NationStates Jolt Archive

Blind Teen Amazes With Video-Game Skills By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jul 27,10:01 PM ET



LINCOLN, Neb. - Brice Mellen is a whiz at video games such as "Mortal Kombat." In that regard, the 17-year-old isn't much different from so many others his age. Except for one thing: He's blind.

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And as he easily dispatched foes who took him on recently at a Lincoln gaming center, the affable and smiling Mellen remained humble.

"I can't say that I'm a superpro," he said, working the controller like an extension of his body. "I can be beat."

Those bold enough to challenge him weren't so lucky. One by one, while playing "Soul Caliber 2," their video characters were decapitated, eviscerated and gutted without mercy by Mellen's on-screen alter ego.

"I'm getting bored," Mellen said in jest as he won game after game.

Blind since birth when his optic nerve didn't connect because of Leber's disease, Mellen honed his video game skills over the years through patient and not-so-patient playing, memorizing key joystick operations and moves in certain games, asking lots of questions and paying particular attention to audio cues. He worked his way up from games such as "Space Invaders" and "Asteroid," onto the modern combat games.

"I guess I don't know how I do it, really," Mellen said, as he continued playing while facing away from the screen. "It's beyond me."

Mellen knows this much: He started playing at home when he was about 7.

"He enjoyed trying to play, but he wasn't very good at first," said his father, Larry Mellen. "But he just kept on trying. ... He's broken a lot of controllers."

When the question of broken controllers comes up, Mellen flashes a smile and just shrugs.

"I used to have quite a temper," he said. "Me and controllers didn't get along very well."

Now they get along just fine.

While playing "Soul Caliber 2," Mellen worked his way through the introductory screens with ease, knowing exactly what to click to start the game he wanted.

He rarely asked for help. Once the game started he didn't need any help.

"How do I move?" an exasperated opponent, Ryan O'Banion, asked during a battle in which his character is frozen in place.

"You can't," Mellen answered before finishing him off.

"That's what happens. It's why I don't play him," O'Banion said after his blood-spattered character's corpse vanishes from the screen.

How Mellen became so good is a mystery to his father.

"He just sat there and he tried and tried until he got it right," Larry Mellen said. "He didn't ever complain to me or anyone about how hard it was."

Mellen hangs out any chance he gets at the DogTags Gaming Center in Lincoln, which opened last month. Every now and then someone will come in and think he can easily beat the blind kid.

That attitude doesn't faze Mellen.

"I'll challenge them, maybe. If I feel like a challenge," he said, displaying an infectious confidence. "I freak people out by playing facing backwards."

There's nothing he likes better than playing video games, Mellen said.

He will be a senior in high school next year. After graduation, he plans to take a year off because he wants a break from school.

When he does go to college, Mellen wants to study — what else? — video-game design.

COMMENT: This guy will kick your posing gamer's ass! :D


Blind Teen Amazes With Video-Game Skills

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jul 27,10:01 PM ET

LINCOLN, Neb. - Brice Mellen is a whiz at video games such as "Mortal Kombat." In that regard, the 17-year-old isn't much different from so many others his age. Except for one thing: He's blind.

And as he easily dispatched foes who took him on recently at a Lincoln gaming center, the affable and smiling Mellen remained humble.

"I can't say that I'm a superpro," he said, working the controller like an extension of his body. "I can be beat."

Those bold enough to challenge him weren't so lucky. One by one, while playing "Soul Caliber 2," their video characters were decapitated, eviscerated and gutted without mercy by Mellen's on-screen alter ego.

"I'm getting bored," Mellen said in jest as he won game after game.

Blind since birth when his optic nerve didn't connect because of Leber's disease, Mellen honed his video game skills over the years through patient and not-so-patient playing, memorizing key joystick operations and moves in certain games, asking lots of questions and paying particular attention to audio cues. He worked his way up from games such as "Space Invaders" and "Asteroid," onto the modern combat games.

"I guess I don't know how I do it, really," Mellen said, as he continued playing while facing away from the screen. "It's beyond me."

Mellen knows this much: He started playing at home when he was about 7.

"He enjoyed trying to play, but he wasn't very good at first," said his father, Larry Mellen. "But he just kept on trying. ... He's broken a lot of controllers."

When the question of broken controllers comes up, Mellen flashes a smile and just shrugs.

"I used to have quite a temper," he said. "Me and controllers didn't get along very well."

Now they get along just fine.

While playing "Soul Caliber 2," Mellen worked his way through the introductory screens with ease, knowing exactly what to click to start the game he wanted.

He rarely asked for help. Once the game started he didn't need any help.

"How do I move?" an exasperated opponent, Ryan O'Banion, asked during a battle in which his character is frozen in place.

"You can't," Mellen answered before finishing him off.

"That's what happens. It's why I don't play him," O'Banion said after his blood-spattered character's corpse vanishes from the screen.

