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2:39 PM on 10.03.2007, Colette Bennett 77 comments

     AMAZING


Ben Underwood just made my day. I've never seen anything quite like what he can do with a controller, much less the awesome stuff he can do outside of that. The next time you bitch about not being able to beat that score or win that match, I bet you'll remember this guy. Apparently he's mastered something called echolocation - the same thing that dolphins use to place their position within their surroundings. Chad, are you listening?

It does my heart good to know that games can still be enjoyed and loved by all kinds of people - the right ones don't let impediments get in their way.

[Thanks for this gem, Leo!] 


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Upgrayedd's Avatar
Upgrayedd at 10/03/2007 14:44
That guy is amazing!
wilbo's Avatar
wilbo at 10/03/2007 14:45
not the first time ive seen this
there is a gamer in britain who does the same thing
but he plays ff7 too
and he beat a lead designer of mortal kombat at mortal kombat
so our blind gamer is better
BS3 Owner's Avatar
BS3 Owner at 10/03/2007 14:47
His ALL Time favorite game...
Echo : The Dolphin for Xbox Live Arcade? No...

All joking aside pretty amazing!
Spartacus's Avatar
Spartacus at 10/03/2007 14:48
This is completely awesome, but how could echolocation help him find enemies displayed on a flat screen?
atheistium's Avatar
atheistium at 10/03/2007 14:51
old but still awesome.
PROTECT HIM FROM CHAD! He communicates with the dolphins.
WDot's Avatar
WDot at 10/03/2007 14:51
TheLordRandom: He said he listened to the different voices yelling on screen. I dunno how well it would work on say, Super Mario Bros, but 3d games seem to be fine for him. That said, that's bloody amazing. I think I'm going to try playing some games with my eyes closed and depend completely on the sound. That's just awesome, and I want to do that too.
renison's Avatar
renison at 10/03/2007 14:52
Do I even have to ask if he plays Ecco the Dolphin??

Biological life and the power of the mind, once again proves to be beyond extraordinary and this kid goes further, like they said, with his attitude and perseverance.

This post is a rare treat for this site. It also made my day slash year - great find Colette, thanks for filtering through all those early morning shows and horridly designed CBS video clips brought to us by Wal-Mart.
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 10/03/2007 14:53
haxx.
Milofo's Avatar
Milofo at 10/03/2007 14:54
Now the Dolphin invasion from the Simpsons seems a bit more plausible now...
Deathsaw's Avatar
Deathsaw at 10/03/2007 14:54
That's pretty amazing. Wouldn't it be sweet if he entered a gaming competition and won? I'd pay to see that. I remember seeing 2 blind gamers play each other on AOTS. That was an even match.

I have a cruel/funny story. My school recently started doing the whole king and queen voting garbage again. They stopped when everyone voted for a blind girl as a joke. It crushed her but it makes great fodder. If she's reading this i'm sorry. LOL! No offense to all the blind Dtoid viewers out there but what are you doing on the computer anyway?
Fuzzy's Avatar
Fuzzy at 10/03/2007 14:56
That was great. Amazing to see what some people can do when most would consider them defective. I work with special needs kids, but I've never seen anyone who was blind do anything like this.

Thanks for the heads up, Colette!
Mabec's Avatar
Mabec at 10/03/2007 14:57
Lol, this kid make the news every year :D
bigfatton's Avatar
bigfatton at 10/03/2007 14:57
Amazing
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 10/03/2007 15:00
Incidentally, this kid is my hero.
Fuzzy's Avatar
Fuzzy at 10/03/2007 15:03
@Deathsaw
Not funny at all. Horrible? Yes. I'm not generally the PC type, but mocking people with disabilities and/or special needs is where I draw the line. The next time that you think something like that "makes great fodder", imagine if that were your sister, or your friend, or God forbid, you.
rpbowlinggod's Avatar
rpbowlinggod at 10/03/2007 15:03
@wilbo yeah, I've seen the blind british gamer. He doesn't do anything like this guy. Mr. blind brit just memorizes moves and combos to perfection and then lets someone hit first, blocks/counters, then does the same combo til death. this guy is something completely different
SourGr8pes's Avatar
SourGr8pes at 10/03/2007 15:04
If I had to have a sword duel in a bamboo forest against this kid... It's a given that I would definitely lose
jdubya93's Avatar
jdubya93 at 10/03/2007 15:06
Amazing. I saw a video about a paralyzed guy with the tag NOMAD, he plays with his face in pro gaming tournies.
qo_op's Avatar
qo_op at 10/03/2007 15:07
this is pretty old but amazing nonetheless.
Cheeburga's Avatar
Cheeburga at 10/03/2007 15:21
That is fucking awesome.
Chad Concelmo's Avatar
Chad Concelmo at 10/03/2007 15:24
That is the most incredible thing I have ever seen. :)
PSIq0ut's Avatar
PSIq0ut at 10/03/2007 15:32
sick! he can sense their powerlevels!
Fuzzy's Avatar
Fuzzy at 10/03/2007 15:35
@qwerty
Didn't mean to make anyone think that joking about disabilities isn't funny, because it is. Most people with disabilities can tell the best jokes about them, and I find some of those helen keller jokes hilarious. Making fun of a generality or a group is fine to me, but to be cruel and humiliate an actual person because of their disability (as in Deathsaw's example) is wrong to me.
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 10/03/2007 15:41
I have a friend with no arms. He games with his feet. He sucks at most games though, his favorite is Nintendo DS just because he can control the stylus with his foot and he doesn't have to worry about pushing buttons on a lot of those games.
UglyDuck's Avatar
UglyDuck at 10/03/2007 15:47
This makes me want to make a handheld game for blind people.
dv8withn8's Avatar
dv8withn8 at 10/03/2007 16:06
This kid was on Ellen a while back. He got a Wii before it even came out.

