I will be attending this year’s GDC. I will be speaking at a poster session named ”Accessibility Arcade: Bringing AAA Game Titles to Disabled Gamers through controller Hacks” with Michelle Hinn.
Accessibility Arcade: Bringing AAA Game Titles to the Disabled through Controller Hacks
Speaker: Michelle Hinn (Chairperson, IGDA Game Accessibility Special Interest Group), Tara Tefertiller (VP Game Industry Relations, Right to Fun Foundation)
Date/Time: TBD
Track: Game Design
Secondary Track: Production
Format: 60-minute Poster Session
Experience Level: All
Session Description
Interested in learning how exactly many gamers with disabilities play commercial games? Want to increase the size and diversity of your game’s audience by including gamers with disabilities? Find out what some disabled gamers are doing through hacking into commercial game controllers in order to play your game titles for every major game console. Try some of the most popular game controllers being used by this market – several game controllers will be on display – are as well as get a list of key design changes to help gamers use these controllers more easily with YOUR game.
Intended Audience
Designers, developers, programmers, console and game controller engineers, and publishers interested in a crash course to learn and ask questions about the types of game controller hacks that exist for gamers with disabilities – issues that gamers with disabilities face every day as they try and play your games. Information given will concrete solutions to assist gamers who are using these alternative assistive technologies. No prerequisite knowledge is required just come with an open mind and willingness to seriously consider making games accessible to MORE!
Takeaway
Session participants will learn about what hackers have been doing to create game controllers that gamers with disabilities have been using, especially gamers with mobility and cognitive disabilities. Audience members will come away with concrete examples of how gamers with disabilities currently game and how game designers can help assist these gamers through design variations to make their game play experience the best possible experience!