How Mellen became so good is a mystery to his father.

"He just sat there and he tried and tried until he got it right," Larry Mellen said. "He didn't ever complain to me or anyone about how hard it was."

Mellen hangs out any chance he gets at the DogTags Gaming Center in Lincoln, which opened last month. Every now and then someone will come in and think he can easily beat the blind kid.

That attitude doesn't faze Mellen.

"I'll challenge them, maybe. If I feel like a challenge," he said, displaying an infectious confidence. "I freak people out by playing facing backwards."

There's nothing he likes better than playing video games, Mellen said.

He will be a senior in high school next year. After graduation, he plans to take a year off because he wants a break from school.

When he does go to college, Mellen wants to study — what else? — video-game design.

Wonder what happens when someone disables the speakers?

Wonder what happens when someone disables the speakers?

That someone will get accused of cheating :D

Yeah, they had an article/ interview about this kid in EGM a couple months ago.

Mortal Kombat sucks.

Bah!

Tommy was deaf, dumb and blind kid. But he sure could play a mean pinball. ;)

That someone will get accused of cheating :D
LOL! Probably so. I imagine that what this guy is picking up on is the timing of sounds in the video. There's obviously no feedback through the controllers, and he certainly can't smell his way to winning, so it must be sound.

Bah!

Tommy was deaf, dumb and blind kid. But he sure could play a mean pinball. ;)
Heh! Yeah, but Tommy had "hysterical blindness" which caused him to be exposed later as a fruad. This guy was born with no optic nerve. ;)

LOL! Probably so. I imagine that what this guy is picking up on is the timing of sounds in the video. There's obviously no feedback through the controllers, and he certainly can't smell his way to winning, so it must be sound.
it'd be great if they did develop a way to involve smells in computer games. i just wouldn't want to use someone else's controller. :p

it'd be great if they did develop a way to involve smells in computer games. i just wouldn't want to use someone else's controller. :p
ROFL! Yeah, they might be "into" smells you might find a bit ... intense! ;)

it'd be great if they did develop a way to involve smells in computer games. i just wouldn't want to use someone else's controller. :p

That's just the thing. I read in Game Informer that a company already has developed a smell device for gaming use, though it's not completely finished yet.

*sings* He's a Mortal Kombat wizard/ there has to be a twist/ a Mortal Kombat wizard/ he's got such a supple wri-i-ist!

*sings* He's a Mortal Kombat wizard/ there has to be a twist/ a Mortal Kombat wizard/ he's got such a supple wri-i-ist!
I was reminded of pinball wizard too...

Yeah, there's a blind gammer out here on Martha's Vineyard, too. Of course, there's also a couple of weirdos who used DDR pads to play Mortal Kombat...

Ahhh so he is a button masher … hears an attack and just combo’s the hell out of it

Yup, he knows the controls and combos all the way, so each time he hears an attack/his controller vibrates, he counters it with his best combo

Yup, he knows the controls and combos all the way, so each time he hears an attack/his controller vibrates, he counters it with his best combo
That or is a pure key masher … just pounding away

But I wager he couldn't make it through the first three moves of Pong...

I bet he plays as Voldo.

But I wager he couldn't make it through the first three moves of Pong...
*groans* :p

COMMENT: This guy will kick your posing gamer's ass! :D


Blind Teen Amazes With Video-Game Skills

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jul 27,10:01 PM ET

{snip}



[singing] He's a pinball wizard
There has to be a twist.
A pin ball wizard,
S'got such a supple wrist.

heh... an infant can wax my ass at Mortal Kombat.... :(

anyway... kudos for him and glad he's having fun. :D

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:D

the only way he could win fighting games is not because he can tell the different sounds on teh game, that is more or less impossible unless you have a speaker set up or special headphones (which are easier to get for the comptuer because it has better sound card choices than televisions). He jsut memorized combos, not that i know where, or he is a button masher and tells what his opponent is going to do by listening to what there are doing. being blind throguh out his life im sure he could pick out subtle nuances as what part of the controller his opponent is jamming. beating the computer is probably harder. only noise they would make is random sounds for combos depending on teh game or the sound when they hit the floor.

Ihatevacations']the only way he could win fighting games is not because he can tell the different sounds on teh game, that is more or less impossible unless you have a speaker set up or special headphones (which are easier to get for the comptuer because it has better sound card choices than televisions). He jsut memorized combos, not that i know where, or he is a button masher and tells what his opponent is going to do by listening to what there are doing. being blind throguh out his life im sure he could pick out subtle nuances as what part of the controller his opponent is jamming. beating the computer is probably harder. only noise they would make is random sounds for combos depending on teh game or the sound when they hit the floor.
We were not talking about positional identification but you can HEAR them jump and can hear some of the “starts” to an opponents attack and then combo and mash

More about timing then positional

More about timing then positional
on a side scroller. everything but smash brothers and arcade classics are 3 dimensional rings now - for example: soul caliber, tekken, DoA, Bloody Roar, etc. people can jump, go left, right, back. it isnt just forward backward and up any more. You can charge ll you want but if you charge the wrong way, oh well. plus side stepping is your friend if you know where the attack is coming from

:D
Oh, verrry funny, you dweeb! ROFLMAO!

