Game Accessibility Example: Control Sims 3 with your eyes!

The video below was shared by SpecialEffect Accessible GameBase:





RELATED
SpecialEffect Accessible GameBase website.


SpecialEffect Accessible GameBase (Facebook)

Cross-posted on the TechPsych blog.

Games for Health Conference, Games Accessibility Day, and Games Beyond Entertainment Week! (Via Ben Sawyer, Digital Mill, Serious Games Initiative)

The Games for Health Conference and Games Beyond Entertainment Week are coming soon.

Register now at: http://www.regonline.com/gbew2010

We can now reveal our excellent keynotes for the 2010 Games for Health Conference:

Day 1: Wednesday May 26

THE MIND-BODY EXPERIENCE OF SONY MOVE: Relationships between Gaming, Play, Exercise, and More!
Dr. Richard Marks
Senior Researcher Sony US R&D group

Dr. Marks also known as the "father of the EyeToy" will discuss the relationship between gaming, play and exercise, referencing his work in the development of Sony’s new motion controller system, PlayStation Move, as well as his previous work with Sony’s EyeToy, PlayStation Eye and other interfaces.

Day 2: Thursday May 27

THE HUMAN PLAY MACHINE

Chaim Gingold

Chaim Gingold, a longtime independent game developer and original designer of Spore’s creature creator will discuss how existing game genres map onto the human brain and body and how design decisions affect who will be attracted to the game and how they will play.

You can see the nearly full schedule at: http://www.gamesforhealth.org/schedule.htm

Two of our May 25: Pre-Conference Events also have schedules posted:

Out & About: The Mobile Serious Games schedule: http://bit.ly/9MbEEF

3rd Annual Games Accessibility Day: http://gamesaccessibilityday.org/schedule.html (See below)

Complete details of both http://www.gamesforhealth.org & http://www.gamesbeyondentertainment.com

Games for Health
http://www.gamesforhealth.org/brochure.pdf

Games Beyond Entertainment Week
http://www.gamesbeyondentertainment.com/brochure.pdf

Best,

Ben Sawyer
Digitalmill
Serious Games Initiative
Games for Health Project
@bensawyer on twitter

Here is the schedule of the Games Accessibility Day,  May 25, 2010:

Tuesday, May 25, 2010
8:30 am to 9:00 am	Coffee
9:00 am to 9:50 am	Opening Ceremonies Introduction of the Day, Mark Barlet  Keynote Address: Chuck Bergen – Making a commercial game targeting at the disabled community, and how he sold the idea to the biggest game company on the planet.
9:50 am to 10:00 am	Break
10:00 am to 10:30 am	Presentation: Tobi Saulnier - Winter's Tale : A Case Study of Designing for Game Accessibility on the Nintendo DS
10:30 am to 10:45 am	Presentation: Katherine Mancuso - Best Practices for Accessible Communication Using a Virtual World
10:45 am to 11:00 am	Presentation: Tim Holt: Game Accessibility in Special Education.
11:00 am to 11:15 am	Break
11:15 am to 11:30 am	Introduction to the “Hacker Hardware Challenge” Adam Coe Ben Heckendorn Suzanne Robitaille
11:30 am to 12:00 pm	Presentation: Halimat Alabi - Making the Fantasy Real: Giving Good User Interface
12:00 pm to 12:20 pm	Presentation: Mantha Sadural - SPREAD: Appreciating Speech through Gaming
12:20 pm to 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm to 1:50 pm	“Hacker Hardware Challenge” the reveal and Q&A
1:50 pm to 2:10 pm	Presentation: Johnny Richardson - The Social Construction Model of Interactive Gaming for Disabled Users: Benefits and Developmental Evaluation
2:10 pm to 2:30 pm	Presentation: Eleanor Robinson - Game Accessibility and the Aging Community
2:30 pm to 3:00 pm	Group Activity: Break out into groups and solve the world’s problems How could we pass up the opportunity to flex the massive amount of talent assembled in one room. Take on a challenge and help develop a solution.
3:00 pm to 3:10 pm	Break
3:10pm to 3:40 pm	Group Activity: Presentation of the breakouts
3:40 pm to 4:10 pm	Presentation: Rock Vibe - Rock Band for People with No or Limited Vision
4:10 pm to 4:30 pm	Break
4:30 pm to 5:00 pm	Presentation: Suzanne Robitaille and Mark Barlet - Reviews for All, A New way of looking at things for our community
5:00 pm to 5:20 pm	Presentation: Heidi Silver-Pacuilla - Unleashing the Power of Innovation for Assistive Technology
5:20 pm to 5:30 pm	Closing Ceremonies

Special Effect's on-line Accessible Gamebase network, supporting accessible games for young people with disabilities.

