I am temporarily moving the site to http://dgamerblog.wordpress.com/ until I finish the new site design. I've been busy with other aspects of my life and now I feel that I've neglected this site long enough. Check http://dgamerblog.wordpress.com/ for updates.
I have been wanting an HDTV as a monitor for some time now. Since my video card supports HD it made it even more irresistable. So, two week ago, I finally broke down and bought a Vizio 32" LCD HDTV. It seems a little large I know, but if I had the money I'd probably go larger, LOL. I must say games are sweet on this TV. Review to come.
I've been playing Halo 2 for the PC and I absolutly love it. As I said before, I've never played it. The best thing about this game is the multiplayer. Review to come.
I haven't said anything about the new features coming to the site because I have thought of some different ideas. When I announce them I hope that you like them. I was delayed recently two weeks due to a glitch in the server. I am finally back to designing the new site.
I've said that I have had some personal issues lately and I wanted to be honest and tell you what my main issue is. For the first time in my life, I am going through some depression but the great thing is I am finally getting over it. This is the main reason that I haven't been updating that often and keeping them short. I wont go into it, I just want you to bare with me.
I'm an idiot, Microsoft made a fool out of me. Yesterday the release date for Halo 2 was May 22nd. Today I get up and see that the date is now June 1st. Oh well, this happens at times.
Tomorrow, the 22nd, is a great day. Halo 2 is finally released for the PC. I never got to play it on the XBox because I really have a hard time playing first person shooters on consoles. The PC on the other hand is so much easier for me. I can't wait to play it. Oh, if you are planning to purchase it, just remember windows vista is required to play the game.
I will be revealing some new items coming to DGAMER in my next post in a day or two.
Wow, look who is back! I'm still working on the new site design and I did my accesible gaming presintation on the 28th of April.
I want to talk about the presentation that I made. Well, I don't think that it was the right place because the main audience were elderly people, there was around 50 people there. I did not know this going into it. I know it is good to get the word out to as many as possible but I didn't feel that there was a big interest in the room. I did get some positive feed back from a few but they were younger people. They really enjoyed the presentation and did not know or think that gaming was an option for them anymore. I was told that the parts about the different devices and about how I play games got them excited. It did make me feel great that I made a difference for them. They couldn't wait to get home and start checking into accessible gaming. I gave them my contact information incase they had more questions and two of them have called me. It sounded like I might get invited to another function. This time it will be for a younger crowed because they told me that they even saw that it didn't go over that well. Well, hopefully my next presentation will be a greater success.
I'm an idiot, I said that I was going to try to update more often and of course I haven't. I just have been really busy. I'm working on the new site design, I have my accesible gaming presentation this weekend that I am really nervous about and I have a few other projects in the works.
I am currently playing Test Drive Unlimited and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. I will have reviews for these games when the new site is released. The one thing that I am having trouble with is deciding on what to have in the reviews. I like what http://www.gameonbeta.org.uk/ has done but I am going to things a little different.
I've been pretty busy and am going through some personal problems, so I haven't updated much. I am going to try my hardest to update more often.
The new design of DGAMER is coming along great. I will be adding some new items to the new site. One big thing that I am doing is making the site more interactive. You will be able to leave comments to my blogs and add your own reviews to the products on this site. To do this you will need to subscribe to the site. There will be some other great items coming.
I am also starting a gaming clan for people with disabilities. I have not decided on a name yet but by the time it is released I will have a name. I have some cool ideas for the clan. Oh, even if you don't have a disability you can join. If we can make this big enough and get some recognition maybe the industry will take some notice.
I must tell you about two games that you must play. They are Jade Empire for the PC and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. Both have a great story and keep you entertained. There are some short falls but in all they are fun games. I will be starting game reviews in the new web site. Both of these games will be reviewed.
The forums will be back up soon. I just need to install phpbb back onto my web server. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience.
As you may have noticed the web site was down a few days. I changed my hosting plan to a nolimit plan. Now I can use Cold Fusion to make a dynamic site, which I hope will make a great site.
The forums are fixed now. I was having trouble accepting invitations and as a result I had to reset everything. Which means all posts and members have been deleted. I am very sorry for the inconvenience. Please, register or re-register and let's get the forums going.
I am doing some things that I hope will make it an interesting and exciting year. The first thing is, I may be getting a chance to speak about Accessible Gaming at a function in my area. I feel that I am not that good at giving speeches, probably because I get very nervous in a crowd of strangers. Anyway, I am telling you this because I need your help with this. For me to speak well I just need a well written speech. I want to speak about the importance of gaming and how it helps with your mental health, accessible controllers and things that can be done to make games more accessible. All that I am asking from you is some ideas of what all I should discuss. It needs to be around 20 minutes long, so any ideas would be nice. I will also be doing a PowerPoint presentation. Send me your ideas to dis@d-gamer.com and thank you so much.