Damnit! I thought I had been the first to get to this when I made this topic!

I bet he plays as Voldo.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA THAT'S SO FUCKING TERRIBLE HAHA! :D

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No way, didn't know those existed!

For those of you who don't get the Voldo joke, THIS is Voldo, from Soul Calibur 2:

http://www.fortunecross.com/soulcalibur/image/320240voldo_1p.jpg

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I am a CatWoman seeking a SpiderMan. :p

"I'm getting bored," Mellen said in jest as he won game after game.
Am I the only person who thinks being blind does not excuse him from being a dick

Ihatevacations']Am I the only person who thinks being blind does not excuse him from being a dick
Absolutely agreed … specially if he was sitting in the room with those kids he was playing against that had to put up with someone who was in essence probably a masher

Bah. Until he can play strategy games, or first person shooters, Im not that impressed ;)

Bah. Until he can play strategy games, or first person shooters, Im not that impressed ;)
Or pong

Ahhh so he is a button masher … hears an attack and just combo’s the hell out of it
I really doubt he's a button masher. Any decent player can beat a button masher in Soulcaliber with his eyes closed :D. Seriously though, when I get good at a game, I can play it with my eyes closed for short periods (ok, so only about 15-20 seconds, but that's without any practice doing it) so I find this believable.

The most important skill in fighting games isn't the ability to respond to what's on the screen, but to anticipate your oponent, and the sound after you act tells you what happened and what sorts of things to expect next.

The amazing thing to me is that he was ever able to get the sort of skill needed to play a games like this blind - the sort of patience that must have taken is awe inspiring.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA THAT'S SO FUCKING TERRIBLE HAHA! :D

Thank you. I was hoping someone would get that joke. I'll be here all night.

Bah. Until he can play strategy games, or first person shooters, Im not that impressed ;)
Yeah, seriously, dude, I know a 4-year-old who can play Mortal Kombat and kick full-grown adults' asses! It's just random button-pressing!

I am a CatWoman seeking a SpiderMan. :p
LOL! I think most of the females on NS have lost their frikkin' minds! :D

LOL! I think most of the females on NS have lost their frikkin' minds! :D
Yes, mine committed suicide, remember? It was a few months ago, but I am still in mourning. :( :p

Yes, mine committed suicide, remember? It was a few months ago, but I am still in mourning. :( :p
Oh yeah. Now I remember. Do you miss it? ;)

Oh yeah. Now I remember. Do you miss it? ;)
It's getting easier and easier to live without it... but still... it's so hard to go on knowing that my love is no longer with me! :p

It's getting easier and easier to live without it... but still... it's so hard to go on knowing that my love is no longer with me! :p
You were in love with your own mind? Hmm. I thought I was the only one with that problem. ;)

You were in love with your own mind? Hmm. I thought I was the only one with that problem. ;)
No, you aren't alone! I loved my mind more than any other... it was my one, my only...


Okay, I'm starting to weird myself out! :D

Well, I know few things about MK or SoulCalliber. But it seems to me this guy is real good at what he does. I have a style that can BEAT button-mashers - simple, effective strategy. All the characters I pick - King, Cammy, Malin, Sakura, Vice, Rolento - are strategy-oriented ones. Yet, considering what he seems to know AND the fact that few people beat him, I am betting on more than button-mashing. I'd like to face him someday, assuming he plays King of Fighters, Street Fighter, etc...

Just goes to show you that "handicap" is a misnomer.

Just goes to show you that "handicap" is a misnomer.
Just goes to show how easily impressed people can be

There once was a young boy, who was deaf, dumb and blind and played a mean pinball. He heard no buzzers or bells never saw no lights or flashes, he's a pinball wizard. He could kick that blind boy's ass. :D That deaf, dumb and blind kid, sure played a mean pinball! ;)

I was reminded of pinball wizard too...
Darn, everyone beat me to the Tommy reference!

Zatoichi lives!

I've done this too; played video games without using my eyes. I was, of course, inspired by the Zatoichi series of movies from Japan. Some games are easy that way, others are not so much. I've never achieved domination like this kid has, but I've beaten human and computer opponents using simple estimations and predictions.

Its much harder in some games than in others. Soul Calibur 2 is difficult to master only if you can't lock your opponent into a combo early in the match. Guilty Gear 2x I play based mostly on distance and timing, which with audio clues becomes nearly impossible to pull off.

One of these days I'll find a chess fan to train with blind. That sounded like fun. Sensory cues are extremely important, lose any one and you must concentrate that much harder on what you have left.