The Disabled Gamer Thread

[Kerii]

I'm totally blind in the right eye, and have very poor vision in my left. My left eye's visual acuity is about 20/500 (as compared to say 20/20). I have a number of things wrong with my eyes, but it's such a list that I honestly don't remember them all. I have been like this my entire life. Because I'm legally disabled, can't work, am homebound, and really don't have a lot of things to do with my time XIV, and gaming in general, has helped me fill time and interact with others socially.

In general, I don't mention my vision among randoms because it really isn't a problem most of the time. My reaction times aren't perfect, so I tend to tank the floor a lot while learning fights. However, once I've memorized the script I can execute it precisely every iteration. Because of that mindset, I play black mage and love it. It fits my playstyle like a glove. I'm Kiran Astra on Sargatanas.

[Culfinrandir]

Hi!

I'm a disabled gamer too. I became disabled almost ten years ago in an accident but the actual disablement was/is progressive so I didn't have all the issues straight away.

I have a plethora of problems but the ones that affect me most in the realm of gaming are my spinal damage, Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I need to take breaks & can't commit to a schedule (as I don't know if my body will cope at any particular time) so raiding is out. I also don't do well with excessive pressure nowadays (I used to *thrive* off of it) so I am reluctant to do things like HW EX Primals as, even if successful, the hormone changes will affect me for days afterwards.

I find that many people are reluctant to accept any errors or delays in content so I only do what I'm confident I can handle. I've been told by many people in game that I'm good enough to need not worry but I find it easier to avoid stress now than actively seek it. It's a shame really.

[ShinMetsu]

Not disabled, but just wanted to show my love for this thread. Absolutely love it.
Y'all are my fellow Eorzean baes. ♥

[caponesavage]

Not disabled either but wanted to say I love the post. In a forum where we see many many negative posts its sometimes easy to forget that there are very real people behind these characters we play.

[Ashinros]

Really happy to see a thread like this. I suffer from chronic migraines, (last year was my first year without one in 14 years; I cried). I have Spina Biffida Occulta which causes chronic nerve pain, and I have General Anxiety/Social Anxiety, Bi-Polar II, and I'm agoraphobic.

OP is here to make a place for those of us who have chronic illness; it's nice to have someone who understands and doesn't automatically go to a place of assumption.

[Texa]

We could post about ways we make the game easier to play with disabilities too.

Like I play on a PC and got a xbox wireless adapter for windows so that I wouldn't have to worry about the cord falling out of my controller when I had to move to bed. It was really easy to setup and it's supposed to work with any of the xbox one accessories like wireless chat headsets as well but I haven't been able to try that yet.

I've also found a lot of use for making macros to warn people if I need to leave suddenly because of a chronic pain flare up. Nothing that I'm dealing with is life threatening but it can incapacitate me without warning and worry my friends so having a quick way to notify them helps.

[Korbash]

I'm also sick and disabled. I was finally diagnosticated with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age 4, but I had symptoms of it before and my mother went to see numerous doctors (who told her bull) about them. I have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis everywhere in my body, except for my hips and back. I've been in pain my entire life. When I was a child, my legs and feet were the most affected and I could not even bend my knees. I had an arthritis crisis in my legs when I was a child and they had to put my legs in splits so I would not lose the use of my legs and end up in a wheelchair. It passed and I was okay after. My feet have always been crooked, because JRA affected my toes too, so it makes walking painful, so I can only walk or stand up for 2-3 hours and after I really need to sit, so the Feet doctor (don't know in English) made ortheses for me to place in my shoes to make walking more comfortable. The medications they gave me affcted my growth and I'm quite small. At 42 though I'm having issues with my knees and the doctor said it's probably arthrosis.

My illness was not active anymore in my teens and I was full of hope for the future. I made plans and went to College. But when I started my second year my disease started being active again and I barely managed to finish my second and last year of my program, and get my Diploma. I was devastated.

I had to quit everything and place myself on Social Security for the disabled, since I cannot work. My hands and wrists this time were the most affected by the illness and my hands and wrists are quite crooked now and damaged by the illness. I've lost so much flexibility and strength in my hands, I'm not even capable to zip zippers anymore.

One of my medications gave me an ulcer, one of my medications gave me a very intense allergy reaction, and it damaged my back. And after being sent to a back clinic meetings at the hospital we did some physiotherapy and tips for the back and it helped my back and the back pain. My back pain is mostly gone, but it comes back sometimes. One of my medications recently damaged my sight, not permanently, but the eyes doctor said it will take years for my sight to come back. It was found quickly so I will recover with time, so I'm not blind but I have blind spots in my peripheral vision and have trouble seeing whatever that is not in the center.

I'm not capable of playing and chatting at the same time.

I find that many people are reluctant to accept any errors or delays in content so I only do what I'm confident I can handle. I've been told by many people in game that I'm good enough to need not worry but I find it easier to avoid stress now than actively seek it. It's a shame really.

