I will never tire of repeating it. Graphic and narrative adventures, which we like to call video adventures, are the most inclusive and easy to make video games accessible to everyone.
That’s why our special on the best video games for the blind, ranked by difficulty, started with video adventures like As Dusk Falls, winner of the 2022 VideocieGOTY Award.
And for this very reason, in 2023 we created the Choose Your Own Inclusive Video Adventure Award, to recognize the best title for anyone to get started in video games, which was won by Brok the Investigator.
But today we want to go a step further in our quest to vindicate inclusive video adventures. We bring you a different, special article. We are going to talk about Galadia and with the creators of Galadia, A Visual Novel for mobile developed by a new team without vision.
But how do you create a video game blindfolded? If you want to know, keep reading.
Introducing Galadia: plot, interface and mechanics of the video adventure
Galadia is a very classic fantasy visual novelwith unmistakable echoes of Middle-earth. We will embody a Gnanin warrior, a subjugated and banished race with the ability to change shape.
To free your people, you offer to find the princess of the elven kingdom. But achieving this will not be easy. Your mission will take you travel a vast world, full of wonders and dangersdream locations and nightmare monsters.
As is usual in the genre, Its interface is like a book. It consists of different pages, with static images and texts, accompanied, of course, by great sound effects and evocative musical pieces. And when starting a game, you can choose between two game modes:
- Story: Focused on narrative and decision making.
- Combat: Adds simple turn-based combat, where we can attack, defend, and use potions and other items.
Come on, that No one would say that Galadia was developed by two people, much less two blind people.: Chilean programmer Alejandro Verástegui and Mexican psychologist, writer and YouTuber Zyanya Meztli.
Developing Galadia: How to make a video game without seeing it
Verástegui explains how his interest in developing a video game arose: “In my teens my friends recommended video games to me and I found that they were not accessible.“That’s where I decided to become a programmer and create a video game and contribute to accessibility.”
Since Zyanya learned to read and write at the age of 3, she read everything she could get her hands on (literally) because she read Braille with her hands. And since she was little, she wrote stories for the simple pleasure of writing. But The game was quite a challenge for her: she had never written such a long story before.. And even less one that had to be developed in several possible scenarios.
“I think it took me like 6 months to finish the whole game.. It was something totally different from what I was used to. I almost always think a lot about what I’m writing, it’s like I’m modeling a figure and every detail is strategically placed.” But with Galadia it was the opposite.
“I just felt my hands moving on the keyboard. I was writing spontaneously. I couldn’t think much either. Alejandro told me “come on, I need scenario B or C to program it.” I think it was Thanks to him and his constant pressure I was able to bring that story to a successful conclusion.“.
As in the mythical Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks, In Galadia we will be the ones who decide between different options that will condition the progress and the outcome of the plot.
Its creators preferred it to be a video game, rather than a book, so that people could immerse themselves more in the story, feel that they are part of that world, so that they are really involved in the decisions they are making.For example: in front of you is a group of bloodthirsty trolls, do you want to attack them or try to run away?
However, unlike other accessible visual novels like As Dusk Falls, Stray Gods or Slay the Princess, there are alternatives here, many alternatives that will end the life of our protagonistWe will die so many times, that we could say that Galadia is the Soulslike of Visual Novels.
As Zyanya tells us with a laugh: “It was funny, because sometimes I was already very far along, but I had to rewrite some possibility or some death that I had missed. I didn’t even know how to kill the poor character anymore.”
Up to this point, Galadia could be a game like any other. What makes it so special, the world upside down, is that it was developed blindly.. And then adapted to sighted players.
Alejandro recognizes that The most difficult thing was the interface design: “Analyze and imagine how the image will look visually and reflect on the background colors so that they contrast with the letter colors.”
“To find images and music, we had to do a lot of research on free content sites like Pixabay and Unsplash. And we asked for a lot of visual support so that the images would fit the scenarios. I remember that many times I would send screenshots to some of my visual friends and they would ask me, laughing, “Do you call that design?”
“They also questioned me about the purpose of adapting the game for visually impaired people. I think that was an experience that left its mark on me and I thank my family and the people who took the time to help me with the design and background of the game, to check that the images did not interfere with the reading of this great story.”
And as it could not be otherwise, Galadia is a very accessible video adventure, let’s see what measures it has and how they have been developed.
Galadia’s accessibility: how to make an inclusive video game blindly
As we have already said, video adventures in general, and visual novels in particular, are the most inclusive genre that exists, since They have no motor or auditory barriers, and with a little work, no visual barriers as well..
He has no motor barriers because of his gender It is based on decision making, and if these have no time limit, as is the case with Galadia, it is not necessary to have great reflexes. nor do you have to perform complex button presses. Not even for the battles, which we have already said take place in turns, as if we were in a Pokémon-style JRPG.
Players with hearing barriers will also have no problems enjoying Galadia.The game has music and sound effects, but they are completely incidental. Everything you need to get to the end of the adventure will appear written on the screen. And all the texts are in Spanish, although its creators are considering adding other languages in the future.
Y To avoid visual barriers, Galadia allows you to adjust the size of texts, use the operating system’s screen reader to verbalize them and offers detailed explanations of the accompanying images, in the form of audio description.
If we start the game with a screen reader activated, Galadia includes a simple tutorial to explain its mechanics and controls.And since the game uses the same gestures as any mobile app, the same movements with different fingers on the screen, its handling is very intuitive for a blind player.
Each scene is turned like the pages of a book, including sound, and its images are automatically described by the screen reader, allowing us to enjoy the story as if we were reading it with our eyes.
This was very important for the team. In Verástegui’s words: “We initially launched it for visually impaired audiences so that they could interact with the game’s features and thus test how accessible it was for a wider audience and which ones needed to be reprogrammed.”
“We want both blind and visually impaired people to enjoy this wonderful story. We want people who are blind and visually impaired to enjoy this wonderful story just like I did when I played an accessible video game or gamebook and talked to my visually impaired friends about the game,Blind people can also share experiences with visually impaired people about our game, thus removing the barriers of disability.“.
Conclusion: Is Galadia worth it?
Galadia is a highly recommended visual novel for fantasy-loving readers.regardless of their motor, auditory or visual barriers, which shows, once again, that not many resources are needed to develop games that are accessible to everyone.
As Verástegui says: “It is just a matter of taking the time to investigate and take into account the opinions of both blind players and those with other disabilities. Every contribution is important to obtain a good result.”
Y Although Galadia is a short game, it is very replayable and cheap.. It took us about four hours to get to the first ending. But since there are several endings, the total length is longer. And the title It costs 2 euros on Android and 3 on IOS, so it is also very affordable.
The best:
- Developed by just two blind people, for everyone, even those with sight.
- Classic and simple, but effective story.
- Good sound effects and catchy fantasy music.
- Accessible to all types of players.
- Very affordable price.
What could be improved:
- Only available in Spanish.
- Few and very simple fights.
In short, Galadia is not a revolutionary title in terms of narrative or gameplay, but its creators are.. Because we have never before tried a game developed blindly for all types of players.
With a little luck and support, it won’t be the last one they develop. So what are you waiting for to try it out?
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