Crippling phobias

[brythain]

I don't see how you can be afraid of a concept you've never been experienced to, and most likely never will.

The actual darkness obviously won't scare them in a "oh gosh I can't see" sort of way, but it might in a "I don't know what's around me" way, which is something even sighted people experience. Are there blind people especially prone to that?

Legally blind people can still differentiate between light and darkness (and lots in between), and darkness (complete or partial) does deprive them of some sensory information.

[Atario]

The actual darkness obviously won't scare them in a "oh gosh I can't see" sort of way, but it might in a "I don't know what's around me" way, which is something even sighted people experience. Are there blind people especially prone to that?

I'd think you get used to it tout de suite.

[Guest Poster]

It would make sense for some blind people to be scared by total silence though.

[Potato]

Is it possible for blind people to fear the dark?

Not sure if serious…

Maybe for legally-blind like Kenji?

No, I'm totally serious. Can blind people be afraid of the fact that they are surrounded by darkness constantly, in the same way somebody with sight would be if they were put in an unfamiliar pitch black room?

Only insofar as the non-blind can be afraid of light. And I've never seen that (though you do get your odd specimen specifically afraid of sunlight but there's generally a particular reason for that).

[emmjay]

It would make sense for some blind people to be scared by total silence though.

Considering that total silence for a blind person is somewhat analogous to total darkness for a sighted person (i.e. no sensory information from the sense they rely on most), yeah, I could see that. Although at least a blind person can generate their own sound (for echolocation purposes and such), a sighted person can't generate their own light without appropriate tools.

[Munchenhausen]

I don't see how you can be afraid of a concept you've never been experienced to, and most likely never will.

The actual darkness obviously won't scare them in a "oh gosh I can't see" sort of way, but it might in a "I don't know what's around me" way, which is something even sighted people experience. Are there blind people especially prone to that?

What if you put Lilly in an empty, soundproof room and stand her on a table?
No sight, no sound, she won't be able to feel her way around...

Fuck it, I'd be scared.

[SpunkySix]

I don't see how you can be afraid of a concept you've never been experienced to, and most likely never will.

The actual darkness obviously won't scare them in a "oh gosh I can't see" sort of way, but it might in a "I don't know what's around me" way, which is something even sighted people experience. Are there blind people especially prone to that?

What if you put Lilly in an empty, soundproof room and stand her on a table?
No sight, no sound, she won't be able to feel her way around...

Fuck it, I'd be scared.

I wonder if they could make a horror game that worked for blind people based on something similar to that concept. Like, it was totally pitch black, but there were some freaky noises around and you only had those and your tapping to rely on to navigate. And sometimes, that would fail and you'd have to figure out why based on context alone.

[Munchenhausen]

I wonder if they could make a horror game that worked for blind people based on something similar to that concept. Like, it was totally pitch black, but there were some freaky noises around and you only had those and your tapping to rely on to navigate. And sometimes, that would fail and you'd have to figure out why based on context alone.

That reminds me of a particular browser game, except it's not a horror game so much as it's a simulator.

[SpunkySix]

I wonder if they could make a horror game that worked for blind people based on something similar to that concept. Like, it was totally pitch black, but there were some freaky noises around and you only had those and your tapping to rely on to navigate. And sometimes, that would fail and you'd have to figure out why based on context alone.

That reminds me of a particular browser game, except it's not a horror game so much as it's a simulator.

I keep walking into busses.

[ParagonTerminus]

Put Lilly in here and see how long she lasts.

[metalangel]

I wonder if they could make a horror game that worked for blind people based on something similar to that concept. Like, it was totally pitch black, but there were some freaky noises around and you only had those and your tapping to rely on to navigate. And sometimes, that would fail and you'd have to figure out why based on context alone.

There is this mod for Half-Life 2: http://www.moddb.com/mods/blind-monks-society

Not really horror.

Failing and having to figure why based on context? I don't know how that could work, never mind even communicating that you've failed. You take away the ability to see and unfortunately, with very expensive proprietary equipment, the computer is unable to simulate your touch, taste and smell which would all be useful in navigating, not to mention knowing when you're being attacked or incapacitated.

[Atario]

Put Lilly in here and see how long she lasts.

I bet Shizune could go for hours.

[Potato]

never mind even communicating that you've failed.

Generally, game-over screens are permitted to break immersion. It could just plain tell you.

And as for being attacked, that's what vibration is for. Just place it in different areas of the controller to simulate direction.

@Atario: In bed.

[Atario]

@Atario: In bed.

Fistbump

[SpunkySix]

I wonder if they could make a horror game that worked for blind people based on something similar to that concept. Like, it was totally pitch black, but there were some freaky noises around and you only had those and your tapping to rely on to navigate. And sometimes, that would fail and you'd have to figure out why based on context alone.

Failing and having to figure why based on context? I don't know how that could work, never mind even communicating that you've failed. You take away the ability to see and unfortunately, with very expensive proprietary equipment, the computer is unable to simulate your touch, taste and smell which would all be useful in navigating, not to mention knowing when you're being attacked or incapacitated.

There's a lot of creative solutions to this. When I said, "fail" I meant "fail to have your tapping work", not fail as in "kills you dead, game over". Maybe you're tapping along on the floor and you hit a wall, (marked by a rumble and a soft impact sound) and all of a sudden the tapping stops working, but you felt rumbling and heard the sound of a small door opening up. You know to move forward because the door opened up, but when you move forward into the new room some, the tapping stops sounding. There's a hole in the floor, and you need to stop walking forward or you're going to die.

A lot of crazy stuff could be done to play on the fear of that. Maybe you hear something scraping towards you, but you're in a room with a lot of narrow walkways and you need to move quickly enough to escape, but you're being held back by your need to check for solid ground, which builds tension. Maybe some totally alien sound goes off periodically throughout the game and part of the mystery in the plot is figuring out what it is. Near the end, you find out by listening to a recording that it's the sound of some evil being, and it has been stalking you the entire time, leading to an "oh crap" moment when you hear the sound again shortly after. Things like that. As for really specific situations, they could probably let you hear the PC's thoughts if really needed. Like, "There must be an elevator around here" and "That's gotta be the control panel".

What would really drive home the paranoia and panic of the situation would be to throw the player into a disguised tutorial as a sighted character in first person for basic controls, get them deep enough into whatever crap they're going to get into to realize that there is serious danger, then have something blind them, and slowly let the realization that it's permanent sink in. For actual blind people, there could be an option to listen to this portion as a cutscene instead. As for deaths, rumbling and sound tricks could easily get them across rather gruesomely, and not knowing exactly what is happening to the poor PC would probably make it freakier. Like, just a bunch of chomping and screaming noises or something, then bad sounding death music before the reset.

I feel like that would be fun for people with the disability in real life, but for everybody else too, and freaky all around if done well. It'd be hard to do right, but if somebody nailed it... that's the type of innovative stuff that gets publicity and awards.