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This makes sense, as MUDs have aging populations, leftovers from college geeks and roleplaying nerds from the days of DOS and Pretty Hate Machine. When the primary subjects in this play—Lilah and the Materia Magica staff—speak, it's with a reverence for the community that has persisted for so long in silicon and wires. And without a dedicated group interested in evolving the confines of the current game, none of this would have happened.According to the MUD's financial manager, Anthony Roma, the blind MUDders have always been a vital part of Materia Magica, but they feel welcome with open arms now, forming sometimes 50 percent of online users some nights; even though the MUD populations have all diminished in the post-MMO world, it's still a testament to what a bit of effort can do in a game.The lessons to be applied to the world of modern video games is mixed. One of the operative parts of the term is "video," and this isn't an accident: They are visually oriented in the extreme. Still, Lilah has wellsprings of hope that anything is possible."I think if people just think outside of the box a little bit, there are ways to make things accessible without spending a fortune. But most people can't even imagine being blind, much less playing a game like Materia Magica while blind," she says. "It's an intricate game that even sighted people find too hard. So instead of saying, 'This is too hard,' I ask 'How can we do it? If it's inaccessible, how can we make it accessible?' If you're blind or visually impaired, deaf, or anything else, instead of thinking you can't do it… Materia Magica is showing that it can be done."Follow Ian Williams on Twitter."I think if people just think outside of the box a little bit, there are ways to make things accessible without spending a fortune."—Lilah