[games_access] Future Play Poster 2006 and Top 10 List

Thu Sep 7 20:12:44 EDT 2006

Sorry for the many typo's... really tired now ;)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "AudioGames.net" <richard at audiogames.net>
To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 1:32 AM
Subject: Re: [games_access] Future Play Poster 2006 and Top 10 List

> Hi,
>
> I think I was one of the people who said the list might benifit if we did 
> an update and Eelke (Folmer) critisized the list during his Brighton 
> presentation as well. The thing with it was that some things, but 
> especially the audio guideline, were a bit too vague for a developer to 
> really do something with (the sentence vs. a practical implementation). 
> Actually I agree more with the top 10 list now than a year ago but I think 
> we can still aprove it here and there. I personally would like to 
> experiment a bit with Eelke's design patterns (see: 
> http://www.eelke.com/research/IDP/accessibility.html ) and the top 10 
> list. The design pattern list consists of 6 points, which all relate to 
> point in
> the original top 10 list:
>
> 1. Allow all controls to be remapped >> 
> http://eelke.com/wiki/index.php?Reconfigurable%20Buttons
> 2. Add closed-captioning to all dialog and important sound effects >> 
> closed captions =  http://eelke.com/wiki/index.php?Closed%20Captioning
> 4. Provide assist modes such as auto-targeting, training options, etc. >> 
> assist mode = http://eelke.com/wiki/index.php?Assist%20Mode
> 5. Provide a broad range of difficulty levels. >> adaptive difficulty 
> level = http://eelke.com/wiki/index.php?Adaptive%20Difficulty%20Level
> 9. Allow for a varied range of control over play speed. >> slow = 
> http://eelke.com/wiki/index.php?Slow
>
> Eelke also had tutorial agent:
> http://eelke.com/wiki/index.php?Tutorial%20Agent , which leaves:
>
>
> 3. Provide documentation in an accessible format such as HTML or plain 
> text
> 6. Make interface fonts scalable.
> 7. Allow for high-contrast color-schemes.
> 8. Add audio tags to all significant elements including actors, doors, 
> items, resulting actions, etc.
> 10. Announce accessibility features on the packaging.
>
> I agree with every point above, except with point 8 since I don't believe 
> that simply "adding audio tags" will make a game more accessible for the 
> blind (which is how I interpreted this point). I guess point 1,2,4,5 and 9 
> might make an excellent top 5. But compare point 7 next to this:
>
> x. Allow for alternative color- and contrast schemes.
>
> With the recent commotion about accessibility for color blind gamers 
> (Rockstar's Table Tennis  - see www.game-accessibility.com) I guess that a 
> guideline concerning colorblindess should definitely be in the top 10 
> (quote: "Color blindness certainly isn't the only or the most problematic 
> disability preventing people from getting enjoyment out of games, although 
> it is possibly THE MOST WIDESPREAD.") .
>
> And point 6:
>
> x. Make the game scalable
>
> Why only "interface fonts"? And what are interface fonts actually? Text in 
> the head-up display (HUD)? Does this include all fonts (including the 
> menu's and credits) or just the text during gameplay? And why not the 
> icons in WoW?
>
> I guess point 3 and 10 are kind of on the same level - it's the stuff 
> *outside* of the game. Maybe it is possible to merge that into one point? 
> I personally think the current point 10 doesn't really make a game more 
> accessible and it is on a completely different level than the other 
> points... although of course it would help our cause a great deal ;)
>
> I would definately *NOT* refer to the top 10 list as a "list of 
> guidelines" because using that term might open up a great deal of 
> discussion. Instead I would refer to it as a Top 10 List of Things That 
> Make Your Game More Accessible. What do we call it now by the way? Not 
> guidelines, right? Just "The Top 10 List...".... ;) grin :) ???
> And there should be a place somewhere (on the web > SIG-website + 
> Game-Accessibility.com) where these guidelines are explained in detail so 
> there is no room for interpretation (like there is now) - preferably with 
> examples... (and I prefer the design pattern format above a W3C-like 
> format like 'the other' guidelines although I'm open to any format anyone 
> might think of).
>
> K... gotta go to sleep now, this was just a first, hope we can conitnue 
> this issue...
>
> Oh, and I'd be happy to work on some artwork, including handout- and 
> poster design if you want, Kevin...
>
> Greets,
>
> Richard
>
> http://www.audiogames.net
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Reid Kimball" <rkimball at gmail.com>
> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
> Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 5:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [games_access] Future Play Poster 2006 and Top 10 List
>
>
>> The only thing that seems general to me is "Training options" and
>> "broad range of difficulty levels".
>>
>> Is the term "Audio tags" merely to mean add sound effects for all the
>> events of doors opening, etc?
>>
>> Other than that, the list is clear to me, but maybe I'm not the best
>> judge being entrenched in this stuff for so long.
>>
>> -Reid
>>
>> On 9/6/06, Kevin J. Bierre <kjb at it.rit.edu> wrote:
>>> I guess we're out of luck as far as a meeting goes. Based on prior 
>>> email,
>>> I thought there was one today.
>>>
>>> Since I have to get started on this poster for Future Play 2006, I'll
>>> kick things off here on the list instead.
>>>
>>> I was planning to have the top 10 list as part of the poster. A comment
>>> was made about updating the list (sorry, don't remember who said it)
>>> because some of the advice was rather general. Any comments from others
>>> about updating our top 10?
>>>
>>> Here's the current list:
>>>
>>> GA SIG Top 10 List
>>> 1. Allow all controls to be remapped
>>> 2. Add closed-captioning to all dialog and important sound effects
>>> 3. Provide documentation in an accessible format such as HTML or plain
>>> text
>>> 4. Provide assist modes such as auto-targeting, training options, etc.
>>> 5. Provide a broad range of difficulty levels.
>>> 6. Make interface fonts scalable.
>>> 7. Allow for high-contrast color-schemes.
>>> 8. Add audio tags to all significant elements including actors, doors,
>>> items, resulting actions, etc.
>>> 9. Allow for a varied range of control over play speed.
>>> 10. Announce accessibility features on the packaging.
>>>
>>> Kevin Bierre,  Assistant Professor
>>> (kjb at it.rit.edu)
>>> Information Technology,  Rochester Institute of Technology
>>> 585-475-5358
>>> 102 Lomb Memorial Drive
>>> Bldg 70B-2637
>>> Rochester, NY 14623
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> games_access mailing list
>>> games_access at igda.org
>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
>>>
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