Low-Vision Feedback Needed: Word-Puzzle Game Made by Completely-Blind developer

I'll have a play around with this later and let you know how I go. I am completely blind.

Hi Zach!

I’m new to this forum and still familiarizing myself with etiquette and terminology for visual and hearing impairment, so if I say anything that comes across as tone deaf, I apologize in advance.

I’m testing with an iPhone 13. I’m currently researching game design for visual and hearing impaired gamers for my next game. I don’t consider myself a hardcore gamer. I have one game on the App Store that is not accessible. I have never played this genre of game, but have unscrambled word puzzles in the past.

I love the simple and clean design of the Home Screen.

The menu with Puzzles, How to Play, Stats, Setting, Credits should be centered between the Page title and copyright notice. It’s currently aligned too low and hugs the copyright notice.

I would divide the Welcome to Zanagrams text on the Home Screen into 2 lines. The game's name or logo could be the page title with a friendly subtitle below.

Example:
Line one: Zanagrams
Line two: Welcome Word Genius!

Maybe consider having the name Zanagrams as a logo graphic instead of text.

The Home and Puzzle screens use a linear color blend from the top to the bottom, while the How To Play, Stats and Credits screens use a radial color blend. I think the linear blend on the Home Screen makes the text easier to read.

If you stick with a color blend for the page backgrounds, I would put the darker color on the bottom and lighter one on top. Currently, green is on top and yellow is on the bottom. I would reverse it.

The background colors aren’t my favorite. I think some brighter colors would work better. Maybe even a lighter background with faded random letters to give it some polish.

The page text that’s black is easy to read, but the white text on the credits page is more difficult.

All of the text hugs the edge of the screens, text boxes and menu drop downs. I would use padding to move text inwards to give it some breathing room.

The How to Play text is too long and confusing to me. I think it can be simplified. I stopped reading it and jumped into the game to see if I could just figure it out myself. When I had difficulty understanding what to do in the game, I jumped back to the help text.

I’m not a master of general knowledge or trivia. While I’m a helicopter pilot and the theme Aeronautics appeals to me, I think topics like that might have little broad appeal unless you’re targeting a more educated audience.

Here are some ideas that would make this game more appealing to me.

I think I would prefer one puzzle, or sentence, to solve on the screen at a time. The list of unrelated topics on each page threw me off and I wasn’t sure what to do.

The puzzle packs could be grouped by theme like Aeronautics, Nature, etc. For example, I select the Nature pack, solve the first puzzle and move to the next screen for the second puzzle of that theme pack and so forth.

To make me feel like a winner, I would like the scrambled puzzles to go from simple to harder. That way, I score some points and return later to try the one’s I couldn’t solve.

About the game icon of "Z" made of of small letters. I would consider using a solid Z for the app icon. The green over black almost makes the icon seem solid black. I think the Z would pop more with a lighter color.

Good luck with the game! Feel free to let me know if you want me to expand on any of this.

Cheers!

As a voiceover user, who loves puzzles, this is just the game I’ve been looking for. I love the concept and layout. However, I also had a suggestion. I would be more likely to play this long term if the app itself was paid and all the puzzles in it were free.

Hi Zach!

Just curious, what programs are you using to create this game? My preference has been Unity.

I think your idea of stating something like, "A pack of 10 unthawed Zanagrams for an extra layer of challenge," would work well for someone unfamiliar with the genre like me who doesn't know what "word salad" means.

I'm thrilled that I completed a Zanagram because I was initially bad at this and finally got into the groove of things. Excellent job on stickiness! Now that I see how this game works, I can see myself completing another.

I like the sound effects.

I think your scoring is fine. I was eluding to the difficulty of solving puzzles in each group going from easy to more complex. It would encourage inexperienced players like me to continue and return to the game, even if they couldn't solve the most challenging puzzles in each group. But that feedback is just based on me being a casual player and not being experienced at playing many different types of games.

My first non-accessible game was just to test the waters of getting a game published on the App Store. Since then, I've been excited about the idea and challenge of creating games that are inherently accessible through design.

I have a lot to learn. I appreciate your offer for reaching out when I'm ready to test some ideas.

Wishing you continued success on your game dev journey!

Hi zac, how are you
Hope you're doing well.
As a blind person using voice over, I'd like to learn coding and your game sounds interesting
Can I only try it on test flight?
Also could you give me some tips if you don't mind.
I'm a complete beginner And I don't have a clue where to start
How can I learn.
OUT of interest too, what coding platform program did you learn? and use?