From ioo at ablegamers.com Sun Nov 4 00:59:06 2007 From: ioo at ablegamers.com (Ioo) Date: Sun, 04 Nov 2007 00:59:06 -0400 Subject: [games_access] AbleGamers interview with Benjamin Heckendorn Posted In-Reply-To: <000301c8171d$293af800$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxkLysA <000301c8171d$293af800$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <472D519A.5000703@ablegamers.com> Hey All, AbleGamers has posted an interview Benjamin Heckendorn, inventor, film maker, uber-blogger, podcaster and creator of many portable gaming mods takes the time to have a chat with AbleGamers, adding us to his long list of great publications, including Wired, Popular Science, and Maxim, he has been featured in. We talk about his new one handed xbox controller. http://ablegamers.com/content/view/134/640/ ALSO, who is the admin of game-accessibility.com? It has been hit with some spam... Thanks! Mark Barlet From thomas at pininteractive.com Mon Nov 5 15:49:55 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 21:49:55 +0100 Subject: [games_access] GDC Message-ID: Hello what do we do with the sponsor thing, should we go on with the booth and raise money through sponsors? if yes: what do you think about the template sponsor letter I wrote? anything to change or add? /Thomas From hinn at uiuc.edu Mon Nov 5 18:50:17 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 17:50:17 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Thomas -- I had surgery Friday so I'm a bit behind on things, understandably (although regretfully!). I'm a bit concerned about the sponsorship thing and our return on investment, as this is a very different expo than E for All where we could reach consumers who had never thought about fellow gamers who might have disabilities. The GDC expo is going to be more of a booth where visitors expect something slick and packaged and will ask "well what is our return on investment" rather than general awareness raising. Yes, awareness raising can happen too, of course...but what is the return on OUR investment -- $8000 is a lot to raise and then there's the issue of who will stand at the booth (expos might seem short...until you've been on the other side of the booth...it's very exhausting!). What I'm sensing is as bit of a warning sign (ie, maybe we shouldn't do a booth) is that there have only been a few voices from the group adding in their opinions...I think that the last thing any of us want to see is the bulk of things falling in my lap for GDC -- it's not healthy for me personally or all of us as a group!! It's been a year of learning for all of us and I think that's a 100% positive thing. But I definitely am seeing unhealthy patterns re-emerging and I know that no one wants to repeat GDC 2007! Meanwhile GDC is holding fast to the December 1st date on letting us know how many (if any) talks were accepted. Talks have already been accepted but these are just the first wave...it's not a sign to panic that nothing got accepted. Believe me, I've already panicked about that -- nothing to panic about. Yet. But if you are me, you are always panicking. :) As I mentioned sometime last week, we have 1 roundtable sponsored by the IGDA (different than the ones that went through the regular system -- this is a courtesy for SIGs). This is already on the website (gdconf.com). It's an accessibility arcade, only very small -- just a few games/controllers with the emphasis on more specific info about the things being shown. We also have the "meet and greet" where we meet up at the IGDA area to answer questions from anyone interested in finding out about the SIG. Anyway, I will post more as I find out more. Meanwhile Kevin and I are preparing to give the SIG workshop at next week's FuturePlay. Unfortunately Dimitris and Eelke just learned that they cannot attend so the two of us are re-designing the workshop. Michelle >Hello > >what do we do with the sponsor thing, should we go on with the booth >and raise money through sponsors? > >if yes: >what do you think about the template sponsor letter I wrote? >anything to change or add? > >/Thomas > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Mon Nov 5 19:26:00 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 19:26:00 -0500 Subject: [games_access] GDC an idea... Platform. In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkbisA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkbisA Message-ID: <005601c8200b$9bdefb30$6501a8c0@Inspiron> >From previous examples and experience anything that is huge risk factor without a chance of meeting a goal a serious goal is definitely not worth risking that much money. Same thing with game design we should design our approach on our risks and our rewards. We've all been there got the response from developers and walking through that GDC hall is overwhelming people want to see final complete things they don't really want to sit down and say here read this paragraph. They look for what flashy, exciting in-your-face simple to understand and interact with develop. It does look like a big red flag. This industry is impossible it seems to get the word out. It's like you need several million dollars to actually put your money where your mouth is before people listen. That day will come it has to. It's like the industry doesn't want to listen if they wanted to we would definitely see them coming out themselves in promoting their own games that have these features but they just simply don't do it. I think just for kidding around we should start a picketing line circling around from GDC every year and getting more and more people to join us. That's how the people fighting for civil rights, environmental protection, even gay rights, everything that's been infiltrated into our society except for accessible videogames has never taken this approach. I hate to say this but we're just not making real impacts. Awareness is one thing but really doing something about it is a totally different thing. Of course I've been with you guys saw what is done to do something about it and don't mean that I mean actually showing that games can be made. Needing game to put out there. Michelle remember when you and I met with David Perry and the interview he set up that was so cool? A member his first reaction which was a huge signal to me, he said something about you guys should do game. We should. That's really obvious to me that that's what developers look for a look for a product and we don't have a product the kind of just say well do you expect me to risk everything on something I don't know anything about but show me it can be done. I don't know what our environment are group of people together scattered so many places is the right group to actually put a game together my best feeling is not. Mostly because we all have separate schedules separate locations and really need to be face-to-face to put a game together. But my experience with top-secret it's definitely possible online. And from my experience with top-secret it should definitely not be something that huge risk, time-consuming, money consuming, so it easy, really simple to play, highly addictive and really catchy. Then we will have a booth to actually show something that works. Questions would start popping up who's responsible for what happens to the money made from that and then things get tangled because everyone wants money. The biggest issue will be how to get the money in the first place to do it. After graduation I will be looking for a job and something to really start up if it's possible to get a company started and get all of your support to look for the right people, and get you all involved we would have something. For curiosity if this is something I actually wanted to do I'm not asking if it's possible but would there be support here to help me get it done? I'm sure there are things I don't understand about the industry and there will be a lot of questions and headaches. But if we can create fast results with easy to play games backed by an actual source of funding and a company to build its name on the matter how small or small or the budget might be at least paying a few people to keep them motivated. One of those people would be me of course I'd love to start and run this thing but give myself a source of income even if it's not a whole lot it definitely would be something interested to do get out into the industry and really start making a company. Guitar hero is a huge example I was thinking the other day coming up with a device that works in his addictive like guitar hero with a simple to play game in some sort of device that could get ridiculously circulated through the industry as a tool that other games can be made for. Not talking rocket science just rewiring some of the buttons in a existing paddle and determining what the minimal buttons do. Any thoughts? Get well soon Michelle. Robert By the way my favorite portrait is going to get a huge PR release am going to mention our committee and everything I can about our efforts. Check out my homepage where the portrait will be nationally auctioned on a huge auction house NPR will go out to a lot of places so hopefully I get some exposure out there. Come on good morning America I hope they call this time. Also my school wants me to speak at a graduation that's really cool. A graduate December 13 so I'm flying from Baltimore to Pittsburgh. Robert www.RobertFlorio.com -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn Sent: Monday, November 05, 2007 6:50 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC Hi Thomas -- I had surgery Friday so I'm a bit behind on things, understandably (although regretfully!). I'm a bit concerned about the sponsorship thing and our return on investment, as this is a very different expo than E for All where we could reach consumers who had never thought about fellow gamers who might have disabilities. The GDC expo is going to be more of a booth where visitors expect something slick and packaged and will ask "well what is our return on investment" rather than general awareness raising. Yes, awareness raising can happen too, of course...but what is the return on OUR investment -- $8000 is a lot to raise and then there's the issue of who will stand at the booth (expos might seem short...until you've been on the other side of the booth...it's very exhausting!). What I'm sensing is as bit of a warning sign (ie, maybe we shouldn't do a booth) is that there have only been a few voices from the group adding in their opinions...I think that the last thing any of us want to see is the bulk of things falling in my lap for GDC -- it's not healthy for me personally or all of us as a group!! It's been a year of learning for all of us and I think that's a 100% positive thing. But I definitely am seeing unhealthy patterns re-emerging and I know that no one wants to repeat GDC 2007! Meanwhile GDC is holding fast to the December 1st date on letting us know how many (if any) talks were accepted. Talks have already been accepted but these are just the first wave...it's not a sign to panic that nothing got accepted. Believe me, I've already panicked about that -- nothing to panic about. Yet. But if you are me, you are always panicking. :) As I mentioned sometime last week, we have 1 roundtable sponsored by the IGDA (different than the ones that went through the regular system -- this is a courtesy for SIGs). This is already on the website (gdconf.com). It's an accessibility arcade, only very small -- just a few games/controllers with the emphasis on more specific info about the things being shown. We also have the "meet and greet" where we meet up at the IGDA area to answer questions from anyone interested in finding out about the SIG. Anyway, I will post more as I find out more. Meanwhile Kevin and I are preparing to give the SIG workshop at next week's FuturePlay. Unfortunately Dimitris and Eelke just learned that they cannot attend so the two of us are re-designing the workshop. Michelle >Hello > >what do we do with the sponsor thing, should we go on with the booth >and raise money through sponsors? > >if yes: >what do you think about the template sponsor letter I wrote? >anything to change or add? > >/Thomas > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Mon Nov 5 20:19:26 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 19:19:26 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC an idea... Platform. In-Reply-To: <005601c8200b$9bdefb30$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkbisA <005601c8200b$9bdefb30$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: Thanks Robert, Well, just addressing the idea of creating a game -- the trouble is...there are games that are accessible that members of this group have created. Those are what we show. There are controllers that are accessible that members of this group have created. Those are what we show as well. There are games up for competition at this year's (and the past few years) Independent Games Festival at GDC that are accessible. Strange Attractors 2 is just one example -- this is a game that was up for an IGF award a few years ago at GDC that was accessible from the start and now they are on version 2! So I guess I wonder about is given all this -- that is, games that have been created already that are accessible -- is creating another game going to be the answer? Don't get me wrong -- the more games there are that are accessible, the more ways we have to get our message out there. But my point is that I'm not convinced that simply creating another game is going to be the answer to our problem. One reality that we have to deal with is audience -- not only do we need to convince developers, we need to convince a group of people who are quite possibly not gamers at all (for various reasons: because they didn't know there were some accessible games or controllers or they couldn't afford the accessibility solutions or they just don't really find gaming all that fun) to buy/play the games. So we have to bring awareness to a potential audience as well. So the task is more than just gaining the attention of the industry -- it's gaining the attention of gamers too. Michelle > >From previous examples and experience anything that is huge risk factor >without a chance of meeting a goal a serious goal is definitely not worth >risking that much money. Same thing with game design we should design our >approach on our risks and our rewards. > >We've all been there got the response from developers and walking through >that GDC hall is overwhelming people want to see final complete things they >don't really want to sit down and say here read this paragraph. They look >for what flashy, exciting in-your-face simple to understand and interact >with develop. > >It does look like a big red flag. > >This industry is impossible it seems to get the word out. It's like you >need several million dollars to actually put your money where your mouth is >before people listen. That day will come it has to. It's like the industry >doesn't want to listen if they wanted to we would definitely see them coming >out themselves in promoting their own games that have these features but >they just simply don't do it. > >I think just for kidding around we should start a picketing line circling >around from GDC every year and getting more and more people to join us. >That's how the people fighting for civil rights, environmental protection, >even gay rights, everything that's been infiltrated into our society except >for accessible videogames has never taken this approach. > >I hate to say this but we're just not making real impacts. Awareness is one >thing but really doing something about it is a totally different thing. Of >course I've been with you guys saw what is done to do something about it and >don't mean that I mean actually showing that games can be made. Needing >game to put out there. > >Michelle remember when you and I met with David Perry and the interview he >set up that was so cool? A member his first reaction which was a huge >signal to me, he said something about you guys should do game. We should. >That's really obvious to me that that's what developers look for a look for >a product and we don't have a product the kind of just say well do you >expect me to risk everything on something I don't know anything about but >show me it can be done. > >I don't know what our environment are group of people together scattered so >many places is the right group to actually put a game together my best >feeling is not. Mostly because we all have separate schedules separate >locations and really need to be face-to-face to put a game together. But my >experience with top-secret it's definitely possible online. > >And from my experience with top-secret it should definitely not be something >that huge risk, time-consuming, money consuming, so it easy, really simple >to play, highly addictive and really catchy. > >Then we will have a booth to actually show something that works. Questions >would start popping up who's responsible for what happens to the money made >from that and then things get tangled because everyone wants money. > >The biggest issue will be how to get the money in the first place to do it. >After graduation I will be looking for a job and something to really start >up if it's possible to get a company started and get all of your support to >look for the right people, and get you all involved we would have something. > >For curiosity if this is something I actually wanted to do I'm not asking if >it's possible but would there be support here to help me get it done? I'm >sure there are things I don't understand about the industry and there will >be a lot of questions and headaches. But if we can create fast results with >easy to play games backed by an actual source of