Category: Accessible Games
Hopefully we’re all familiar with the game Swamp. Like it, love it, hate it, think it is pandering to the recent craze of zombie killing games, whatever your take, you have to admit it is one of the best games made specifically for blind people. It is one of the first games to not have terrible sound effects, and be little more than a side scroller or a card game.
Swamp has allowed us to actually have a modern game. It’s not halo by any means, but its, in my estimation, one of the two games available to us that are on par with sighted people games. If you’re curious, the other is 3d velocity. I love both these games.
That being said. There are things I don’t like about the game, and since negativity is funny, I’m going to talk about them here. Feel free to add your own likes and dislikes and comment on mine.
Number 5 The Zombie Sounds
Now before you go jumping down my throat and say that the zombie sounds make the game, I agree. It just wasn’t the same before the zombie sounds worked. There is something about a snarling zombie coming at you that just makes it fun to blow their head off. That’s not what I don’t like.
What I don’t like is the fact that the sounds don’t pan. So if you hear a zombie on your right that you want to kill first, you turn to face it, but the sound still stays in your right headphone speaker. It’s disconcerting. Plus, it makes the sounds a little useless, since you can’t aim by them, which is tempting to do.
Also, the sounds don’t end when the zombie dies. Many times I’ve wasted ammo firing at the sound after the zombie’s head exploded. Plus, I’ll admit, sometimes when I get really into the game, it scares the crap out of me that the sound continues. You try going toe to toe with one of those hard to kill zombies, have your gun go empty, and have the snarl keep going. It’ll make your heart skip.
Number 4 A low amount of high explosives
A staple of the combat game is the tossing of a grenade into a crowded room and cackling madly as all the enemies are mown down. Then again, a staple of combat games is swearing, and there isn’t much of that in Swamp either. However, let’s concentrate on the grenades. How many of you have been playing swamp and had fifteen or so zombies coming at you in a clump and thought, “One grenade, if I only had one grenade right now”. I know I have, walking into a store, or coming around a corner, I’d love to have a grenade. That’s not asking much is it? I just want to kill things in a speedy and explosive manner.
Number 3 Tantalizing Sound Effects
Ok, I admit, I’m a nerd. I love going through sound effect files to see what sounds are in the game. If you do this too, you might have noticed that there are a number of weapons sounds that don’t exist in the game. There is a flame thrower and a WA2000, which I think is a sniper rifle. Why are these effects included? Are they just there to tease me with weapons I can’t kill zombies with? Are they special things I have to unlock with a cheat code or something? I want them, why am I denied them?
Number 2 No strafing
For those of you who don’t know, there are a lot of automatic weapons in Swamp. MP5 AR15 Uzi, couple machine guns, all automatic. Now, there is some argument, and yes my friends and I have had this argument, that the weapons in swamp are civilian models, so they are semi-automatic. To which I say, they have three round burst, they should have full auto. Why can’t I just hold down the trigger and empty a belt? Why does it have to go in five or ten round bursts? I want to just mow down zombies when they come at me. Can we change this please?
Number 1 Paul Bunyans and Rambos
These are terms I invented myself, I’ll explain though, don’t you worry. A Paul Bunyan is the guy who goes around with the axe, holding down the left mouse button so it swings about two or three times every second. We all know these guys, they’re the ones we swear about and scream, “knock it off, there’s no zombies anywhere near you, get a damn gun and shoot something” about. These people piss me off. This morning I was playing, and I had three of them surrounding me. I couldn’t hear any zombies over the swinging of three axes. This went on for a couple minutes, and not one of them killed a zombie. I think these people should have their axes confiscated.
Rambos are the people who put their mp5 or ar15 on three round burst and empty a magazine just to kill one zombie. I see it all the time, people running through a parking lot, firing at a zombie that if they’d stop and aim would take maybe two shots to put down, and they reload three times just to kill it. These people should be disarmed entirely and put on sorting duty in the safe zone.
So, what do you think of my list? There are things I forgot, like I wish we could punch zombies, that would be cool, but I couldn’t make an entire list post about them. Anything I missed?
Oh, and in case there is any confusion. I’m not knocking swamp, it’s my favorite game. I’m practically addicted to it. I’m just suggesting changes.
i have seriously wanted a mode for swamp that might allow those of us with damaged hearing to have a chance, i tried it and can't really track a thing with it sad to say otherwise i'd most likely be hooked myself.
Never played this game, but if I did, I think I'd agree. I've played enough games in my time to know your list is sound. For the record, I also like going through game files to see sound effects and music.
agreed on all 5, but I think the first one is just a bug that hasn't been fixed yet, might be solved soon who knows
other than that though, not much else
also I'd have to add a third game to that list, road to rage
its as close as we've ever gotten to a mainstream FPS imo
ahoy there
#5 the zomby sounds.
I don't know which version you played,or twere your soundcard or such that was playing up,but for me,on 2.8 the zombie sounds pan just fine. they didn't before,but I cannot remember which version that was.
3 Tantalizing Sound Effects
Those weapons are yet to be added as updates come out,and when Aprone has time to add them in.
2 No strafing
There was a discussion about this in the swamp topic ages ago,in the ag.net forum. lets take the mp5 or even R15 as an example here. Strafeing is, in my opinion, useless. the kind you are talking about,anyhow. mp5 if I am not mistaken holds 30 rounds of 9mm ammo. do you know how long it'd take a gun to empty that clip? 3 to 5 seconds,max. Lets even take the numbers even higher. 7 seconds which is unlikely on full auto mode. even the most badass zomby takes only around 10 rounds to die. what happens with the other 20 rounds if you have the gun at full automatic mode? waste,that's what. The only reason the guns have full automatic modes in them,is they are used for suppression to provide cover and to keep the enemys heads low.
1 Paul Bunyans and Rambos
That's not the fault of the game,but the players it self. there's a saying,and I often use it. there are always bad apples in a basket of apples. just deal with it. if you are not able to here because of them jurcks run to some different place. this was much more rampent in TRTR,those who have played TRTR will know what I mean.:d
Oh,I missed out on the 4th one.
4 A low amount of high explosives
These were in the works before,but I am not sure what's up with them now. however,explosives would make the game much easyer and would take all the fun out of it,well if not all, some,then. To think what's around a corner and to have your finger ready to press,you turn a corner and here a growl of many of them from somewhere cloce and you let go with a spray! and find out,outch. they were in some other ile and now after those shots are after you.
AT rat, try increaseing the sounds of zomby footsteps and such,to see if that helps.you could edit the growls and such so that you are able to here stuff better.
And for anyone that's interested,and still reading, Swamp now has a campaigne mode,where you can make your own campaigne useing the SCS,swamp campaigne script.
Alexander vongrippen, Grryfindore on AG.net
Ok, about strafing, its not for killing one zombie, its for killing a bunch of zombies. Like when you're running from four or five of them, or when you're trapped against a wall with them coming at you from all directions. That's when you can just hold down the trigger and kill a bunch of zombies. It would work really well with the mini-gun. that's why I never keep mini-guns because I get the same effect with the sniper rifle, and use less ammo.
As for grenades, anyone who says that grenades make FPS games less fun, is not a gamer. Ask any sighted person who gets them in halo or call of duty, they make things fun.