[games_access] my response.

Wed Mar 21 15:41:11 EDT 2007

I can't send messages to our book list so I'll have to respond here even
though I know we should move it to there.

Thanks for your honesty Eelke I have one question before I really comment.
Is your reaction coming from pure anger or is it a resolve your looking for
trying to be civil with the words you can find at the moment I just need to
know because it's good for us to speak our mind but it's really in the
format it is said kind of not good for the team.  I missed a lot of what
went on after I had to leave.  I think we should think as a team.  I'll be
able to respond more once I just hear a few things.  Thanks.  I have a lot
of thoughts myself.  Truly.

Thank you.

Robert

www.RobertFlorio.com <http://www.robertflorio.com/>  

  _____  

From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of Eelke Folmer
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 4:45 PM
To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List
Subject: [games_access] my response.

Hi ,

Thanks for some people's support. 

The mailinglist thing, it is kind of fishy that both my email adresses were
removed. Fact now is that this discussion is now held in a small group of
which many support michelle. So I doubt whether it is 

I'd like to respond to some of the things that were said back and forth
because I think some of the things said were unjust and frankly below the
belt. 

Michelle, about the "threaten to punch you incident", how you try to convert
that into: "eelke is someone who kicks someone when they are down" doesnt
make sense. I have asked 3 times during GDC nicely whether or when we could
talk, (even at the time slot scheduled for SIG meetings). First time you
were to busy with lunch, second time you told me no other SIG does anything
and the last time (hours before I left) you threatened to punch me in the
face. Sadly I don't have a radar in my head that tells me what mood you are
in. I don't know how to interpret that you trying to blame your mood on your
disability. You were sick/tired/stressed that friday morning, but how much
of that mood was caused because you were partying out late at the dutch
party on thursday? I'm not denying your right to party, but if you are
sick/tired/disabled wouldn't it have been a good idea to go to bed early?
Using your disability as an excuse for your behavior just doesn't feel right
to me and hurts people's respect for people that are disabled. If you can
party and drink all week, carry around heavy suitcases, give interviews all
the time, I'm sure you can be a professional for 5 minutes when people ask
you a simple question. I also don't know how to interpret: " -- some of us
are here because we know that we are part of the target audience--" So you
are saying you are more likely to do a better job because you are disabled?
Isn't disabilities all about being equal? People with disabilities should
and want to be treated the same as people without, not less but certainly
not more. The only reason for someone to do a better job than you would be
because they are better qualified, regardless of being disabled or not. I
have never heard of disabilities preventing anyone from just listening to
other people. I don't think someone who has cancer is interested whether the
person inventing a cure for cancer has cancer themselves, they just want a
cure. 

I keep hammering on results, because to me that is the most important thing,
and I'd like to know what has this SIG achieved in its four years of
existence? Hundreds and hundreds of commercial games have entered the market
in those four years. Not one has been made more accessible because of this
SIG. In those four years have you not been able to talk to one game designer
and asked them to implement something simple such as closed captioning or
reconfigurable controls? What has been done except some of us promoting
themselves? 

The missing extension-plugs and bad scheduling does not explain the low
turnout at our events. I am not buying your excuse and frankly I think no
one in this SIG does. The lack of promoting our events to game developers
does. Ow there was lots of promotion alright you spend a significant time in
front of local TV camera's, but honestly has that led to one more visitor to
any of our events? Will it lead to more accessible games? I doubt it.... I
talked more people in 5 minutes before AI started. I have been criticized
for going out to other events, but I merely looked at things that work and
tried to spread the word on accessibility as best as I could. We are at GDC
--where thousands of game developers meet--if the game developers don't come
to our meetings, well than we maybe it is time that we should go to theirs. 

Michelle, you make running this SIG sound like you are building the chinese
wall all by yourself. But frankly I don't think it is that much work. It
could already start by focussing on things that are relevant and that lead
to successes like I tried to suggest in my accessibility 2.0 plan. Less
focus on self promotion and more focus on getting results. This SIG has
become too much the "michelle and richard" show. It is both of your names on
everything that is organized and the rest of us has no influence over what
we do and who will be involved. I think there are numerous people in this
group that deserve way more credit but they are modest and don't push
themselves in the picture as much as the two of you. Why is half of the game
accessibility wikipedia page about things that the two of you do? maybe you
should compare your page with the web accessibility wikipedia page, that
actually consists useful information rather than self promotion. Ask
yourself if you are a game designer browsing the wikipedia on game
accessibility wouldn't it be more useful to learn something on game
accessibility rather than on the both of you and the projects you are
involved in? Numerous people have contributed to web accessibility, do they
have their own wikipedia pages? No! because they put other interests in
front of themselves. 

This SIG is not some sort of "happy friends" club where you can hang out
with your overseas friends, You can have all the glitter and glamour you
want as soon as we start seeing some accessible games. Game accessibility
does not need a mother theresa or recognizable names, it needs results. And
then you both have the nerve to criticize Robert and his video to be too
self centered. Are you guys too afraid that someone who is really disabled
steals away some of your precious air time? Robert could do more to promote
game accessibility by just driving around at GDC than any of the events you
have organized. If you must use him as a puppet for your events, at least
show him some respect --he deserves that much. 

You have created your own little circle by deciding what kind of games
people with disabilities should play, maybe you should talk to some kids
with disabilities and find out that they want to be able to play mainstream
games like Gears of War. Now unless you both get your asses of the plush and
out of the spotlight, and use some of your "famousness" to hand game
developers such as Cliffy B (though I doubt you know who he is) a small
flyer with 10 little accessibility tips (without any self promotion on that
flyer, remember this SIG is not about you) ..... then we might actually
start seeing some results. 

Cheers Eelke

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Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor

Department of Computer Science & Engineering/171

University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557

Game Quality usability|accessibility.eelke.com

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