there are several reasons. Firstly, apple doesn't let me charge for any game center related features, which means that the months of time I spent building the infrastructure for multiplayer games,would see no return on that investment. Secondly, based on the feedback I got from other players testing the with-friends games, there's a lot less confusion when resuming games if the app only does one style game or the other. Often they resume a game, and ended up resuming the computer-player game instead of their friend's game.
So in order to play with friends, I'll have to pay again to do so? And what about other games which gain game-center compatibility? Will we have to pay for the in-app upgrades twice (coins, game variants, etc)? This is IMHO a bad idea, and really feels like a slap in the face.
Hello. I do love all of your games and how they are designed, but one thing that I get vary picky about especially if you are a producer like me is sound quality. All of the sounds seems to be in either 92 or 64 K. Is there a reason for this and if you could spice them up a bit to use 128 K or even 260? that would actually make everything sound good in the long run. Your air hockey is a good example of this because most if not all of the sounds are in a nigher quality it seems like but, your other games sound wise, now... this is just my thoughts on this, could use work in the sound design department. I hope you don't take this personally, but other than that, I love all of your games.
I haven't read this comment before. Many of the sounds on the first 15 games, or so, I found on free sound effects websites, and used an MP3 version. With the newer games, I switched to WAV files, and buy the sounds from SoundDogs or other similar sites. WAV files, unlike MP3 files, don't have a tenth of a second of silence at the start, so they sound better. If you let me know which games and which sounds are bad, I can check them.
I'm picky about sounds too, but think of this. If he used a different file format for sounds, it could raise the size of the app if the sounds were uncompressed. and there's a lot of folks like me who only have a 16 gig iPhone, and that's too small these days for some apps. I can't keep every app I've ever purchased. So I'm sure he could have better sounds but it comes at the cost of making the app size bigger, overall.
I'll bet this would greatly increase the size of the apps. People who use iDevices with small storage capacity would not appreciate it if this is the case.
I would like to see a Blindfold Jeopardy or something like that. You'd be amazed at how many inaccessible games are out there that would be fun to play. If they were accessible. I am really enjoyiog your games.
That game is copyrighted. If anyone knows of a similar game that's inspired by Jeopardy, with some changes that don't infringe on the copyright, let me know.
Hi. I've gotta say that while I think the blindfold games series is truly excellent, I am a bit annoyed that while new games are being pumped out every five minutes, old ones like blindfold hopper are not being fixed or updated. I emailed the developer a couple of months ago for example, complaining about the fact that while I was able to purchase the ability to adjust my hop speed with points and it shows up as a purchase in my infantry, it is not recognised as purchased in my settings. Of course this means I can only go so far with and in the game. I also have made mention of what I call a fictitious fly sound in the harder levels. This is just downright annoying and confusing. I even tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app, hoping that that might fix these issues. Sadly it didn't.
I don't remember the email - I'll check it. Other than issues with gaining coins for videos, I haven't had any hopper bug reports. The new version switches audio engines, and a different method for coins (similar to bowling), but since I was afraid it would have other small problems, I've held it back. And only one person in the group of testers has played with it. Please email me again at marty@kidfriendlysoftware.com
I've had several suggestions to let you play your own music in the games. I can build a feature where you can import a song from your iTunes playlist, and then I can start adding it to each game, but I would need to make it an inexpensive in-app upgrade to cost-justify the development. What price would be appropriate?
Thanks.
Apple sets the minimum price of any in-app upgrade at $1.00 (actually 99 cents). They keep 30%. Are you talking about a per-song charge or a one-time charge for the feature?
I would rather have the arm movements. I loved when Wii gaming was popular.
Also, I know it doesn't follow the theme, but I'd love to see some simulation games like business tycoon type ideas, and life simulations or farming simulations. In the realm of card games and board games I would love to see clue, monopoly, or any other similar strategy type games.
Also, color crush is addicting. The speed at which you are releasing these apps is incredible. I am so appreciative of all the games you have made.
Ads are not always available; that depends on the advertisers and how many people are responding to the ad by tapping on it. When less people tap, the advertiser thinks its not worth as much to advertise on the app, and less videos are available.
