Carlos Vasquez, also known as Rattlehead, is a professional gamer who is blind but can still play and win video games using only sound. He started playing games when he was young but lost his vision because of an eye condition called glaucoma. Back then, most games didn’t have features for blind players. But Carlos found that he could still play Mortal Kombat by listening to the different sounds the characters made.

Nowadays, game developers are starting to focus more on making games accessible for people with disabilities. Games like Forza Motorsport, Diablo 4, The Last of Us, Hearthstone, Street Fighter 6, and Mortal Kombat have features to help players with impaired vision. For example, Forza Motorsport has a thing called Blind Driving Assists that tells blind players about upcoming turns on the track. In Mortal Kombat, there are extra sounds to help players know how far away their opponents are and if they’re ducking.

One cool new thing in accessible gaming is spatial audio. This means that the sound in the game can help blind players know where things are on the screen. Professor Brian Smith, who knows a lot about this stuff, says that our brains can figure out where sounds come from by listening to the timing and volume differences. Games like Forza Motorsport use this technology to make the game easier to play for blind players, while still keeping it challenging.

Sometimes, it’s the smaller game developers who are leading the way in accessibility. The AbleGamers Charity asked Rockstar Games how much it would cost to make Grand Theft Auto V accessible, but it was too expensive. So an independent developer named Liam Erven made a mod called Grand Theft Accessibility to help blind players enjoy the game. Carlos Vasquez now works as an accessibility consultant for NetherRealm Studios, the company that makes Mortal Kombat. He thinks that game developers should talk to people with disabilities to understand what they need and make games more accessible.

Original news source: The pro gamer who has to rely upon sound alone (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: Have students read the article individually and then summarize the main points in a brief news summary. They can then share their summaries with a partner or small group and discuss any differences or similarities they found.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Have each group come up with a list of questions related to accessibility in video games, based on the information in the article. Each group can then take turns asking their questions and recording the responses of the other groups. Afterward, discuss the different opinions and perspectives that were shared.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Choose a selection of vocabulary words from the article and write each word on a separate slip of paper. Divide the class into teams and have one member from each team come to the front of the class. Show the student a vocabulary word and they must draw a quick sketch to represent the word, while their team tries to guess the word. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Assign one team the task of listing the pros of making video games more accessible for people with disabilities, and assign the other team the task of listing the cons. Give the teams a few minutes to brainstorm and then have them share their lists with the class. Facilitate a discussion about the different perspectives and try to find common ground.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Have students work individually to write a short paragraph predicting how they think video games will continue to evolve in terms of accessibility. They can incorporate ideas from the article or come up with their own. After writing, have students share their predictions with a partner or small group and discuss their reasoning.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is Carlos Vasquez and what is his nickname?
2. How did Carlos lose his vision?
3. How did Carlos learn to play Mortal Kombat despite being blind?
4. Which games have features to help players with impaired vision?
5. What is spatial audio and how does it help blind players in games like Forza Motorsport?
6. Why couldn’t Rockstar Games make Grand Theft Auto V accessible for blind players?
7. Who created a mod to make Grand Theft Auto V accessible for blind players?
8. What does Carlos Vasquez believe game developers should do to make games more accessible?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

(1)______ Vasquez, also known as Rattlehead, is a professional gamer who is blind but can still play and win video games using only sound. He (2)______ playing games when he was young but lost his (3)______ because of an eye condition called glaucoma. Back then, most games didn’t have features for blind players. But Carlos found that he could still play Mortal Kombat by listening to the different sounds the characters made.

Nowadays, game developers are starting to (4)______ more on making games accessible for people with disabilities. Games like Forza Motorsport, Diablo 4, The Last of Us, Hearthstone, Street (5)______ 6, and Mortal Kombat have features to help players with impaired vision. For example, Forza Motorsport has a thing called Blind Driving Assists that tells blind players about upcoming turns on the track. In Mortal Kombat, there are (6)______ sounds to help players know how far away their (7)______ are and if they’re (8)______.

One cool new thing in accessible gaming is spatial audio. This means that the sound in the game can help (9)______ (10)______ know where things are on the screen. Professor Brian Smith, who knows a lot about this stuff, says that our brains can figure out where sounds come from by (11)______ to the timing and volume differences. Games like Forza Motorsport use this technology to make the game easier to play for blind players, while still keeping it (12)______.

