Hello again. It’s been far longer than I thought since I last wrote one of these posts, so there’s a lot to write about. Where to begin…?
I suppose the logical place to start is to briefly touch on what everyone is talking about these days, the Corona Virus, and how it has completely effected everyone on the planet. It seems like just a few days ago, there were few, if any reported cases in my state. Now there are hundreds, and almost everyone is working from home and/or is on lockdown. I have officially been working from home now for two weeks, and while I have worked from home a few days before, it’s still pretty weird to not leave the apartment for weeks at a time. I’m typically a homebody anyway, but even I’ll go out to the store, a movie, or something, even just for a walk. I honestly don’t know how some people can not leave the house for weeks, if not months at a time, and not go crazy.
That said, I hope everyone is staying safe, docial distancing, and doing everything they can to protect themselves and others. Remember, this isn’t just helping you, it’s helping everyone you may come in contact with, including many people who may be more susceptible to the virus than others.
Since the September update, a lot has been happening, on the channel, on Mixer, and in game accessibility in general. The IllegallySighted YouTube channel is going strong, and it just hit 2000 subscribers. Thank you to everyone who has supported the channel so far, and I hope you have found the content to be helpful and/or entertaining. Videos are unlocked every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mixer has been going pretty strong as well. I’ve been trying to stream most weekends, usually on Saturdays, but also sometimes on Sundays. Like creating videos, I found that I like streaming more than I thought I would. Late last year, we also got another microphone, so Riley can participate more in the streams, and people can actually hear her. It’s been fun having some color commentary, especially when things get particularly crazy. The Mixer stream doesn’t have many viewers yet, but we do have a few regulars, so thanks to everyone who has followed the streams so far. I should also note that, as long as they record, Mixer streams will be archived on the YouTube channel, and released on Mondays, as kind of a Mixer Monday thing.
One of the best things to happen this year was a surprise trip I got to take in late January. Out of the blue, I was invited out to one of Microsoft’s XBOX studios to participate in a one-day XBOX Design Sprint. This design sprint was to help improve the accessibility for current and future XBOX games. I cannot write much more about it, because I am under NDA, but I can say it was an amazing experience, and I’d definitely do it again in the future. I met lots of great people, got to talk games, development, and other nerdy stuff, and hopefully gave some practical ideas to help improve game accessibility.
I love working in the area of game and vR accessibility, even if it is only in my spare time. I would love to turn this into a full-time career, or even part time on the side. If you are a developer and have any questions on game, technology, or VR accessibility, please feel free to contact me. I am available to answer any questions you may have, beta test apps or games, or work more with you in a consulting role.
The first couple months of 2020 have been a little slow for new game releases, but I’m perfectly fine with this. I have so many games, books, movies, shows, and whatever else to catch up on that it’s nice to have a break in the new releases. Some big titles have started to come out though, with more on the way. The 90’s are back too. Within a week, we got Doom Eternal, Doom 64, and Half-Life Alyx. We got two Doom games and a Half-Life game! Even though it’s VR only, I’m just surprised that we finally got confirmation that Valve remembers that Half-Life exists. Hopefully this will mean more games in the series, without a thirteen year wait.
I haven’t picked up Half-Life Alyx yet, but am strongly considering doing so. After a little research, I have determined that my current gaming rig should be able to play Half-Life Alyx between low and medium graphical quality, which is good enough for now. The other reason I’ve hesitated buying the game, is I had some accessibility concerns, being able to see the game well enough to successfully solve the game’s puzzles and use weapons effectively. Again, I’ve seen a few things online that give me hope.
Speaking of game accessibility, I have been playing a lot of Doom Eternal. I LOVE the Doom series, and was surprised at how well id Software revived the series in 2016. Doom Eternal builds on the gameplay mechanics and story from Doom 2016, and adds even more of everything. Like Doom 2016, the graphics and overall performance are excellent. I’m actually impressed with how well the game runs, and how good it looks, especially when the game throws everything at you in the larger battles. It’s pure chaos and I love it!
What I’m not so fond of however, is the increase of platforming in Doom Eternal. Doom 2016 had some platforming sections, a couple that were kind of problematic as a low vision user. Doom Eternal focuses way more on this, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. There have been several points in the game so far where I have gotten lost because I visually missed that one ledge, pole, switch, or other item I overlooked. The Doom Slayer needs to be really acrobatic this time too, as he has to double jump, dash, swing off poles, climb walls, and a lot more. At times the platforming sections seem quite out of place, and feel like they should be in a Mario game. Some levels even have the spinning fire rods for God sake…
Overall though, I’m quite pleased with Doom Eternal so far, despite a few visual frustrations. The combat, which there is still a lot of, feels great, and is super fast and intense. The mobility options work very well in combat too. I love having the double jump, dashes, and all the weaponry while fighting demons. Oh, and did I mention the Super Shotgun has a demon grappling hook, aka the Meat Hook, and you can eventually set enemies on fire with it? I did now, and it’s glorious!
I’ve also been doing some academic and recreational reading during all this time at home, and have a couple of books I may write about in a future post. They should be great resources for anyone looking for work, wanting to start or change a career, or even further themselves in their current career.
This post is getting long enough as it is though, and I didn’t cover half of the past few months of chaos. 2019 was a rollercoaster ride itself. We’re only about three months into 2020, and it’s probably been an even wilder ride. I can’t even imagine what the rest of the year will bring at this point.
Stay safe, and I’ll be back with another post soon.