[games_access] MMOG Topics for Terra Nova?

Mon May 21 14:47:53 EDT 2007

Hello Mark - nice to have you with us. Great site redesign by the way at 
www.ablegamers.com - The frag pedals you have on-line were interesting - 
will add these to my accessible gaming shop shortly.

Barrie
www.OneSwitch.org.uk

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "d. michelle hinn" <hinn at uiuc.edu>
To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 7:35 PM
Subject: Re: [games_access] MMOG Topics for Terra Nova?

> Lol...well, I'm not sure why I do this, as I'm not sure it's a common 
> dyslexic thing but I meant to say MARK from AbleGamers and not Mike! :)
>
> Michelle
>
>>Thanks Tim and Barrie! I'll gather together a post that covers your ideas 
>>(and, no, Tim...you aren't crazy!). I have a whole bunch of posts ready to 
>>go and I think I'm just going to overload the TN crowd. I like how one 
>>person assumed that I was wholesale rallying AGAINST the industry -- yes, 
>>in part...but only because I want people INCLUDED and not the usual "let's 
>>shut down the industry" rants.
>>
>>And I'd like to welcome Mike from AbleGamers to our list! It's great to 
>>have a MMOG group joining in! Mike -- please let us know some of the 
>>exciting things that you are up to. We're not a huge group but we are loud 
>>and passionate. Sometimes we argue but we all are on the same side -- what 
>>family doesn't have it's spats now and again? :)
>>
>>Michelle
>>
>>>Excellent post, Tim. I think you've covered most of it there.
>>>
>>>I think it's worth posting up some information on 
>>>http://www.ablegamers.com/ - as they are particullarly into Massively 
>>>Multiplayer On-line Role Playing Games (MMORPG's). They aren't huge, but 
>>>they seem a good bunch.
>>>
>>>Bit more on them here: http://ablegamers.com/content/view/16/66/
>>>
>>>I think that the partitioning idea may be essential for some gamers where 
>>>they can play according to ability. I remember going to MegaZone 
>>>(http://www.rayleighmegazone.co.uk/index.php?page=gallery&sub=picsub) 
>>>where you wear a special flak jacket and carry a laser gun in a warehouse 
>>>full of dry ice. My friends and I were obiliterated by 'hard-core 
>>>gamers'. I.e. some pathetic geeky kids that probably spent all their 
>>>spare time playing this game. We'd have had much more fun if they'd had 
>>>their seperate gaming arena - and us - less-able - gamers our own. Can't 
>>>see any problem at all in that for MMORPGs either.
>>>
>>>Anyway, my witterings done - keep chipping away. Perhaps we really do 
>>>need to reassure the insecure hard-core gamers with 12-year-old-boy 
>>>mentality that they can still keep their zen-master settings and gameplay 
>>>alongside others being able to play their game too.
>>>
>>>Barrie
>>>www.OneSwitch.org.uk
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Chase" <agdev at thechases.com>
>>>To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
>>>Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2007 1:36 AM
>>>Subject: Re: [games_access] MMOG Topics for Terra Nova?
>>>
>>>>>I have LOTS of ideas for posts but I don't think that they
>>>>>will be received well by the Terra Nova crowd -- if anyone
>>>>>can help me think through how to post about a particular
>>>>>topic, even if it's only very narrowly related, I'd
>>>>>appreciate it!
>>>>
>>>>In these forums (forae?) at TN and on other popular gaming
>>>>boards, I repeatedly see a couple issues thrown in the face
>>>>of efforts here:
>>>>
>>>>1) adding accessibility features "dumbs down" the game
>>>>removing the fun/challenge for the hard-core gamers;
>>>>
>>>>2) equating the accomodation of all disabilities with
>>>>accomodating even *some* disabilities; and
>>>>
>>>>3) the difficulty of adding certain accessibility features
>>>>to MMOG worlds
>>>>
>>>>Yes, it's hard to be all things to all people without it
>>>>dominating the design of the game--an aspect that may churn
>>>>the stomach of even the most socially-minded game designer.
>>>>However, even small advances on any of these fronts may make
>>>>significant headway for accessibility in gaming.
>>>>
>>>>For #1, there are repeated themes of how *certain* features
>>>>added for accessibility benefit all gamers.  Things like
>>>>remappable controls or [CC] are often mentioned.  Also, a
>>>>variety of difficulty levels, though not mentioned quite as
>>>>much, offer entry points for the casual gamer, but allow for
>>>>deeper challenges for the "industrial-strength" gamer.
>>>>
>>>>Just because a game offers remappable controls doesn't mean
