The Vale: Shadow of the Crown: For this game you do not need a screen

Although the hype about light rays from the rayTracing sky and lifelike skin textures suggest otherwise, but video games come without picture. Indie developers prove that since the early early 2000s with titles like Dark Destroyer or Shades of Doom . They convey their worlds, figures and game mechanics exclusively via audio. Headlines or even awards remain denied most, but often they are simply overlooked.

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is one of the exceptions. The Audio-Only Roleplay by Falling Squirrel and Creative Bytes Studios has already been awarded 2018 and 2019 and presented a year later at the Xbox Summer Game. Praise from the trade press together with several awards followed the publication last August, among other things for progress in accessibility. So people are also attentive to The Vale who rarely play.

Gaming without limits The interview with Niklas Keer was organized by gaming without limits . The project clarifies barriers into digital games, would like to create rooms for including encounters and promote media competence.

The call urges the vale to advance

"According to the positive voices, my expectations were high and I thought that's a great way to experience something else," Niklas is creating. If the 21-year-old media informatics student spend time with video games, then mostly with Minecraft . The lounger on the relaxing gameplay, but also the accessibility options, such as changeable contrasts or the automatic jump function. They help creating minecraft at all, because he has a very test of five percent.

For the entry into the Vale that is not a hurdle. Only about voices and splattering rain, sprinkling barbecues and clinking swords we experience the history of the blind princess Alex, who just survived a raid during a ride to the edge of your country. What follows is a 500 miles long way through the eponymous Vale to return to their hometown and her brother. Except for different colored particle effects, the screen remains black.

So you fight with your ears

With this dramatic intro, the Vale releases us in his world. On the shock follow the first of numerous flashbacks, starting with memories of combat education by their uncle. A necessary lesson for the start, because Alex must soon defend itself against wolves, bandits or enemy soldiers.

Instead of making a quick-time events, we have to listen to the direction of oppressive attacks and tend to tilt the analog sticks for the weapons and shield hand. Additional skills are on the trigger. Whether swordheads or bow shots, block or parry, aggression or stealth: "The complexity behind it is surprisingly high," says creater, "the system and later things like magic, was a very pleasant progression."

How the Vale plays, you can find out in the following trailer:

The introductory flashbacks also give a foretaste of one of Creers favorite aspects. The English speaking speakers have set the NPCs in numerous accents. "That creates the feeling of visiting many different places," he enthuses. "Especially for a story like The Vale, which is from travel, that's important."

The annoyance village

The voices do not leave any wishes, their lines at times already. This is mainly true for dialogues in the villages that Alex traverses on your journey. Creulent criticized: "If you stop there only one minute, you have heard the same sentences four, five times." In the main story, he was rarely noticeable, with the exploration tours and secondary tasks. This is twice annoying because they reward us with background information on Alex and the game world with their gloomy secrets.

At all, creer is difficult to explore the villages. As a signpost, ambient noise, such as roller hammer, which suggests a forge, or Alex 'comments when it reaches the edge of a territory. "But I can do anywhere for orientation," criticizes Kreer. "Everything is arranged around you. How exactly, I can not say, but because the buildings do not throw back no sound. In reality, one can rely on a bit to locate things. "

Players * inside with visual impairment have formed The Vale

The Vale is not only an exception title because of the audio focus. Despite all progress in recent years, protagonist * are continued with disabilities underrepresented in games - or in the worst case misrepresented . Creer is pleased that Alex 'blindness does not overshadow its character. "It was ultimately a minority. You play, you do not see anything, but it does not define himself. That's how it should be. "

Instead, The Vale draws the picture of an autonomous woman, which can be obtained if necessary help. If we miss a goal with our bow, beats the shepherd, our companion, corrections for the next shot. "Nobody talks in, but before you have not at least tried," he praises.

That Alex's depiction, but also large parts of the setting have succeeded, humans with visual impairment is owed. Even before the first line of code , Dave Evans, Studio Director at Falling Squirrel, Council for sensitive language and accessibility from the Blind Accessibility Consultant Martin Courcelles, who at that time at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (Cnib) Worked. The non-profit organization supports people with visual impairment and makes reconnaissance work.

According to Keer, this is the only right step: "It's difficult if there are visually impaired, blind or other people with discrimination experience, if the author does not know how that really is."

Good base with improvement potential

From this, a cooperation with the CNIB, which later organizes playtesting sessions with people with visual impairment and gives more consultants for feedback. So the accessibility of The Vale also shows the details.

All menus were setped, from people instead of text-to-speech voices. Three levels of difficulty with various regulators allow players to adapt to their needs. Nevertheless, the game is not free from exclusion. People with hearing impairment can hardly be able to play at the moment, as subtitles are missing.

"You could have done that better," says Creer. "Measured at work, which obviously flowed into sound design, that would probably mean enormous additional expenses. Maybe you have to cut somewhere somewhere. " The Accessibility Expert from CAN I Play That? See it similar, but remember: "The missing subtitles help me only to understand a fraction of the frust, to make the player feel with visual impairment, if you like that Just want to try any other title. "

Despite his criticism, Keer wishes to gain more games by the Vale in the future. About possible changes, he already thinks about: "Fights have taken a large part in the game. Next, small-scale puzzles would be nice, or design and build. " In addition, he would welcome new settings to the Middle Ages venue of Alex 'adventure, for example in the fantasy area. "Spontaneously I can not imagine how all this could be intuitive."

Maybe Falling Squirrel and Creative Bytes Studios falls an approach. Or a larger studio that could open audio-only games the way into the mainstream, for the Indie developers over 20 years ago the first stones.