Help Desk Hero

A navigation training game for screen reader and magnifier users.

Settings

Three independent dials control how the game gives you feedback. Each can be turned off completely. Settings are saved on this device.

Sound effects

Short tones played on correct answers, wrong answers, gold tiers, badges, levelling up, and ticket completion. Generated live; no audio files.

Clock sounds

Only plays on difficulties that show the clock (Agent and Veteran), and only in the last ten seconds before the target.

Narrator commentary

Uses the browser's text-to-speech with a voice different from your screen reader voice, so they don't collide.

Narrator voice

Pick a voice that is different from the one your screen reader uses, so the narrator does not collide with your screen reader. The nicest free voices are floated to the top of the list: in Microsoft Edge the Microsoft "Natural"/"Online" voices, and in Chrome the "Google" voices. These work without any paid add-ons.

Tip: to get the high-quality Windows "Natural" voices (which also work in Chrome), install them once from Windows Settings → Time & language → Speech → Add voices.

Music

Optional background music during a shift. It automatically quiets while the narrator is speaking so the two never collide.

Music volume

Sets how loud the background music plays when it is turned on above.

Your assistive technology

Each ticket shows a short navigation tip with the keystrokes for the tool you pick here. See the full command reference on the Resources page.

Game announcements

Controls how much the game itself announces via the live region, independent of the narrator.