I wonder how well he'd do in large open world games. I've only seen him play fighters and what not where everything is contained within a small space.
Fading Star's Avatar
Fading Star at 10/03/2007 16:10
Nice. I for one welcome our blind gaming overloads. You have made us proud.
vexed alex's Avatar
vexed alex at 10/03/2007 16:11
That's amazing.
MaxVest's Avatar
MaxVest at 10/03/2007 16:14
Another one for the amazing bandwagon.

I wonder if the increasing presence of surround sound in games could help him play even more types.
corneliuscack's Avatar
corneliuscack at 10/03/2007 16:19
toooooouuuuseennnnnnnn lol



but all jokes aside, pretty amazing.
RICHARD BLOCKER's Avatar
RICHARD BLOCKER at 10/03/2007 16:38
Amazing, but the media isn't telling you the whole story. I think I saw this on CURRENT TV. This English guy runs a school for blind people. He teaches them that echo location thing. That kid was one of his pupils. It just kind of pisses me off that they had to sensationalize it and not report about the school. Maybe another blind kids parents could have got the info they needed to get their kid into that school.
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 10/03/2007 16:38
effin, wow.
smallkid's Avatar
smallkid at 10/03/2007 16:39
there was some news about this guy last year before the wii launch, he got a wii like a month before the launch
brosef's Avatar
brosef at 10/03/2007 16:43
I gotta do it. It's 80's movie slowclap time:

clap....clap....clap....clap...clap...clap...clap..clap..clap
..clap.clap.clap.clap.clapclapclapCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPWOOOOOOO
YOU DA MAN!!!
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 10/03/2007 17:05
@ dv8withn8
Yeah, I remember seeing him there too. I'm still amazed at how he does it. I understand the echolocation thing, but playing video games is just beyond me.
Biltor's Avatar
Biltor at 10/03/2007 17:41
This kid PWNS!
Clockwork's Avatar
Clockwork at 10/03/2007 18:08
Unbelieveable.
jeffk6's Avatar
jeffk6 at 10/03/2007 18:30
that video is so old get with the times blogers
brad drac's Avatar
brad drac at 10/03/2007 19:19
Pretty incredible alright, though I must have missed on it's first time doing the blog rounds. Must be handy trick too, wish I could do that..
trunxkam45's Avatar
trunxkam45 at 10/03/2007 19:39
Wow... That doctor was really right about what he said. Kids feel like they can't do alot because of their attitude. They feel like there are just people who are innately smart and talented that they can't best in anything.
masuroa's Avatar
masuroa at 10/03/2007 20:22
"he's the zatoichi. The blind nigga samurai." from the boondocks
TheTaj's Avatar
TheTaj at 10/03/2007 20:45
Wow, he kicks ass at Dragon Ball.
Azereki's Avatar
Azereki at 10/03/2007 21:03
I saw this awhile ago on the local news, I couldn't believe he could play games without even being able to see. I wonder if there is a limit to what he can play. Obviously, some RPG's are probably going to be difficult especially if they don't include spoken dialog.
Raidensolid's Avatar
Raidensolid at 10/03/2007 21:08
Echolocation huh? Does anyone else wonder if he is possibly using echolocation along with some undetectable form of ESP? (Extra-Sensory Perception for those of you who are uneducated). It's possible. Otherwise mad props. I hope to be beaten in Teh Halos by this boy one day.
BADInc's Avatar
BADInc at 10/03/2007 21:09
hes my hero...he has the same first name as me
RskimB's Avatar
RskimB at 10/03/2007 21:46
oldie but a goodie
Aequitas's Avatar
Aequitas at 10/03/2007 22:03
"there was some news about this guy last year before the wii launch, he got a wii like a month before the launch"

So that's why he has friends at his house! Ba dum psh.

@Raidensolid: No, it's not ESP. You can do this as well. Sit at your computer, facing the monitor. Do that clicking thing. Turn your head side to side while doing it and see how the sound changes.

His sense with it is just well-practiced. Anyone can do this. Blind people just have a lot more motivation to. But I'd like to see him walk and chew gum at the same time!!1

I don't really mean to belittle his ability. It is amazing, compared to most of us.
Aequitas's Avatar
Aequitas at 10/03/2007 22:03
"there was some news about this guy last year before the wii launch, he got a wii like a month before the launch"

So that's why he has friends at his house! Ba dum psh.

@Raidensolid: No, it's not ESP. You can do this as well. Sit at your computer, facing the monitor. Do that clicking thing. Turn your head side to side while doing it and see how the sound changes.

His sense with it is just well-practiced. Anyone can do this. Blind people just have a lot more motivation to. But I'd like to see him walk and chew gum at the same time!!1

I don't really mean to belittle his ability. It is amazing, compared to most of us.
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