Ioo's Web Game of the Week: Fragger

Sunday, 12 July 2009 07:00 Written by Steve Spohn

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The interview

Harold Brenes, creator and developer of Fragger, sat down with Ablegamers to chat about the importance of accessible gaming.

AG: How did you come up with the idea for this?

HB: While working a different project, I felt the urge to mess with the Box2D physics engine, and so I interrupted my work for a little bit to set up a little physics sandbox. After playing with it for a little bit, several physics-based game ideas came to me, one of which was controlling a SWAT character who would throw grenades into windows and chimney openings in houses and buildings in order to suppress a criminal threat. The concept was much more complicated at first, but since I wanted to make something fun yet simple and approachable by any kind of player, and I also didn't want to take forever developing it, I evolved it to simpler single screen world, with the levels relying more on aim and puzzle.

AG: Did accessibility cross your mind when making this title?

HB: Of course! One of my goals from the get-go was to make the controls and gameplay simple enough so that most everyone could play. I tested often from the very beginning with varied types of gamers (and non-gamers), balancing it based on the results and feedback I would get. At the end, I don't think you can't even please anyone, some people still think it's too hard, whilst other think its much too easy.

AG: Are there other titles that you have developed that take into account disabilities such as motor impairment, colorblindness, or the hard of hearing?

HB: My past games have been 'rushed' jobs, with tight deadlines, so I wasn't able to take them where I wanted to, and my backlog isn't exactly lengthy, but accessibility is always in my mind when developing a project, it is very important to be aware of this and I am very glad that this organization is raising awareness on these subjects, and I feel honored to have been approached.

Game accessibility

As with most Armor games; the accessibility is rather good for a web-based game. For the hearing impaired, everything is close captioned. For the visually impaired, the only area that deals with color is a sliding color gradient from green to red in an arrow, which can be seen by how far the slider is shaded in. Thus, alleviating the need to see the color.

For the mobility impaired, this game is rather simple. You must point and click a mouse. One-handed gamers should be able to handle this game just fine. There are some abilities which can be used from the keyboard and have no mouse shortcuts. That is a downfall but most of the keyboard abilities are not necessary. For some gamers with fine motor issues, this game may be a little frustrating, we wish Armor Games would have a more robust keyboard setup for this game.

The entire game can be completed with just a mouse.

Overall

Fragger is an excellent game that deals with physics and blowing up ninjas. This is an excellent game filled with cartoon violence and a decent level of accessibility. Try your hand at blowing up ninjas today.

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