Audiogame Jam Asbjoern Andersen


James Kyle is a Scottish game artist and volunteer with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). From 26 August to 5 September, he is running Audiogame Jam, an international game jam focused on blind-accessible games. The event is hosted by Game Jolt, and all donations benefit the RNIB. Here’s the story behind the project – and how you can support it:


Written by Adriane Kuzminski



 

Hi James, please introduce yourself:

My name is James Kyle. I’m an aspiring game artist and a volunteer with RNIB. I’m also the organiser of Audiogame Jam, a game jam event held to raise money for RNIB and promote awareness of accessibility issues encountered by visually-impaired gamers.
 

Where did the idea for Audiogame Jam originate?

I began thinking about organising an audio game jam at the end of 2015. Last September I took part in a pre-employment course with RNIB, and while I’ve had sight loss from macular dystrophy for almost 20 years, I wasn’t aware of most of the tools available to visually-impaired people to allow them to engage with technology. The course was led by someone with no sight at all, and it was obvious that people with sight loss could access computers and smart-phones with little difficulty, providing the right accessibility tools and training were available.

It was obvious that people with sight loss could access computers and smart-phones with little difficulty, providing the right accessibility tools and training were available

Since video games are a hobby of mine and I’d studied games development at the University of Abertay in Dundee a few years before, I was interested in how I could use that to help RNIB. I’ve received a lot of help from them over the years and I was keen to give some of that back. I looked into instances of charities running game jam events and found a few interesting examples, such as Accessibility Jam and HELP!, which gave me confidence that such an event for RNIB could work.
 

How to participate

To participate in the game jam, please visit their Game Jolt page. To donate to the event and support the RNIB, head over to their JustGiving page.
 

Why did you decide to focus on blind-accessible games?

There are several reasons for this, the most obvious one being that I’d like people with sight loss to be able to play the finished games. It also seemed like an original challenge to developers who may not have ever needed to create a game so reliant on audio. I also have concerns over the separation of audio games and video games, and I’d love to see developers inspired by this event to create games that appeal to and are playable by gamers with any level of vision.
 

How will the games be used to benefit the RNIB?

I hope people that play the Audiogame Jam games will learn more about the work RNIB does and consider supporting them. I didn’t want Audiogame Jam to just be an awareness-raising event, so I’m encouraging everyone to make donations via Audiogame Jam’s JustGiving page. The raised money will provide necessary help and services to visually impaired people across the UK.
 

How did you become interested in blind-accessible games?

My interest in blind-accessible games only started once I’d been exposed to the access blind people have to technology. Before then I’d been playing exclusively video games. My level of sight loss still allows me to play most video games, provided there isn’t a great deal of reading or I can enlarge the user interface to something I can manage.

There was no mention of audio games and precious little concern for accessibility issues other than colour-blindness

Even studying games development at the University of Abertay, one of the best places in Europe to study games development, there was no mention of audio games and precious little concern for accessibility issues other than colour-blindness. Once I’d started volunteering with RNIB, I became interested in what games were accessible, who was campaigning to make games more accessible, and what the alternatives were when video games are no longer accessible. It was clear that there was a large section of people who weren’t well-served by the existing video games industry, and seeing how visually-impaired gamers and developers have created their own community has been fascinating.
 

What are some of your favorite blind-accessible games?

I’ve quite enjoyed the Blindfold series of games and I’m currently playing A Blind Legend and Rhythm Rage.
 

What do you see as the future of blind-accessible games?

I’d like to see more developers include blind-accessibility in their games where possible, and for more audio game developers to create games with strong visual elements. Pure audio games are great, but the separation of video and audio-based games is, in many cases, unnecessary and restricts the audience it appeals to, especially on smartphones where features like VoiceOver (iOS) or TalkBack (Android) come as standard on every device. Using these features and ensuring a strong visual style you have access to both markets, and perhaps more importantly, everyone is included in playing, discussing and enjoying the game together.


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Now that the Audiogame Jam is beginning, how has the reception been?

I’ve had a huge amount of positive feedback and messages confirming participation in the jam. It looks like it will be a truly international event! I assumed that it would be mainly audio game developers who would participate, but the vast majority of people taking part are, from what I can gather at least, video game devs. Overall it’s going far better than I dared hope. We’ve even received our first donation!
 

If people want to join a team or participate in the jam as solo developers, where should they go?

If you are interested in participating in Audiogame Jam, please visit our website at jams.gamejolt.io/AGJam. There you’ll find information about the event, links to useful resources, and how to donate to RNIB. If you want to participate, you can do so as a solo developer or in a team. Those looking for a team should check the Audiogame Jam message board, though I would also recommend asking developers on Twitter with the hashtag #gamedev, #indiedev or #gameaudio. Submitting your finished game is easy and only requires that it be uploaded to the Game Jolt website with the Audiogame hashtag #AGJam somewhere in its description.
 

What resources do you recommend for those who are interested in blind-accessible video game development but are learning about it for the first time?

