Playing the Spoons

AccessAble Games have made fun use of the Makey Makey DIY controller kit. Playing Dirt 3 with spoons. Gives an idea for how light-pressure control can be in this way. Would love to see this made compatible with modern games consoles.

MaKey MaKey: An Invention Kit for Everyone

It looks like our 2010 Christmas wish (Number 9 at SpecialEffect) is coming true at last! A truly simple D.I.Y. build your own accessible game controller kit. What massive fun, and such huge potential. 

Here's some MaKey MaKey ideas...Beach ball to play one-switch games, draw your own controls to play Pac-Man (or anything else), Banana piano keyboard, alphabetti-spaghetti keyboard, water bucket Dance Dance Revolution and Play-doh joypads.

What particularly excites me, beyond how this could bring down the cost of accessible controls, is that it acts as a keyboard/mouse. This has me hoping that it will be possible to plug into game consoles too via an Ultimarc iPac interface. And that could change access for some forever in a positive way.

Meanwhile, I may dig out my original 1996 PSone switch interface which used crocodile clips to see if it will work in a similar way whilst waiting impatiently for MaKey MaKey to go into production. Many thanks to Tam Toucan for the link.

LP Accessible Technologies

It's not often that I discover a new business creating accessible game controllers. LP Accessible Technologies is such a thing. Looks like early days though as they only seem to have prototype controllers.

Take a look at their YouTube video channel for a better look at their wireless Xbox 360 Assistive Technology controller.

Hand Dance Pro

Looking at the old fashioned TV, I'm wondering if I've discovered the Hand Dance Pro a little late. Anyway, these are super expensive but use arcade standard parts, so should stand up to a good beating. Alternatives are the Mini DDR mat or building one yourself by hacking large on/off buttons to the contacts of a cheapo fold-up dance mat.

Read more at: Exergame Fitness, Cobalt Flux, Fitness Gaming, Motion Kids, Palos Sports and S&S Discount PE Superstore.

Update: Still available at this time for $499.99 USD (Product code CFHP1) according to Zak Wellard of Cobalt Flux.

The Synaps: Prototype Split Joypad

Prototype controller The Synaps seeks to take the split controller functionality of the very hard to find HORI Separate and then add motion sensitivity. The above photo mock-up is intended to see the light of day for PS3 and Xbox 360 within the next six months. Let's hope so.

Link with thanks to Techni Myoko.

New Wave of Evil Controllers

Adam from Evil Controllers recently sent me photos of a couple of his latest joypad accessibility adaptations, which I'm sharing with you above.

Top and middle pictures are of an Xbox 360 joypad tailor adapted for Randy Fitzgerald, a quadriplegic gamer known as N0M4D. The D-pad has been made easier to use and four metal buttons have been added to the faceplate. Those metal buttons and the thumb-stick clicks are reprogrammable where any push button can be reassigned. On top of this, Andy's enabled a "toggle" system so that Randy can just tap a button now to make it hold or release a game function. Stunning job!

The hacked in half controller pictured bottom, is a prototype and much like the HORI Separate in effect: Ideal for those unable to bring their hands together. I have to say as the HORI Separates have become so hard to find recently, this is really fantastic news. Read more at Evil Accessibility.

Real Time Sensory Substitution

The video above shows the hurdles event in Kinect Sports made accessible to players who are blind, using a technique called real time sensory substitution. Using video analysis, visual cues that indicate when to jump are detected and then translated into vibrotactile cues provided with a Wii remote, which should allow someone who is blind to play this game without visual feedback.

I can see this system greatly assisting some learning disabled players in getting the timing of jumps right too. Fantastic stuff, with so many possibilities.

Read more at the SpecialEffect Accessible GameBase.

Quasicon Axis Basile

Pictured above is the rightly chuffed looking Josh Basile with his Quasimoto built Quasicon Axis Basile (aka Axis-3). It took him many years of searching and testing before finally getting a game controller that suited him. I ran a few questions by Josh to find out more...

How did the Quasicon Axis Basile come about?

"I designed and customized this controller with the Quasimoto team based on my physical limitations and the type of games I like to play [e.g. Tiger Woods Golf, Madden, Call of Duty]. "

Are you 100% happy with this, or are there any adjustments you'd like made to it to suit you even better?

"This new controller has opened the door for me to resume my love for gaming. I am 100% happy with my new controller. I'm now working with Quasimoto to design a special attachment that extends the main section with all the buttons near an individual face in order to push the buttons with a mouth stick while freeing up an individual's hands to control both analog joysticks. "

If game developers could make their games more accessible for you, how might they do so?

"Game developers could provide more settings that word allow a user to customize what each button does and how each joystick functions. "

I can vouch for Quasimoto gear too. Superb build quality, and highly compatible with multple game platforms. Prices break down as $349.99 plus shipping for an Axis-1 or Axis-2, and $599 plus shipping for an Axis-3 (use www.xe.com to convert the currency). For all, you can request metal extension rods to the analogue joysticks (with 1", 1.25" or 1.5" balls on the end) for $13.99 each.

Added to the Accessible Game Shop.

Reconfigurable Controls

So few games offer reconfigurable controls, which is bonkers when you consider: 1. How many alternative controllers can be attached to modern games consoles. 2. How many different people there are in the world who may like to use a different set-up (small hands, left-handed, limited use of hands, those using one-handed controllers, etc.).

Really good to see on the Accessible GameBase that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue has a pretty versatile set-up system. Even better would be a latching accelerator and auto-braking, but even so, great work Polyphony! More please everyone else!!

Quasicon Axis Analogue Arcade Stick

Quasimoto have just recently released their second analogue arcade stick, the Quaiscon Axis. This time, not only are there dual analogue sticks, but also analogue buttons. Of great interest is that the senstitivity of these can be adjusted when ordering. Console compatibility includes Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSone, Wii (classic controller games only) and PC and Mac.

This looks like a potential solution for a lot of players struggling with the small controls of a traditional joypad. Expect to see a SpecialEffect GameBase review soon.

Added to the Accessible Gaming Shop Large Controllers section.

C-SID: games Console Switch Interface Deluxe

Was chuffed to see my C-SID controller get the SpecialEffect video treatment at their fantastic Gamebase. There's been a small update to the controller since I first released it in 2007 in that it now comes as standard with adapters to suit PSone, PS2, PS3 and PC USB and also with an added SELECT button rather than just a socket for SELECT.