Sometimes, it’s the smaller game developers who are leading the way in accessibility. The AbleGamers Charity (13)______ Rockstar Games how much it would cost to make Grand Theft Auto V accessible, but it was too expensive. So an independent developer named Liam Erven made a mod (14)______ Grand Theft Accessibility to help blind players enjoy the game. Carlos Vasquez now works as an (15)______ consultant for NetherRealm (16)______, the company that makes Mortal Kombat. He thinks that game developers should talk to people with disabilities to understand what they need and make games more accessible.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is glaucoma and how can it affect a person’s vision?
2. How do you think Carlos Vasquez feels when he plays video games using only sound?
3. Do you like playing video games? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you couldn’t see but still wanted to play video games?
5. What do you think about game developers making games more accessible for people with disabilities?
6. Do you think it’s important for game developers to talk to people with disabilities when creating games? Why or why not?
7. How do you think spatial audio can help blind players in video games?
8. Have you ever heard of any other games that have features to help players with impaired vision? Which ones?
9. What other types of disabilities do you think game developers should consider when making games accessible?
10. How do you think accessible gaming can make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities?
11. Would you be interested in trying out a game with spatial audio? Why or why not?
12. How do you think Liam Erven’s mod, Grand Theft Accessibility, helps blind players enjoy Grand Theft Auto V?
13. What do you think about the AbleGamers Charity asking Rockstar Games to make Grand Theft Auto V accessible?
14. How do you think Carlos Vasquez’s experience as a blind gamer has influenced his work as an accessibility consultant?
15. Do you think it’s important for everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy playing video games? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. professional
2. glaucoma
3. accessible
4. impaired
5. opponents
6. ducking
7. spatial
8. technology
9. challenging
10. independent
11. mod
12. consultant
13. disabilities
14. accessibility
15. developers

Meanings:
(A) People who create and build video games or software
(B) A serious eye disease that can cause blindness if not treated
(C) Weakened or not functioning as well as normal
(D) The use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems
(E) Conditions that make it difficult for someone to do certain things that most people can do easily
(F) A person who gives expert advice to a company or organization
(G) Easy for everyone to use or get into, including people with physical limitations
(H) Bending down low to avoid something
(I) A change or addition to a computer program that alters the way it works
(J) Free from outside control; not depending on another’s authority
(K) Difficult in a way that tests your ability or determination
(L) People you compete against in a game or sport
(M) Someone who is really good at their job because they have a lot of experience and training
(N) The quality of being able to be reached or entered
(O) Related to the experience of understanding where things are in the space around you
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the professional gamer who is blind but can still play video games?
(a) Liam Erven
(b) Brian Smith
(c) Rattlehead
(d) Carlos Vasquez

2. How did Carlos Vasquez lose his vision?
(a) Playing video games
(b) A car accident
(c) Glaucoma
(d) Old age

3. Which game has a feature called Blind Driving Assists?
(a) Diablo 4
(b) The Last of Us
(c) Hearthstone
(d) Forza Motorsport

4. What is spatial audio in gaming?
(a) A new type of controller for video games
(b) A feature that makes the game easier for all players
(c) Using sound to help blind players know where things are on the screen
(d) A technology that allows players to control the game with their voice

5. Who made a mod called Grand Theft Accessibility to help blind players enjoy Grand Theft Auto V?
(a) Carlos Vasquez
(b) Liam Erven
(c) Brian Smith
(d) Rockstar Games

6. What game developer does Carlos Vasquez now work for as an accessibility consultant?
(a) NetherRealm Studios
(b) Rockstar Games
(c) AbleGamers Charity
(d) Grand Theft Auto V

7. What does Professor Brian Smith say our brains can do to figure out where sounds come from?
(a) Use our eyes to see the sounds
(b) Listen to the timing and volume differences
(c) Guess randomly
(d) Ask someone else for help

8. What does Carlos Vasquez think game developers should do to make games more accessible?
(a) Talk to people with disabilities to understand their needs
(b) Make games more challenging for all players
(c) Focus on making games more visually appealing
(d) Ignore the needs of players with disabilities

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Games like Forza Motorsport, Diablo 4, The Last of Us, Hearthstone, Street Fighter 6, and Mortal Kombat have features to help players with impaired vision.
2. 4. Spatial audio is not a new technology that helps blind players know where things are on the screen by using sound.
3. 3. Carlos Vasquez does not work as an accessibility consultant for NetherRealm Studios, the company that makes Mortal Kombat, and does not believe that game developers should talk to people with disabilities to understand their needs and make games more accessible.
4. Carlos Vasquez, also known as Rattlehead, is a professional gamer who is blind but can still play and win video games using only sound.
5. False Statements:
6. In the past, most games didn’t have features for blind players, but Carlos found that he could still play Mortal Kombat by listening to the different sounds the characters made.
7. Nowadays, game developers are making more efforts to make games accessible for people with disabilities.
8. 1. Forza Motorsport does not have a feature called Blind Driving Assists that tells blind players about upcoming turns on the track.
9. 2. Carlos lost his vision because of an eye condition called glaucoma, but he did not start playing games when he was young.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. How did Carlos Vasquez lose his vision?
2. Why was it difficult for Carlos to play video games when he first lost his vision?
3. What are some examples of video games that have features to help players with impaired vision?
4. What is spatial audio and how does it help blind players?
5. Why is it important for game developers to talk to people with disabilities when making games more accessible?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who is Carlos Vasquez and what is his nickname?
Carlos Vasquez is a professional gamer who is blind. His nickname is Rattlehead.

