[games_access] PC Gamer accessibility article

Sat Mar 10 12:53:09 EST 2012

Shame, on a more positive note though here's an accessibility article on the PC Gamer website, including tips from several IGDA-GASIG people, off the back of Tara's gamjam accessibility challenge. 

As always with stuff like this it's a great awareness raiser so please tweet etc about it if you can:

 http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/03/03/five-tricks-developers-should-use-to-help-disabled-gamers/

What's particularly nice about it is the comments section. Most game accessibility articles end with obnoxious people spouting about how people with disabilities have no right to want to play games, but this time it's a bunch of disabled gamers discussing which features are most valuable for them and how and why gaming is so important to them, with one person even saying that reading the article restored some of his faith in humanity.. a very nice read.

> From: games_access-request at igda.org
> Subject: games_access Digest, Vol 98, Issue 10
> To: games_access at igda.org
> Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2012 10:00:04 -0500
> 
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> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. Re: Blue Byte and Accessibility Testing / game	accessibility
>       event at gamescom 2011 (Sandra Uhling)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2012 16:21:28 +0100
> From: "Sandra Uhling" <sandra_uhling at web.de>
> Subject: Re: [games_access] Blue Byte and Accessibility Testing / game
> 	accessibility event at gamescom 2011
> To: "'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List'"
> 	<games_access at igda.org>
> Message-ID: <000601ccfe08$4cfaf390$e6f0dab0$@de>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> I am very very very very very very sorry.
> This is the truth. I have a big big big mindmap with precondition about
> Accessibility.
> This is live, this is the truth, we will always face very stupid arguments.
> 
> I am used to it.
> 
> He belongs to Pirate Gaming e.V. Imagine, this group supported Game
> Accessibility
> a short time! They wanted to be supporter of this topic ... 
> 
> Another guy of Pirate Gaming e.V. made the check of our information for each
> game.
> And... he was the guy who wrote a very very very very very bad article about
> the event
> the next days.
> 
> For example he wrote that the company who made this possible, did not make
> PR.
> I explained him earlier that they made PR, but they did not get the
> allowance to use
> the text. He was part of the team. He could have made PR himself....
> 
> He also wrote that there is no interest in this topic.
> Well we had "My Golf Game" with information that is was developed with
> support of EA.
> We also had one station with Kinect saying that MS is doing events to learn
> more about it.
> We also had support by EA and Valve to make this event.
> Also he should have considered that everyone is very busy at the gamescom.
> There was also a parallel main event with no breaks.
> 
> 
> It will always be the same: people who say: wow great topic, very
> interesting ...
> But in reality they just wanted to be social, do some charity ...
> 
> Because of this and other things I wrote a philosophy text with some rules
> about
> partnerships. Control over text for public is one part of it.
> 
> At the moment the philosophy and the mind map about precondition are only in
> German.
> 
> 
> (Pirate Gaming e.V. has one great guy, but he has no more time, he is going
> to become
> a politician ...)
> 
> 
> 
> Best regards,
> Sandra
> 
> 
> 
> -----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] Im
> Auftrag von Ian Hamilton
> Gesendet: Freitag, 9. M?rz 2012 16:06
> An: games_access at igda.org
> Betreff: Re: [games_access] Blue Byte and Accessibility Testing
> 
> That's really disappointing, when I spoke to that BB artist at GamesCom and
> he mentioned that accessibility was now a success criteria on all of their
> projects I was pretty excited to say the least. Still, at least they're
> thinking in the right kind of direction I guess.
> 
> Seems a bit odd though, seeing as he had just spent the day in a game
> accessibility room that was explicitly about disabilities.
> 
> Perhaps they actually are doing both? Low barrier to entry, and
> disability-friendly?
> 
> I have his business card at home somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it out and
> ask him.
> 
> Ian
> 
> > 
> > Message: 2
> > Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2012 14:41:54 +0100
> > From: "Sandra Uhling" <sandra_uhling at web.de>
> > Subject: [games_access] Blue Byte and Accessibility Testing
> > To: "'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List'"
> > <games_access at igda.org>
> > Message-ID: <000a01ccfdfa$644470c0$2ccd5240$@de>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> > 
> > Hello,
> > 
> > well it looks like that I found the reason for a wrong information.
> > 
> > We learnt that Blue Byte is looking for tester with a disability at 
> > the gamescom.
> > This information is a little bit wrong.
> > 
> > YES: Blue Byte is working on "Accessibility". This is true.
> > BUT: They mean "Usability". Easy for beginner.
> > 
> > 
> > See article in making games: (German)
> > http://www.makinggames.de/index.php/magazin/1734_spielspa_erforschen
> > 
> > Best regards,
> > Sandra
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > ------------------------------
> > 
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> > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
> > The main SIG website page is http://igda-gasig.org
> > 
> > End of games_access Digest, Vol 98, Issue 8
> > *******************************************
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
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> End of games_access Digest, Vol 98, Issue 10
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