Michael James Heron

Inaccessible through oversight: the need for inclusive game design

Games are an important part of modern culture. The nature of most video games is such that it can be difficult for individuals with impairments to enjoy many titles. In many cases, this is not due to the games themselves presenting an impossible challenge, but because the games have been left inaccessible through the omission of common features. Mainstream titles are often accessible and inaccessible by turns. This strongly suggests that the resultant inaccessibility is an oversight rather than conscious design. Awareness building is an important process in improving the inclusivity of game titles. This in turn is important in ensuring that all members of society have an opportunity to enjoy a valuable recreational form. To this end, the essay discusses both the types of disability that could be supported and some common mechanisms by which this can be done. A short overview of several prominent game titles is included to provide real world context for the discussion. In this essay, the author argues that ensuring accessibility need not be a costly or an onerous task, and that great strides can be made by, simply adopting the existing good practice that is currently spread across mainstream titles.

Open source and accessibility: advantages and limitations

In this paper we discuss the open source process as it relates to accessibility software. Open source is a development model that has shown considerable benefits in a number of application areas. However the nature of accessibility tools and the intended users of such software products raise issues that must be addressed by the developer before users encounter the tools in real world contexts. In this paper we discuss the nature of the open source process, how it functions, and the motivations with regards to participation that developers self-report. We then explain the impact of these elements of the open source process as they relate to adaptive accessibility software. We use some specific examples of issues raised from the adoption of open source via a discussion of the ACCESS Framework, an accessibility engine designed to provide cross-platform accessibility support through plug-ins.

Accessibility Support for Older Adults with the ACCESS Framework

Equitable access to the digital economy is predicated on the usability of the devices that are used to access electronic goods and services, with computers being the primary mechanism for many users by which this is currently done. For novice users with special interaction requirements, current arrangements for enabling accessibility support are suboptimal. Older users in particular require special consideration with regards to the design of software support packages to ensure the burden of knowledge required to configure a system is reasonable. This article describes the ACCESS Framework, a novel open-source, plug-in enabled software framework designed to address some of the issues around providing accessibility support on the desktop. The framework employs a system through which corrections are successively adapted to an individual users preferences. Through empirical work with older adults, the framework has been shown to provide an understandable, appropriate, and effective way to enable accessibility support.

Accessible gaming for people with physical and cognitive disabilities: a framework for dynamic adaptation

Current approaches to enabling access to computer games are typically fragmentary, and may involve manual expert configuration of the game, or of the input or output devices used. We present work towards a comprehensive software framework to facilitate dynamic adaptation of computer games to different levels of physical and cognitive abilities. The framework is grounded on a task analysis of gameplay by expert players, and integrates automatic modification of games tasks, interaction techniques, and input device configuration according to a profile of user abilities.

Viewing Art on a Tablet Computer: A Well-Being Intervention for People With Dementia and Their Caregivers:

Background: Art-based interventions have been shown to be beneficial for the well-being of people with dementia and their caregivers. This article explored whether such interventions can be delivered via a touchscreen tablet device displaying art images. Method: Twelve pairs of volunteers with dementia and informal caregivers were recruited (N = 24). A quasi-experimental mixed-methods within-subjects study evaluated the well-being impacts of art viewing using visual analogue scales and explored participant experiences with thematic analysis. Findings: Quantitative results before Bonferroni correction showed a significant effect for change in composite well-being from Session 1 to Session 5 but this became non-significant after the correction was applied. Well-being subdomains generally increased with number of sessions. Qualitative findings included changes in cognition, behavior, mood, and relationships. These changes tended to be viewed positively. Conclusion: The results suggest touchscreen-based art interventions could yield well-being benefits for this population. A larger-scale controlled study would help determine whether wider dementia care practice implications can be drawn.

A case study into the accessibility of text-parser based interaction

The academic issues surrounding the accessibility of video games are reasonably well understood although compensations and inclusive design have not yet been comprehensively adopted by professional game developers. Several sets of guidelines have been produced to support developers wishing to ensure a greater degree of accessibility in their titles, and while the recommendations are broadly harmonious they only address the issues in isolation without being mindful of context or the subtle relationships between interaction choices and verisimilitude within game interfaces. That is not to denigrate the value of these resources, which is considerable -- instead it is to highlight a deficiency in the literature which can be addressed with reflective case studies. This paper represents one such case study, aimed at addressing accessibility concerns within interactive text interfaces. While the specifics of this paper are aimed at multiplayer text game accessibility improvements, it is anticipated that many of the lessons learned would be appropriate for any environment, such as command line interfaces, where the accessibility of written and read text is currently suboptimal.

