide a more immersive experience. Audio and visual sensory input has been a major part of gaming for years, but the sense of touch has been hard to fully tap into. This technology could provide a way to more fully realized virtual experience.
However, to the blind, this technology could mean more. As the technology matures, it is easy to envision ways in which it may be used to provide tactile cues on touch screen devices like the iPhone or iPod Touch, or provide a less expensive and more easily maintained alternative to current Braille display technologies.
Posted in Apple Inc., Commentary, Gaming, Hardware, Misc, Technical, iPhone, iPods and iTunes | No Comments »
5 May, 2008 @ 3:19 pm by Cara
This past week, the first VI-accessible, fully 3D First Person Shooter, Audio Quake, was released for Intel Macs running Leopard. Audio quake is an adaptation of the immensely popular mainstream game, Quake, which was released by ID Software in 1996. One of the things which makes Audio Quake so interesting, is that it uses the actual mainstream version of Quake that any sighted player would play, and simply adds audio queues and a few simple features so that a VI player can play along with sighted players.
the audio game is a result of several years work on the AGRIP project which is meant to show that VI gamers can enjoy the same games as the sighted, as well as play together with them, with only simple additions to existing mainstream software.
Quake’s fully 3 dimensional virtual environment is made available to the VI player via sonic queues such as walls, approaching passages and drop-offs, as well as the other players or monsters in the player’s view. The game is still in beta stage, as it is a work in progress. So all are invited to visit the home of the AGRIP project at:
http://www.agrip.org.uk
-and get involved if they’d like.
Happy Gaming!!!…
Posted in Gaming, Third-Party Products | No Comments »
5 May, 2008 @ 3:16 pm by Cara
Last week sees another first, as, in addition to the Mac release of Audio Quake, the very first 3D level Description Language (LDL) has also been released through the AGRIP project, for Mac. This add-on for Audio Quake allows a VI player to conceptualize and design their own fully 3 dimensional environments for the game.
As with AQ itself, LDL is also a proof of concept that what was thought to be a primarily visual medium can be accurately and meaningfully worked with by the visually impaired, as well as being a means for AGRIP to further study and understand how best to present / represent visual data to a VI user.
So who better to help in this process? -The users themselves. If you’d like to find out more, please do visit the home of the AGRIP project at:
http://www.agrip.org.uk
Happy Gaming and have a terrific day!…
Posted in Gaming, Third-Party Products | 1 Comment »