I agree with you, people have no patience and tolerance in this game, they expect perfection at all times, even with doing regular contents like doing dungeons and trials. I could expect that with Savage raids, but regular stuff, really? I was voted kicked out of regular contents, even after telling them of my problems. I contacted Support about that and apparently I can report them for harassment. FF XI was and is for the hardcore players, and FF XIV for the casuals players, which I'm proudly part of, and yet players behave like everything is Savage contents and kick you for anything. And to me, raids and Savage contents in FF XIV are not the same thing, because I've done raids numerous time, Syrcus Tower, World of Darkness, Void Ark, Weeping City of Mach and now Dun Scaith and I find them fun to do. I've yet to get vote kicked from a raid but it has happened numerous time in dungeons, I actually even got recommendations in raids.

To me a hardcore player is a player that favors the END, to reach max level ASAP and to do raids, end game contents, and to go around and boast to others of their achievements, to the annoyance of everyone else. To me a casual player is a a player that favors the JOURNEY, to savor everything, the locals, the scenics, the food and the drinks, the fun part. And like I said I'm a casual player, I favor the JOURNEY.

It's sad really because the devs make pretty dungeons but you cannot stop to actually see their beauty, because the others are too busy rushying. Back when I was playing Guild Wars when it came out, everyone would just stop playing just to admire the scenics and say "This is so beautiful!", but I've never seen that in FF XIV an entire group stop to say that, just seen one player saying he/she found that dungeon pretty.

I've also found a lot of use for making macros to warn people...

That is a good idea. I find it a bit difficult though because I've never been a whining person from the start, just looking around me and in the world I see people in worse situations than mine, I've always been like that, so I've always found talking about my issues difficult. But putting as a macro could be a good idea that I could start whenever I'm doing something.

[Jwrigh7784]

I'm also sick and disabled. I was finally diagnosticated with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age 4, but I had symptoms of it before and my mother went to see numerous doctors (who told her bull) about them. I have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis everywhere in my body, except for my hips and back. I've been in pain my entire life. When I was a child, my legs and feet were the most affected and I could not even bend my knees. I had an arthritis crisis in my legs when I was a child and they had to put my legs in splits so I would not lose the use of my legs and end up in a wheelchair. It passed and I was okay after. My feet have always been crooked, because JRA affected my toes too, so it makes walking painful, so I can only walk or stand up for 2-3 hours and after I really need to sit, so the Feet doctor (don'tknow in English) made ortheses for me to place in my shoes to make walking more comfortable. The medications they gave me affcted my growth and I'm quite small. At 42 though I'm having issues with my knees and the doctor said it's probably arthrosis.

My illness was not active anymore in my teens and I was full of hope for the future. I made plans and went to College. But when I started my second year my disease started being active again and I barely managed to finish my second and last year of my program, and get my Diploma. I was devastated.

I had to quit everything and place myself on Social Security for the disabled, since I cannot work. My hands and wrists this time were the most affected by the illness and my hands and wrists are quite crooked now and damaged by the illness. I've lost so much flexibility and strength in my hands, I'm not even capable to zip zippers anymore.

One of my medications gave me an ulcer, one of my medications gave me a very intense allergy reaction, and it damaged my back. And after being sent to a back clinic meetings at the hospital we did some physiotherapy and tips for the back and it helped my back and the back pain. My back pain is mostly gone, but it comes back sometimes. One of my medications recently damaged my sight, not permanently, but the eyes doctor said it will take years for my sight to come back. It was found quickly so I will recover with time, so I'm not blind but I have blind spots in my peripheral vision and have trouble seeing whatever that is not in the center.

I'm not capable of playing and chatting at the same time.



I agree with you, people have no patience and tolerance in this game, they expect perfection at all times, even with doing regular contents like doing dungeons and trials. I could expect that with Savage raids, but regular stuff, really? I was voted kicked out of regular contents, even after telling them of my problems. I contacted Support about that and apparently I can report them for harassment. FF XI was and is for the hardcore players, and FF XIV for the casuals players, which I'm proudly part of, and yet players behave like everything is Savage contents and kick you for anything. And to me, raids and Savage contents in FF XIV are not the same thing, because I've done raids numerous time, Syrcus Tower, World of Darkness, Void Ark, Weeping City of Mach and now Dun Scaith and I find them fun to do. I've yet to get vote kicked from a raid but it has happened numerous time in dungeons, I actually even got recommendations in raids.

To me a hardcore player is a player that favors the END, to reach max level ASAP and to do raids, end game contents, and to go around and boast to others of their achievements, to the annoyance of everyone else. To me a casual player is a a player that favors the JOURNEY, to savor everything, the locals, the scenics, the food and the drinks, the fun part. And like I said I'm a casual player, I favor the JOURNEY.

