[games_access] GDC 2009!

Sat Apr 4 14:56:38 EDT 2009

I'm still looking forward to hearing about the "secret" news that is
alluded to in so many posts on AbleGamers.

On Sat, Apr 4, 2009 at 7:06 AM, Thomas Westin <thomas at pininteractive.com> wrote:
> GDC this year was pretty good, especially the Game accessibility 101 was
> well attended (perhaps 30-40 people?), but also our social gathering at the
> booth was more than the usual suspects, and the SIG roundtable too - we had
> about 5-6 new people at each.
> Just sad we couldn't have an arcade this year. The DVDs was also well
> recieved.
> /Thomas
>
> On 4 apr 2009, at 11.25, AudioGames.net wrote:
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Barrie Ellis
> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List
> Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2009 10:47 AM
> Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2009!
> I recommend taking having a mooch
> around http://www.ablegamers.com/gdc-09-9.html - I think Michelle, Mark and
> Annette are somewhat exhausted from the show at the minute. Any news from
> Thomas and Eitan?
>
> Barrie
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: AudioGames.net
> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List
> Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2009 8:50 AM
> Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2009!
> So.... how was it?
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: d. michelle hinn
> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List
> Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 2:16 AM
> Subject: [games_access] GDC 2009!
> Hi All!!
> Here's the rundown of this year's SIG and Game Accessibility related talks
> happening at GDC! I'll include the times and places first and at the end of
> the email you can read the full descriptions!
> Talk One: The Story of AudiOdyssey & My Journey through Usability
> Speaker: Eitan Glinert (President, Fire Hose Games)
> Date/Time: Monday (March 23, 2009)   1:30pm - 2:00pm
> Location (room): Room 3007, West Hall
> Track: Serious Games Summit
> Talk Two: Game Accessibility SIG Roundtable
> Speaker: Michelle Hinn (IGDA Game Accessibility SIG Chair)
> Date/Time: Thursday (March 26, 2009)   9:00am - 10:00am
> Location (room): Room 120, North Hall
> Track: Game Design
> Talk Three: Accessibility 101: Crash Course for Beginners
> Speakers: Michelle Hinn (IGDA Game Accessibility SIG Chair), Mark Barlet
> (Editor-in-Chief, AbleGamers.com)
> Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009)   9:00am - 10:00am
> Location (room): Room 2002, West Hall
> Track: Game Design
> Talk Four: Game Accessibility & Developers with Disabilities Social
> Gathering
> Speaker: Thomas Westin (Dep. Computer & Systems Science, SU/KTH, Stockholm
> University/KTH)
> Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009)   10:30am - 11:30am
> Location (room): IGDA Booth, West Hall
> Track: Game Design
> This year we will have full coverage on AbleGamers.com who have agreed to
> host our soon-to-be-unveiled SIG web presence! This will be unveiled this
> week but if you go to AbleGamers you'll already start to see some cool
> social networking features that will undoubtedly help us reach to consumers,
> which we have always been spread a little too thin to do, and help them
> reach out (even more than the awesome job they've already been doing!) to
> the industry.
> So anyway, look forward to seeing videos from the talks and interviews with
> major developers and daily coverage thanks to AbleGamers reporter Anet (who
> is my former game design student/game journalism graduate from Illinois!).
> This is our year -- I can feel it! Time to get Game Accessibility out and
> about through some big time activism!
> After GDC, I'm going to call a series of online meetings to get some of the
> things some of us were talking about getting going at the beginning of the
> year. Some of this is already underway but I can't yet tell you what it is
> (it's BIG though...) until I get the permission of the third party involved.
> Upcoming conference appearances by members of the SIG include:
> * GDC Canada
> * GDC Europe
> * GDC China
> * Microsoft One Day Game Accessibility Seminar (that's me!)
> * Develop Brighton (Barrie -- can you make it to this again???)
> More news to come! Follow me at Twitter (@vrgrrl), Mark Barlet and
> AbleGamers (@ablegamers), Barrie Ellis (@OneSwitch) , Richard van Tol
> (@AudioGames), and more! :)
> Michelle
> Chairperson,
> IGDA Game Accessibility SIG
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> Full Descriptions of Sessions:
> ---------
> Talk 1:
> The Story of AudiOdyssey & My Journey through Usability
> Speaker: Eitan Glinert (President, Fire Hose Games)
> Date/Time: Monday (March 23, 2009)   1:30pm - 2:00pm
> Location (room): Room 3007, West Hall
> Track: Serious Games Summit
> Format: 30-minute Lecture
> Experience Level: All
>
> Session Description
> Not all serious games need to be those with visually exciting graphics or