I would like to see a truly simulated football game. WIth playbooks, coaching stradigies, season play etc. Online play, yes, and don't say it can't be done. And before anyone says for me to stop acting like a hardcore gamer I've played everything from the Nes, to the PlayStation 3. Now that the PS4 and Xbox one are working on access, and there is the possibility that developers may come on board, It's time that we as the blind community stop dealing with games that limit our abilities. I've played football, baseball, hockey, basketball, wrestling, and fighting games. These games are mainstream, and are visual. While the idea of audio games are wonderful, unless we break out of the "You are blind and need to use your hearing" storyline, we are limited, and are left out of equal access to mainstream gaming interfaces. I would love to see the gaming modes in the EA sports football games accessible. THe ability for narrator on the xbox 1 to read all the menus and options, truly creating a wonderful interface for blind gamers. Time, and constant feedback will tell. As for the company we are discussing here. If these games do not have online access, replay value is limited. Accessible tenis, yes, football, yes, and I know enough of the rules to get you started. Basketball, sure it can be done. I could come up with about 30 more ideas. Happy gaming to all of you and Merry Christmas!
I would like to see a Blindfold Euchre game. A lot of colleagues at work play the game and I would love to join, but would love to play at my own pace and learn, then eventually I'll be able to play with my colleagues.
Another idea, more for an add-on for Blindfold Video Poker, would be a Texas Hold'Em.
Thanks for all the game, definitely enjoy playing all of them and keep buying all the in app purchases for all the games I play, which is pretty much all Blindfold games. Love supporting developpers who take the time to make their apps accessible. Keep it up!
What I meant was that apple would not let us charge separately for any multi-player features, and that from the emails I received, people would get confused as to which game - computer versus a real person - they were resuming a game with. So, the easiest solution was to split the games, and make sure that anyone who had purchased a game that came with both variants would not have to pay anything else. Crazy 8 with Friends is the first game to move to this new scenario. And yes, the war game operates under the old method.
With your gaming experience and your ideas, work on learning the programming and enhance our experiences. There are a lot of people that have views similar to yours, and the accessibility hasn't been put into these mainstream games that you complain about not beig accesible. If you want it, create it. Then deal with the copyright issues. And the marketing. And, if you've played all of these games, let us know how. I cannot play visually oriented games that have no audible cues as to when to fire or where to aim. I have heard people say that they can play these games simply by hitting the buttons rapidly enough to score occasionally through luck. To me, that's not playing the game using skill. I want to know what to do, when, and where, using my skills rather than a randomly lucky shot. Also, personally, I would rather be a player than a manager in a sports game. I would rather perform the action than decide which player does it and rely on statistics to determine the outcome. I would rather be the driver of a racecar than the car owner or mechanic on the pit crew.
Hi. I've just been playing mainstream tennis game on the fourth gen Apple TV and it works like the Nintendo Wii as you have to play with arm actions. I can't see the ball but I'm managing to return the ball by listening to the sound of the bounce which enables me to return the serve The player on screen automatically runs to the ball so all I have to do is swing my arm when the ball is coming towards me It would be great if you released your tennis game on the Apple TV platform
Hello,
I would really like to see a Mahjong puzzle game. I use to play this a lot back when I was younger and could see. Some other games I would like to see is a good darts game or pool if it is possible. Pool use to be one of my favorite games to go out and play in the evenings when I could see.
I have so many Blindfold games, I'm going to put them in their own folder!
A pinball game would be fun, or a Space Invaders game, with different kinds of targets requiring different ways of shooting them.
I have a Windows golf game from Kitchen Sink I'd love to have in IOS. This is how it works:
For each hole, it describes how far away the hole is, and what is par. Then I choose the club I want, by number and type, say, 5 iron. Then a rising sound starts to play, representing the power of my swing. I tap the screen when I have reached the level I want. Sometimes, my ball falls into a sand trap, requiring a different kind of stroke, or a pond, giving me a 0 for that shot. Once I get on the green, it automatically gives me a putter, and the same power sound. After the ball falls in the hole, it tells me what I got--birdie, par, bogey, awful ... and my total score.