funding and a company to >build its name on the matter how small or small or the budget might be at >least paying a few people to keep them motivated. > >One of those people would be me of course I'd love to start and run this >thing but give myself a source of income even if it's not a whole lot it >definitely would be something interested to do get out into the industry and >really start making a company. > >Guitar hero is a huge example I was thinking the other day coming up with a >device that works in his addictive like guitar hero with a simple to play >game in some sort of device that could get ridiculously circulated through >the industry as a tool that other games can be made for. Not talking rocket >science just rewiring some of the buttons in a existing paddle and >determining what the minimal buttons do. > >Any thoughts? Get well soon Michelle. > >Robert > >By the way my favorite portrait is going to get a huge PR release am going >to mention our committee and everything I can about our efforts. Check out >my homepage where the portrait will be nationally auctioned on a huge >auction house NPR will go out to a lot of places so hopefully I get some >exposure out there. Come on good morning America I hope they call this >time. > >Also my school wants me to speak at a graduation that's really cool. A >graduate December 13 so I'm flying from Baltimore to Pittsburgh. > >Robert >www.RobertFlorio.com > > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn >Sent: Monday, November 05, 2007 6:50 PM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC > >Hi Thomas -- > >I had surgery Friday so I'm a bit behind on things, understandably >(although regretfully!). > >I'm a bit concerned about the sponsorship thing and our return on >investment, as this is a very different expo than E for All where we >could reach consumers who had never thought about fellow gamers who >might have disabilities. The GDC expo is going to be more of a booth >where visitors expect something slick and packaged and will ask "well >what is our return on investment" rather than general awareness >raising. Yes, awareness raising can happen too, of course...but what >is the return on OUR investment -- $8000 is a lot to raise and then >there's the issue of who will stand at the booth (expos might seem >short...until you've been on the other side of the booth...it's very >exhausting!). > >What I'm sensing is as bit of a warning sign (ie, maybe we shouldn't >do a booth) is that there have only been a few voices from the group >adding in their opinions...I think that the last thing any of us want >to see is the bulk of things falling in my lap for GDC -- it's not >healthy for me personally or all of us as a group!! It's been a year >of learning for all of us and I think that's a 100% positive thing. >But I definitely am seeing unhealthy patterns re-emerging and I know >that no one wants to repeat GDC 2007! > >Meanwhile GDC is holding fast to the December 1st date on letting us >know how many (if any) talks were accepted. Talks have already been >accepted but these are just the first wave...it's not a sign to panic >that nothing got accepted. Believe me, I've already panicked about >that -- nothing to panic about. Yet. But if you are me, you are >always panicking. :) > >As I mentioned sometime last week, we have 1 roundtable sponsored by >the IGDA (different than the ones that went through the regular >system -- this is a courtesy for SIGs). This is already on the >website (gdconf.com). It's an accessibility arcade, only very small >-- just a few games/controllers with the emphasis on more specific >info about the things being shown. We also have the "meet and greet" >where we meet up at the IGDA area to answer questions from anyone >interested in finding out about the SIG. > >Anyway, I will post more as I find out more. Meanwhile Kevin and I >are preparing to give the SIG workshop at next week's FuturePlay. >Unfortunately Dimitris and Eelke just learned that they cannot attend >so the two of us are re-designing the workshop. > >Michelle > >>Hello >> >>what do we do with the sponsor thing, should we go on with the booth >>and raise money through sponsors? >> >>if yes: >>what do you think about the template sponsor letter I wrote? >>anything to change or add? >> >>/Thomas >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From thomas at pininteractive.com Tue Nov 6 06:21:19 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 12:21:19 +0100 Subject: [games_access] GDC In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hello Michelle yes I totally understand; the question was to all in the group, not just you as I knew you were having health issues, and it was intended as a question if we should go on with it or not; just so I know if I should go on try my contacts at Adobe I'm with you that we need to spend our time and money on the right things, and perhaps the booth isn't the best option for us. /Thomas 6 nov 2007 kl. 00.50 skrev d. michelle hinn: > Hi Thomas -- > > I had surgery Friday so I'm a bit behind on things, understandably > (although regretfully!). > > I'm a bit concerned about the sponsorship thing and our return on > investment, as this is a very different expo than E for All where > we could reach consumers who had never thought about fellow gamers > who might have disabilities. The GDC expo is going to be more of a > booth where visitors expect something slick and packaged and will > ask "well what is our return on investment" rather than general > awareness raising. Yes, awareness raising can happen too, of > course...but what is the return on OUR investment -- $8000 is a lot > to raise and then there's the issue of who will stand at the booth > (expos might seem short...until you've been on the other side of > the booth...it's very exhausting!). > > What I'm sensing is as bit of a warning sign (ie, maybe we > shouldn't do a booth) is that there have only been a few voices > from the group adding in their opinions...I think that the last > thing any of us want to see is the bulk of things falling in my lap > for GDC -- it's not healthy for me personally or all of us as a > group!! It's been a year of learning for all of us and I think > that's a 100% positive thing. But I definitely am seeing unhealthy > patterns re-emerging and I know that no one wants to repeat GDC 2007! > > Meanwhile GDC is holding fast to the December 1st date on letting > us know how many (if any) talks were accepted. Talks have already > been accepted but these are just the first wave...it's not a sign > to panic that nothing got accepted. Believe me, I've already > panicked about that -- nothing to panic about. Yet. But if you are > me, you are always panicking. :) > > As I mentioned sometime last week, we have 1 roundtable sponsored > by the IGDA (different than the ones that went through the regular > system -- this is a courtesy for SIGs). This is already on the > website (gdconf.com). It's an accessibility arcade, only very small > -- just a few games/controllers with the emphasis on more specific > info about the things being shown. We also have the "meet and > greet" where we meet up at the IGDA area to answer questions from > anyone interested in finding out about the SIG. > > Anyway, I will post more as I find out more. Meanwhile Kevin and I > are preparing to give the SIG workshop at next week's FuturePlay. > Unfortunately Dimitris and Eelke just learned that they cannot > attend so the two of us are re-designing the workshop. > > Michelle > >> Hello >> >> what do we do with the sponsor thing, should we go on with the >> booth and raise money through sponsors? >> >> if yes: >> what do you think about the template sponsor letter I wrote? >> anything to change or add? >> >> /Thomas >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk Tue Nov 6 07:29:01 2007 From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk (Barrie Ellis) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 12:29:01 -0000 Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack Message-ID: <00f901c82070$9f269130$0202a8c0@oneswitch> Why don't we try this...? 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game development PR and management. 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. 6. Keep a log of our progress. Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Tue Nov 6 13:16:08 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 13:16:08 -0500 Subject: [games_access] GDC an idea... Platform. In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwEbysA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkbisA<005601c8200b$9bdefb30$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwEbysA Message-ID: <000501c820a1$1a77a010$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Hey I see what you mean now. :-). On the other hand though I think that games are our loudest example. It is the game industry not the example by written flyers industry. Strange attractors is great the first one that is second on looks promising also. I guess I am frustrated probably we all are. It looks like the best bet is for little groups to do little games like this but strange attractors isn't exactly a little game. I think the problem is the mainstream gamers what I'm pointing more toward his a game that gets picked up by a big marketing company or however games get put out into the market for every gamer to get their hands on not just someone looking for a specialty game or special the game targeted areas. I really think that the trick is targeting everyone not saying it's just for an accessible group but getting all the other gamers hooked on it because then naturally gamers with disabilities are going to gravitate to that game. How does this help for a booth personally I think that's a lot of money to spend on a booth that we really don't have and possibly difficult to raise. That much money can bring a lot of us to the conference where we need people by the way to man the tables I guess. But without people than it can not be manned. Good way of thinking about it though Michelle I do though think that another game would be the best bet for the largest impact. They set the best examples. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn Sent: Monday, November 05, 2007 8:19 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC an idea... Platform. Thanks Robert, Well, just addressing the idea of creating a game -- the trouble is...there are games that are accessible that members of this group have created. Those are what we show. There are controllers that are accessible that members of this group have created. Those are what we show as well. There are games up for competition at this year's (and the past few years) Independent Games Festival at GDC that are accessible. Strange Attractors 2 is just one example -- this is a game that was up for an IGF award a few years ago at GDC that was accessible from the start and now they are on version 2! So I guess I wonder about is given all this -- that is, games that have been created already that are accessible -- is creating another game going to be the answer? Don't get me wrong -- the more games there are that are accessible, the more ways we have to get our message out there. But my point is that I'm not convinced that simply creating another game is going to be the answer to our problem. One reality that we have to deal with is audience -- not only do we need to convince developers, we need to convince a group of people who are quite possibly not gamers at all (for various reasons: because they didn't know there were some accessible games or controllers or they couldn't afford the accessibility solutions or they just don't really find gaming all that fun) to buy/play the games. So we have to bring awareness to a potential audience as well. So the task is more than just gaining the attention of the industry -- it's gaining the attention of gamers too. Michelle > >From previous examples and experience anything that is huge risk factor >without a chance of meeting a goal a serious goal is definitely not worth >risking that much money. Same thing with game design we should design our >approach on our risks and our rewards. > >We've all been there got the response from developers and walking through >that GDC hall is overwhelming people want to see final complete things they >don't really want to sit down and say here read this paragraph. They look >for what flashy, exciting in-your-face simple to understand and interact >with develop. > >It does look like a big red flag. > >This industry is impossible it seems to get the word out. It's like you >need several million dollars to actually put your money where your mouth is >before people listen. That day will come it has to. It's like the industry >doesn't want to listen if they wanted to we would definitely see them coming >out themselves in promoting their own games that have these features but >they just simply don't do it. > >I think just for kidding around we should start a picketing line circling >around from GDC every year and getting more and more people to join us. >That's how the people fighting for civil rights, environmental protection, >even gay rights, everything that's been infiltrated into our society except >for accessible videogames has never taken this approach. > >I hate to say this but we're just not making real impacts. Awareness is one >thing but really doing something about it is a totally different thing. Of >course I've been with you guys saw what is done to do something about it and >don't mean that I mean actually showing that games can be made. Needing >game to put out there. > >Michelle remember when you and I met with David Perry and the interview he >set up that was so cool? A member his first reaction which was a huge >signal to me, he said something about you guys should do game. We should. >That's really obvious to me that that's what developers look for a look for >a product and we don't have a product the kind of just say well do you >expect me to risk everything on something I don't know anything about but >show me it can be done. > >I don't know what our environment are group of people together scattered so >many places is the right group to actually put a game together my best >feeling is not. Mostly because we all have separate schedules separate >locations and really need to be face-to-face to put a game together. But my >experience with top-secret it's definitely possible online. > >And from my experience with top-secret it should definitely not be something >that huge risk, time-consuming, money consuming, so it easy, really simple >to play, highly addictive and really catchy. > >Then we will have a booth to actually show something that works. Questions >would start popping up who's responsible for what happens to the money made >from that and then things get tangled because everyone wants money. > >The biggest issue will be how to get the money in the first place to do it. >After graduation I will be looking for a job and something to really start >up if it's possible to get a company started and get all of your support to >look for the right people, and get you all involved we would have something. > >For curiosity if this is something I actually wanted to do I'm not asking if >it's possible but would there be support here to help me get it done? I'm >sure there are things I don't understand about the industry and there will >be a lot of questions and headaches. But if we can create fast results with >easy to play games backed by an actual source of funding and a company to >build its name on the matter how small or small or the budget might be at >least paying a few people to keep them motivated. > >One of those people would be me of course I'd love to start and run this >thing but give myself a source of income even if it's not a whole lot it >definitely would be something interested to do get out into the industry and >really start making a company. > >Guitar hero is a huge example I was thinking the other day coming up with a >device that works in his addictive like guitar hero with a simple to play >game in some sort of device that could get ridiculously circulated through >the industry as a tool that other games can be made for. Not talking rocket >science just rewiring some of the buttons in a existing paddle and >determining what the minimal buttons do. > >Any thoughts? Get well soon Michelle. > >Robert > >By the way my favorite portrait is going to get a huge PR release am going >to mention our committee and everything I can about our efforts. Check out >my homepage where the portrait will be nationally auctioned on a huge >auction house NPR will go out to a lot of places so hopefully I get some >exposure out there. Come on good morning America I hope they call this >time. > >Also my school wants me to speak at a graduation that's really cool. A >graduate December 13 so I'm flying from Baltimore to Pittsburgh. > >Robert >www.RobertFlorio.com > > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn >Sent: Monday, November 05, 2007 6:50 PM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC > >Hi Thomas -- > >I had surgery Friday so I'm a bit behind on things, understandably >(although regretfully!). > >I'm a bit concerned about the sponsorship thing and our return on >investment, as this is a very different expo than E for All where we >could reach consumers who had never thought about fellow gamers who >might have disabilities. The GDC expo is going to be more of a booth >where visitors expect something slick and packaged and will ask "well >what is our return on investment" rather than general awareness >raising. Yes, awareness raising can happen too, of course...but what >is the return on OUR investment -- $8000 is a lot to raise and then >there's