[146/365] Verdant Skies

lilysea here and a few people elsewhere on social media have happened to mention this computer game to me that has a blind character. Otherwise pretty much all I knew about it I that it's Stardew valley in space.

I have a vague idea of the kind of thing Stardew Valley is, but I haven't played it because I don't play computer games because I'm blind. But this kind of thing, which isn't about being fast or precise r noticing tiny details (not in a timed way at least), seemed almost manageable for me. I happened to mention this to diffrentcolours, he happened to spot it on sale on Steam and got it, and we've had a look at it.

The blind character is the first person we encountered actually, and she's a mechanical engineer. Which sounds like an interesting concept: how would mechanical engineering need to be adapted for her? How would she manage on a planet humans are attempting to colonize (which is the premise of the game)? So far she doesn't "seem" blind and we wouldn't know it if not for the flavor text in her introduction. But then, a white cane or a guide dog wouldn't be much use: they both rely on infrastructure that the dog or the blind person can be trained to use. With no pavement or road crossings or whatever, they wouldn't be much use! (I trust there's more to the character as the game goes along: we only made it a few days into tending crops, building a house, fishing and annoying the other humans.)

We got talking later about how futuristic AI might be able to help out with present-day tactics like keeping your workspace tidy, by being able to identify tools you pick up/ask it about/whatever. I kinda like the idea of a little SF story about the AI learning the foibles of its human in this situation.