2019-02-18 09:34:57

Hello.

What Atari 2600 is accessible for the blind?

Thanks.

2019-02-18 10:25:04

The only Atari 2600 emulators I'm aware of are Stella, BizHawk, MAME, and Emu7800 (which can play Atari 7800 games, but just like the real Atari 7800 hardware, Emu7800 is compatible with the 2600).

2019-02-18 12:21:57

@Cyco Really curious as to why you're interested in Atari 2600 games. I grew up on that console. In addition to emulation devices, there have been a number of Atari Flashback retro console remakes, collections on Xbox and PlayStation, including PSP, and a PC version of 100 Atari games (called Atari Vault, I think) released on Steam in 2016. As to how accessible they are, I doubt they're very accessible at all. While the game play in many is simple, I don't think they have the audio sophistication to convey where things are in the game space.

2019-02-18 12:55:55

Yup I got Atari flashback on my vita and Activision hits remix on my PSP. The first has 150 atari games and the second has over 50 Activision games with a killer 80s soundtrack. For me the hook is in the simplicity of the games rather than their accessibility. I found success in some games like kaboom, megamania and asteroids and tempest because they're easy to control and it's not hard to shoot stuff so the objective for clearing a stage is straight forward. Obviously games like pitfall and adventure are not playable. Not enough sound cues like wall sounds for mazes or pit warnings. But at least this way in having the collections I don't have to sort through the junk that crashed the gaming market to discover the good and playable stuff. There is an Atari game that's like Simon but with 12 notes. Spent a lot of time with that one lol.

2019-02-18 22:11:31

Hey, Blind sparrow.

That's a good question. The reason is that there are some games that are not available with those flashback systems and software.
I was going to download some of the games that I use to play when I had sight and played. I am going to have sighted help to play those games.
I have tried to get different developers to make audio versions of the games that I would love to play again.

2019-02-19 04:45:06

@Cyco Strangely, going back to games you liked 30 years ago can be deflating. I spent hundreds of hours playing the Atari 2600 games, absolutely hooked by them. But, now, a handful at best will keep my attention for longer than 10 minutes. I realise I'm drawn to them now because of the nostalgia of them.

Recreating audio versions would be tricky from an intellectual property perspective, but, even if you could, I'd suggest that it would be far better to create new, more interesting audio games than trying to recreate nostalgia that's wrapped up in more than just the game play and awesomely chunky sound effects.

2019-02-19 07:47:43

Four of the games that I would love to see a audio version are Frogger, Cosmic Ark, Halloween and Donkey Kong.
Please do not suggest any of the blind fold games. None of them are what I am looking for.
If the games could be turn into audio games they could have updated sounds and music. I know that the music from the arcade versions was cool.

2019-02-19 08:18:12

Haven't seen an audio frogger yet

2019-02-19 08:19:54

@Cyco Ah, now you're talking classics. The arcade versions of those games were great! Frogger would be an interesting one to tackle. The game play is simple enough, but helping the player understand the speed and position of what is beside them, ahead of them and behind them would be a fascinating challenge.

2019-02-20 11:17:32

Hello, Family Mario.

How do you use the Atari emulator? I downloaded the different ones you mention but I can't seem to control the games.
I tried to find the place where you can assigned the keys to work with the games.

Thanks.

2019-02-20 19:40:05

Hi.
Which emulator are you trying to use? Stella is inaccessible, if you're trying to use that one. As for the others, I'm not sure (I primarily use RetroArch to play my Atari games using a gamepad) so am not sure of the default keyboard controls.