the issue of who will stand at the booth (expos might seem >short...until you've been on the other side of the booth...it's very >exhausting!). > >What I'm sensing is as bit of a warning sign (ie, maybe we shouldn't >do a booth) is that there have only been a few voices from the group >adding in their opinions...I think that the last thing any of us want >to see is the bulk of things falling in my lap for GDC -- it's not >healthy for me personally or all of us as a group!! It's been a year >of learning for all of us and I think that's a 100% positive thing. >But I definitely am seeing unhealthy patterns re-emerging and I know >that no one wants to repeat GDC 2007! > >Meanwhile GDC is holding fast to the December 1st date on letting us >know how many (if any) talks were accepted. Talks have already been >accepted but these are just the first wave...it's not a sign to panic >that nothing got accepted. Believe me, I've already panicked about >that -- nothing to panic about. Yet. But if you are me, you are >always panicking. :) > >As I mentioned sometime last week, we have 1 roundtable sponsored by >the IGDA (different than the ones that went through the regular >system -- this is a courtesy for SIGs). This is already on the >website (gdconf.com). It's an accessibility arcade, only very small >-- just a few games/controllers with the emphasis on more specific >info about the things being shown. We also have the "meet and greet" >where we meet up at the IGDA area to answer questions from anyone >interested in finding out about the SIG. > >Anyway, I will post more as I find out more. Meanwhile Kevin and I >are preparing to give the SIG workshop at next week's FuturePlay. >Unfortunately Dimitris and Eelke just learned that they cannot attend >so the two of us are re-designing the workshop. > >Michelle > >>Hello >> >>what do we do with the sponsor thing, should we go on with the booth >>and raise money through sponsors? >> >>if yes: >>what do you think about the template sponsor letter I wrote? >>anything to change or add? >> >>/Thomas >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From reid at rbkdesign.com Tue Nov 6 15:11:11 2007 From: reid at rbkdesign.com (Reid Kimball) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 12:11:11 -0800 Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack In-Reply-To: <00f901c82070$9f269130$0202a8c0@oneswitch> References: <00f901c82070$9f269130$0202a8c0@oneswitch> Message-ID: I have to agree with Barrie's suggestions and we're some of them already. Robert, I read your ideas about making a game. Good idea at heart, but making a commercial game that will be picked up by the publisher is extremely difficult. Just ask Eitan or the creators of Strange Attractors. As pointed out by others, we do have many examples of games that already feature accessibility options. It doesn't look like we have the finances to get a booth at GDC but there's no reason to panic or even be frustrated. Michelle tried and it just happens to be really expensive! Then we move on to the next thing. Which is the FuturePlay conference and then waiting for the final selection of sessions for GDC 2008. In the meantime, each of us can do our part in educating and helping others to make their games more accessible for all. Several of us are creating guidelines to give to developers. Others are attending conferences to talk about what we do and network. Others are conducting interviews with software and hardware developers in the game industry. We're all contributing in valuable ways and we need to be persistent and patient because change does not happen over night. I also recommend that when people have ideas for doing something, by all means go ahead and try to get it started. Robert, if you can find people who want to make an accessible game, go for it. Barrie, can you start by creating a top 3 accessibility feature list for each genre of game you are interested in? -Reid On 11/6/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: > > > Why don't we try this...? > > 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I > suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. > 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. > 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. > 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game > development PR and management. > 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. > 6. Keep a log of our progress. > > Barrie > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > From j.chetwynd at btinternet.com Tue Nov 6 16:19:44 2007 From: j.chetwynd at btinternet.com (=?UTF-8?B?fjonJyDjgYLjgorjgYzjgajjgYbjgZTjgZbjgYTjgb7jgZfjgZ8=?= =?UTF-8?B?44CC?=) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 21:19:44 +0000 Subject: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life on radio 4 References: Message-ID: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life description on BBC radio 4 programme In Touch today http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/intouch_20071106.shtml#transcript regards Jonathan Chetwynd Accessibility Consultant on Media Literacy and the Internet From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Tue Nov 6 16:33:19 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 16:33:19 -0500 Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxEcysA References: <00f901c82070$9f269130$0202a8c0@oneswitch> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxEcysA Message-ID: <001c01c820bc$a64d6690$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Okay thanks Reid and it's good to know about how hard it is. It's going to be hard to get started I guess I was hoping some others would be interested but that's cool. Talking about a game. However the talking to Eric from strange attractors they actually had a cell phone company that wanted to buy their game so I think they had more success than you might be suggesting if that's what you mean Reid? I think they turned it down I'm not sure why. Things like that I guess that means the company would take over the rights but if it's notoriously difficult anyway is not a good thing to get a game picked up by someone like that? Is that something worth shooting for to do a game and then shop it around to see which publisher game company wants to buy it and take on with it? Maybe not if their agenda is not the same. Okay so now I'm further frustrated so what's the secret how do we get how does anyone get a game into mainstream media with the biggest influence to influence other designers for accessibility?? I think we need to start thinking way out of the box and doing something like a large project. We could do a few things. 1.We can do picketing outside conferences. 2. create a booth and invite all the games we know to display. 3. actually get a federal government representative to introduce a bill mandatory to make all games accessible... That one seems really cool. You know how Hillary Clinton when on the whole rampage of violence in video games and the government started mandatory needs for rating. 4. or create a game. But some are saying there are many are games out there but the more the better I think games are on loudest voice. Sooner or later one of them might reach really big and make that huge wave. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Reid Kimball Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:11 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] A simpler tack I have to agree with Barrie's suggestions and we're some of them already. Robert, I read your ideas about making a game. Good idea at heart, but making a commercial game that will be picked up by the publisher is extremely difficult. Just ask Eitan or the creators of Strange Attractors. As pointed out by others, we do have many examples of games that already feature accessibility options. It doesn't look like we have the finances to get a booth at GDC but there's no reason to panic or even be frustrated. Michelle tried and it just happens to be really expensive! Then we move on to the next thing. Which is the FuturePlay conference and then waiting for the final selection of sessions for GDC 2008. In the meantime, each of us can do our part in educating and helping others to make their games more accessible for all. Several of us are creating guidelines to give to developers. Others are attending conferences to talk about what we do and network. Others are conducting interviews with software and hardware developers in the game industry. We're all contributing in valuable ways and we need to be persistent and patient because change does not happen over night. I also recommend that when people have ideas for doing something, by all means go ahead and try to get it started. Robert, if you can find people who want to make an accessible game, go for it. Barrie, can you start by creating a top 3 accessibility feature list for each genre of game you are interested in? -Reid On 11/6/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: > > > Why don't we try this...? > > 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I > suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. > 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. > 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. > 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game > development PR and management. > 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. > 6. Keep a log of our progress. > > Barrie > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From reid at rbkdesign.com Tue Nov 6 18:27:13 2007 From: reid at rbkdesign.com (Reid Kimball) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 15:27:13 -0800 Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack In-Reply-To: <001c01c820bc$a64d6690$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: <00f901c82070$9f269130$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <001c01c820bc$a64d6690$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: If you want to create your own game, I recommend you read many of the articles here: http://www.sloperama.com/advice/idea.htm Tom Sloper has over 60 articles about getting into the game industry and what it takes to get your own game developed. Publishers will not buy a game from us. The most we can ever hope for by creating an accessible game of our own is the following. I'm merely offering the below to illustrate what it takes to create and get a game published. - We start a game development company with a unique mission statement to make Games for All, everyone, no matter their age, experience or ability. - We develop several game concepts that will satisfy our mission statement - We work for several months forming the company, seeking funding from VC, maybe government grants, angel investors, because of our unique mission statement. Maybe we make it a non-profit and can accept donations from other organizations to help with the funding? - Once we can hire a large enough team, we begin creating a prototype demo of the game concept we decided on earlier. Again, this can take months depending on the complexity and scope of the design. - After working on a prototype using funds we collected from outside investors and more likely, our own money, we approach publishers to show them what we have. IF they like it, they'll agree to fund the rest of the development. This is not free money. This is money used to ensure that we can pay our bills and have the resources needed to finish creating the full version of the game. - Once the game is done months or even years later, the publisher will release it, hopefully with lots of advertising/marketing support so that lots of people are aware of the game and want to buy it. If it's successful, we can make a profit on the royalities. If not, we need to have another game already in development so we can get another publishing deal which funds its development. That's a simplified version of what it takes for a new startup game developer. I think if we all unlimited resources and time, we'd start a consulting company and offer our services for hire to game development studios. We'd work with them closely, evaluating the accessibility of their games and help them implement solutions to make their game more accessible. I've thought about doing this, but it's a scary thing to quit your day job without knowing where your next pay check will come from. Also, if I start a consulting biz while still doing my current employment, because I already work in the game industry, it could create "conflicts of interest". If my employer ever found out I was helping competing companies, I could lose my job. Whoops! -Reid On 11/6/07, Robert Florio wrote: > Okay thanks Reid and it's good to know about how hard it is. It's going to > be hard to get started I guess I was hoping some others would be interested > but that's cool. Talking about a game. > > However the talking to Eric from strange attractors they actually had a cell > phone company that wanted to buy their game so I think they had more success > than you might be suggesting if that's what you mean Reid? I think they > turned it down I'm not sure why. > > Things like that I guess that means the company would take over the rights > but if it's notoriously difficult anyway is not a good thing to get a game > picked up by someone like that? Is that something worth shooting for to do > a game and then shop it around to see which publisher game company wants to > buy it and take on with it? > > Maybe not if their agenda is not the same. Okay so now I'm further > frustrated so what's the secret how do we get how does anyone get a game > into mainstream media with the biggest influence to influence other > designers for accessibility?? I think we need to start thinking way out of > the box and doing something like a large project. > > We could do a few things. > > 1.We can do picketing outside conferences. > 2. create a booth and invite all the games we know to display. > 3. actually get a federal government representative to introduce a bill > mandatory to make all games accessible... That one seems really cool. You > know how Hillary Clinton when on the whole rampage of violence in video > games and the government started mandatory needs for rating. > 4. or create a game. But some are saying there are many are games out there > but the more the better I think games are on loudest voice. Sooner or later > one of them might reach really big and make that huge wave. > > Robert > > > -----Original Message----- > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Reid Kimball > Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:11 PM > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [games_access] A simpler tack > > I have to agree with Barrie's suggestions and we're some of them already. > > Robert, I read your ideas about making a game. Good idea at heart, but > making a commercial game that will be picked up by the publisher is > extremely difficult. Just ask Eitan or the creators of Strange > Attractors. As pointed out by others, we do have many examples of > games that already feature accessibility options. > > It doesn't look like we have the finances to get a booth at GDC but > there's no reason to panic or even be frustrated. Michelle tried and > it just happens to be really expensive! Then we move on to the next > thing. Which is the FuturePlay conference and then waiting for the > final selection of sessions for GDC 2008. > > In the meantime, each of us can do our part in educating and helping > others to make their games more accessible for all. Several of us are > creating guidelines to give to developers. Others are attending > conferences to talk about what we do and network. Others are > conducting interviews with software and hardware developers in the > game industry. We're all contributing in valuable ways and we need to > be persistent and patient because change does not happen over night. > > I also recommend that when people have ideas for doing something, by > all means go ahead and try to get it started. Robert, if you can find > people who want to make an accessible game, go for it. Barrie, can you > start by creating a top 3 accessibility feature list for each genre of > game you are interested in? > > -Reid > > On 11/6/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: > > > > > > Why don't we try this...? > > > > 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I > > suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. > > 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. > > 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. > > 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game > > development PR and management. > > 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. > > 6. Keep a log of our progress. > > > > Barrie > > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Tue Nov 6 18:57:35 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 18:57:35 -0500 Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEdCsA References: <00f901c82070$9f269130$0202a8c0@oneswitch><001c01c820bc$a64d6690$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEdCsA Message-ID: <001d01c820d0$d0b04b00$6501a8c0@Inspiron> That's awesome I'm glad you shared with us. I was aware of all the steps I thought for a minute and then there was something I didn't know that you're going to lay down the law on.lol.. it's amazing how something so simple explained makes a lot of sense. This is everything I've learned that the industry does it's good to get that reinforcement the idea about the prototype in a couple of games going out there and then getting a publisher Company to fund the rest. I understand what you you mean about the job conflicts of interest in leaving with no paycheck security. The way I like to look at it