Playing with Disabilities: Sound in Ahn'Qiraj
by Elizabeth Harper 
Mar 2nd 2006 at 9:30PM
I
usually don't play with sound on - most of the in-game music I've heard time and time again, and usually I'll have a DVD
or MP3s playing in the background instead. But my first runs through Ahn'Qiraj, I turned the sound on to see
what it was like - and it did not disappoint. Most intriguing of the sound effects are the soft whispers
(presumably from C'thun) that are so faint, you might miss if you weren't paying attention (and you may wonder if you
really heard them afterwards). The fact that they don't show up in your chat log (like the chatter you get from
every other boss in the game), increases the creepy factor, but does it discriminate against deaf
players? The fact that the whispers provide a huge source of the area's ambiance means anyone unable to hear
is left out.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Instances
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris/Yerxer Mar 2nd 2006 11:34PM
I don't believe that this is discriminating against the deaf. None of the music in the game actually affects your ability to survive in game. Sure deaf people will miss out on the ambience etc., but is typing it in as a line of text going to replace that? The fact is that they miss out on the sound of everything... regardless of whether it shows up in text or not. Meh my 2 cents.
Alex Mar 3rd 2006 12:55AM
I don't think a line reading 'Ominous whispering...' on the chat log will really add ambience to the game, but I'm not deaf, so I'm not sure. If you start saying that any disdvantage to anybody is a case of discrimination you'll never really end.
elizabeth Mar 3rd 2006 1:00AM
It's just not possible to make things 100% "fair" for everyone, true... And maybe the word "discrimination" is too strong in this case, but that whispered voice does add quite a bit to the setting.
zane Mar 3rd 2006 3:32AM
This is what I like to call... taking political correctness to extremes.
What are you suggesting? That we take all the sounds out of world of warcraft completely becuase some people can't hear them?
Or is it that you want subtitles for everything?
*footstep* *footstep*
*clang**crunch**smack*
*wind blows*
*raptor snarls*
*murloc scratches his ass* (does it makes a sound)
*tree falls in the woods*
Dr. Woo Mar 3rd 2006 3:40AM
Sound adds a very important piece to the game. I can't play without sound FX on, but music...I can go without.
If I get a Nightfall proc, the sound is what gets me to notice.
Ervin Mar 3rd 2006 4:34AM
Sounds in a game discriminate against the deaf? This is one of the most absurd things I've read in a while. I'd think that the graphics discriminate against the blind much more... and the whole game discriminates against those who don't care for MMORPGS.
Mark Mar 3rd 2006 5:34AM
This is silly, are you trying to get your news post count up?
Simon Mar 3rd 2006 5:58AM
WoW is discriminating against the blind anyway, so what the heck ...
I like most of the music ingame, but the sound effects are almost vital to play well. They are the clues to tell you something is on to you some seconds before you can see it ... wouldn't want to play with no sound at all ... would feel realy handicapped ...
andreas Mar 3rd 2006 5:58AM
well, if you would have followed the link, a deaf player was asking on the forums why he couldn't see the whispers in text..
Harri Mar 3rd 2006 8:06AM
So what about sound effects that alert us to things such as animal snarls that let us know that a mob is chasing us, or the cloaking sound you get when there's a stealthed enemy about that you *may* be just about to aggro? same as fishing too (although I'll admit that having an eye on your bobber is a lot more effective).
I'm not saying it's discrimination, but all these little audio cues give us advantages in-game that we simply don't have with the sound off. I have winamp going in the background, but I leave the sound on on my game with the music off so I can still hear what's going on.
Stormgaard Mar 3rd 2006 8:20AM
Yes. And the fact that it has pictures discriminates against blind people.
DAMN that was dumb dude!!
