Blind Twitch streamer gets his first Overwatch Play of the Game
Despite being completely blind, with some help from his viewers, Twitch streamer BlindlyPlaying was able to dominate Overwatch.
Technology has allowed more and more people with disabilities to play and stream video games. While some people are only able to use one hand to play or are hearing impaired, being blind can be one of the most difficult factors to overcome.
BlindlyPlaying’s primary game of choice is World of Warcraft because he started playing it back when he had some vision left (about 20/400), but stopped when Cataclysm was released. After going fully blind, however, he tried figuring out if he could still play and hopped back on during the Battle for Azeroth expansion. Since then he actually wrote a full guide on how to play World of Warcraft while blind.
BlindlyPlaying picked up four ‘play of the games’ with Torbjorn.But Warcraft isn’t the only game BlindlyPlaying partakes in. With the help of his chat, the blind warrior can even play first person shooters like Overwatch.
According to the streamer’s Twitch info, his chat is read to him by a screen reader on a separate laptop. So they will help out by feeding him instructions like “go left” or “aim down”.
While playing as the hero Torbjorn, who has an auto-aim turret ability, the blind streamer marched into battle on the map Hanamura.
Despite not really playing very much Overwatch, BlindlyPlaying was able to use his turret and Molten Core ultimate to pick up four kills on the defense leading to a play of the game highlight.
It didn’t stop there. The Twitch entertainer was able to nab play of the game four times in a row, with each looking crazier than the next. While his aim was certainly off, the turret’s wasn’t, resulting in some rather amusing highlight reel performances against the easy-level bots.
BlindlyPlaying is far from the first disabled streamer to gain a following on Twitch. Perhaps most notably, FaZe Clan’s 13-year-old Fortnite sensation Soleil ‘EwOk’ Wheeler has amassed over 250,000 followers on the platform despite being deaf.
Others such as Rocky ‘RockyNoHands’ Stoutenburgh is able to dominate PUBG lobbies while playing with his mouth after suffering a spinal injury when he was 19. Additionally, Street Fighter player BrolyLegs uses his mouth as a controller too and still places well at tournaments
It just goes to show that no matter who you are, you can have success in this industry.