"SpecialEffect is a charity dedicated to helping ALL young people with disabilities to enjoy computer games. For these children, the majority of computer games are simply too quick or too difficult to play, and we can help them and their parents to find out which games they CAN play, and how to adapt those games that they can't."


Here is a video that tells a story of how SpecialEffects created a game for a young woman, Helen, with a motor disability.  Helen operates the computer with her eyes to play against her brother, who uses the touch-screen interface:

If you are interested in supporting accessible games, consider joining Accessible Gamebase, a new on-line community maintained by Special Effect.  Below is the message I recently received from SpecialEffect regarding this opportunity to connect others regarding accessible games:


"Have you been wondering just what it is you could do to get involved with SpecialEffect? Well, that question is answered today with the launch of SpecialEffect's 'accessible Gamebase.

• It deals with all access devices for all physical and learning disabilities - from switch users to eye controllers. 
• It's not just a place for gamers but a place where everyone - carers, gamers, developers and, of course, end-users themselves - can both share information and try out the latest games whether they are seasoned gamers or absolute beginners. 
• It has the potential to be a great training tool, too, and we've already put up some example videos to illustrate how the games are played. 
• As it's based on a social networking model, anyone can easily join up and share information. 
• It tells you not only how to adapt mainstream games for use by everyone but also provides information on which special games are available - and for whom.

All in all, then, it's very much designed to be a place that encourages anyone with an interest in this area to meet to share information and ideas. The proof of the pudding will be in the extent to which people use it, of course, and it will need significant promotion (yes, this will be where we will need your help!) to reach that point of critical mass when, with SpecialEffect's expert input and moderation, it will thrive.

Go to http://www.gamebase.info to sign up and Be a Part of It!"

IDPedia: Interaction Design Patterns for Games Library!

From the HelpYouPlay IDPedia (Interaction Design Patterns for Games Library) website:


"Design patterns are ways to describe best practices, explain good designs, and capture experience so that other people can reuse these solutions. The idea of a pattern was introduced by the architect Christopher Alexander for use in urban planning and building architecture, but since then a pattern community has emerged that specifies patterns for all sorts of problems. Interaction design patterns aim to capture optimal solutions to common usability or accessibility problems in a specific context. Typically best practices concerning interaction design are described as guidelines or heuristics. We consider interaction design patterns to be more descriptive than guidelines as it tells a designer exactly when, how and why the solution can be applied." 

Thanks, Barrie Ellis (One-Switch Games) for the link!


SOMEWHAT RELATED
Game Usability and Accessibility
Donate to the AbleGamers Fundraiser!
The funds will support the work of the AbleGamers Foundation, and donations are tax-deductible.

"The AbleGamers Foundation's mission is to empower the disabled population to enjoy the digital revolution that is taking place in gaming... We believe in harnessing the power of many people's voices to solve the problems of the not so few. The AbleGamers Foundation strives to bring together individuals from every lifestyle with a common goal of improving the lives of the disabled. Everyone has the right to enjoy the world, and together, we can make that possible. Together, we can make it possible for everyone to enjoy the rich content of digital entertainment with his or her friends and family regardless of disability."

Eelke Folmer's Human-Computer Interaction Research

Usability Patterns in Games (pdf)
Accessibility in Games and Virtual Worlds
Interaction Design Patterns

Eelke Folmer's presentation at the 2009 Games 4 Health Conference, Boston
Game Accessibility WorkshopG4H: game accessibility research @ University of Nevada, Reno

View more presentations from eelke folmer.

For the Gamers: Episode three of Half-Life 2 will incorporate sign language!

Below is a video of a discussion between Gabe Newell, a game developer at Valve, and a focus group including deaf and hearing impaired gamers. Valve is conducting research to gather information needed in order to incorporate signing into Episode 3 of Half-Life 2.

In the video, the importance of the use of realistic facial expressions was discussed, as well as other issues, such as deaf culture.



(All three video clips related to Gabe's focus groups can be found on the Escapist website.)


-Valve

(I'm a little behind the game accessibility news...)

3D Monitor from iZ3D, Designed for Games

I haven't set eyes on this 3D monitor by iZ3D. I'd love to give it a try soon!

Here is the news release:
3D Monitor has gone Mainstream- Sets Price for Wide Holiday Distribution: iZ3D has taken a bold move to make 3D mainstream this Christmas (pdf)
World's First 3D Monitor for Gamers Now Available in Retail Stores pdf

More Info:
The iZ3D 3D monitor solution includes:
- 22-inch wide screen 3D/2D keyboard switchable LCD monitor
- 3 pairs of passive polarized 3D glasses (5 other models are available online)
- iZ3D Stereoscopic 3D and Anaglyph 3D software drivers (other drivers are available
online)
- Power and video cables
- Quick-start guide
- Free membership into iZ3D’s upcoming 3D gaming network
-$399.00

Monitor specifications are:
- 22-inch wide screen LCD
- 1680 x 1050 resolution
- Up to 170-degree 3D viewing angle
- 5ms response time
- 700:1 contrast ratio
- 16.7-million colors
- 300 nits

Supports 64-Bit Windows OS

"The iZ3D 22-inch monitor has a new manufacturers suggested resale price of $399.00 and is currently available at Fry’s and Micro Centers as well as online stores including www.staples.com, www.newegg.com, www.amazon.com, www.pcmall.com, www.criticalbuy.com, www.iz3d.com, and other online shopping sites."

