Nonvisual Pong: Enhancing Digital Accessibility Through Audio-Driven Gaming For The Visually Impaired

The video game industry has grown to become one of the largest in the mar-ket, surpassing even the film industry over a decade ago [1]. However, the development of games designed with visually impaired players in mind is still almost non-existent when compared to the sheer number of games re-leased annual. NonVisual Pong is our approach to addressing this chal-lenge, providing blind players with a way to engage in competitive fun through gaming. We took the original Pong game from 1972 and fully adapted it to be played using only a controller—no visual display required. Following the development process, we tested our implementation with experts, discover-ing that, overall, our game was easy to pick up, required no overly complex setup, and successfully delivered the intended experience. Players enjoyed a balanced challenge and immersion, facilitated by audio cues and the con-troller's vibrations.