For those interested in playing or learning more about audio games a good starting point is www.audiogames.net. There you’ll find an active community of friendly gamers and developers, notifications on new releases, and a huge library of games to try. I also recommend the Monkey Gaming podcast, an audio game discussion and review programme recorded by the Fife Society for the Blind’s Monkey Gaming group.

Thank you to James Kyle for the Q&A and for running such an exciting event! To get in touch with him, you can visit his website, or follow him on Twitter.

 

Please share this:


 



 
 
THE WORLD’S EASIEST WAY TO GET INDEPENDENT SOUND EFFECTS:
 
A Sound Effect gives you easy access to an absolutely huge sound effects catalog from a myriad of independent sound creators, all covered by one license agreement - a few highlights:

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    Motion Graphics focuses on all the elements you might need for sound design on a trailer, a cinematic scene or a visual that is heavy with motion graphics, whether it be abstract or straight forward, Motion Graphics has all the elements and textures you could think of. Motion Graphics are something all of us sound designers run into at one point or another, so this library is an excellent addition to your sound effects tool box.

    Motion Graphics was created by and in collaboration with sound designer Rostislav Trifonov (SoundMorph Elemental library contributor).

    Motion Graphics features 650 24bit/96 kHz .wav files, all meticulously embedded with Soundminer & Basehead metadata.

    The library features:

    • 450 + designed sound effects
    • 190 + source audio files
    • Whooshes
    • Impacts
    • Risers
    • Stingers
    • Low end and Sub Bass
    • Impulse Responses
    • Passbys
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    • Ambiences
    • Buttons and Clicks
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    The asset list includes but is not limited to: hippos, hyenas, vultures, dwarf mongooses, elephants, African cranes, parrots, tigers, pigmy hippos, rhea ostriches, brown bears, pheasants, wildebeests, African wild dogs and many more. The content has been recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K, an Avisoft CMPA and a Sennheiser 8050 for center plus two Sennheiser MKH8040 for stereo image.

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Explore the full, unique collection here

Latest sound effects libraries:
 
  • A collection of 135 potion sound effects.

  • A collection of 140 individual power up ability sound effects.

  • A collection of 103 bowling sound effects.

  • São Miguel – Flows (supporter pack) is a collection that includes 14 looped files.
    The palette explores the sounds of the ocean, waterfalls, and hot springs. These recordings were captured in Moihnos (Cascata do Limbo, Praia dos Moihnos), Ribeira dos Caldeirões, Ponta do Arnel, and Furnas (Caldeira).
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  • ATTENTION: The audio preview only simulates gameplay to demo just a portion of the library’s content.


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    ALL SLOT GAME ELEMENTS YOU WILL EVER NEED

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    SPORTS-THEMED SOUNDS FOR YOUR FEATURE GAMES

    Need BASKETBALL game sounds, SOCCER / FOOTBALL, HOCKEY, BASEBALL, GOLF, TENNIS, TABLE TENNIS / PING PONG, SKIING / BOBSLED, SWIMMING or WATERPOLO, BOXING and even more? We got you covered!

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    ENGAGING SPORTS MUSIC IN ALL GENRES

    Immerse your players in gaming experience like no other with almost every music genre commonly found in sport events, games and tv program. We have also included multiple variations and edits to make your workflow as fast and easy as posible.

    From INDIE ROCK, HARD ROCK and METAL, to multiple sub-genres of ELECTRONIC Music, FUNK, ROCK BLUES and other genres, from SHORT STINGS, JINGLES and DROPS, to LOOPS, music mixes in VARIOUS INTENSITIES, included content here is a must have in your audio collection.

     

    With each audio file being drag-and-drop ready, presented in high quality MP3 and WAV formats with meticulously labelled keywords for your convienience, you will create the perfect gaming experience for your players in a matter of moments!


    So STEP UP YOUR SLOTS, GRAB ATTENTION and BUILD CONNECTION with YOUR PLAYERS! 

    DOWNLOAD NOW!


    SPORTS SLOTS at a Glance:

    • Symbol Sounds, Buttons and other Interface Sounds, Reel Spin and Stops, Trigger Sounds, Selection and Reveal sound effects, Music Loops for every scene and situation, Win Tunes and Rollups, Payouts and other short Celebration Tunes + much more!
    • Sports-Themed Feature Sounds: Basketball, Soccer / Football, Hockey, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Table Tennis / Ping Pong, Skiing / Bobsled, Swimming, Waterpolo, Boxing and more
    • Numerous Variations and Edits of the assets, such as multiple lengths, intensities, looping and non-looping variants, and more;
    • Ready to use – requires no editing, labelling or splicing. Categorized, organized and individually labeled files for maximum use efficiency;
    • FREE Updates to higher versions, FOREVER!

    Enrich your slot IP in seconds with beautifully mixed, AAA quality sounds brought to you by our team of industry veterans, whose 1000+ slot games worth of experience have culminated in this extraordinary sound pack!



    DON’T DELAY any longer, you are only a step away from bringing your game to life. Take action and DOWNLOAD NOW!

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