/pimp-smack
Grendalsh Mar 3rd 2006 9:24AM
Ah, yes. Once more the "it doesn't affect me so it must be dumber'n snail snot" PC-backlash group get their say. If you've ever read the Closed Captioning on a TV (say, at the gym where they keep the volume off) it actually does 'SAY' certain levels of sound. Sorta like when folks use - the equivalent of text emotes. So I can see how a group of people USED to this level of textual cues for audio would find it useful to have a CC setting in WoW that passed audio cues like as notice text. As part of the ambiance, I personally wouldn't want it showing up on my screen, cause I would be able to hear it. But I think it would be considerate of Blizzard to have a CC setting, if it were possible.
boneyard Mar 3rd 2006 9:27AM
oh please, what kind of idiotic post is this, discriminating again the dead, how silly.
Bru Mar 3rd 2006 9:50AM
Half Life 2 has incredible closed-captioning, as good as any movie I've ever watched. Not sure how WoW could benefit from anything similar - for example "*NIGHT ELF DE-STEALTHS BEHIND YOU*" sort of takes away a lot of the skill and drama of instantly reacting to the sound effect. But I guess that, while the idea of 'discriminating' against deaf players is silly, it could be handy for the hearing impaired.
elizabeth Mar 3rd 2006 11:03AM
Well, this is an example of "flavor" that adds interest to the game and its environment. The "flavor" everywhere else is also portrayed in words as well as text (for the convenience of those who don't play with sound as much as anyone else). Maybe there are other examples that don't have text as well as sound, but I can't think of any. Why is there no text for these specific messages in AQ?
Examples...
Ragnaros: TASTE THE FLAMES OF SULFURON!
Majordomo: Stay your attack, mortals!
Bloodlord: Don't make me angry! You wouldn't like me when I'm angry!
Vaelestrasz: Forgive me, friend, your death only adds to my failure! [Note: text says the player name, sound says "friend" for everyone.]
Nefarian: Let the games begin!
Causality Mar 3rd 2006 11:41AM
I had to laugh does a games sound track discriminate agianst deaf people. I believe television discriminates agianst blind people they can only hear it!
Dave Newton Mar 3rd 2006 12:16PM
He's not saying that sounds discriminate, he's questioning whether sounds without printed message do.
I am hearing impaired (-40db), and while I can hear someone whisper SOMETIMES, I will not be able to understand what is being said. In my opinion, if what is said is important to the actions of the player, or provides a clue as to what needs to be done, then YES, it should be printed. Otherwise, it's just aesthetics - setting and creepy factor.
Those bugs are creepy enough as it is. :-D
Tryst Mar 3rd 2006 1:59PM
I really enjoy reading this blog but I'm starting to not enjoy reading the comments.
How the hell does it affect you if Blizzard adds a more thorough CC component to the interface? Why not take 5 seconds to think about how not having the option for audio would affect your game play? I really don't get how attacking the post as "stupid" gets the discussion anywhere.
I read the post on the forum and it seemed that the poster was at bit confused because he thought the other players were actually hearing words not just a whispering soundtrack. I also thought it was interesting the way he was practically immediately attacked as being a liar because "if you don't run AQ the same way I do, then it's just not possible." What the hell is that? Seriously. Human beings are amazingly adaptable so why shouldn't someone be able to figure out how to do end game without ventrilo?
As for WoW being discriminatory against the blind, that wasn't the question, but...while there are computers and many other aids for the blind, I'm not familiar enough with it to know if it could be adapted to the WoW environment. My guess is no, but again, I'm completely unfamiliar with how much that particular technology has evolved. But, clearly, the WoW environment COULD be adapted more thoroughly for a deaf player. I don't know if it really could be characterized as discriminatory on the part of Blizzard but more in the realm of something that wasn't thought of during development and might be added later.
Mike Mar 3rd 2006 2:49PM
Tryst, I agree completely. I don't see how saying the OP is stupid helps anything. If actual deaf players are complaining that they want something in the game closed captioned, then who are we to say that it wouldn't add anything? I say go ahead and put the text in if it helps someone enjoy the game more.