This software allows you to emulate mouse and keyboard inputs by using your voice. Common uses for this software are gaming and assistance for the disabled/injured. I wrote this program to assist me with playing various games including World of Warcraft. The software is free.

More infomation at
http://www.5hyphen.com/5hforum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=709

While I’m able to play WoW without difficulty, the reliance on Vent or other forms of voice chat frustrates my attempts to interact with guild, raids, or groups. Forcing other people to use text media isn’t really an option since hearing people, for whatever reason, prefer using their voice to communicate. Often, my guild or group members will have to sum up an entire conversation just to keep me involved.

For deaf gamers such as myself, there is no easy solution for convergences towards voice-driven player interactivity. Unless, of course, someone were to perfect a speech-to-text program!

Psst. The ADA was passed in 1990, not 1984.

Unfortunately…..

Saying Blizzard isn’t as committed to being accessible as they say they are is like saying you don’t care about the issue because you couldn’t be bothered to polish your writing more by removing fluff and/or breaking up the article into multiple posts to allow those with ADD and other learning disabilities to be able to read the entire article and comprehend it better.

Well, the fact of the matter is, you both obviously care because you got the ball rolling on your own, without prodding. (you for writing the article and researching it in the first place)

Blizzard created a fairly flexible ability to apply tweaks to aid accessibility through not only their own in-game tweaks, but giving others the tools to add tweaks of their own to carry that even further. The best part about this is that they started off with adding accessibility on their own, without needing to be badgered by a special interest group, and have continued to add onto it as you have mentioned. It’s no secret that blizzard allows UI mods so they can have a nice test laboratory to see what ideas they themselves may have missed, and have proven so by adding user-created ideas to the game in the past and is continuing in the expansion.

Basically, Blizzard set the bar for accessibility in an MMO. Is it any wonder that potential competitors will look at every aspect of what Blizz does and do their best to obliterate it with something vastly better? If the differences mean that much more, people will vote with their wallets. At what point though, does more accessibility become more of a crutch for those who can’t be bothered to take on a challenge than truly enabling someone to play the game who wasn’t able to before?

Several minor tweaks in the current UI of WoW (emote text for EVERY spoken emote, sound cues for some text-only things, a clearer, more legible font, etc.) will go a MUCH longer way towards improving accessibility than most people would like to admit.

One last note:

Don’t EVER consider the makers of Glider as ANY kind of ally. They are not and never will be. They have found, in taking the “we’re helping disabled people” line, a convenient, powerful, excuse to argue for continuing to make their software. Consider that the software was not created to help the disabled play the game so much as to automate farming and less “fun” activities in the game to those who couldn’t be bothered to play the WHOLE game. They could care less if their software can assist the disabled so as long as they can continue to sell it to those who are too lazy to play every aspect of the game.

MODs are a tricky issue, and this is going to sound controversial, but I think over-automation is just a crutch for lack of skill/practice. I can’t play a Rogue, their style of melee is just too fast for me, but I know able-bodied players who can’t handle Rogues for the exact same reason. I think skill level is kind of an under-discussed factor.

Both able-bodied and disabled gamers have strengths and weaknesses, but I think Blizzard is and will only further make sure the playing field is open to everyone.

First of all, Dwarf, let me say thank you for finding our site and doing such an in-depth research article on the subjects that matter most to us. I don’t know who in their right mind would send any hate mail for such a well thought out article.

The problem that the disabled community faces is the same struggle that every minority group has in the beginning; we need a central source that we can all go to in which to come together under common bonds.

Mark Barlet has helped with this problem by far and large in creating AbleGamers. We strive to be the site that no matter what your conditions may be, we have something that may help at least a little bit.

You say you are honored to get on Michelle’s radar, but it is us that are honored to be making enough noise to get onto your radar. The most important part of a grassroots campaign is to motivate those that will hear your cause and come to your aid. By posting articles such as this, you have come to our aid.

Together, all of us can make a difference in the gaming world. Together, we can get the attention of the big wigs in the gaming industry to let them know that we are here and we want to play, just like anyone else.

Steve Spohn