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Tablet Gaming - a Nightmare for the Motor Impaired
According to a new article from Kotaku, Apple may be unveiling its entry into the gaming market next week. “Looking over the roster of people Apple has hired over the past year, folks like former Ensemble Studios developer Graeme Devine, I personally think it's going to be big,” says the author.
If Apple is to begin pushing for even more mobile gaming, will the Apple tablet be the next big thing in gaming? The iPhone already has a plethora of gaming titles, and new ones coming out every week. In fact, major players like EA are becoming more and more interested in getting into the mobile gaming revolution.
So, it is completely feasible that a device with more power than an iPhone but more portable and lightweight than a laptop would be ideal for gaming. Although, a $900 price tag is certainly uninviting.
The problem is that the more accessible gaming devices become to those who want to use things on the go, they become inherently less accessible to disabled gamers. Of course, every challenge can be overcome eventually. Most games that would be on such a device would also be available on a traditional PC anyway.
Nevertheless, one must wonder if consoles altogether will be slowly phased out, with the advent of the DS, PSP, Wii and Natal, which is already being questioned by the disabled gaming community; the idea of games moving completely to a mobile touchscreen-based console is not so far-fetched.
We are continually moving away from the idea of a heavy, unmovable, peripheral-based gaming unit. People today want their entertainment on the go, and who can blame them, with all of the deadlines and activities there are to keep up with nowadays, it's important to squeeze as much time out of every day as possible.
But will the disabled gamer be left behind?
It certainly seems like a distinct possibility, particularly for the motion impaired. Those who have difficulty holding small thin objects due to low strength or shaking motions, like those with Cerebral Palsy, will find it difficult to use such touchscreen devices.
Those with little or no ability to use their arms, dexterity in their fingers, or limited flexibility in their joints, like those with any of the 40 types of Muscular Dystrophy, will have many problems even attempting to use a machine like the Apple tablet.
Those who need to use one-switch devices will be completely out of luck, as these tablets are not designed to be able to accept the input of third-party devices.
Current motion impaired gamers don't need to worry, PC gaming will be around for years to come, as will consoles that have peripherals which can be hacked to suit individual needs as with the QuadJoy and Ben Heck devices.
But the future of gaming may be touch-based in our lifetimes, and if not ours, then certainly in the lifetime of our children. I expect mobile gaming to increase exponentially over the next decade, thanks to the popularity of iPhone games.
We can only hope that as technology increases the gap between the disabled gamer and the gaming platforms, that the technology that bridges said gap will continue to advance even more quickly.
Moreover, the disabled are a resourceful and resilient bunch. Those without strength can place the device on the table, those without dexterity can use mouth sticks, and those who need one-switch devices can jailbreak the devices should be usable with the PC.
You have to ask yourself, will you really go to all of that trouble when you can simply play on the device that already provides you with accessibility.
I can live, or rather survive without gaming devices, especially since Wii are almost totally adaptable for motion challenged people. However I agree that more attention should be paid to 'NORMALISING' accessibility to gaming for people with restricted motion/dexterity. Its not life threatening but can be made to exaggerate or overcome difficulties for people with disabilities.
Natal imho is still an overhyped rehash of existing tech. The concept fails to appeal to me completely.
Look at the wii, most games that try to cash in on the wii mote are not that good. I played tenchu, and my main thought was this could have been good had it used a normal control setup.
Apple is a lot of things, but not a byword for gamers. Given a choice between an iphone or my ds I know what i'll grab. (I like the new DSi LL, finally a ds with a decent size screen with larger viewing angle for us nearly blind buggers.)
You also have to remember that for casual games to really work they need to be playable by large numbers of people, including the elderly. So there will be a must for at least some bare basic AT considerations in design.
Even if mobile keeps pushing forward classic style games will more than likely not vanish. Modding, tweaking, TC's and such will always have a place for the die hards. Look at how many old games are remade or touched up to current standards.
I have never tried an apple tablet but I tried using a friend's Windows tablet and the onscreen keyboard just about killed me. I have only mild tremor - I can use an iPhone just fine -- but holding that little stick and trying to keep the cursor over one letter at a time? Forget it. I gave up and used an attached trackpad.
I'm a casual gamer as such and Mac addict. I've also tested one game for a company as a graphics tablet user which is my sole input device and general equality of game experience. One of the things I've loved about my iPhone is the gaming. I can (if perched correctly) hold the device and perform some tilt functions and of course touch). As someone with MD with limited finger and limb movement I personally find touch screens have actually enabled me to play games because I have enough movement to initiate a touch than to press or pull switches from various game controllers.
Of course, when the new Apple tablet (and others I see will follow) the larger the screen the heavier and less likely it is I will have the same experience. I suspect that some repositioning may work but time will tell.
The other problem with mac touch devices is that they do not work with a stylus like other types of touch screens - so head or mouthsticks do not work. However, if this is the way devices go in general, I can see accessibility touch wands or something coming along where speed of triggering an action on screen is not essential.
Other games that require physical movement or motion sensors will be a none starter - but mind control brain activated switches/movement mapping may catch up.
I can survive without the games, however Proloquo2go is a good communication program, but the iphone/ipod touch is too small for me to manage.
I'd like to put P2G on an iPad and whilst I have enough co-ordination now to manage a bigger screen and press on larger icons, my condition is progressive. Would it be worth paying out for if I can only, access it for a limited time?
iphones have bluetooth built in so I cant see why they wouldnt accept a bluetooth switch to scan menu's?
I know some people have managed to access ipod using aluminium foil on end of head pointer or mouth stick so that may be one option.
If its skin contact would it work whether you used a finger or a toe to tap on screen?
I just realized there is another problem with these devices. Namely that what you inteact with is also what gives the data. With my eyes I need to get up close and personal to any screen in order to see. After messing around with a touch screen smartphone I can safely say that it's not for me. Since either my hands are in my way or my face is.
(I can semi manage a ds under a magnifier, but multi touch would be almost undoable.)
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