It's sad really because the devs make pretty dungeons but you cannot stop to actually see their beauty, because the others are too busy rushying. Back when I was playing Guild Wars when it came out, everyone would just stop playing just to admire the scenics and say "This is so beautiful!", but I've never seen that in FF XIV an entire group stop to say that, just seen one player saying he/she found that dungeon pretty.



That is a good idea. I find it a bit difficult though because I've never been a whining person from the start, just looking around me and in the world I see people in worse situations than mine, I've always been like that, so I've always found talking about my issues difficult. But putting as a macro could be a good idea that I could start whenever I'm doing something.

I'm sorry to hear about your condition. Pain is no fun. Currently I am on 15mg of Hydrocodone (vicoden) a day. I'm about to go in and have a nerve branch block in my spine. If I have at least a 50% reduction in pain they will do a second block. If that one also yields a 50% reduction in pain they are going to burn the nerves away in part of my spine. This should leave me relatively pain free for 12-18 months than I can come back and have it done again. The success rate isn't very high so odds are I will be stuck on pain meds for the rest of my life. I actually don't mind too much because at least I can function. Another nice thing about the pain meds is they elevate my mood, helping with my depression, and ease my OCD. I'm sorry you have run into jerks in the duty finder. I also find some of the dungeon environments neat and I enjoy the music. So far my fav dungeon is probably pharos sirius, mostly because of the music. The environments are awesome as well. I love coerthas, mostly because I love snow. My fav place thus far is Ishgard. If you ever decide to leave your server and come to behemoth message me in game. I'd be more than happy to run some dungeons with you.

[ShinMetsu]

I agree with you, people have no patience and tolerance in this game, they expect perfection at all times, even with doing regular contents like doing dungeons and trials. I could expect that with Savage raids, but regular stuff, really? I was voted kicked out of regular contents, even after telling them of my problems. I contacted Support about that and apparently I can report them for harassment. FF XI was and is for the hardcore players, and FF XIV for the casuals players, which I'm proudly part of, and yet players behave like everything is Savage contents and kick you for anything. And to me, raids and Savage contents in FF XIV are not the same thing, because I've done raids numerous time, Syrcus Tower, World of Darkness, Void Ark, Weeping City of Mach and now Dun Scaith and I find them fun to do. I've yet to get vote kicked from a raid but it has happened numerous time in dungeons, I actually even got recommendations in raids.

To me a hardcore player is a player that favors the END, to reach max level ASAP and to do raids, end game contents, and to go around and boast to others of their achievements, to the annoyance of everyone else. To me a casual player is a a player that favors the JOURNEY, to savor everything, the locals, the scenics, the food and the drinks, the fun part. And like I said I'm a casual player, I favor the JOURNEY.

It's sad really because the devs make pretty dungeons but you cannot stop to actually see their beauty, because the others are too busy rushying. Back when I was playing Guild Wars when it came out, everyone would just stop playing just to admire the scenics and say "This is so beautiful!", but I've never seen that in FF XIV an entire group stop to say that, just seen one player saying he/she found that dungeon pretty.

Man, it upsets me so much to hear stuff like this!
I will never understand how a human being can treat other people that way.
Pretty sure those people are broken in their own way, they gotta have to suffer from personality disorders like psychopathy or something, as they seem to lack any sympathy or remorse!

Personally I do think it's a good idea to have a macro to let people know, I wonder if some people might be uncomfortable or feel like they'd get 'pity' if they do, but..
some people are just so ignorant or thoughtless and they don't even stop for a second to think about possible reasons. So i'd hope that making them aware of these things opens theirs eyes and acceptance even just a little.
Not that it's right / okay to kick people regardless!
As someone had mentioned before. PC ESC | PS4 Main Menu > User Macros > Pick a number > Enter text on the right (/p for Party) "/p Hello, this is my macro!" > Put the macro on a hotbar!

Also on a sidenote, please don't lump peoples' personalities together for 'hardcore' players, cause that's not nice either! :x
I actually really do enjoy pushing content, as hard as i can! But at the same time, I don't mind going at other people's pace. In a dungeon we're a team, and you don't leave your teammates behind!
And also stopping to take in the sights, like standing on top of baelsar's wall and seeing how far i can see!

[Texa]

I find it a bit difficult though because I've never been a whining person from the start, just looking around me and in the world I see people in worse situations than mine, I've always been like that, so I've always found talking about my issues difficult.

Some people will interpret any thing that you say about your disability as "whining", it's happened to me. But I talk about it because it's a big part of my life now and I hope that other people with similar issues who see that I'm open about it will know it's okay to say something. If I'm always ducking out of raiding with friends they deserve to know why and by talking about it they'll have a better understanding of me and will be more aware of conditions like endometriosis.

Honestly I'm rarely going "boo-hoo pity" when I mention I'm not feeling well anyways. I don't feel anything about it most of the time. It's painful, it's there, and I'll deal with it. It's just an aspect of my life.