Opinion Poll - Read _before_ you vote =}

[Phytotron]

Running and other athletics, including cycling
http://www.lowvision.org/sports_and_recreation.htm
http://www.ibsa.es/eng/
http://www.usaba.org/

Book reading
Are you for real? You've never heard of braille? Stupid. Not to mention books-on-tape.

Television and movies
Because those are important, right? I watch very little of either as a sighted person, and recommend the same. Nevertheless:
http://www.narrativetv.com/
http://www.csreurope.org/solutions.php? ... ion_id=441
http://moviesfortheblind.com/

Computer and Internet activity
There are several technologies that make it possible for the blind to use computers and the internet, including but not limited to, screen readers and devices that pop up braille under the fingers, and entry thereof.

Playing Armagetron Advanced
Seriously? Who the hell cares? Come on.

Nevertheless, I bet if the game were configured with more accurate sound and true surround sound, a blind person could have some success, and possibly be pretty good. It would probably be played with incam, where even as a sighted person you have to be able to draw and recall a map in your mind of where you've been.

Also, read this: http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingrevie ... 5/07/68333

But again, who gives a shit? You really think playing a video game is important, fulfilling, enriching, constructive? It's plain entertainment, and there are countless other ways a sightless person can be entertained—including several other types of games. Duh.

Getting around the house, walking down the street, transportation, working
If you'd actually care to learn a damn thing about subjects and people outside of your little self-imposed cave, do a little research, talk to blind people and their friends and families, you'll find that very few feel restricted in any of these ways. They live independent lives. They use their other senses, which are heightened. They get around their homes just fine. They use canes and seeing-eye dogs to walk around. I'm sure my city is not alone in having beeping devices at crosswalks that alert the blind when it's safe to cross. They're perfectly capable of taking public transportation and carpooling, something everybody needs to be doing more of. They work.


For crying out loud, you folks lead really myopic (ironic, eh), insulated lives, don't you. You must think the blind spend their entire lives sitting in a dark room totally dependent on a caretaker, living miserable, empty, unstimulated lives. In fact, most blind people live alone without assistance. They get on just fine. They're engaged in all sorts of activities and life enrichment, some I'm sure moreso than a lot of you.

Get a clue.

[LucK]

lol for all the people who said they would rather not be able to hear because of tron think about it if you were deaf do you think you would still be playing this game...

[Jonathan]

Yes, I would still play it (not that I play it now, but that's just lack of interest). Not sure if I went blind. As Phytotron mentioned the audio needs some serious improvement to be practical.

As for the poll, I don't know. I think hearing, being a pretty passive sense, is under-appreciated. There are lots of things it's doing to/for you, and you won't realize until it's gone. On the other hand, I'm pretty visually oriented, and vision is simply the best complement. With so much noise these days I'd also like to be deaf sometimes, but I'm sure that is of little concern when you lose one of your senses permanently.

[Van-hayes]

I was saying if i went blind tomorrow, not if i were born blind or if I have been blind for a while. And for cycling and running I meant more along the lines of going for a run every morning through town, or a bike ride into the city. Not on a track. With reading you need to learn braille, so again blinded tomorrow I would have to be taught to read it.

For audio books and described movies/tv I personally can't stand audio books I imagine the same would be true for those movies. A 400+ page book is something along the lines of 25+ hours usually, when it would only take about 6-10 hours to read at most. I wouldn't miss watching T.V shows all that much, i watch maybe one or two series, it would probably be the hockey I would miss watching because it isn't fun to listen to the announcer, its fun to see them take a shot or make a save or get that big hit(I like to go to see a live game at least once a year too, so with the volume of the crowds and no live announcers that would be out) . Now Movies I would miss, I have always liked going to see a movie in the theatre there is just something about the whole experience I love, less now that it costs about $15 but still.

I know there are technologies for the blind to use computers and internet, but again you would be dependent on others to get these things and the others for you. If I were to suddenly go blind it isn't like I would be able to call these places and order them without help. And again it would make things quite a bit harder, and still wouldn't let me do all of the things I do now.

With video games, ya i could probably live without them, it is just fun every once and a while to chill out and just play them without it having to be important or fulfilling or constructive. I know there are such things as games that are not of the video type, I am sure with braille cards any card game would stay the exact same, it would just cut out quite a few different types.

Getting around the house, walking, transportation are all easily done by blind people yes, but again they were taught skills that would help them do this. You wouldn't just wake up blind one day and be able to easily navigate your house/street just as you did before without any help whatsoever, at the very least it would take a few days or weeks of adjusting.

Now with working you missed my point completely, I didn't say blind people can't work, I said I couldn't do the work I do if i were to go blind. With the trade I'm in and probably most every other industrial work I highly doubt they would let someone who can't see into a refinery, rig, mine, or nuke plant without someone with them at all times, that is just an accident waiting to happen for them or someone else. That is if they learn to do the work without sight in the first place which would be possible but quite a bit harder. Blindness wouldn't stop you from working it would just limit the areas you can work in.