The Kitchen Sink game has great environmental sounds, making me feel like I'm out on a course, and an appreciative crowd to cheer me on. It also has a wide variety of courses, to keep it interesting, and the ability to create my own course.
I don't know if this would be doable in IOS, but most of it seems possible.
I am working on a menu app that will bring you directly to any of the games, so you can put all of them in a folder, and only keep the menu on the screen. As to Jim's Golf Game - I checked it out, and its interesting but I think something for the phone needs more gestures to emulate golfing. It's on my list of games to build.
I would like a game similar to park boss for the I Phone. In that game, you have to build your park from scratch, borrow from the bank, add and remove attractions, hire staff, advertise so that more people could come, set food and ticket prices and so on. It would be cool to have a game like this.
I would love to have something similar to park boss, or something similar to Aprone's pawprints or U-mart. Following those concepts would be awesome. Ornella is so right.
When it comes to vehicles and relations there's one that I've never quite been able to understand. The airship otherwise known as the dirigible. It's a good idea and if you have time please make it happen. Those are my two cents. Another idea might be an airplane simulator. Or perhaps submarines. Most of these things are possible. I also would love the idea of having a car dealership, and being able to control it. Games like that are very fun.
Rather than having another developer work on making an already existing game accessible, how about contacting the developer of the already existing game with suggestions on making the game playable by blind people using Voice-Over? The copyright issue would not be a factor.
I appreciate game developers when they make conscious efforts to make their apps accessible, but I realise that there are many who do not understand that people who use assistive technologies like VoiceOver want to play their games. With games like Candy Crush Saga with enormous development teams and millions of players around the world, King.com will never make their game accessible to such a small minority–they will not even make their game playable by people who are colour-blind. For this reason, I also appreciate developers like KidFriendlySoftware who make different styles of games accessible to level the playing field. I will play any game from either a mainstream or a developer specifically committed to the needs of people who are blind if it means I can have a full experience of the game.
Thanks. One of the long term goals of this project is to solve the marketing and distribution problem for reaching visually impaired people. It's quite difficult to get the word out. Once this is solved, there will be more incentive for other developers to pursue this market.
How do you know they won't do anything if you don't even take the time and make the effort to find out by asking? They might just need to be made aware of Voice-Over and the awareness that blind people could play their games and use teir apps if accessibility were part of the design. But automatically saying that they won't helps nobody at all.
Not only are iDevices more blind friendly, and not only are they used by more blind people due to that accessibility, but developers don't have to worry about supporting so many different phone brands and models and all of the different platforms that the phones run on. Also, Android devices are more easily plagued by spyWare and malWare due to the fact that they are not part of a closed system as Apple and their iDevices and the app store are. You're better off sticking with what is safe and more used due to the accessibilty.
Comments
bowling with friends
I'll do that once I get crazy 8 and wildcard with friends completely bug free.
with friends
there are several reasons. Firstly, apple doesn't let me charge for any game center related features, which means that the months of time I spent building the infrastructure for multiplayer games,would see no return on that investment. Secondly, based on the feedback I got from other players testing the with-friends games, there's a lot less confusion when resuming games if the app only does one style game or the other. Often they resume a game, and ended up resuming the computer-player game instead of their friend's game.
scrabble
it's copyrighted, so it might be rather tricky to make a scrabble clone. When I get around to it, I might look at scrabble-inspired games instead.
So in order to play with
So in order to play with friends, I'll have to pay again to do so? And what about other games which gain game-center compatibility? Will we have to pay for the in-app upgrades twice (coins, game variants, etc)? This is IMHO a bad idea, and really feels like a slap in the face.
No paying again
Anyone who purchased the in-app multiplayer upgrade will get the new version at no charge.
Sound quallity
Hello. I do love all of your games and how they are designed, but one thing that I get vary picky about especially if you are a producer like me is sound quality. All of the sounds seems to be in either 92 or 64 K. Is there a reason for this and if you could spice them up a bit to use 128 K or even 260? that would actually make everything sound good in the long run. Your air hockey is a good example of this because most if not all of the sounds are in a nigher quality it seems like but, your other games sound wise, now... this is just my thoughts on this, could use work in the sound design department. I hope you don't take this personally, but other than that, I love all of your games.