> even graphics at all. AudiOdyssey is a game that provides the serious games
> community with an interesting twist - developing a game that can be used to
> engage visually impaired gamers and gamers together in the same shared
> experience. The story of AudiOdyssey is itself a journey not only into game
> design for the visually impaired but overall issues with how to create games
> with easy UIs and engaging experiences. During this talk Eitan Glinert who
> built AudiOdyssey while at MIT will present the story of AudiOdyssey while
> also covering further issues in usability that are useful not only for
> improving access for people with disabilities but all levels of people
> learning, training and doing more with videogames. Together this talk
> provides some critical highlights of issues that are of paramount importance
> to games that don't get to be selective about their audiences and gives
> insight into a game that moved beyond presenting just a graphical
> experience.
> -----
> Talk 2:
> Game Accessibility SIG
> Speaker: Michelle Hinn (IGDA Game Accessibility SIG Chair)
> Date/Time: Thursday (March 26, 2009)   9:00am - 10:00am
> Location (room): Room 120, North Hall
> Track: Game Design
> Format: 60-minute Roundtable
> Experience Level: All
>
> Session Description
> The Game Accessibility SIG exists to help the game community strive towards
> creating mainstream games that are universally accessible to all, regardless
> of age, experience and disability. This SIG meeting will briefly highlight
> our accomplishments from the past year. We are eager to accept input for new
> initiatives to tackle and we are actively recruiting volunteers and
> contributors.
> -----
> Talk 3:
> Accessibility 101: Crash Course for Beginners
> Speaker: Michelle Hinn (IGDA Game Accessibility SIG Chair), Mark Barlet
> (Editor-in-Chief, AbleGamers.com)
> Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009)   9:00am - 10:00am
> Location (room): Room 2002, West Hall
> Track: Game Design
> Format: 60-minute Lecture
> Experience Level: All
>
> Session Description
> Want to increase the size and diversity of your game's audience by including
> gamers with disabilities? This talk provides a list of 10 easy changes any
> game developer can use to start increasing the accessibility of their
> designs for ALL gamers, especially gamers with disabilities, with minimal
> effort but maximum impact. Learn what disabled gamers and developers are
> doing, from modding your game to your controllers, in order to play your
> games so that you can begin implementing these fixes right from the start of
> your development cycle!
>
> Takeaway
> Session participants will learn at least ten concrete ways that game
> designers can use to get started in increasing the accessibility of their
> mainstream games titles, as well as some innovative ways of gaming that will
> interest all gamers, not just gamers with disabilities. Different disability
> types will be discussed - including visual (including low vision and color
> blindness), auditory, mobility, and cognitive disabilities - and how these
> different disabilities affect certain aspect of game play. Audience members
> will come away with many examples of how gamers with disabilities currently
> game and how their game companies can help assist these gamers through
> design variations to make their game play experience the best possible.
>
> Intended Audience and Prerequisites
> Designers, programmers, marketers, and publishers interested in a "crash
> course" to learn and ask questions about game accessibility - issues that
> gamers with disabilities face every day as they try and play your games.
> Information given will include an overview of the issues that those with
> specific disability types face, including color blind gamers, the top
> accessibility problems in mainstream games, and concrete solutions. No
> prerequisite knowledge is required - just come with an open mind and
> willingness to seriously consider making games accessible to MORE!
> -----
> Talk 4:
> Game Accessibility & Developers with Disabilities Social Gathering
> Speaker: Thomas Westin (Dep. Computer & Systems Science, SU/KTH, Stockholm
> University/KTH)
> Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009)   10:30am - 11:30am
> Location (room): IGDA Booth, West Hall
> Track: Game Design
> Format: 60-minute Social Gathering
> Experience Level: All
>
> Session Description
> Social Gatherings are a chance for like-minded developers to get together
> for networking and open discussion at the IGDA booth. Come to meet your
> peers and engage in deep dialogue over your area of specialty - or just
> partake in witty small talk.
>
> Takeaway
> Networking and discussion with your peers in a casual setting. A sense of
> community.
>
> Intended Audience and Prerequisites
> Developers interested in game accessibility and developers with
> disabilities.
> ________________________________
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