Anyways this is probably going to be the last time i respond to you in this topic as it looks like you are under the impression I considered blind people invalid shut-ins that can't do anything without a handler, when all i was trying to say was that if given the choice I would rather lose my hearing than my sight as I could still do most of the things I like to do without as much change or help.

Also get off your soapbox every once and a while as its hard to take you seriously when you look down your nose at anyone you deem beneath you, and insult anyone who doesn't share your views. Or better yet make unfounded generalizations of strangers. That will get your point across.

[Word]

You must think the blind spend their entire lives sitting in a dark room totally dependent on a caretaker, living miserable, empty, unstimulated lives. In fact, most blind people live alone without assistance. They get on just fine. They're engaged in all sorts of activities and life enrichment, some I'm sure moreso than a lot of you.

Get a clue.

Heh, anyone here who knows "Hire The Handicapped" from the National Lampoon?

[MrsKsr]

Van, everything you said there sounds like laziness.. Would have been much simpler to say "it would be easier if I went blind rather than deaf." =P

I stick by going blind, I still cant imagine life without music.

[Mecca]

Running and other athletics, including cycling
http://www.lowvision.org/sports_and_recreation.htm
http://www.ibsa.es/eng/
http://www.usaba.org/

Book reading
Are you for real? You've never heard of braille? Stupid. Not to mention books-on-tape.

Television and movies
Because those are important, right? I watch very little of either as a sighted person, and recommend the same. Nevertheless:
http://www.narrativetv.com/
http://www.csreurope.org/solutions.php? ... ion_id=441
http://moviesfortheblind.com/

Computer and Internet activity
There are several technologies that make it possible for the blind to use computers and the internet, including but not limited to, screen readers and devices that pop up braille under the fingers, and entry thereof.

Playing Armagetron Advanced
Seriously? Who the hell cares? Come on.

Nevertheless, I bet if the game were configured with more accurate sound and true surround sound, a blind person could have some success, and possibly be pretty good. It would probably be played with incam, where even as a sighted person you have to be able to draw and recall a map in your mind of where you've been.

Also, read this: http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingrevie ... 5/07/68333

But again, who gives a shit? You really think playing a video game is important, fulfilling, enriching, constructive? It's plain entertainment, and there are countless other ways a sightless person can be entertained—including several other types of games. Duh.

Getting around the house, walking down the street, transportation, working
If you'd actually care to learn a damn thing about subjects and people outside of your little self-imposed cave, do a little research, talk to blind people and their friends and families, you'll find that very few feel restricted in any of these ways. They live independent lives. They use their other senses, which are heightened. They get around their homes just fine. They use canes and seeing-eye dogs to walk around. I'm sure my city is not alone in having beeping devices at crosswalks that alert the blind when it's safe to cross. They're perfectly capable of taking public transportation and carpooling, something everybody needs to be doing more of. They work.


For crying out loud, you folks lead really myopic (ironic, eh), insulated lives, don't you. You must think the blind spend their entire lives sitting in a dark room totally dependent on a caretaker, living miserable, empty, unstimulated lives. In fact, most blind people live alone without assistance. They get on just fine. They're engaged in all sorts of activities and life enrichment, some I'm sure moreso than a lot of you.

Get a clue.

Thats a really cool story Phytotron, all that info would be very useful if I was born unable to see. However, if I had to chose which one to lose, losing my vision would seriously slow down my life. Most information that I have had to absorb in the past few years have been in some written format. If I cannot hear things, I could adapt to that a lot faster and more easily than if I lost my vision.

Who cares about tron? This is an Armagetron Advanced forum... I am pretty sure quite a few people care about tron, I am one of them.

Books on tape != Reading

Compensating for my lack of hearing would be a lot easier in tron; I would just have to get used to glancing more often.

Compensating for a lack of vision would be very difficult. How would you play flower power?! There is no way to detect how fast, when, and where the zones move.

Also, even if you could play by using surround sound, how would you know if there is an enemy wall in front of you, and how would you know what the CYCLE_WALL_LENGTH (is that the command) is?

[Mecca]

I failed and double posted.

[Word]

Thats a really cool story Phytotron, all that info would be very useful if I was born unable to see

Thats a really cool story Phytotron, all that info would be very useful if I was born unable to see

the irony...if you are able to see why do you double post?

[MrsKsr]

double post ftl?

[owned]

Anyway pointless topic since sight is more beneficial to play arma

Actually, a fair amount of my kills come from hearing my enemies seeping toward me off-screen and turning at the right time.

I knew someone would say that, that's why I said "more beneficial".

Am I the only person here who usually has in-game sound turned off? I only use it when I'm bored of all the songs in my playlist.

[MrsKsr]

haven't had in game sounds since the 2nd month i played and realised i could turn them off ^_^ and before then i drowned it out with music :d

[Mecca]

Yeah I did not check my post after posting

I failed.

Why do so many people not like the tron sounds? I enjoy playing with them.

[epsy]

distracting

[MrsKsr]

[+]

besides music is just better to play with imo