Sounds
I haven't read this comment before. Many of the sounds on the first 15 games, or so, I found on free sound effects websites, and used an MP3 version. With the newer games, I switched to WAV files, and buy the sounds from SoundDogs or other similar sites. WAV files, unlike MP3 files, don't have a tenth of a second of silence at the start, so they sound better. If you let me know which games and which sounds are bad, I can check them.
App size is also a consideration
I'm picky about sounds too, but think of this. If he used a different file format for sounds, it could raise the size of the app if the sounds were uncompressed. and there's a lot of folks like me who only have a 16 gig iPhone, and that's too small these days for some apps. I can't keep every app I've ever purchased. So I'm sure he could have better sounds but it comes at the cost of making the app size bigger, overall.
sound quality
I'll bet this would greatly increase the size of the apps. People who use iDevices with small storage capacity would not appreciate it if this is the case.
another game suggestion
I would like to see a Blindfold Jeopardy or something like that. You'd be amazed at how many inaccessible games are out there that would be fun to play. If they were accessible. I am really enjoyiog your games.
Jeopardy
That game is copyrighted. If anyone knows of a similar game that's inspired by Jeopardy, with some changes that don't infringe on the copyright, let me know.
Blindfold hopper.
Hi. I've gotta say that while I think the blindfold games series is truly excellent, I am a bit annoyed that while new games are being pumped out every five minutes, old ones like blindfold hopper are not being fixed or updated. I emailed the developer a couple of months ago for example, complaining about the fact that while I was able to purchase the ability to adjust my hop speed with points and it shows up as a purchase in my infantry, it is not recognised as purchased in my settings. Of course this means I can only go so far with and in the game. I also have made mention of what I call a fictitious fly sound in the harder levels. This is just downright annoying and confusing. I even tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app, hoping that that might fix these issues. Sadly it didn't.
Hopper
I don't remember the email - I'll check it. Other than issues with gaining coins for videos, I haven't had any hopper bug reports. The new version switches audio engines, and a different method for coins (similar to bowling), but since I was afraid it would have other small problems, I've held it back. And only one person in the group of testers has played with it. Please email me again at marty@kidfriendlysoftware.com
Games similar to jeopardy
Are you smarter than a fifth grader is a game that is similar to jeopardy
jeopardy
I'll look into it
Music in all of the games
I've had several suggestions to let you play your own music in the games. I can build a feature where you can import a song from your iTunes playlist, and then I can start adding it to each game, but I would need to make it an inexpensive in-app upgrade to cost-justify the development. What price would be appropriate?
Thanks.
The upgrade price should be $0.50
I think the best price to upgrade to be able to import music to the app should be $0.50 or $0.80.
Pricing
Apple sets the minimum price of any in-app upgrade at $1.00 (actually 99 cents). They keep 30%. Are you talking about a per-song charge or a one-time charge for the feature?
tennis and future games
I would rather have the arm movements. I loved when Wii gaming was popular.
Also, I know it doesn't follow the theme, but I'd love to see some simulation games like business tycoon type ideas, and life simulations or farming simulations. In the realm of card games and board games I would love to see clue, monopoly, or any other similar strategy type games.
Also, color crush is addicting. The speed at which you are releasing these apps is incredible. I am so appreciative of all the games you have made.
Koins in hopper
Hello. I can't receive koins in hopper. I watch video, there is message on the screen that i received koins, but i didn't. Where will it be fixed?
Coins for ads
Ads are not always available; that depends on the advertisers and how many people are responding to the ad by tapping on it. When less people tap, the advertiser thinks its not worth as much to advertise on the app, and less videos are available.
tower defense
I also agree with someone else on this thread that said a tower defense game would be nice.