now is if there was something like this kind of company in place and we already have a focused energized campaign and it puts us on the right track of actually producing a game. The way that these conversations have always gone personally I feel is we will discuss some games out there, maybe came toward needing to make our own game may be I'm the only one that has been really pushing for that a lot at least for our group, but it gives us something to shoot for that is rooted in a solid target. Nothing to go wishy-washy with but it's actually in place. A structured idea. I think simple is the best way to go and things can be overly complicated in this game industry. Simple games, but like Reid was saying routed with like a mission statement and games that actually set out on that statement. Even though something like this might like Reid said might be not-for-profit, but I know of not-for-profit fundraiser companies to take a percentage of the funds raised to pay their employers. If that's what it takes to get state funding federal funding, things like maybe the veterans Hospital, I think they give out donations, but the only way to get is the not-for-profit is to do that and then once reaching a game that successful branching over to for-profit. OK now I'm just going off on a big wishing trip, but it could happen. That's the beautiful thing about life you can make your dreams happen before it's too late and not alive anymore to do it. OK, that was a weird statement.lol But emphasizing simple structured game, not large scales, not feature creep, designing around the risks and eliminating risks and eliminating possibly designing around financial frustration paying people, who makes a profit, things like that so that it becomes a good environment of friends, one goal and something that really is a great thing. We should definitely look at that list the things that help people get into the business. I think there's no doubt that without a reasonable amount of money to start a prototype it won't happen. And I really hate how the industry throws around money like it's nothing. $50,000 for a starting company probably looks like pennies and impossibility but any individual looking at $50,000 in making that much money in one year is rich. I think which comes down to project management type of game, scope, risk analysis and design to beneficial use that money fast and with a very productive prototype. My guess would be that money would be used for. Software, computers, travel, licenses, minimum wage for employees,lol, minimize overhead so our resources, our people, less employees they can earn more. Or have people have part-time job someplace else and work part time on the game. For example, after graduation I can either look for a game company to work for but then a conflict of interest thing happens. Or I could use my hopefully, still withstanding opportunity invitation to work for NSA National Security Agency which a friend of mine invited me to do. That's incredible payment and incredible benefits. Something like that would be doable because I'll need some sort of insurance to help me out and that's a definite secure federal job probably no conflict of interest is working on this game part time and NSA part-time. Honestly though the situation I'm in I can actually spend the next three years of my life living in my parents house it's pretty sweet. I raise some money to fix it up and they don't have many expenses so a job is not very important. Probably just for the game design experience mostly. This fun to talk about. Robert www.RobertFlorio.com -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Reid Kimball Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 6:27 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] A simpler tack If you want to create your own game, I recommend you read many of the articles here: http://www.sloperama.com/advice/idea.htm Tom Sloper has over 60 articles about getting into the game industry and what it takes to get your own game developed. Publishers will not buy a game from us. The most we can ever hope for by creating an accessible game of our own is the following. I'm merely offering the below to illustrate what it takes to create and get a game published. - We start a game development company with a unique mission statement to make Games for All, everyone, no matter their age, experience or ability. - We develop several game concepts that will satisfy our mission statement - We work for several months forming the company, seeking funding from VC, maybe government grants, angel investors, because of our unique mission statement. Maybe we make it a non-profit and can accept donations from other organizations to help with the funding? - Once we can hire a large enough team, we begin creating a prototype demo of the game concept we decided on earlier. Again, this can take months depending on the complexity and scope of the design. - After working on a prototype using funds we collected from outside investors and more likely, our own money, we approach publishers to show them what we have. IF they like it, they'll agree to fund the rest of the development. This is not free money. This is money used to ensure that we can pay our bills and have the resources needed to finish creating the full version of the game. - Once the game is done months or even years later, the publisher will release it, hopefully with lots of advertising/marketing support so that lots of people are aware of the game and want to buy it. If it's successful, we can make a profit on the royalities. If not, we need to have another game already in development so we can get another publishing deal which funds its development. That's a simplified version of what it takes for a new startup game developer. I think if we all unlimited resources and time, we'd start a consulting company and offer our services for hire to game development studios. We'd work with them closely, evaluating the accessibility of their games and help them implement solutions to make their game more accessible. I've thought about doing this, but it's a scary thing to quit your day job without knowing where your next pay check will come from. Also, if I start a consulting biz while still doing my current employment, because I already work in the game industry, it could create "conflicts of interest". If my employer ever found out I was helping competing companies, I could lose my job. Whoops! -Reid On 11/6/07, Robert Florio wrote: > Okay thanks Reid and it's good to know about how hard it is. It's going to > be hard to get started I guess I was hoping some others would be interested > but that's cool. Talking about a game. > > However the talking to Eric from strange attractors they actually had a cell > phone company that wanted to buy their game so I think they had more success > than you might be suggesting if that's what you mean Reid? I think they > turned it down I'm not sure why. > > Things like that I guess that means the company would take over the rights > but if it's notoriously difficult anyway is not a good thing to get a game > picked up by someone like that? Is that something worth shooting for to do > a game and then shop it around to see which publisher game company wants to > buy it and take on with it? > > Maybe not if their agenda is not the same. Okay so now I'm further > frustrated so what's the secret how do we get how does anyone get a game > into mainstream media with the biggest influence to influence other > designers for accessibility?? I think we need to start thinking way out of > the box and doing something like a large project. > > We could do a few things. > > 1.We can do picketing outside conferences. > 2. create a booth and invite all the games we know to display. > 3. actually get a federal government representative to introduce a bill > mandatory to make all games accessible... That one seems really cool. You > know how Hillary Clinton when on the whole rampage of violence in video > games and the government started mandatory needs for rating. > 4. or create a game. But some are saying there are many are games out there > but the more the better I think games are on loudest voice. Sooner or later > one of them might reach really big and make that huge wave. > > Robert > > > -----Original Message----- > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Reid Kimball > Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:11 PM > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [games_access] A simpler tack > > I have to agree with Barrie's suggestions and we're some of them already. > > Robert, I read your ideas about making a game. Good idea at heart, but > making a commercial game that will be picked up by the publisher is > extremely difficult. Just ask Eitan or the creators of Strange > Attractors. As pointed out by others, we do have many examples of > games that already feature accessibility options. > > It doesn't look like we have the finances to get a booth at GDC but > there's no reason to panic or even be frustrated. Michelle tried and > it just happens to be really expensive! Then we move on to the next > thing. Which is the FuturePlay conference and then waiting for the > final selection of sessions for GDC 2008. > > In the meantime, each of us can do our part in educating and helping > others to make their games more accessible for all. Several of us are > creating guidelines to give to developers. Others are attending > conferences to talk about what we do and network. Others are > conducting interviews with software and hardware developers in the > game industry. We're all contributing in valuable ways and we need to > be persistent and patient because change does not happen over night. > > I also recommend that when people have ideas for doing something, by > all means go ahead and try to get it started. Robert, if you can find > people who want to make an accessible game, go for it. Barrie, can you > start by creating a top 3 accessibility feature list for each genre of > game you are interested in? > > -Reid > > On 11/6/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: > > > > > > Why don't we try this...? > > > > 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I > > suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. > > 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. > > 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. > > 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game > > development PR and management. > > 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. > > 6. Keep a log of our progress. > > > > Barrie > > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Tue Nov 6 19:00:52 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 19:00:52 -0500 Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEdCsA References: <00f901c82070$9f269130$0202a8c0@oneswitch><001c01c820bc$a64d6690$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEdCsA Message-ID: <001e01c820d1$4395e5d0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> I forgot to complement about the idea for consulting company. It sounds like one of those things that I completely do not understand but makes people a lot of money because people come for you for ideas don't rely on you to make it happen. That's really funny cool it sounds like one of those things that you watch in the movies were a guy in a cowboy hat sits down at the airport and rich as can be an out of curiosity asking him what he did and he said something like this "I created a company that goes to other companies, which hires employees for those companies, and in return the company is the third party employs these people, bring them people back to me, and then I find them jobs and then they go out and start their own company and then I find them jobs and help them find software things like that." I always laugh when I hear that I'll find myself scratching my head laughing thinking, what the hell does that mean?lol Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Reid Kimball Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 6:27 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] A simpler tack If you want to create your own game, I recommend you read many of the articles here: http://www.sloperama.com/advice/idea.htm Tom Sloper has over 60 articles about getting into the game industry and what it takes to get your own game developed. Publishers will not buy a game from us. The most we can ever hope for by creating an accessible game of our own is the following. I'm merely offering the below to illustrate what it takes to create and get a game published. - We start a game development company with a unique mission statement to make Games for All, everyone, no matter their age, experience or ability. - We develop several game concepts that will satisfy our mission statement - We work for several months forming the company, seeking funding from VC, maybe government grants, angel investors, because of our unique mission statement. Maybe we make it a non-profit and can accept donations from other organizations to help with the funding? - Once we can hire a large enough team, we begin creating a prototype demo of the game concept we decided on earlier. Again, this can take months depending on the complexity and scope of the design. - After working on a prototype using funds we collected from outside investors and more likely, our own money, we approach publishers to show them what we have. IF they like it, they'll agree to fund the rest of the development. This is not free money. This is money used to ensure that we can pay our bills and have the resources needed to finish creating the full version of the game. - Once the game is done months or even years later, the publisher will release it, hopefully with lots of advertising/marketing support so that lots of people are aware of the game and want to buy it. If it's successful, we can make a profit on the royalities. If not, we need to have another game already in development so we can get another publishing deal which funds its development. That's a simplified version of what it takes for a new startup game developer. I think if we all unlimited resources and time, we'd start a consulting company and offer our services for hire to game development studios. We'd work with them closely, evaluating the accessibility of their games and help them implement solutions to make their game more accessible. I've thought about doing this, but it's a scary thing to quit your day job without knowing where your next pay check will come from. Also, if I start a consulting biz while still doing my current employment, because I already work in the game industry, it could create "conflicts of interest". If my employer ever found out I was helping competing companies, I could lose my job. Whoops! -Reid On 11/6/07, Robert Florio wrote: > Okay thanks Reid and it's good to know about how hard it is. It's going to > be hard to get started I guess I was hoping some others would be interested > but that's cool. Talking about a game. > > However the talking to Eric from strange attractors they actually had a cell > phone company that wanted to buy their game so I think they had more success > than you might be suggesting if that's what you mean Reid? I think they > turned it down I'm not sure why. > > Things like that I guess that means the company would take over the rights > but if it's notoriously difficult anyway is not a good thing to get a game > picked up by someone like that? Is that something worth shooting for to do > a game and then shop it around to see which publisher game company wants to > buy it and take on with it? > > Maybe not if their agenda is not the same. Okay so now I'm further > frustrated so what's the secret how do we get how does anyone get a game > into mainstream media with the biggest influence to influence other > designers for accessibility?? I think we need to start thinking way out of > the box and doing something like a large project. > > We could do a few things. > > 1.We can do picketing outside conferences. > 2. create a booth and invite all the games we know to display. > 3. actually get a federal government representative to introduce a bill > mandatory to make all games accessible... That one seems really cool. You > know how Hillary Clinton when on the whole rampage of violence in video > games and the government started mandatory needs for rating. > 4. or create a game. But some are saying there are many are games out there > but the more the better I think games are on loudest voice. Sooner or later > one of them might reach really big and make that huge wave. > > Robert > > > -----Original Message----- > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Reid Kimball > Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:11 PM > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [games_access] A simpler tack > > I have to agree with Barrie's suggestions and we're some of them already. > > Robert, I read your ideas about making a game. Good idea at heart, but > making a commercial game that will be picked up by the publisher is > extremely difficult. Just ask Eitan or the creators of Strange > Attractors. As pointed out by others, we do have many examples of > games that already feature accessibility options. > > It doesn't look like we have the finances to get a booth at GDC but > there's no reason to panic or even be frustrated. Michelle tried and > it just happens to be really expensive! Then we move on to the next > thing. Which is the FuturePlay conference and then waiting for the > final selection of sessions for GDC 2008. > > In the meantime, each of us can do our part in educating and helping > others to make their games more accessible for all. Several of us are > creating guidelines to give to developers. Others are attending > conferences to talk about what we do and network. Others are > conducting interviews with software and hardware developers in the > game industry. We're all contributing in valuable ways and we need to > be persistent and patient because change does not happen over night. > > I also recommend that when people have ideas for doing something, by > all means go ahead and try to get it started. Robert, if you can find > people who want to make an accessible game, go for it. Barrie, can you > start by creating a top 3 accessibility feature list for each genre of > game you are interested in? > > -Reid > > On 11/6/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: > > > > > > Why don't we try this...? > > > > 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I > > suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. > > 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. > > 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. > > 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game > > development PR and management. > > 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. > > 6. Keep a log of our progress. > > > > Barrie > > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From thomas at pininteractive.com Wed Nov 7 03:55:59 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 09:55:59 +0100 Subject: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life on radio 4 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <0B1002AC-331E-48C2-86B0-99F751EF5A07@pininteractive.com> great has there been contacts with people in the SIG about developing this? We could use some IBM dollars... /Thomas 6 nov 2007 kl. 22.19 skrev ~:'' ????????????: > IBM, Accessibility & Second Life > > description on BBC radio 4 programme In Touch today > http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/intouch_20071106.shtml#transcript > > regards > > Jonathan Chetwynd > Accessibility Consultant on Media Literacy and the Internet > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Wed Nov 7 13:33:15 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 13:33:15 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life on radio 4 In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA Message-ID: <000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Develop what? Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Westin Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 3:56 AM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life on radio 4 great has there been contacts with people in the SIG about developing this? We could use some IBM dollars... /Thomas 6 nov 2007 kl. 22.19 skrev ~:'' ????????????: > IBM, Accessibility & Second Life > > description on BBC radio 4 programme In Touch today > http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/intouch_20071106.shtml#transcript > > regards > > Jonathan Chetwynd > Accessibility Consultant on Media Literacy and the Internet > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Wed Nov 7 20:37:57 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 19:37:57 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life on radio 4 In-Reply-To: <000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA <000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: My cousin is a VP of development at IBM and has been trying to search out some funding contacts for accessibility in general -- it's been taking a little while to figure out what the best connection with them would be. Perhaps this is it. A number of us (Eelke has a grant to create a client accessible for the blind, I'm on an advisory board as an external evaluator on another grant focused on mobility disabilities) are already involved in Second Life accessibility projects from other funding agencies, which could become conflict of interest. But as Robert said, the question is what exactly we would develop that they aren't already developing? I can try and see if my cousin can put us in touch with this project group from an insider's perspective -- perhaps they might be able to sponsor us in some way just in general or in return for SIG work as evaluators of the tools. Michelle >Develop what? >Robert > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of Thomas Westin >Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 3:56 AM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: Re: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life on radio 4 > >great > >has there been contacts with people in the SIG about developing this? >We could use some IBM dollars... > >/Thomas > > > > >6 nov 2007 kl. 22.19 skrev ~:'' ???????????????????????B: > >> IBM, Accessibility & Second Life >> >> description on BBC radio 4 programme In Touch today > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/intouch_20071106.shtml#transcript >> >> regards >> >> Jonathan Chetwynd >> Accessibility Consultant on Media Literacy and the Internet >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thomas at pininteractive.com Thu Nov 8 08:14:08 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2007 14:14:08 +0100 Subject: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life on radio 4 In-Reply-To: References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: I was just wondering if we (someone in the SIG) had helped them out in some way; then we could ask for some support for our cause and they've obviously been inspired by existing games made by members here in solving the interface /thomas 8 nov 2007 kl. 02.37 skrev d. michelle hinn: > My cousin is a VP of development at IBM and has been trying to > search out some funding contacts for accessibility in general -- > it's been taking a little while to figure out what the best > connection with them would be. Perhaps this is it. > > A number of us (Eelke has a grant to create a client accessible for > the blind, I'm on an advisory board as an external evaluator on > another grant focused on mobility disabilities) are already > involved in Second Life accessibility projects from other funding > agencies, which could become conflict of interest. > > But as Robert said, the question is what exactly we would develop > that they aren't already developing? I can try and see if my cousin > can put us in touch with this project group from an insider's > perspective -- perhaps they might be able to sponsor us in some way > just in general or in return for SIG work as evaluators of the tools. > > Michelle > >> Develop what? >> Robert >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access- >> bounces at igda.org] >> On Behalf Of Thomas Westin >> Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 3:56 AM >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> Subject: Re: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life >> on radio 4 >> >> great >> >> has there been contacts with people in the SIG about developing this? >> We could use some IBM dollars... >> >> /Thomas >> >> >> >> >> 6 nov 2007 kl. 22.19 skrev ~:'' ???????????????? >> ???????B: >> >> > IBM, Accessibility & Second Life >> > >> > description on BBC radio 4 programme In Touch today >> > http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/ >> intouch_20071106.shtml#transcript >> > >> > regards >> > >> > Jonathan Chetwynd >> > Accessibility Consultant on Media Literacy and the Internet >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > games_access mailing list >> > games_access at igda.org >> > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Thu Nov 8 10:37:39 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2007 09:37:39 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life on radio 4 In-Reply-To: References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: I see what you are asking now. :) I thought you were referring to Second Life/Linden more than IBM. I agree, they have probably been influenced by some of us in some way -- it's harder to get donations back for knowledge that was available for free but that doesn't mean we can't try or it's can't be done. Just takes more strategy. Michelle >I was just wondering if we (someone in the SIG) >had helped them out in some way; then we could >ask for some support for our cause > >and they've obviously been inspired by existing >games made by members here in solving the >interface > >/thomas > > >8 nov 2007 kl. 02.37 skrev d. michelle hinn: > >>My cousin is a VP of development at IBM and has >>been trying to search out some funding contacts >>for accessibility in general -- it's been >>taking a little while to figure out what the >>best connection with them would be. Perhaps >>this is it. >> >>A number of us (Eelke has a grant to create a >>client accessible for the blind, I'm on an >>advisory board as an external evaluator on >>another grant focused on mobility disabilities) >>are already involved in Second Life >>accessibility projects from other funding >>agencies, which could become conflict of >>interest. >> >>But as Robert said, the question is what >>exactly we would develop that they aren't >>already developing? I can try and see if my >>cousin can put us in touch with this project >>group from an insider's perspective -- perhaps >>they might be able to sponsor us in some way >>just in general or in return for SIG work as >>evaluators of the tools. >> >>Michelle >> >>>Develop what? >>>Robert >>> >>>-----Original Message----- >>>From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >>>On Behalf Of Thomas Westin >>>Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 3:56 AM >>>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>>Subject: Re: [games_access] Fwd: IBM, Accessibility & Second Life on radio 4 >>> >>>great >>> >>>has there been contacts with people in the SIG about developing this? >>>We could use some IBM dollars... >>> >>>/Thomas >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>6 nov 2007 kl. 22.19 skrev ~:'' ???????????3?4????????????B: >>> >>>> IBM, Accessibility & Second Life >>>> >>>> description on BBC radio 4 programme In Touch today >>>> http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/intouch_20071106.shtml#transcript >>>> >>>> regards >>>> >>>> Jonathan Chetwynd >>>> Accessibility Consultant on Media Literacy and the Internet >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>games_access mailing list >>>games_access at igda.org >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>games_access mailing list >>>games_access at igda.org >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Sat Nov 10 17:44:47 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:44:47 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008 -- who is going + acceptance update In-Reply-To: References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: Hi everyone, GDC acceptances are starting to trickle in (Dec 1 is when we'll know everything -- some prelim sessions are already on their website at www.gdconf.com but these are sessions that didn't go through the main system and/or were invited so no one panic!). Some good news -- I just learned this week that Reid's proposal on programming a dynamic [cc] system was accepted through the regular proposal system so I'm hopeful that this is a good sign for us! That was an early bit of feedback...so cool!!!! I'm not certain but I think this is the first time this talk has been accepted (unless I'm mixed up -- I'm pretty sure he's put this in once or twice) so we're starting to do something right! :) On the schedule already is the accessibility arcade. We also have the Meet and Greet, which is being hosted by Eelke. Eelke, you are hosting the meet and greet. :) More info on this soon but this is the session that was held at the IGDA booth last year and oddly interrupted by PBS filming some of us eating (some of us who were so starved we had to use a part of that time to eat or we would have died!). I thought that you'd have some great ideas about maximizing this opportunity, especially after we talked a bit about it and the rest of GDC at E for All. I need to be sure that I have everyone's name who is hoping to go to GDC. Please confirm this with me by emailing me at hinn at uiuc.edu (to avoid list excess traffic) and if you need extra passes for ADA purposes, let me know that too and how many you'll need. Also, if you require a ramp, interpreter, or other accommodation due to disability, please let me know that too as putting in ramps, etc do take additional time to arrange. I still can't promise we'll get all the passes we want but I'm trying. So far we have now covered three of us Note that ADA accommodations do NOT effect our pass count so if someone requires an assistant that does not mean that we have fewer passes to reflect this. These accommodations are US law and CMP (the group that runs GDC) is VERY good at respecting that with absolutely no questions. Unfortunately not every conference group is as enlightened -- I've had to deal in the past with groups that try to penalize people for the accommodations they are supposed to provide. So it's very refreshing that CMP has always been a "no questions asked/what can we do to provide the best accommodations" group! Michelle From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 10 17:56:38 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 17:56:38 -0500 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008 -- who is going + acceptance update In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEhSsA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEhSsA Message-ID: <001601c823ec$f3901820$6501a8c0@Inspiron> If it helps perhaps if there is not possibility that we might not get enough for me to attend should I apply for the scholarship again this year? Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 5:45 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008 -- who is going + acceptance update Hi everyone, GDC acceptances are starting to trickle in (Dec 1 is when we'll know everything -- some prelim sessions are already on their website at www.gdconf.com but these are sessions that didn't go through the main system and/or were invited so no one panic!). Some good news -- I just learned this week that Reid's proposal on programming a dynamic [cc] system was accepted through the regular proposal system so I'm hopeful that this is a good sign for us! That was an early bit of feedback...so cool!!!! I'm not certain but I think this is the first time this talk has been accepted (unless I'm mixed up -- I'm pretty sure he's put this in once or twice) so we're starting to do something right! :) On the schedule already is the accessibility arcade. We also have the Meet and Greet, which is being hosted by Eelke. Eelke, you are hosting the meet and greet. :) More info on this soon but this is the session that was held at the IGDA booth last year and oddly interrupted by PBS filming some of us eating (some of us who were so starved we had to use a part of that time to eat or we would have died!). I thought that you'd have some great ideas about maximizing this opportunity, especially after we talked a bit about it and the rest of GDC at E for All. I need to be sure that I have everyone's name who is hoping to go to GDC. Please confirm this with me by emailing me at hinn at uiuc.edu (to avoid list excess traffic) and if you need extra passes for ADA purposes, let me know that too and how many you'll need. Also, if you require a ramp, interpreter, or other accommodation due to disability, please let me know that too as putting in ramps, etc do take additional time to arrange. I still can't promise we'll get all the passes we want but I'm trying. So far we have now covered three of us Note that ADA accommodations do NOT effect our pass count so if someone requires an assistant that does not mean that we have fewer passes to reflect this. These accommodations are US law and CMP (the group that runs GDC) is VERY good at respecting that with absolutely no questions. Unfortunately not every conference group is as enlightened -- I've had to deal in the past with groups that try to penalize people for the accommodations they are supposed to provide. So it's very refreshing that CMP has always been a "no questions asked/what can we do to provide the best accommodations" group! Michelle _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Sat Nov 10 18:13:15 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 17:13:15 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008 -- who is going + acceptance update In-Reply-To: <001601c823ec$f3901820$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c82 16c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEhSsA <001601c823ec$f3901820$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: I just looked it up at http://www.igda.org/scholarships/ and past scholarship winners are not eligible to apply. So that's not a possibility unfortunately. At thing point we just have to keep waiting -- I'll let everyone know anything new that I find out about this year's pass situation. Pass priority goes to (and this is not necessarily in order but kind of is): (1) speakers accepted, (2) people who contributed to the proposal writing directly (ie, wrote some of the draft bits but did not want to be speakers, (3) people who haven't had a chance to go before and have helped out the SIG immensely in the last year in the planning for this and other events, (4) returners who have contributed to our success at past GDCs and can contribute again. After that if we have any left we'll figure out something else -- most people who want to attend probably are already in the pass priority list. These are the cases where I will do everything I can to get pass coverage. But obviously anyone who hasn't done anything at all in the past for the SIG