Supported Games
User Submitted List
Detailed whitepaper

If you've had a chance to play a game or two using this 3D system, please let me know your thoughts.

The Internet of Surfaces? Microsoft's Pete Thompson discusses screens and surfaces of all sizes.

I came across this video of Microsoft Surface's general manager, Pete Thompson, on the GottaBeMobile website. According to Thompson, the people who worked with TouchWall discussed in the video, were also involved with Microsoft Surface.

Apparently, the Surface and Wall folks at Microsoft aren't sure of what they are doing with screens of all sizes.

(If you are interested in surface form factors, see my previous blog post, Emerging Interactive Technologies, Emerging Interactions, and Emerging Integrated Form Factors.)

There are many unanswered questions from my perspective.

Bill Gates portends that every surface will be a computer, a concept that is echoed in the video. If so, what are people doing to ensure that surface-supporting environments are universally designed?

Before Microsoft and other companies unleash "surface" technology to the masses, they must get a few things right.

Will they?

Will the researchers at Microsoft find out how various screens play out in classrooms, in the community settings, on-the job, and in-between?

For example, large interactive displays in urban and retail settings have the potential to provde people with a rich amount of information about what is around them. These displays serve little purpose if they are user-unfriendly, and no purpose at all if they are not accessible.

If developers and designers are not following basic user-centered design guidelines and usability standards now, how can we expect the nextgen systems of display surfaces to support universal usability? As our population ages, this will be more of a problem.

From what I can tell, there will be more opportunities for people to use their mobile devices to interact with larger screens and surfaces when they are out and about. For example, when I was at the airport recently, I noticed that there was a large display that offered cell-phone ringtone downloads. Microsoft was behind this display.

Interconnectivity and interoperability between devices and screens of all sizes is important to think about. If universal usability guidelines are not followed, our mobile devices will be difficult to use in the world of surfaces.

It isn't much of a leap to see the big picture. Just think about the problems we have with our remote controls and entertainment centers in our homes! We might have to carry all sorts of devices just to get from point A to point B. I'm not kidding. It will not be a pretty sight, especially if the privacy and security issues are not resolved as we move to a world that supports the internet of things.

Or shall I say, the internet of surfaces?

Cross post via Tech Psych: Games for Health conference

I recently presented at the Games for Health conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The attendees and presenters at the conference came from a variety of fields- game development, education, occupational and physical therapy, health, bio-mechanical engineering, media arts, and more, all interested in sharing ideas about using game, simulations, and virtual worlds to improve health.

Many of the topics covered during the recent Games for Health conference apply to K-12 settings. If you think about it, many children and teens are at risk for health problems that will adversely impact their lives as adults. If we can provide a means for young people to develop healthy behaviors and attitudes at an early age, we will help to ensure healthy futures, for individuals and communities alike.

If you have a little time, you can listen to the overview provided in an audiocast consisting of interviews with Ben Sawyer and others involved with the conference.

My presentation slides - Game Accessibility and Health Education in K-12 Settings - from the pre-conference, are posted SlideShare, where you can find slides from other presentations on the Games for Health group section.

You can find more information on the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website, including a section about Games for Health.

Game Accessibility: Universal Design and Access for Gaming (and Interactive Applications)

A growing number of educators are incorporating the use of interactive multimedia applications, including games, in learning settings. More educators are aware of the principles of Universal Design for Learning, developed by the great people at CAST.

Unfortunately, many multimedia applications, as well as computer and console games, are not designed to facilitate access for a significant number of people. People with vision, hearing, or motor disabilities have few options available to them for playing games. People who have color-blindness, attention/memory problems, auditory processing difficulties, and/or slower visual-motor responses also face barriers when they use multimedia applications and games.

There are people who are working hard to make game technology more accessible.

The International Game Developers Association has a Game Accessibility SIG has a wiki that contains links to a variety of game access projects.

The following is a partial list of links related to game accessibility:

IDGA Game Accessibility SIG

Game Accessibility.Com

Game Accessibility Games (links to information categorized by visual, auditory, physical, and learning disabilities)

Game Access Resources and Research

Audio Games

OneSwitch

Switch Gaming

SymbolWorld