my views on this topic
I would like to see a truly simulated football game. WIth playbooks, coaching stradigies, season play etc. Online play, yes, and don't say it can't be done. And before anyone says for me to stop acting like a hardcore gamer I've played everything from the Nes, to the PlayStation 3. Now that the PS4 and Xbox one are working on access, and there is the possibility that developers may come on board, It's time that we as the blind community stop dealing with games that limit our abilities. I've played football, baseball, hockey, basketball, wrestling, and fighting games. These games are mainstream, and are visual. While the idea of audio games are wonderful, unless we break out of the "You are blind and need to use your hearing" storyline, we are limited, and are left out of equal access to mainstream gaming interfaces. I would love to see the gaming modes in the EA sports football games accessible. THe ability for narrator on the xbox 1 to read all the menus and options, truly creating a wonderful interface for blind gamers. Time, and constant feedback will tell. As for the company we are discussing here. If these games do not have online access, replay value is limited. Accessible tenis, yes, football, yes, and I know enough of the rules to get you started. Basketball, sure it can be done. I could come up with about 30 more ideas. Happy gaming to all of you and Merry Christmas!
Blindfold Veihcle Simulators
I know there is a game called Blindfold Racer, but other veihcle simulators would be great, and you can race other players and stuff like that! :)
More simulators
Those are coming.
online play as a separate app?
quite a few posts back, you said apple no longer lets you have online and offline games in the one app.
If that's the case, why does blindfold war give you the choice to play against the computer or someone online?
Is it simply because the game hasn't been updated?
That game asks you whether you wish to play the computer or someone online, so I'm not sure why you can't do the others the same way.
Blindfold Euchre
I would like to see a Blindfold Euchre game. A lot of colleagues at work play the game and I would love to join, but would love to play at my own pace and learn, then eventually I'll be able to play with my colleagues.
Another idea, more for an add-on for Blindfold Video Poker, would be a Texas Hold'Em.
Thanks for all the game, definitely enjoy playing all of them and keep buying all the in app purchases for all the games I play, which is pretty much all Blindfold games. Love supporting developpers who take the time to make their apps accessible. Keep it up!
Clarification
What I meant was that apple would not let us charge separately for any multi-player features, and that from the emails I received, people would get confused as to which game - computer versus a real person - they were resuming a game with. So, the easiest solution was to split the games, and make sure that anyone who had purchased a game that came with both variants would not have to pay anything else. Crazy 8 with Friends is the first game to move to this new scenario. And yes, the war game operates under the old method.
Eurche
It's on the list.
get 'er done
With your gaming experience and your ideas, work on learning the programming and enhance our experiences. There are a lot of people that have views similar to yours, and the accessibility hasn't been put into these mainstream games that you complain about not beig accesible. If you want it, create it. Then deal with the copyright issues. And the marketing. And, if you've played all of these games, let us know how. I cannot play visually oriented games that have no audible cues as to when to fire or where to aim. I have heard people say that they can play these games simply by hitting the buttons rapidly enough to score occasionally through luck. To me, that's not playing the game using skill. I want to know what to do, when, and where, using my skills rather than a randomly lucky shot. Also, personally, I would rather be a player than a manager in a sports game. I would rather perform the action than decide which player does it and rely on statistics to determine the outcome. I would rather be the driver of a racecar than the car owner or mechanic on the pit crew.
Tennis
Hi. I've just been playing mainstream tennis game on the fourth gen Apple TV and it works like the Nintendo Wii as you have to play with arm actions. I can't see the ball but I'm managing to return the ball by listening to the sound of the bounce which enables me to return the serve The player on screen automatically runs to the ball so all I have to do is swing my arm when the ball is coming towards me It would be great if you released your tennis game on the Apple TV platform
Some game suggestions
Hello,
I would really like to see a Mahjong puzzle game. I use to play this a lot back when I was younger and could see. Some other games I would like to see is a good darts game or pool if it is possible. Pool use to be one of my favorite games to go out and play in the evenings when I could see.
Regards,
Greg Wocher
Mahjong
I'll look into it
New Blindfold games
I have so many Blindfold games, I'm going to put them in their own folder!
A pinball game would be fun, or a Space Invaders game, with different kinds of targets requiring different ways of shooting them.
I have a Windows golf game from Kitchen Sink I'd love to have in IOS. This is how it works:
For each hole, it describes how far away the hole is, and what is par. Then I choose the club I want, by number and type, say, 5 iron. Then a rising sound starts to play, representing the power of my swing. I tap the screen when I have reached the level I want. Sometimes, my ball falls into a sand trap, requiring a different kind of stroke, or a pond, giving me a 0 for that shot. Once I get on the green, it automatically gives me a putter, and the same power sound. After the ball falls in the hole, it tells me what I got--birdie, par, bogey, awful ... and my total score.
