My name is David, I’m Spanish, and 20 years ago I moved to Finland. So currently I’m a hybrid, everyday a little bit more Finnish, which is not bad actually.
I worked for 15 years as a researcher in acoustics, sound propagation and sound perception, the so-called psychoacoustics.
Two years ago, I wanted to do something different than what my boss was ordering me to do all the time. (I could not stand him any longer to be honest.) So I tried to create my own research project.
In that project, we wanted to improve the audio algorithms that are used in computer and videogames, so that the sounds would be more realistic and immersive. I realized this was also a path to creating an environment that would be more inclusive, from how we staffed our workplace to the games and apps we produced.
And then… my project got trashed.
I talked with organizations for the blind in two countries, even with a millionaire who was blind. And all of them said, good luck, but we can’t help you. Stubborn as I am, sometimes I believe my ideas are fantastic.
So I decided to make my own company, myTrueSound, where we would make audio games for the blind – with significant expertise and support from the blind community.
The blind community has incredible potential for working in the audiovisual industry – not just as sound technicians, musicians, producers, mixers and sound developers, but also as programmers, data analysts, marketing staff, game designers, scriptwriters, translators, voice actors and more.
The team on AudioWizards, our first game, featured a significant number of visually impaired staff: nine composed the music, one designed part of the special sound effects, one was a voice actor, and four have been beta-testers since the first version.
We have received a lot of support and very kind words, especially in the audio game forums, and so I have enough proof that we have to keep working in what we believe in. And I will continue working hard on being an ally, because life is better when we help one another.
Feel free to reach me, get in contact, or support our work in any way you feel like.
You can follow also myTrueSound on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. And absolutely, if you want to play our first game, you can find it in the App Store, on Google Play and on Steam.
Furthermore, if you like the game, please, share your thoughts with your friends. That will help us to move forward and to work on future accessible titles.
David Oliva is CEO of myTrueSound. For more information about the company and its work, email Info@MyTrueSound.com.
