Friday, 19 October 2012

Shaking Things Up: Can full-body games become more accessible?

Screen shot of Paximadaki, a highly accessible Kinect game that takes into account a broad range of abilities and alternative control methods. The screen shot is of a shadow against a wall, trying to guide falling fruit into a wicker basket.

When games dictate that they can only be played via a very limited method, huge barriers are erected which disable many players.

The majority of games on Xbox using Kinect are Kinect only. The majority of games on iOS are touch-screen only. The majority of Wii games are Wii-remote only. If you can't use that interface, you are shut out. It's a massive problem that can go away for many by offering an alternative or two.

Dimitris Grammenos has blazed a path for others to follow with his brilliant article "Shaking Things Up: Can full-body games become more accessible". And I would love to see this outlook adopted across the gaming world. Two control methods or more for all games, please!


A Kinect game being played with a single hand.

A Kinect game being played with a keyboard as an alternative access method.

A Kinect game being played with a marionette as an alternative access method.

A Kinect game being played with a glove puppet as an alternative access method.

A Kinect game being played with two accessibility switches as an alternative access method.
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