2. How did Carlos lose his vision?
Carlos lost his vision because of an eye condition called glaucoma.

3. How did Carlos learn to play Mortal Kombat despite being blind?
Carlos learned to play Mortal Kombat by listening to the different sounds the characters made.

4. Which games have features to help players with impaired vision?
Games like Forza Motorsport, Diablo 4, The Last of Us, Hearthstone, Street Fighter 6, and Mortal Kombat have features to help players with impaired vision.

5. What is spatial audio and how does it help blind players in games like Forza Motorsport?
Spatial audio is when the sound in the game helps blind players know where things are on the screen. It works by using timing and volume differences to let players know where sounds are coming from. In games like Forza Motorsport, spatial audio makes the game easier to play for blind players by giving them information about upcoming turns on the track.

6. Why couldn’t Rockstar Games make Grand Theft Auto V accessible for blind players?
Rockstar Games couldn’t make Grand Theft Auto V accessible for blind players because it was too expensive.

7. Who created a mod to make Grand Theft Auto V accessible for blind players?
An independent developer named Liam Erven created a mod called Grand Theft Accessibility to make Grand Theft Auto V accessible for blind players.

8. What does Carlos Vasquez believe game developers should do to make games more accessible?
Carlos Vasquez believes that game developers should talk to people with disabilities to understand what they need and make games more accessible.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Carlos
(2) started
(3) vision
(4) focus
(5) Fighter
(6) extra
(7) opponents
(8) ducking
(9) blind
(10) players
(11) listening
(12) challenging
(13) asked
(14) called
(15) accessibility
(16) Studios
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. professional
Answer: (M) Someone who is really good at their job because they have a lot of experience and training

2. glaucoma
Answer: (B) A serious eye disease that can cause blindness if not treated

3. accessible
Answer: (G) Easy for everyone to use or get into, including people with physical limitations

4. impaired
Answer: (C) Weakened or not functioning as well as normal

5. opponents
Answer: (L) People you compete against in a game or sport

6. ducking
Answer: (H) Bending down low to avoid something

7. spatial
Answer: (O) Related to the experience of understanding where things are in the space around you

8. technology
Answer: (D) The use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or to solve problems

9. challenging
Answer: (K) Difficult in a way that tests your ability or determination

10. independent
Answer: (J) Free from outside control; not depending on another’s authority

11. mod
Answer: (I) A change or addition to a computer program that alters the way it works

12. consultant
Answer: (F) A person who gives expert advice to a company or organization

13. disabilities
Answer: (E) Conditions that make it difficult for someone to do certain things that most people can do easily

14. accessibility
Answer: (N) The quality of being able to be reached or entered

15. developers
Answer: (A) People who create and build video games or software
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the professional gamer who is blind but can still play video games?
Answer: (d) Carlos Vasquez

2. How did Carlos Vasquez lose his vision?
Answer: (c) Glaucoma

3. Which game has a feature called Blind Driving Assists?
Answer: (d) Forza Motorsport

4. What is spatial audio in gaming?
Answer: (c) Using sound to help blind players know where things are on the screen

5. Who made a mod called Grand Theft Accessibility to help blind players enjoy Grand Theft Auto V?
Answer: (b) Liam Erven

6. What game developer does Carlos Vasquez now work for as an accessibility consultant?
Answer: (a) NetherRealm Studios

7. What does Professor Brian Smith say our brains can do to figure out where sounds come from?
Answer: (b) Listen to the timing and volume differences

8. What does Carlos Vasquez think game developers should do to make games more accessible?
Answer: (a) Talk to people with disabilities to understand their needs
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Games like Forza Motorsport, Diablo 4, The Last of Us, Hearthstone, Street Fighter 6, and Mortal Kombat have features to help players with impaired vision. (Answer: True)
2. 4. Spatial audio is not a new technology that helps blind players know where things are on the screen by using sound. (Answer: False)
3. 3. Carlos Vasquez does not work as an accessibility consultant for NetherRealm Studios, the company that makes Mortal Kombat, and does not believe that game developers should talk to people with disabilities to understand their needs and make games more accessible. (Answer: False)
4. Carlos Vasquez, also known as Rattlehead, is a professional gamer who is blind but can still play and win video games using only sound. (Answer: True)
5. False Statements: (Answer: False)
6. In the past, most games didn’t have features for blind players, but Carlos found that he could still play Mortal Kombat by listening to the different sounds the characters made. (Answer: True)
7. Nowadays, game developers are making more efforts to make games accessible for people with disabilities. (Answer: True)
8. 1. Forza Motorsport does not have a feature called Blind Driving Assists that tells blind players about upcoming turns on the track. (Answer: False)
9. 2. Carlos lost his vision because of an eye condition called glaucoma, but he did not start playing games when he was young. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