How a new multi-sensory interface is dismantling the sight barrier, allowing blind and low-vision players to navigate digital worlds that used to go dark at the screen’s edge.
Manuel Puma starts most mornings the same way. He walks his guide dog, Ivy, feeds her, works out, then heads to class.
In many ways, he’s a typical college student – who happens to be a blind person.
“I am visually impaired, but it doesn’t define me,” he says. “I’m a student and an athlete. I love goalball and video games.”
Growing up, Puma spent hours playing video games in fierce competition with his younger brother.
“Gaming meant building that bond,” he says. “Being competitive, being upset when I lost.”
But as his vision deteriorated, so did his ability to play — which meant saying goodbye to one of his passions.
But that all changed when he tried the Computer-Enabled Abilities Laboratory’s (CEAL) Surveyor tool.
A World Designed for Sight
Nearly 3.5 percent of the world’s population – about 285 million people – are blind or low vision. Yet many everyday activities from browsing the internet to playing games remain difficult to access, says Brian Smith, Director of CEAL.
Smith, a computer scientist, believes technology should expand opportunities. Growing up in rural New Mexico, far from major cities, video games gave him experiences that he “just wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise.”
Those same experiences are what he wants people with visual impairments to enjoy.
“Our world is designed in a way that assumes that you have sight,” Smith says. “What really matters is the experience.”
Players explore. They make decisions. They choose where to go next.
“If we can give blind players the same information to make those same moment-to-moment decisions, then we’ve won.”
Leveling the Playing Field
Video games are among the most visually complex digital environments.
Instead of translating visuals directly, the CEAL team focused on translating perception.
Their system, Surveyor, lets players scan their surroundings with a joystick. Spatial audio cues describe objects and environments, helping players build a mental map of the world around them.
Lisa DeSalvo, a PhD student in the lab, says the real challenge is balance.
“Most games are very information-dense,” she explains. “We want to avoid informational overload. The experience needs to feel seamless and reactive — just like it is for a sighted player.”
For Puma, the experience was transformative. As he scanned the environment, details he had never been able to access before appeared through sound.
“For the first time in a while, I felt immersed in the game. Just having that audio, it’s a game changer. The ability to do what someone with sight can do – it evens the playing field.”
It’s about People, Not the Technology
Technology fades into the background when it makes real, human experiences possible. “My greatest impact as a technology designer is not the technology itself,” Smith says. “It’s the people that we’re giving opportunity to.”