Another thing that I am doing this year is designing a controller. I have just started drawing the idea up. I have some friends that will probably help me build it. Before I discuss it with them I want to put it on paper because it is hard to explain what I want done. I don't want to share too much about it at this time, but it is going to be for people with minimal head movement like myself. I have the QuadControl but because of my condition I get very tired using it after an hour or so now. The controller that I am designing will require hardly any effort. I will keep you updated on my progress.
I am also in the middle of yet another site redesign. I have had emails from some of you giving me some great ideas, please keep them coming. I have changed my logo too, the new one is basic but I like it a lot better. One new thing I am going to start is a DGAMER Clan, I'm still working on the details.
A new product is coming out that got me excited. Now you can use a PS2 controller or keyboard and mouse on an Xbox 360. I for one would love to use my keyboard and mouse. The only problem for me is that I use the Darci USB as my keyboard. It is recognized by windows as one but will it be on the 360? I am afraid that the expense is ia little much to see if it will work at the moment (money is saved for vista next month). I am looking into this and hopefully I get the answers that I am looking for. Oh, another question, are the keyboard commands customizable? It would be very helpful.
I am not sure if anyone knows this but the Wii-Mote can be used as a mouse in Windows XP. It also looks like it can be fun with your PC games. This is great for one-handed gamers because most of the controls are done by using the Wii-Mote. To use the Wii-Mote on a PC you will need a Bluetooth adapter and of course the Wii-Mote and a PC. Wii-Motes are sold seperatly for around $63, I found some at Amazon.com.
Check out this one-handed Xbox 360 controller mod. The creator, Benjamin J. Heckendorn, did a great job on this mod. He always wanted to build some helpful devices for people with disabilities. You can tell that he put a lot of thought into this, nice work benjamin. For more go here and here.
One more thing that I want you to check out, The Disabled and the Wii: An Open Letter to Nintendo. It is a great letter with comments. Some comments pissed me off but these people probably don't know anyone with a disability and don't understand what it is like. They have their heads up there asses if you know what I mean. Wake up people!
I have some great news for all of you wanting an XBOX 360. KY Enterprises, maker of the QuadControl, has made a controller for this system. I saw the news on their site today and I got excited because I really want a 360. I wont be getting the controller yet, mainly because of having Duchenne MD I don't have the strength to move my head enough to reach the toggle switches. I am going to contact them to maybe see if they can move the switches to where I can reach them. But, for the rest of you I would go ahead and get one. The cost is affordable at just $275 after shipping and handling. Also, it looks like they build them to order. Check it out at http://www.quadcontrol.com/360.htm.
I have been away awhile because I've been sick. I had a really bad infection and had to spend six days in the hospital. I'm all better now, just trying to recover at home now. I got a little weak but my strength is slowly coming back.
I am getting a new laptop that I desperately need. The one that I bought is the Alienware Aurora m9700. It isn't a cheap system but it will fit my gaming needs. Plus, it will help me add more updates to this site. I can't wait to get it but I have to wait until it ships sometime after November 6th.
I read some news about the game Crysis that upset me. After saying the game would be releasing in Q4 of '06, It looks like it wont be available until Q1 of '07. I can understand why though. With the stunning graphics and the very smart AI it takes time to develop the game. I know they want to get the game right. I guess we must wait a little longer.
I apoligize for the lack of updates lately. I've been going through some personal problems. I am back now and will be updating more often.
I was asked a couple weeks ago about gaming mice, especially for people with the use of only one arm. I did find two that I wanted to share with you. Both are by a company called Razer (http://www.razerzone.com). These mice, the Copperhead and the Diamondback look like they would work great. They have 7 programmable buttons and they take less effort to move. Plus, they look cool. The price for these runs at $79.99, for this price they should get the job done.
Another thing, I am a little upset about the forums because they have been taken over by spammers. It has been difficult to keep them out, I am not sure who is a spammer and who is not. It is suppose to tell me when someone joins then I can accept or not accept their membership. For some reason this is not working. To fix this I am going to move the forums to a new forum host. Until then, I will leave the forums up. I hope to do this soon.
Tuesday August 22, 2006
Accessible game videos; Xbox 360 controller adaption
Game-Accessibility and AudioGames.net have posted some great accessible game videos on YouTube. Check them out here.
I always enjoy seeing different game controller mods. It is interesting to see some of the cool ideas that people can come up with. Recently, I received an email from a guy named Bodge telling me about how he has been adapting his own controllers ever since the Xbox was released. He sent me pictures of one of his recent adaptions. The controller is able to sit on a frame, so, I'm guessing it can sit on a table too. The analog sticks have been raised for easier movement. The shoulder buttons have been extended to the sides. It also has L shaped brackets on the triggers that he can press with his thumbs instead of his index fingers. He did a great job on it from the looks. I am really happy that he made something that works for him. I would like to see his other adaptions some time. Keep up the great work Bodge.