>>>>hard-core gamers are going to be impared by it.  Just
>>>>because someone can turn on [CC] and play with the audio off
>>>>while their wife/kids are sleeping, doesn't mean they have
>>>>some advantage over other folks.  And if a hard-core gamer
>>>>finds the "easy" level too easy, well, that's their own dumb
>>>>fault and they should crank up the difficulty.
>>>>
>>>>Requiring less complex controls (whether as drastic as
>>>>one-switch or simply cutting back on the 20-buttons, 2
>>>>D-pads, 2 analog sticks, and 6 DoF gyro controls) makes the
>>>>game more accessibile not just to folks with mobility
>>>>problems, but to casual gamers in general.  Cell-phone games
>>>>and one-switch games seem to be made for each other and for
>>>>marketing to the casual gamer.
>>>>
>>>>With #2, I think it would be helpful to enhance our
>>>>suggestions/top-10 list with annotations regarding the
>>>>difficulty to implement such a feature, how it impacts game
>>>>design, and how it helps reach a larger demographic (and how
>>>>large that market-increase is).  The idea of creating a game
>>>>for the Who's _Tommy_ scares a lot of folks.  When we
>>>>mention the word "accessibility", folks see a
>>>>black-and-white world in which a game is either
>>>>inaccessibile, or the "deaf, dumb, and blind kid [that] sure
>>>>plays a mean pinball" can play it.  Perhaps clarifying that
>>>>there's a gradient of accessibility would soften our
>>>>message.  While, yes, it would be great to make games that
>>>>Tommy can play against the hard-core gamer where they're
>>>>both on an equal footing, there's also a range of less
>>>>drastic measures that game designers can incorporate that
>>>>allow them to retain freedom of design while still
>>>>increasing their audience.
>>>>
>>>>The third item is one of the hardest and something that's
>>>>not been discussed quite so much on the list.  A number of
>>>>features for accessibility come at odds with these worlds,
>>>>often because they mirror the same barriers that the real
>>>>world presents.  Some of the items in our top-10 are
>>>>difficult if not impossible to implement in such a world:
>>>>
>>>>- slowing the game down like bullet-time impacts the whole
>>>>  world, or
>>>>- giving everybody access to auto-aiming reduces the
>>>>  challenge for those crazy hard-core gamers, and unlevels
>>>>  some of the playing field
>>>>- adding [CC] becomes more difficult because there's not
>>>>  just a pre-scripted set of lines that the audio department
>>>>  records, but you have live voice-chat that doesn't [CC]
>>>>  easily
>>>>- a broad range of difficulties is hard to implement when
>>>>  the hard-core gamers are in the same world as those that
>>>>  need easier challenges
>>>>
>>>>Theoretically, one could use voice recognition software to
>>>>do dynamic [CC] of voice-chat, but voice recognition
>>>>software still has a long way to go, and sucks up a lot of
>>>>processor time/power from games that may want it.
>>>>
>>>>I understand that some MMOGs have a partitioned world in
>>>>which the newbies (and those that need the "easy" setting)
>>>>can gain their footing.  This is an elegant solution to the
>>>>problem, that players can stay in such a world as long as
>>>>they want/need, and venture into harder partitions as their
>>>>skills grow or as they need more difficulty.
>>>>
>>>>Perhaps a way to address some of the disparity in the world
>>>>is to make it publicly known which settings a person is
>>>>using and perhaps partition players by assistive
>>>>technologies; or reduce assistance as the player levels-up.
>>>>Or newbie players in the sandbox world may have very sloppy
>>>>aiming where auto-assist helps them.  However, as they level
>>>>up, or adventure into more challenging sectors of the
>>>>universe, the auto-assist features start dialing back.  This
>>>>could allow a player that needs assistive features to still
>>>>play, but also allow the hard-core gamers to get their fix
>>>>of difficulty.
>>>>
>>>>Anyways, if you've read this far and haven't written me off
>>>>as a loonie yet, thanks for playing the audience to my
>>>>long-winded ramblings.  Michelle, I don't know if any of
>>>>this is helpful fodder for future postings, but it's mostly
>>>>a brain-dump of my reactions to some of these myths and
>>>>mis-impressions I see on such gaming boards when the topic
>>>>of accessibility comes up.
>>>>
>>>>-tim
>>>>
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>>>>games_access at igda.org
>>>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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