New audio-centric game jam aims to raise money for leading blindness charity

A special games jam later this month will raise money for the RNIB by developing titles that can be played with little to no audio elements.

Money raised from Audiogame Jam will be donated to the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the UK’s largest character for blind and partially-sighted people. It will run from August 26th to September 5th.

Teams must use these ten days to create games that are “fully playable through audio”. While they may incorporate visual elements, these should not be used to provide any extra information that blind or partially sighted players would be unable to access.

The games created will be showcase at Techshare Europe 2016, a conference that focuses on accessible technology. This will be held at Glasgow’s Science Centre in mid-September.

Audiogame jam has been set up by James Kyle, who is registered as blind due to macular dystrophy.

“RNIB have aided me a great deal since my diagnosis and this event is my attempt to return some of that help,” he said. 

“There is a great deal of enthusiasm within the charity for Audiogame Jam as many of its customers are keen to play videogames, especially young people and parents of children with sight loss. It also fits well with their drive to help those with sight loss engage with technology.”

You can find out more at the Audiogame Jam website.