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What does the Accessible Game Design group want to accomplish?
Hi - I'm Eleanor Robinson from 7-128 Software. I joined the Accessible Game Design group to talk about design issues related to accessibility features added to mainstream games to make them playable by gamers with various disabilities. Are there other game developers who are interested in discussing these issues? We have a number of games out that have different accessibility features, check us out at 7128.com
What do you see as the value this group can add to the game development environment?
Eleanor Robinson
7-128 Software
Discussion started by elrobin , on 795 days ago
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Knight666
The problem of configurable game controls is one of the most difficult areas of accessibility to address. Why - because it does not just depend on software, but a physical manufactured item. There have been some adapted controllers made, but you still have the problem of getting them to work with the games you want to play.
Organizations like AbleGamers can make a difference by making these companies aware of the need for such controllers. I saw a demonstration of the move and I think you will be able to use it - but now games have to be made that will work with it.
Eleanor Robinson
7-128 Software
The problem of configurable game controls is one of the most difficult areas of accessibility to address. Why - because it does not just depend on software, but a physical manufactured item. There have been some adapted controllers made, but you still have the problem of getting them to work with the games you want to play.
Organizations like AbleGamers can make a difference by making these companies aware of the need for such controllers. I saw a demonstration of the move and I think you will be able to use it - but now games have to be made that will work with it.
Eleanor Robinson
7-128 Software
I have use of one hand and sometime frustarting that the control setting are not more changeable for a disable gamer..Like the new kinect for the 360. I am a person in a wheelchair be able enjoy playing with kinect if I can not stand up like everyone else?..Or with PS3 new move and i am going fine any game the I can use with just one hand?
Oops one last tid bit here as I read back my post to myself, when I say the following: "The_iControl_Cube idea which has been given copyright status so no commercial company can sweep in and profit from it at your expense" I literally mean that, hence I did not say our as in my company and partners. We have already tentatively agreed to donate the copyrights to AbleGamers. I will be sitting with him at the event in Massachusetts this May to hopefully forge a partnership with him regarding ideas, and what we're offering. We need to figure out a method of getting any of this hardware mass produced, and sold to you at cost + shipping only from participating companies. I need the boss here to see if he can get companies a huge tax break if they participate as incentive, or at least we can lobby for it. The ideas are, software at cost, and hardware at cost. I know several companies who offer 1000.00 software products either for free or at less than a 100.00 costs to user with our encouragement. One in particular offered a 1500.00 program for 125.00 and life time upgrades to new versions. I thought that was very generous but they are a top notch company.
Blaze has the best point made, we're hoping to look at both sides of this problem, games accessibility and hardware accessibility. Again going back to the The_iControl_Cube idea which has been given copyright status so no commercial company can sweep in and profit from it at your expense, is just one idea and based on only one affliction, which is fine motor skill issues. My wife is a Professor here in Connecticut who teaches adaptive technologies, so Im well aware that we will be requiring more than just "cubes" to offer accessibility. This is just a stepping stone, but interaction with people here is what we need most. I would like to know more about what complications you have with any controller, or if you have problems that cannot be solves with currently available controllers that we can help prototype into something you can use. We dont expect to cater to any specific genre of games, we want access to role playing games, adventure games, sports games, games that help you exercise or offer you self physical therapy which is managed by your therapist. I think even physical therapists will agree, that if you make therapy fun, the chances the patient will do its exercises at home go up a substantial degree. As you can see from Eleanors post, there are developers who are willing to design software for the disable although I prefer the word physically challenged today. Im certainly not broken or disabled, Im challenged physically. I challenge myself physically every day to achieve what I need to do. I remember and still experience people calling us handicap. If people knew how that word was created they would realize its more of a derogatory word than a description.
Hi Eleanor, sorry for the late reply but we've been doing a lot of prototyping lately and sample builds of game codes that are disabled friendly. One item thats being worked on is a cube with one side open so you can see all the walls inside. Each side of those walls has an actuator which a person can press with their had for example. This is meant for people with fine motor skill issues. We plan on creating them so they clamp on a desk in pairs. Looking at block one for example, and they can be made to size for the person suffering the motor skill problems, block one is hooked up to a PC, XBOX, or PS3. Its playing a typical First Person shooter or even adventure game where the character normally moves by key press or gamepad directional button. Each side having an actuator and vinyl covering, if you wanted to walk forward, you pushed the back panel of the cube. To move sideways you push the left, to move right, you push the right, to go backwards you push down, to go up a ladder you push up. The outside of cube one's sides and top also have actuators. You push the left side to reload, the right side to zoom into a firing scope or hard site, and hit the top to shoot. Cube 2, this can have different functions as well, crouch, lay prone, get up, pick up item ect. Both blocks are easily programmable to any key or gamepad movement. The idea is, its different from the main stream controllers, yet even able bodied people may be interested in using them for example as some sort of interesting space simulation controller. The idea to produce games, and equipment the brings closer that huge missing span of bridge of disabled gamers and able gamers, so they can enjoy games hopefully together, or at least the same games as minimum goal. We work primarily on software entertainment, but we all have had CAD experience and Ive a strong knowledge of machine shop work, and electronics so creating prototypes is not very difficult. This is the overall goal but why are we doing this would be question Im asked most often. 1. I am retired, and frankly we've done very well for ourselves over the years commercially and we decided from the start of our work together, that once we retired we would give back to the community. Either through free opensource games of substantial and equal commercial qualities or with what I found here at AbleGamers. Right now AbleGamers is our primary focus, being disabled myself to a degree, I know the frustrations of not having certain hardware available for me to use. The feeling of being left out while everyone else is enjoying themselves. So my partners and I decided this would be the first step in our agreement to give back.
Welcome Ms. Robinson! Nice to meet ya!
I don’t say this to push your help away nor to seem rude, but while Games having fully configurable controls via the
options menu is a big help, Physical controllers are a major hurdle for those of us with physical disabilities. Software is only part of the equation.
It needs to be a combination of software AND hardware solutions.
I’m gonna check out your companies games & I’ll post brief thoughts after checking out your companies software.
Peace
I don’t say this to push your help away nor to seem rude, but while Games having fully configurable controls via the
options menu is a big help, Physical controllers are a major hurdle for those of us with physical disabilities. Software is only part of the equation.
It needs to be a combination of software AND hardware solutions.
I’m gonna check out your companies games & I’ll post brief thoughts after checking out your companies software.
Peace
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