Lately it seems that the massive online game "World of Warcraft" is drawing everybody's attention. The creation of Irvine, CA-based Blizzard Entertainment, Warcraft is a massive online multiplayer game that boasts seven million players worldwide, each of whom pays roughly fifteen dollars a month to battle evil and quest for glory in Blizzard's complex fantasy world. An internet craze, the subject of Congressional attention, Warcraft is not just a game in some schools and communities, it is the game. It is unfathomable then, in the very month that President George W. Bush declared National Disability Employment Awareness Month as part of a landmark expansion of the Americans With Disabilities Act, that Blizzard announced its new vision of gaming -- a vision where the disabled are no longer welcome.

Until now, a tremendous aspect of Warcraft was Blizzard's decision to employ an extensible architecture that allowed players to use various "add-ons" -- small programs available free on-line from countless developers in the Warcraft community -- that reduced the physical dexterity needed to play the game. Actions which required multiple or complex keystroke combinations could be grouped in what was called
"intelligent keybinding" to allow someone with limited use of their hands to play on par with everyone else.

Sheer brilliance. From a business perspective, it broadened the number of possible subscribers. From a social perspective, it sent the message that cyberspace did not discriminate against the disabled. Most importantly perhaps, from a simple human perspective, it let anyone run, jump and slay dragons as equal parts of the same team - perhaps the only chance some kids will have to do so in such a popular game environment.

Blizzard has offered no formal explanation for the decision to actively exclude the disabled. In fact, their actions reflect a degree of understandable embarrassment. The announcement was initially posted on their website and almost immediately removed, only to reappear later with a somewhat obscure statement that the changes are in keeping with the "spirit" of Blizzard's "philosophies." I'm sure that lofty goal will be a great comfort to the kids who are notified that their disabilities have just been extended into the fantasy world.

The most baffling aspect of this decision is that it costs Blizzard nothing to let this support continue. The work required is enthusiastically provided free of charge by the add-on developer community, a huge group of independent programmers who selflessly donate their time and talent to provide solutions such as these. Both the process and the results are examples of how barriers can be overcome by kindness, creativity and initiative. Nor was there a demand for change from the players; no hue and cry about roving gangs of otherwise disabled players dominating the game through artificial intelligence. In fact, quite the opposite was true - players young and old, disabled or not, were virtually indistinguishable. For society, that is an achievement; for some kids it is a dream come true.

Only a small handful of Warcraft players have stepped up to publicly defend Blizzard's decision in online forums, declaring that "it is no fun and takes no skill to repeatedly mash a single button." This garishly elitist attitude was certainly not offered by someone who can only press one button and simply wants to play with the other kids. Most players commenting find the decision deplorable; many say they have cancelled their subscriptions.

Of course, one might be inclined to dismiss the entire issue; it is, after all, just a video game. But when that game has grown to a social phenomenon involving seven million players and roughly a billion dollars a year in revenues, one is forced to consider its responsibilities to society and the harm suffered by those excluded from participating solely due to a physical handicap. This exclusion becomes even more repugnant when one considers that the game's wild popularity has extended to players of all ages, notably including members of our Armed Forces with computer access who, during downtime or in hospitals, rely on the multiplayer aspect of Warcraft to interact with friends and family back home. By arbitrarily shutting off a simple enabling technology, Blizzard will close their doors to active and veteran members of the Armed Forces who have sacrificed the use of their hands in service to this nation. It would be easy to hail a company that worked hard to create avenues of support for these players -- it is unimaginable to think of a company with a working solution who just abandons them.

The timing for Blizzard's announcement could not be any more out of sync with the direction of mainstream America. In launching his New Freedom Initiative, President Bush set as a vital goal to "more fully integrate men and women with disabilities into all aspects of life." In a press release, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao stated, "President Bush and I believe that Americans with disabilities, like all Americans, should have the opportunity to work and to live productive lives." I believe that live is the operative word and life, as we all know, is a mixture of work and play. Nowhere is playtime more central to quality of life than for kids or veterans whose disabilities limit their options for recreation.

As a great fan of science, I believe in the power of technology to overcome barriers. I dream of a day when engineering and medicine will allow every kid to swing for the fence or run to catch the long pass. I hope that day is just around the corner. But today, right now, we can and should at the very least give all of our kids a chance to leave whatever their limits are behind them and play a computer game with millions of their peers as equals. If only in the most self-serving analysis, in the age of litigation a multi-billion dollar entertainment company like Blizzard might give a little more thought to possible ramifications before essentially ripping the wheelchair ramps out of cyberspace.

Of the many challenges before this nation, embracing and empowering those with disabilities is perhaps the greatest example of a win-win scenario for everyone. It is an effort based on compassion, dignity and fairness for all, themes inherent to the American dream. A cause championed by our President, it is certainly a "philosophy" that Blizzard Entertainment should be able to understand and one that we as citizens should expect from a leader in the game industry. We can only hope that they reconsider their philosophy before slamming the door on the very people for whom the chance to play means the most.