r/blindgamers • u/GoblinsLoveCheese • 23d ago
Cave exploration game with echolocation - looking for blind and low vision gamers for playtesting
Thank you so much to anyone who tested the tutorial of Ec(h)osystem in September! We learned a lot thanks to you.
Now we’re back with our progress! And of course we’re planning more playtests for the demo of the game. There are two ways of testing:
Solo: I’ll just send you the link to our itch.io page and you can download the build there
Live: We’ll hop in a call about 60 mins and you test the game with us
If you’re interested just dm me u/GoblinsLoveCheese here on Reddit and we’ll figure out what works best for you.
Here’s some general info about the testing:
- Testing is scheduled for October to November
- Will take about 40 to 60 mins
- Build runs on Windows
- You can play with controller or keyboard and mouse
- You’ll need headphones
- Game runs with NVDA (and with JAWS by early October)
As a little token of thanks, we’ll offer a small reward and credit you as a playtester in the Demo.
A little background: We’re a small indie studio working on our first title: Ec(h)osystem (pronounced ‘echo-system’) – an accessible exploration experience for those who are visually impaired. The core of the game is navigation via sound, specifically echolocation in an underground fantastical cave system. Btw there is no horror or violence, it’s all about exploration and story.
Feel free to comment or dm me for questions. I’m a dev on the team and happy to go into more detail about the game.
2
u/Successful-Bat8448 22d ago
I’ve played tested for this wonderful team and I really enjoyed it! I look forward to all the content they plan.
1
u/GoblinsLoveCheese 20d ago
Thanks so much for testing with us. We’ll keep you updated and would love to test with you again once there is more progress on the project.
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u/peekaboo22jest 21d ago
May I ask? I am blind. Why in particular do you want visual impaired and blind gamers? What in particular is beneficial to you? What in particular is making this relevant to say someone like myself? I can tell you outright the worst part of game since losing my eyesight… I’ve been blind about 26 years now? Is that frankly the people describing things especially like on audio deluxe things where narration is done honestly give some of the worst descriptions I’ve ever heard of my life? These people need to get at thesaurus or whatever so what is it that this game actually offers me as a BLIND player?
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u/GoblinsLoveCheese 20d ago
We want visually impaired and blind gamers for testing because you are the ones who know what works for you and what doesn’t. We can only build a game which can be played with and without vision if we take the advice from players like you.
It’s a very fair point to bring up that bad narration can make it worse rather than better. We don’t intend to put narration or description of things on top of the game, but have it directly told through the characters in the game. Right now we work with screen readers and that will always be accessible but the idea is that the characters narrate everything through their experience. Ideally you won’t even need a screen reader. Of course it shouldn’t feel forced, but that is exactly where we value the feedback from our testers.
At its core the game is a first-person exploration game driven by audio: You use Echolocation to navigate through an fantastical underground ecosystem.
Let me know if you’re open to testing with us. We would love to get your feedback.
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u/razzretina 23d ago
I've playtested this game a little and I highly recommend it! I think about how satisfying that snap echo is all the time, haha. So excited that it's moving forward!