ACCESS: a technical framework for adaptive accessibility support

In this paper we outline ACCESS -- an open source, cross-platform, plug-in enabled software framework designed to provide a mapping between user needs and system configuration. The framework inverts the responsibility for making system configuration changes so that it lies with the computer rather than the user. In turn, the responsibility for identifying when changes should be made is delegated onto the plug-ins that have been incorporated into the framework. User feedback is solicited by a simple reinforcement mechanic through which individuals can like or dislike adaptations that are made. User interaction adjusts the probabilities that plug-ins will be selected in future, and also allows for plug-ins to adjust their own algorithms in line with user preferences. Results of experimental testing are encouraging, and show strong support for the perceived benefit, tractability and appropriateness of the framework.

Likely to be eaten by a Grue - the relevance of text games in the modern era

Spurred on by the success of Tim Schafer and Brian Fargo in crowd-sourcing funds for their newest projects, I look to reinvigorate interest in the humble text game. In this essay I argue that the text adventure is still a relevant gaming genre, and one with particularly high potential in several areas.Text games take on a wide variety of forms, and many currently popular social games are characterised by being primarily text-based in their interactions. However, despite the continuing interest in variations on the format, the classical expressions represented by interactive fiction and multiuser dungeons (MUDs) struggle to recruit and sustain player-bases.I argue that while text gaming is not yet a dead genre, it threatens to become so unless significant changes are made to how text games are perceived and developed. I argue that we should not be apologetic when we choose text as our primary medium of interaction. The best future potential comes from the classical expressions of text games evolving in line with modern design sensibilities to fill particular niches not well served by current gaming technologies.

Cultural Integration and the Accessibility of Gaming

It is easy to see that video games are becoming increasingly more inventive, innovative and immersive. We see, every year, a staggeringly diverse array of titles. These are produced by organisations as varied as transnational corporations, midsized indies, and bedroom coders. Twenty Sixteen alone has seen the release of games as varied as No Man’s Sky; Deus Ex: Mankind Divided; the Telltale Games Batman Series; Overwatch; Duskers; and the Duelyst. In the modern gaming cornucopia, players are truly spoiled for choice. There is something there for everyone, and everyone can find something. Most of the time. The reality of the matter is that the provision of popular gaming entertainment exists in a two-tier system. There are those that can enjoy the products of a video game industry at the height of its creativity, and those that are excluded from full participation. This is not as a result of malice or intentionally exclusionary design, but as a consequence of often inadvertent inaccessibility. Many games remain, even now, obstinately inaccessible in a societal context that stresses the importance of inclusion. This is an issue that plagues video games specifically, but also has its direct parallel with the accessibility of other, more tactile products such as table-top titles, and the overlap between apps and designer board-games. In times of increased financial pressures, intense competition, and often highly expensive development cycles it is surprising that this should be the case. There is a substantial, largely untapped marketplace, consisting of gamers with physical, cognitive, auditory or visual impairments. Accessibility makes sound business sense. I have had this conversation with many people, and some—even those most affected by issues of accessibility—consider it to be a matter of limited priority.

Power and perception in the scandal in academia

The Scandal in Academia is a large-scale fictional ethical case study of around 17,000 words and fourteen separate revelations. They are delivered as newspaper extracts from a newspaper reporting on an ongoing crisis at a Scottish educational institution. The scandal case study as presented in its original form comes with only limited commentary on the ethical issues raised, concentrating instead on providing the scenario in isolation. This paper is a companion piece to that case study, discussing the third and fourth revelations with reference to the issues raised, the mainstream media, and the formal academic literature. The discussion presented here is not intended to be exhaustive or definitive. It is instead indicative of an approach that could be taken within a formal educational context, and illustrative of the kind of discussions that ideally emerge from the effective use of the material.