byDana Jorgensen
Funded!This project successfully raised its funding goal just now.
Tactile dice allowing the visually impaired to roll and read their own dice.
Braille Dice.
About five years ago, I recognized a long-standing problem in the adventure gaming industry. In spite the fact that the vision impaired could quite readily participate in the vast plethora of imagination-based games produced over the past 40 years, there are still some things lacking in providing satisfaction. Can you imagine playing and never having the satisfaction of rolling your own dice and reading the results?
So I approached a known dice manufacturer in regards to the problem and after much discussion, things sounded like they thought it was a grand idea and wanted to add these tactile dice as a regular product. I even provided simple, straightforward plans for the dice. That was five years ago.
Recently, the issue was raised again. Admittedly, I'm partly at fault here, as I never followed up on the earlier attempt. However, this time around, things are very different. In the last five years, my circle of friends and associates has changed drastically, and my skill set has expanded. This time around, I don't have to turn to a dice manufacturer to get the job done. Today, I have the know-how to see it through to the end myself.
As I write this, many things are coming together. Raw materials for prototyping are in the mail. Orders for materials to make the mass production molds have been written up. Blueprints for machinery have been drawn up. Now is the time to search for funding.
About the dice: The dice are designed for the visually impaired. As such, rather than numerals, they are marked with braille pips. To allow the owner to distinguish between dice by touch, we rely first on shape, then on size. For example, D100 means rolling 2D10. We provide two D10 dice, the smaller for the ones digit and the larger for the tens digit. Below are descriptions of the dice.
D4: This will be a standard sized pyramidal die. There will be two styles. The first will follow the visual version, marking each corner to read the point facing up, while the second will mark each face with a single braille character, with the roll result being the side facing down.
D6: This will be a standard 15mm sized cubic die.
D8: This will be a standard sized diamond die.
D10: This will be a standard sized and shaped die, denoting the ones.
D10s: This will be an enlarged 10-sided die, denoting the tens. Paired with the above to roll D100.
D12: This will be a standard sized die.
D20: This will be enlarged from 0.75 inches to 1.25 inches
Die sizes are tentative. Because braille is tactile, further enlargement of the die designs may be necessary to provide fast, reliable reading ability. We'll determine that and make the necessary changes in the prototype phase.
The faces and pips are formed by removal of material from the facing surface, forming a depression the braille pips rise in. As a result, a rim exists on each die face. To provide a "bottom" to orient the die for correct reading, one side of this lip will be rippled along the side of the depression, while the other sides of the lip will remain smooth.
The dice will be cast from polyester resin. They will probably be left in the resin's natural color and uninked. After all, if you need braille markings, color isn't a big concern, right? But then again, if enough of you say you want color, we'll add color.
6-die set: 4d6, 1d10, 1d10s
8-die set: 2d4 (1 of each style), 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d10s, 1d12, 1d20.
Bonus die: 1d3 (D6 marked 1-3 twice, enlarged to 25mm).
Bonus Die: 1d2 (thick coin slug marked in braille on each side)
Bonus die: 1d30 (enlarged to 3 inches/75mm)
The bonus dice will not be mass produced for general distribution.
About five years ago, I recognized a long-standing problem in the adventure gaming industry. In spite the fact that the vision impaired could quite readily participate in the vast plethora of imagination-based games produced over the past 40 years, there are still some things lacking in providing satisfaction. Can you imagine playing and never having the satisfaction of rolling your own dice and reading the results?
So I approached a known dice manufacturer in regards to the problem and after much discussion, things sounded like they thought it was a grand idea and wanted to add these tactile dice as a regular product. I even provided simple, straightforward plans for the dice. That was five years ago.
Recently, the issue was raised again. Admittedly, I'm partly at fault here, as I never followed up on the earlier attempt. However, this time around, things are very different. In the last five years, my circle of friends and associates has changed drastically, and my skill set has expanded. This time around, I don't have to turn to a dice manufacturer to get the job done. Today, I have the know-how to see it through to the end myself.
As I write this, many things are coming together. Raw materials for prototyping are in the mail. Orders for materials to make the mass production molds have been written up. Blueprints for machinery have been drawn up. Now is the time to search for funding.
About the dice: The dice are designed for the visually impaired. As such, rather than numerals, they are marked with braille pips. To allow the owner to distinguish between dice by touch, we rely first on shape, then on size. For example, D100 means rolling 2D10. We provide two D10 dice, the smaller for the ones digit and the larger for the tens digit. Below are descriptions of the dice.
D4: This will be a standard sized pyramidal die. There will be two styles. The first will follow the visual version, marking each corner to read the point facing up, while the second will mark each face with a single braille character, with the roll result being the side facing down.
D6: This will be a standard 15mm sized cubic die.
D8: This will be a standard sized diamond die.
D10: This will be a standard sized and shaped die, denoting the ones.
D10s: This will be an enlarged 10-sided die, denoting the tens. Paired with the above to roll D100.
D12: This will be a standard sized die.
D20: This will be enlarged from 0.75 inches to 1.25 inches
Die sizes are tentative. Because braille is tactile, further enlargement of the die designs may be necessary to provide fast, reliable reading ability. We'll determine that and make the necessary changes in the prototype phase.
The faces and pips are formed by removal of material from the facing surface, forming a depression the braille pips rise in. As a result, a rim exists on each die face. To provide a "bottom" to orient the die for correct reading, one side of this lip will be rippled along the side of the depression, while the other sides of the lip will remain smooth.
The dice will be cast from polyester resin. They will probably be left in the resin's natural color and uninked. After all, if you need braille markings, color isn't a big concern, right? But then again, if enough of you say you want color, we'll add color.
6-die set: 4d6, 1d10, 1d10s
8-die set: 2d4 (1 of each style), 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d10s, 1d12, 1d20.
Bonus die: 1d3 (D6 marked 1-3 twice, enlarged to 25mm).
Bonus Die: 1d2 (thick coin slug marked in braille on each side)
Bonus die: 1d30 (enlarged to 3 inches/75mm)
The bonus dice will not be mass produced for general distribution.
Braille Dice by Dana Jorgensen — Kickstarter
