7/28/2005
Blind Teen-Ager Is A Whiz At Video Games
LINCOLN, Neb. It's no exaggeration to say Brice Mellen of Nebraska is so good at video games, he can beat his opponents with his eyes closed.Like most 17-year-olds, Mellen loves playing video games. But unlike most gamers, he's been blind since birth.
Mellen says he taught himself to play by memorizing joystick operations, asking lots of questions and paying close attention to audio cues.
His father says his son wasn't very good at first, "but he just kept on trying."
Mellen worked his way up from "Space Invaders" and "Asteroid" to such modern combat games as "Mortal Kombat."
He humbly says he can be beat. But there was no evidence of that at a gaming center in Lincoln. One by one, he destroyed his opponents -- some of whom thought he would be an easy opponent because of his blindness.
Mellen says when he goes to college, he wants to study -- what else? -- video-game design.
Mellen says he taught himself to play by memorizing joystick operations, asking lots of questions and paying close attention to audio cues.
His father says his son wasn't very good at first, "but he just kept on trying."
Mellen worked his way up from "Space Invaders" and "Asteroid" to such modern combat games as "Mortal Kombat."
He humbly says he can be beat. But there was no evidence of that at a gaming center in Lincoln. One by one, he destroyed his opponents -- some of whom thought he would be an easy opponent because of his blindness.
Mellen says when he goes to college, he wants to study -- what else? -- video-game design.