The Kitchen Sink game has great environmental sounds, making me feel like I'm out on a course, and an appreciative crowd to cheer me on. It also has a wide variety of courses, to keep it interesting, and the ability to create my own course.
I don't know if this would be doable in IOS, but most of it seems possible.
Games
I am working on a menu app that will bring you directly to any of the games, so you can put all of them in a folder, and only keep the menu on the screen. As to Jim's Golf Game - I checked it out, and its interesting but I think something for the phone needs more gestures to emulate golfing. It's on my list of games to build.
another game suggestion
I would like a game similar to park boss for the I Phone. In that game, you have to build your park from scratch, borrow from the bank, add and remove attractions, hire staff, advertise so that more people could come, set food and ticket prices and so on. It would be cool to have a game like this.
park boss, yes.
I would love to have something similar to park boss, or something similar to Aprone's pawprints or U-mart. Following those concepts would be awesome. Ornella is so right.
Games like pawprints
Have you contacted the developer? Maybe he or she will move the program to a smart phone.
triple triad?
I'm not sure if you've heard of this game, it's quite popular among those people that play final fantasy.
It's called triple triad.
The developer of pawprints made his unique version.
Basically, you have a bunch of tiles with corresponding numbers, those numbers have an attack strength.
This page will probably be better explaining the rules.
I only know the basics.
They have this game in the app store I think, but unfortunately it's not accessible.
You'll probably need to call it something different because of the whole copyrite thing.
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Triple_Triad
Airship simulator.
When it comes to vehicles and relations there's one that I've never quite been able to understand. The airship otherwise known as the dirigible. It's a good idea and if you have time please make it happen. Those are my two cents. Another idea might be an airplane simulator. Or perhaps submarines. Most of these things are possible. I also would love the idea of having a car dealership, and being able to control it. Games like that are very fun.
Recent suggestions
I'll check out those game ideas.
Bundles
I agree with person that suggested putting games with unlimited play in bundles. For example cards games bundle and unlimited play for 9.99.
contact the game developer
Rather than having another developer work on making an already existing game accessible, how about contacting the developer of the already existing game with suggestions on making the game playable by blind people using Voice-Over? The copyright issue would not be a factor.
for Some games it is
for Some games it is impossible because there are visual and developers of these games i thinkwill do nothing for us.
Android
I thing if you will create android version of these games they will be more popular. In my opinion, android is more popular then ios devices.
android vs. ios
From what I've heard, ios is far more popular with visually impaired community in the USA.
Game developers
I appreciate game developers when they make conscious efforts to make their apps accessible, but I realise that there are many who do not understand that people who use assistive technologies like VoiceOver want to play their games. With games like Candy Crush Saga with enormous development teams and millions of players around the world, King.com will never make their game accessible to such a small minority–they will not even make their game playable by people who are colour-blind. For this reason, I also appreciate developers like KidFriendlySoftware who make different styles of games accessible to level the playing field. I will play any game from either a mainstream or a developer specifically committed to the needs of people who are blind if it means I can have a full experience of the game.
Games
Thanks. One of the long term goals of this project is to solve the marketing and distribution problem for reaching visually impaired people. It's quite difficult to get the word out. Once this is solved, there will be more incentive for other developers to pursue this market.
your defeatist attitude won't get us anywhere
How do you know they won't do anything if you don't even take the time and make the effort to find out by asking? They might just need to be made aware of Voice-Over and the awareness that blind people could play their games and use teir apps if accessibility were part of the design. But automatically saying that they won't helps nobody at all.
you are correct by far!
Not only are iDevices more blind friendly, and not only are they used by more blind people due to that accessibility, but developers don't have to worry about supporting so many different phone brands and models and all of the different platforms that the phones run on. Also, Android devices are more easily plagued by spyWare and malWare due to the fact that they are not part of a closed system as Apple and their iDevices and the app store are. You're better off sticking with what is safe and more used due to the accessibilty.