2012-04-16 19:42:04

The below news article complete with comments, can originally be found at:
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/13/ten-y … andmother/
I paste it here, for easier enjoyment.

Ten-year-old makes audio-only game for his blind grandmother
by JC Fletcher rss
on Apr 13th 2012 7:00PM

Ten-year-old Dylan Viale wanted to share his enjoyment of video games with his grandmother, who is blind. Instead of breathlessly narrating his own gameplay adventures, however, Viale downloaded the trial of Game Maker and taught himself how to make an audio-only game for her to play, the subject of a far too heartbreaking story by Kotaku's Jason Schreier.

Quacky's Quest is a maze game in which a duck collects diamonds and avoids spiders. Grandmother Sherry is able to navigate the maze by the distinctive sounds made by diamonds, nearby spiders, and solid walls. Rocks fill the space behind the player to avoid the confusion caused by walking in a space whose diamond has already been collected.

Viale designed the game with sprites and tiles (above), then turned them off for the final version, which Sherry had no trouble playing. He then entered it in his elementary school's science fair, where of course it won first place.

There are relatively few games that can be played with audio only – the Japan-only Game Boy game Soundvoyager is perhaps the most famous one. However, it's unlikely Dylan Viale knew about any of those, so he essentially invented the genre independently. That's worth a science fair medal.
Source: Kotaku

2012-04-16 20:17:05

some on quick go tell the journalist hes wrong lol. theres a whole genre of audio games lol. right here!

don't look back, cause you'll loose the road ahead.

2012-04-16 20:37:17

Hmmm I wander if he will ever publish the game?
Another maze game will absolutely rock

2012-04-16 21:00:49

My wife actually showed me this article this morning.

- Aprone
Please try out my games and programs:
Aprone's software

2012-04-16 21:37:28

Invented the genre?... Lol! Of course not...
Still interesting though...

To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour.
William Blake - Auguries of Innocence, line 1 to 4

2012-04-16 21:58:48

would deffinately be interested in checking it out thats for sure.  i think the big part about it realy is that a ten year old made a game lol, that pretty cool especial an audio game and for his grandma.

don't look back, cause you'll loose the road ahead.

2012-04-17 00:41:13

I think someone told me that a young child invented the game of Angry Birds. I mean the things that 10 year-olds can learn to do is just crazy!

Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company. - Mark Twain

2012-04-17 00:50:53

Actually the Angry birds game is just one in a long line of games that each copied off of the last.  I don't know what made that particular one get super popular but I've played games identical to it for many many years.  It's funny how one game will get popular while the rest won't.

- Aprone
Please try out my games and programs:
Aprone's software

2012-04-17 00:51:43

Hi,

I think as long as you have the patience and passion to do it, you could manage it at a very young age. For example, look at Yukio.

Of course, there's a difference between writing something completely from scratch, and using a game maker. Maths included. Ahem... Yeah, kinda have to appologise to Aprone here. Lol
But even that, I guess, could be learned if needed, and if one, again, has the patience and is willing to do it.
This guy should seriously join the audiogames.net forum. big_smile

--
Talon
Wanna play my Games? Listen to my Music? Follow me on Twitter, and say hi~
Code is poetry.

2012-04-17 01:36:14

Some more praise came from Mike Kalvo., the man behind Serotek,
http://serotek.com
, who said on twitter,
"This kid needs to come work for @Serotek!"

2012-04-17 05:01:01

a new genre? that's ridiculus!

but, thinking from a developers perspective, wouldn't it be interesting if you could use such tools as game maker to recreate mainstreem games to audiogames?

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2012-04-17 07:08:16

think what software did he used?

This is not a signature.

2012-04-17 10:21:43

Hi,

There is a link to it on the posts page.
Unfortunately, the game maker is inaccessible. So our best option is still to write something from scratch.

--
Talon
Wanna play my Games? Listen to my Music? Follow me on Twitter, and say hi~
Code is poetry.

2012-04-17 13:55:41

HI,
Yeah, I think whoever wrote that article should've done more research, since said Japanese games are hardly the most famous in Audiogames circles, and that is, as abouve said, hardly a new genre.

Best Regards,
Hayden

2012-04-18 11:40:18

ghorthalon,

while game maker may be inaccessible, it could be used by sighted people to make audiogames, right?

friends:
come and join my
facebook group!

2012-04-18 11:48:00

Hi,

Depending on the audio features of the Game Maker, most certainly.

As long as the maker is able to position sound, it should be possible indeed.

--
Talon
Wanna play my Games? Listen to my Music? Follow me on Twitter, and say hi~
Code is poetry.

2012-04-18 12:08:59

someone should just make an accessible something like angry birds, just to see, why its soo popular.

f.a.t.h.e.r

2012-05-31 15:53:37

Hi,

I was thinking of a plants vs. zombies clone, which I already added to my list of future projects. But I need to get my current ones done first. tongue

--
Talon
Wanna play my Games? Listen to my Music? Follow me on Twitter, and say hi~
Code is poetry.