Enjoying PoE Totally Blind

Hi All,

I wanted to write a brief post talking about my experience playing Path of Exile totally blind, that is, unable to see anything. On the surface, this might seem like a really weird idea, but it seems to be working out surprisingly well thus far. A friend recommended that I give the game a try, as it is somewhat playable using audio cues and OCR, and he was quite correct.

I've made it to level 6 with a ranger, though it's a bit slow going. I'm not interested in playing to be optimal, as this is my first campaign, and I'm just enjoying the storyline and the way the game mechanics work. There are audio cues when navigating, footsteps, item drop sounds, and the like. OCR also can read the tooltips which appear when moving close to an item—I play with a controller, because mouse movement is not very accessible.

There are areas which don't work all that well, such as the skill tree, and some aspects of inventory management, but I suspect these will hopefully become easier to deal with over time. While I'm still just in the first act, I know my friend has made it at least to act 3, so it's possible to progress.

A few more audio cues for certain things would be very much appreciated. Hunting down chests or other loot is occasionally tedious, because I kind of have to quarter the area step by step to figure out where the item actually is once the tooltip appears. A way to ensure I can move to the object once it comes into visual range would make things a lot smoother all on its own.

Despite these issues, I'm very much enjoying the experience thus far. If it weren't for my OCR system, controller, and a lot of patience, I wouldn't be here. But the game is very fun despite the challenges, and I look forward to exploring more of it.

Thanks for reading :) If I can answer any questions or what have you I'm happy to do so.

Welcome overboard, Exile! It is difficult to imagine what your play experience must be like, but I am glad to hear you're enjoying Path of Exile. Fortunately, PoE enjoys a rich soundscape, both game effects and music. I hope you continue to find your experience satisfying. Seeya 'round the sunny shores of Wraeclast! =^[.]^=

I wish you well with the challenge. I wouldn't expect them to design an interface for you though. Too big a leap. Would be interesting to have a simple hack and slash that was designed around the idea though.

I am definitely not suggesting a complete interface redesign. Smaller things like the recent "flask empty," audio cue are disproportionately helpful to me. I think people often underestimate the amount and kinds of work required to make things more playable for us, assuming there's any baseline to begin with. Surprisingly, in this game, there is.

It's not just work. It's impact on the experience for the rest of the players. You have to take that into account as well. Too much ambient noise would be a pain in the butt... or the ear. Too little and you don't get cues like the one you mention. Balancing that out for the sake of inclusivity is really hard to get right.

Agreed with the OP here. Less would need to be done than one thinks to make this totally accessible. Sound cues go an incredibly long way. Sounds for interactibles/chests, the beginning and end of a node on the passive tree, and when navigating the inventory are a few examples. Skill gems can make different sounds when picked up and dropped depending on the color they are. They already make a sound when pickedup and dropped, all that would need to be done is change that depending on if they were red, green, or blue.

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Shagsbeard wrote:

It's not just work. It's impact on the experience for the rest of the players. You have to take that into account as well. Too much ambient noise would be a pain in the butt... or the ear. Too little and you don't get cues like the one you mention. Balancing that out for the sake of inclusivity is really hard to get right.

Well, their are already toggles for many other options. NO one is suggesting that everyone must use these additional cues.