are not priority. I wish I could give passes to the world but obviously I can't. :) Michelle >If it helps perhaps if there is not possibility that we might not get enough >for me to attend should I apply for the scholarship again this year? > >Robert > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn >Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 5:45 PM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008 -- who is going + acceptance update > >Hi everyone, > >GDC acceptances are starting to trickle in (Dec 1 is when we'll know >everything -- some prelim sessions are already on their website at >www.gdconf.com but these are sessions that didn't go through the main >system and/or were invited so no one panic!). > >Some good news -- I just learned this week that Reid's proposal on >programming a dynamic [cc] system was accepted through the regular >proposal system so I'm hopeful that this is a good sign for us! That >was an early bit of feedback...so cool!!!! I'm not certain but I >think this is the first time this talk has been accepted (unless I'm >mixed up -- I'm pretty sure he's put this in once or twice) so we're >starting to do something right! :) > >On the schedule already is the accessibility arcade. We also have the >Meet and Greet, which is being hosted by Eelke. Eelke, you are >hosting the meet and greet. :) More info on this soon but this is the >session that was held at the IGDA booth last year and oddly >interrupted by PBS filming some of us eating (some of us who were so >starved we had to use a part of that time to eat or we would have >died!). I thought that you'd have some great ideas about maximizing >this opportunity, especially after we talked a bit about it and the >rest of GDC at E for All. > >I need to be sure that I have everyone's name who is hoping to go to >GDC. Please confirm this with me by emailing me at hinn at uiuc.edu (to >avoid list excess traffic) and if you need extra passes for ADA >purposes, let me know that too and how many you'll need. Also, if you >require a ramp, interpreter, or other accommodation due to >disability, please let me know that too as putting in ramps, etc do >take additional time to arrange. I still can't promise we'll get all >the passes we want but I'm trying. So far we have now covered three >of us > >Note that ADA accommodations do NOT effect our pass count so if >someone requires an assistant that does not mean that we have fewer >passes to reflect this. These accommodations are US law and CMP (the >group that runs GDC) is VERY good at respecting that with absolutely >no questions. Unfortunately not every conference group is as >enlightened -- I've had to deal in the past with groups that try to >penalize people for the accommodations they are supposed to provide. >So it's very refreshing that CMP has always been a "no questions >asked/what can we do to provide the best accommodations" group! > >Michelle >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Sun Nov 11 02:59:20 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 01:59:20 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Press Passes for GDC In-Reply-To: References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c82 16c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEhSsA <001601c823ec$f3901820$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: Hi All, Bugging you one more time -- if you are planning on attending GDC, please let me know if you need a press pass (you'll need to provide press credentials of some sort -- blogs like Barrie and Mark run DO count as press now so that's cool). Again, off-list please (hinn at uiuc.edu) :) Thanks! Michelle From j.chetwynd at btinternet.com Sun Nov 11 03:51:49 2007 From: j.chetwynd at btinternet.com (=?UTF-8?B?In46Jycg44GC44KK44GM44Go44GG44GU44GW44GE44G+44GX44Gf?= =?UTF-8?B?44CCIg==?=) Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 08:51:49 +0000 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008 -- who is going + acceptance update In-Reply-To: References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <9FA6EBB0-AD90-4937-82D5-323570AC33B3@btinternet.com> Michelle, unfortunately, it seems very unlikely that i'll be able to to attend this year. however if there are plans to publish one or more white papers or similar I would like to contribute. regards Jonathan Chetwynd Accessibility Consultant on Media Literacy and the Internet On 10 Nov 2007, at 22:44, d. michelle hinn wrote: Hi everyone, GDC acceptances are starting to trickle in (Dec 1 is when we'll know everything -- some prelim sessions are already on their website at www.gdconf.com but these are sessions that didn't go through the main system and/or were invited so no one panic!). Some good news -- I just learned this week that Reid's proposal on programming a dynamic [cc] system was accepted through the regular proposal system so I'm hopeful that this is a good sign for us! That was an early bit of feedback...so cool!!!! I'm not certain but I think this is the first time this talk has been accepted (unless I'm mixed up -- I'm pretty sure he's put this in once or twice) so we're starting to do something right! :) On the schedule already is the accessibility arcade. We also have the Meet and Greet, which is being hosted by Eelke. Eelke, you are hosting the meet and greet. :) More info on this soon but this is the session that was held at the IGDA booth last year and oddly interrupted by PBS filming some of us eating (some of us who were so starved we had to use a part of that time to eat or we would have died!). I thought that you'd have some great ideas about maximizing this opportunity, especially after we talked a bit about it and the rest of GDC at E for All. I need to be sure that I have everyone's name who is hoping to go to GDC. Please confirm this with me by emailing me at hinn at uiuc.edu (to avoid list excess traffic) and if you need extra passes for ADA purposes, let me know that too and how many you'll need. Also, if you require a ramp, interpreter, or other accommodation due to disability, please let me know that too as putting in ramps, etc do take additional time to arrange. I still can't promise we'll get all the passes we want but I'm trying. So far we have now covered three of us Note that ADA accommodations do NOT effect our pass count so if someone requires an assistant that does not mean that we have fewer passes to reflect this. These accommodations are US law and CMP (the group that runs GDC) is VERY good at respecting that with absolutely no questions. Unfortunately not every conference group is as enlightened -- I've had to deal in the past with groups that try to penalize people for the accommodations they are supposed to provide. So it's very refreshing that CMP has always been a "no questions asked/what can we do to provide the best accommodations" group! Michelle _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Sun Nov 11 19:05:56 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:05:56 -0600 Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 In-Reply-To: References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: Hi all -- Some good news I thought I'd share about FuturePlay that starts later this week (http://www.futureplay.org) -- the accessibility workshop that Kevin and I are doing has over 40 pre-registered attendees. That's about 38 more people than usual for our all-day workshops. For a small conference, this is pretty amazing -- especially since attending our workshop means that they have chosen not to attend any other session besides the keynote because the workshop is on day 1 of 2.5 days so there's a lot of competition coming up against us! Also that number is especially impressive given that so many more people *could* have attended our past GDC and Brighton versions of the workshop but did not. I think we are starting to turn the corner! I just have this feeling... :) Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that Dimitris' "Game Over" (a game to educate people about designing games for all) has made it to the finals of the game competition and I will be presenting for him at the awards show, as he had to be in a different continent for another meeting this week. So cool! Nice to see it up for a conference award! Finger's crossed for a win, everyone! So that's two more big SIG announcements for the week! Yeah! Michelle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From glinert at MIT.EDU Sun Nov 11 19:23:33 2007 From: glinert at MIT.EDU (Eitan Glinert) Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:23:33 -0500 Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 In-Reply-To: References: <000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.2.20071111191900.03e27c40@po12.mit.edu> I agree, FuturePlay looks like it's going to be really exciting. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! I'm going to be on a panel on Friday morning at 10:45 called "Harder Lessons" (along with John Hopson, Anthony Whitehead, Mia Consalvo, and John Lester) which talks about the things that the IGDA games curriculum doesn't currently cover. It won't have much to do with accessibility, but it should be interesting, especially for those out there in academics who also make games (i.e. all of us). See you there, Eitan At 07:05 PM 11/11/2007, d. michelle hinn wrote: >Hi all -- > >Some good news I thought I'd share about FuturePlay that starts later this >week (http://www.futureplay.org) -- the accessibility workshop that Kevin >and I are doing has over 40 pre-registered attendees. That's about 38 more >people than usual for our all-day workshops. For a small conference, this >is pretty amazing -- especially since attending our workshop means that >they have chosen not to attend any other session besides the keynote >because the workshop is on day 1 of 2.5 days so there's a lot of >competition coming up against us! Also that number is especially >impressive given that so many more people *could* have attended our past >GDC and Brighton versions of the workshop but did not. I think we are >starting to turn the corner! I just have this feeling... :) > >Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that Dimitris' "Game Over" (a game >to educate people about designing games for all) has made it to the finals >of the game competition and I will be presenting for him at the awards >show, as he had to be in a different continent for another meeting this >week. So cool! Nice to see it up for a conference award! Finger's crossed >for a win, everyone! > >So that's two more big SIG announcements for the week! Yeah! > >Michelle >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Sun Nov 11 19:38:48 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:38:48 -0600 Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 In-Reply-To: <6.2.1.2.2.20071111191900.03e27c40@po12.mit.edu> References: <000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <6.2.1.2.2.20071111191900.03e27c40@po12.mit.edu> Message-ID: Interesting panel -- thanks for letting us know about that too! I might make a few comments to the panel I have on my mind about how accessibility can be taught in game design courses. :) Michelle > agree, FuturePlay looks like it's going to be really exciting. >Looking forward to seeing everyone there! > >I'm going to be on a panel on Friday morning at 10:45 called "Harder >Lessons" (along with John Hopson, Anthony Whitehead, Mia Consalvo, >and John Lester) which talks about the things that the IGDA games >curriculum doesn't currently cover. It won't have much to do with >accessibility, but it should be interesting, especially for those >out there in academics who also make games (i.e. all of us). > >See you there, >Eitan > >At 07:05 PM 11/11/2007, d. michelle hinn wrote: > >>Hi all -- >> >>Some good news I thought I'd share about FuturePlay that starts >>later this week ( http://www.futureplay.org) -- the accessibility >>workshop that Kevin and I are doing has over 40 pre-registered >>attendees. That's about 38 more people than usual for our all-day >>workshops. For a small conference, this is pretty amazing -- >>especially since attending our workshop means that they have chosen >>not to attend any other session besides the keynote because the >>workshop is on day 1 of 2.5 days so there's a lot of competition >>coming up against us! Also that number is especially impressive >>given that so many more people *could* have attended our past GDC >>and Brighton versions of the workshop but did not. I think we are >>starting to turn the corner! I just have this feeling... :) >> >>Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that Dimitris' "Game Over" (a >>game to educate people about designing games for all) has made it >>to the finals of the game competition and I will be presenting for >>him at the awards show, as he had to be in a different continent >>for another meeting this week. So cool! Nice to see it up for a >>conference award! Finger's crossed for a win, everyone! >> >>So that's two more big SIG announcements for the week! Yeah! >> >>Michelle >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk Mon Nov 12 17:13:49 2007 From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk (Barrie Ellis) Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:13:49 -0000 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack Message-ID: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I think... Here it is again: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Generic Racing Game a. Fully Redefinable controls. b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. 2. Generic Golf Game a. Fully Redefinable controls. b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. 3. Generic Pinball Game. a. Fully Redefinable controls. b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table to slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - including menu access. Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults appreciating that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol of accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with a very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games accessibility features. Any thoughts? Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: Barrie Ellis To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack Why don't we try this...? 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game development PR and management. 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. 6. Keep a log of our progress. Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk Mon Nov 12 17:18:00 2007 From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk (Barrie Ellis) Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:18:00 -0000 Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <019d01c82579$e3f47b20$0202a8c0@oneswitch> FuturePlay 2007Brilliant news all round. Congratulations all! Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: d. michelle hinn To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 12:05 AM Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 Hi all -- Some good news I thought I'd share about FuturePlay that starts later this week (http://www.futureplay.org) -- the accessibility workshop that Kevin and I are doing has over 40 pre-registered attendees. That's about 38 more people than usual for our all-day workshops. For a small conference, this is pretty amazing -- especially since attending our workshop means that they have chosen not to attend any other session besides the keynote because the workshop is on day 1 of 2.5 days so there's a lot of competition coming up against us! Also that number is especially impressive given that so many more people *could* have attended our past GDC and Brighton versions of the workshop but did not. I think we are starting to turn the corner! I just have this feeling... :) Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that Dimitris' "Game Over" (a game to educate people about designing games for all) has made it to the finals of the game competition and I will be presenting for him at the awards show, as he had to be in a different continent for another meeting this week. So cool! Nice to see it up for a conference award! Finger's crossed for a win, everyone! So that's two more big SIG announcements for the week! Yeah! Michelle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Mon Nov 12 18:26:53 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:26:53 -0500 Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEjisA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEjisA Message-ID: <00d101c82583$828ecfc0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> That sounds great am glad you got that feeling. Hopefully we can start turning these conference meetings into some business meetings. If you know what I mean I mean when these people come to the conference has got to be opportunities to get them to work with us on game. somehow to get us to consult with them. It would be great if a game published with our organization on the credits that would be amazing. I don't know what that entitles but that would be some great recognition. Maybe help fund art projects a little. Robert _____ From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Barrie Ellis Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 5:18 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 Brilliant news all round. Congratulations all! Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: d. michelle hinn To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 12:05 AM Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 Hi all -- Some good news I thought I'd share about FuturePlay that starts later this week (http://www.futureplay.org) -- the accessibility workshop that Kevin and I are doing has over 40 pre-registered attendees. That's about 38 more people than usual for our all-day workshops. For a small conference, this is pretty amazing -- especially since attending our workshop means that they have chosen not to attend any other session besides the keynote because the workshop is on day 1 of 2.5 days so there's a lot of competition coming up against us! Also that number is especially impressive given that so many more people *could* have attended our past GDC and Brighton versions of the workshop but did not. I think we are starting to turn the corner! I just have this feeling... :) Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that Dimitris' "Game Over" (a game to educate people about designing games for all) has made it to the finals of the game competition and I will be presenting for him at the awards show, as he had to be in a different continent for another meeting this week. So cool! Nice to see it up for a conference award! Finger's crossed for a win, everyone! So that's two more big SIG announcements for the week! Yeah! Michelle _____ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Mon Nov 12 18:29:16 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:29:16 -0500 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxkjisA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxkjisA Message-ID: <00d601c82583$d772af20$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Acting for the driving racing game from my experience with top-secret is that to make it all around accessible there are a lot of things that need to be adapted for audio and visual assistance. Would be good to add the few of those quick little things in there. Like. Turning, jumping and making actions accessible. It seems really crude I mean straight rough basic words is this really enough for people to grab from it the constant of how to do it? obviously anyone who is a game designer should not let these concepts mean but do they know what it means to be impaired. Probably not. Robert _____ From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Barrie Ellis Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 5:14 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I think... Here it is again: _____ 1. Generic Racing Game a. Fully Redefinable controls. b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. 2. Generic Golf Game a. Fully Redefinable controls. b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. 3. Generic Pinball Game. a. Fully Redefinable controls. b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table to slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - including menu access. Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults appreciating that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol of accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with a very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games accessibility features. Any thoughts? Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: Barrie Ellis To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack Why don't we try this...? 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game development PR and management. 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. 6. Keep a log of our progress. Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk _____ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Mon Nov 12 18:30:30 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:30:30 -0500 Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxkjysA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEdisA<000701c8216c$a8f93cb0$6501a8c0@Inspiron>AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEjisA AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxkjysA Message-ID: <00e101c82584$03fbe610$6501a8c0@Inspiron> I meant to say hopefully it will fund our projects not "art". Robert www.RobertFlorio.com _____ From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Robert Florio Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 6:27 PM To: 'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List' Subject: Re: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 That sounds great am glad you got that feeling. Hopefully we can start turning these conference meetings into some business meetings. If you know what I mean I mean when these people come to the conference has got to be opportunities to get them to work with us on game. somehow to get us to consult with them. It would be great if a game published with our organization on the credits that would be amazing. I don't know what that entitles but that would be some great recognition. Maybe help fund art projects a little. Robert _____ From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Barrie Ellis Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 5:18 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 Brilliant news all round. Congratulations all! Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: d. michelle hinn To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 12:05 AM Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 Hi all -- Some good news I thought I'd share about FuturePlay that starts later this week (http://www.futureplay.org) -- the accessibility workshop that Kevin and I are doing has over 40 pre-registered attendees. That's about 38 more people than usual for our all-day workshops. For a small conference, this is pretty amazing -- especially since attending our workshop means that they have chosen not to attend any other session besides the keynote because the workshop is on day 1 of 2.5 days so there's a lot of competition coming up against us! Also that number is especially impressive given that so many more people *could* have attended our past GDC and Brighton versions of the workshop but did not. I think we are starting to turn the corner! I just have this feeling... :) Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that Dimitris' "Game Over" (a game to educate people about designing games for all) has made it to the finals of the game competition and I will be presenting for him at the awards show, as he had to be in a different continent for another meeting this week. So cool! Nice to see it up for a conference award! Finger's crossed for a win, everyone! So that's two more big SIG announcements for the week! Yeah! Michelle _____ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From eelke.folmer at gmail.com Tue Nov 13 02:26:38 2007 From: eelke.folmer at gmail.com (Eelke Folmer) Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:26:38 -0800 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack In-Reply-To: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> References: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> Message-ID: <836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com> Hmmmm....... I like the idea but these some of these game genres are pretty "old", I can't remember any recent pinball or golf (except wii sports) games coming out. It's good to investigate such interfaces to gain more insights into how people with disabilities can play games, but the experiences gained do not translate very well to the majority of modern games. I'd like to see more accessible versions of popular games genres such as an RTS (we're already working on that ;-) or games like monkey ball which I think could be translated easily to a one button game. Speaking of another popular game genre that we are trying to make accessible check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UwY0vyCXxg It's our first testrun with our "blind hero", its far from perfect but we made some adjustments and hope to continue testing our prototype glove within the next few weeks. cheers Eelke On 11/12/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: > > > > Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I think... > Here it is again: > > ________________________________ > > > > 1. Generic Racing Game > > a. Fully Redefinable controls. > b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick > (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. > c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval > track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. > > > 2. Generic Golf Game > > a. Fully Redefinable controls. > b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick > (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. > c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see > Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. > > > 3. Generic Pinball Game. > > > a. Fully Redefinable controls. > b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick > (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. > c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table to > slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - including > menu access. > > > Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: > > Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for > Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults appreciating > that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own > logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol of > accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue > background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with a > very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games > accessibility features. > > Any thoughts? > > Barrie > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Barrie Ellis > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM > Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack > > > Why don't we try this...? > > 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I > suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. > 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. > 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. > 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game > development PR and management. > 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. > 6. Keep a log of our progress. > > Barrie > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > > ________________________________ > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From richard at audiogames.net Tue Nov 13 02:43:20 2007 From: richard at audiogames.net (AudioGames.net) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:43:20 +0100 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack References: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <000d01c825c8$dd161d00$6402a8c0@Delletje> Why a glove... ? When Guitar Hero is all about listening, you chose for a tactile accessible interface... ? (btw: you should put glitter on it and make it a Michael Jackson glove :) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eelke Folmer" To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 8:26 AM Subject: Re: [games_access] A Simpler Tack > Hmmmm....... > > I like the idea but these some of these game genres are pretty "old", > I can't remember any recent pinball or golf (except wii sports) games > coming out. It's good to investigate such interfaces to gain more > insights into how people with disabilities can play games, but the > experiences gained do not translate very well to the majority of > modern games. I'd like to see more accessible versions of popular > games genres such as an RTS (we're already working on that ;-) or > games like monkey ball which I think could be translated easily to a > one button game. > > Speaking of another popular game genre that we are trying to make > accessible check out this video: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UwY0vyCXxg > It's our first testrun with our "blind hero", its far from perfect but > we made some adjustments and hope to continue testing our prototype > glove within the next few weeks. > > cheers Eelke > > > > On 11/12/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: >> >> >> >> Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I >> think... >> Here it is again: >> >> ________________________________ >> >> >> >> 1. Generic Racing Game >> >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval >> track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. >> >> >> 2. Generic Golf Game >> >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see >> Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. >> >> >> 3. Generic Pinball Game. >> >> >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table >> to >> slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - >> including >> menu access. >> >> >> Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: >> >> Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for >> Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults >> appreciating >> that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own >> logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol >> of >> accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue >> background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with >> a >> very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games >> accessibility features. >> >> Any thoughts? >> >> Barrie >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Barrie Ellis >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM >> Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack >> >> >> Why don't we try this...? >> >> 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I >> suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. >> 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. >> 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. >> 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual >> game >> development PR and management. >> 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. >> 6. Keep a log of our progress. >> >> Barrie >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> >> >> ________________________________ >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> > > > -- > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > Department of CS&E/171 > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From eelke.folmer at gmail.com Tue Nov 13 03:28:54 2007 From: eelke.folmer at gmail.com (Eelke Folmer) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:28:54 -0800 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack In-Reply-To: <000d01c825c8$dd161d00$6402a8c0@Delletje> References: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com> <000d01c825c8$dd161d00$6402a8c0@Delletje> Message-ID: <836db6300711130028g1948e145h39a25edf6d05a640@mail.gmail.com> Hi Richard, It is all about listening allright, but you need some sort of stimuli to indicate when to press the right button and for how long, this creates a large number of different stimuli; there are 4 different frets and the notes vary in lenght on a scale from 1 to 40; which combined creates up to 250 different stimuli. We considered using audio cues, and with regard to the required hardware that would have been a better solution but listening to the music and using audio cues even using a headset with split outputs it is just too confusing. Our haptic glove each finger starts buzzing whenever you need to play a note and when it stops you release it. The video was the first time we tested it out with a blind person, who had never played guitar hero nor guitar before. We have slightly modified the glove increase it's "spatial" resolution and we get much better results. We ourselves can blind play most of the easy songs. We'll demo it at GDC so you can "feel" for yourself ;-) Cheers Eelke On 11/12/07, AudioGames.net wrote: > Why a glove... ? When Guitar Hero is all about listening, you chose for a > tactile accessible interface... ? > > (btw: you should put glitter on it and make it a Michael Jackson glove :) > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Eelke Folmer" > To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 8:26 AM > Subject: Re: [games_access] A Simpler Tack > > > > Hmmmm....... > > > > I like the idea but these some of these game genres are pretty "old", > > I can't remember any recent pinball or golf (except wii sports) games > > coming out. It's good to investigate such interfaces to gain more > > insights into how people with disabilities can play games, but the > > experiences gained do not translate very well to the majority of > > modern games. I'd like to see more accessible versions of popular > > games genres such as an RTS (we're already working on that ;-) or > > games like monkey ball which I think could be translated easily to a > > one button game. > > > > Speaking of another popular game genre that we are trying to make > > accessible check out this video: > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UwY0vyCXxg > > It's our first testrun with our "blind hero", its far from perfect but > > we made some adjustments and hope to continue testing our prototype > > glove within the next few weeks. > > > > cheers Eelke > > > > > > > > On 11/12/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: > >> > >> > >> > >> Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I > >> think... > >> Here it is again: > >> > >> ________________________________ > >> > >> > >> > >> 1. Generic Racing Game > >> > >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. > >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick > >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. > >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval > >> track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. > >> > >> > >> 2. Generic Golf Game > >> > >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. > >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick > >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. > >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see > >> Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. > >> > >> > >> 3. Generic Pinball Game. > >> > >> > >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. > >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick > >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. > >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table > >> to > >> slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - > >> including > >> menu access. > >> > >> > >> Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: > >> > >> Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for > >> Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults > >> appreciating > >> that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own > >> logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol > >> of > >> accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue > >> background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with > >> a > >> very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games > >> accessibility features. > >> > >> Any thoughts? > >> > >> Barrie > >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> ----- Original Message ----- > >> From: Barrie Ellis > >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM > >> Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack > >> > >> > >> Why don't we try this...? > >> > >> 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I > >> suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. > >> 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. > >> 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. > >> 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual > >> game > >> development PR and management. > >> 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. > >> 6. Keep a log of our progress. > >> > >> Barrie > >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk > >> > >> > >> ________________________________ > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> games_access mailing list > >> games_access at igda.org > >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >> > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> games_access mailing list > >> games_access at igda.org > >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >> > >> > > > > > > -- > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > > Department of CS&E/171 > > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From eelke.folmer at gmail.com Tue Nov 13 03:37:28 2007 From: eelke.folmer at gmail.com (Eelke Folmer) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:37:28 -0800 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack In-Reply-To: <836db6300711130028g1948e145h39a25edf6d05a640@mail.gmail.com> References: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com> <000d01c825c8$dd161d00$6402a8c0@Delletje> <836db6300711130028g1948e145h39a25edf6d05a640@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <836db6300711130037s4c532f37hcf1cd3e873e682e1@mail.gmail.com> Also audio cues are linear e.g if you need to play a note on fret 1 and fret 3 at the same time how would you do that as an audio cue? With haptic input its much easier. cheers Eelke On 11/13/07, Eelke Folmer wrote: > Hi Richard, > > It is all about listening allright, but you need some sort of stimuli > to indicate when to press the right button and for how long, this > creates a large number of different stimuli; there are 4 different > frets and the notes vary in lenght on a scale from 1 to 40; which > combined creates up to 250 different stimuli. We considered using > audio cues, and with regard to the required hardware that would have > been a better solution but listening to the music and using audio cues > even using a headset with split outputs it is just too confusing. Our > haptic glove each finger starts buzzing whenever you need to play a > note and when it stops you release it. The video was the first time we > tested it out with a blind person, who had never played guitar hero > nor guitar before. We have slightly modified the glove increase it's > "spatial" resolution and we get much better results. We ourselves can > blind play most of the easy songs. > > We'll demo it at GDC so you can "feel" for yourself ;-) > > Cheers Eelke > > > On 11/12/07, AudioGames.net wrote: > > Why a glove... ? When Guitar Hero is all about listening, you chose for a > > tactile accessible interface... ? > > > > (btw: you should put glitter on it and make it a Michael Jackson glove :) > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Eelke Folmer" > > To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 8:26 AM > > Subject: Re: [games_access] A Simpler Tack > > > > > > > Hmmmm....... > > > > > > I like the idea but these some of these game genres are pretty "old", > > > I can't remember any recent pinball or golf (except wii sports) games > > > coming out. It's good to investigate such interfaces to gain more > > > insights into how people with disabilities can play games, but the > > > experiences gained do not translate very well to the majority of > > > modern games. I'd like to see more accessible versions of popular > > > games genres such as an RTS (we're already working on that ;-) or > > > games like monkey ball which I think could be translated easily to a > > > one button game. > > > > > > Speaking of another popular game genre that we are trying to make > > > accessible check out this video: > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UwY0vyCXxg > > > It's our first testrun with our "blind hero", its far from perfect but > > > we made some adjustments and hope to continue testing our prototype > > > glove within the next few weeks. > > > > > > cheers Eelke > > > > > > > > > > > > On 11/12/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I > > >> think... > > >> Here it is again: > > >> > > >> ________________________________ > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> 1. Generic Racing Game > > >> > > >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. > > >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick > > >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. > > >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval > > >> track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. > > >> > > >> > > >> 2. Generic Golf Game > > >> > > >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. > > >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick > > >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. > > >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see > > >> Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. > > >> > > >> > > >> 3. Generic Pinball Game. > > >> > > >> > > >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. > > >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick > > >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. > > >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table > > >> to > > >> slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - > > >> including > > >> menu access. > > >> > > >> > > >> Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: > > >> > > >> Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for > > >> Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults > > >> appreciating > > >> that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own > > >> logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol > > >> of > > >> accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue > > >> background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with > > >> a > > >> very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games > > >> accessibility features. > > >> > > >> Any thoughts? > > >> > > >> Barrie > > >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> ----- Original Message ----- > > >> From: Barrie Ellis > > >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > > >> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM > > >> Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack > > >> > > >> > > >> Why don't we try this...? > > >> > > >> 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I > > >> suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. > > >> 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. > > >> 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. > > >> 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual > > >> game > > >> development PR and management. > > >> 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. > > >> 6. Keep a log of our progress. > > >> > > >> Barrie > > >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > >> > > >> > > >> ________________________________ > > >> > > >> > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> games_access mailing list > > >> games_access at igda.org > > >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> games_access mailing list > > >> games_access at igda.org > > >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > >> > > >> > > > > > > > > > -- > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > > > Department of CS&E/171 > > > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > > > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > _______________________________________________ > > > games_access mailing list > > > games_access at igda.org > > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > -- > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > Department of CS&E/171 > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From ioo at ablegamers.com Tue Nov 13 07:22:33 2007 From: ioo at ablegamers.com (Ioo) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 07:22:33 -0500 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack In-Reply-To: <836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com> References: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <47399709.2040502@ablegamers.com> I agree they are old, but I disagree that is bad. Right now one of the hottest "waste time" games is Peggels from Pop Cap Games. This downloadable game is so popular they now sell it on real media at Walmart now. It is a pinball like game. In fact I have 2 disabled friends who told me about Peggels. There are other examples, Bejewled is nothing more than a modification of Penta (A few 1000 years old is I recall), and that game was a smash hit for being something pop cap developed in 3 days. Mark Eelke Folmer wrote: > Hmmmm....... > > I like the idea but these some of these game genres are pretty "old", > I can't remember any recent pinball or golf (except wii sports) games > coming out. It's good to investigate such interfaces to gain more > insights into how people with disabilities can play games, but the > experiences gained do not translate very well to the majority of > modern games. I'd like to see more accessible versions of popular > games genres such as an RTS (we're already working on that ;-) or > games like monkey ball which I think could be translated easily to a > one button game. > > Speaking of another popular game genre that we are trying to make > accessible check out this video: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UwY0vyCXxg > It's our first testrun with our "blind hero", its far from perfect but > we made some adjustments and hope to continue testing our prototype > glove within the next few weeks. > > cheers Eelke > > > > On 11/12/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: > >> >> Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I think... >> Here it is again: >> >> ________________________________ >> >> >> >> 1. Generic Racing Game >> >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval >> track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. >> >> >> 2. Generic Golf Game >> >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see >> Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. >> >> >> 3. Generic Pinball Game. >> >> >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table to >> slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - including >> menu access. >> >> >> Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: >> >> Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for >> Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults appreciating >> that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own >> logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol of >> accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue >> background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with a >> very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games >> accessibility features. >> >> Any thoughts? >> >> Barrie >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Barrie Ellis >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM >> Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack >> >> >> Why don't we try this...? >> >> 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I >> suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. >> 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. >> 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. >> 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game >> development PR and management. >> 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. >> 6. Keep a log of our progress. >> >> Barrie >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> >> >> ________________________________ >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> > > > From agdev at thechases.com Tue Nov 13 10:45:28 2007 From: agdev at thechases.com (Tim Chase) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:45:28 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Commodity blowing interface Message-ID: <4739C698.2020307@thechases.com> This crossed my plate this morning and thought it might be of interest to folks here on the list(s): http://www.hackaday.com/2007/11/12/blowable-computer-interface/ I mirrored a copy on my website http://tim.thechases.com/blow_ui.pdf as it was getting pounded and took forever to download the original. I haven't gotten a chance to watch the video as it too was taking forever+1 to download. Abstract: using a standard built-in laptop microphone, these developers have managed to get a modestly accurate interface wherein you blow at places on your screen and it determines where you blew based on the sound fingerprint. I'm not sure I'd want to use this for an interface to a twitch game, as you'd have spittle all over the screen and end up passed-out from hyperventilation, but it's got possibilities for accessible gaming or at least novel interfacing. -tim From barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk Tue Nov 13 13:12:45 2007 From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk (Barrie Ellis) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:12:45 -0000 Subject: [games_access] Fw: A Simpler Tack Message-ID: <025b01c82620$ca9cecf0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> Take your point for Pinball, but... Gottlieb Pinball came out in 2006, and has recently been released on Wii. And Crave's "Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection" is due out next year on PSP, PS2 and Wii. Pinball must be one of the simplest and easiest games to add accessibility to. I thought Golf games were fairly popular, and were released yearly with EA Tiger Woods efforts, Clap Hanz superb Everybody's Golf 5 due out in the West soon on PS3, and We Love Golf on the Wii. Finally - Race games - Car games in particular - never seem to go out of fashion. I saw this as a good starting point. First Person Shooters are amongst the most popular games in the US, so a good place to look - but I think a bit trickier to develop accessibility features for (e.g firing assist - reduced controls - and so on). Thing is - even why not broaden this out? Let's knock up a top 3 wish list for other genres - that can be taken to developers by GASIG members and supporters. Eelke (and others) what would your top 3 be for First Person Shooters? What about other Genres? Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eelke Folmer" To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 7:26 AM Subject: Re: [games_access] A Simpler Tack > Hmmmm....... > > I like the idea but these some of these game genres are pretty "old", > I can't remember any recent pinball or golf (except wii sports) games > coming out. It's good to investigate such interfaces to gain more > insights into how people with disabilities can play games, but the > experiences gained do not translate very well to the majority of > modern games. I'd like to see more accessible versions of popular > games genres such as an RTS (we're already working on that ;-) or > games like monkey ball which I think could be translated easily to a > one button game. > > Speaking of another popular game genre that we are trying to make > accessible check out this video: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UwY0vyCXxg > It's our first testrun with our "blind hero", its far from perfect but > we made some adjustments and hope to continue testing our prototype > glove within the next few weeks. > > cheers Eelke > > > > On 11/12/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: >> >> >> >> Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I think... >> Here it is again: >> >> ________________________________ >> >> >> >> 1. Generic Racing Game >> >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval >> track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. >> >> >> 2. Generic Golf Game >> >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see >> Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. >> >> >> 3. Generic Pinball Game. >> >> >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table to >> slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - including >> menu access. >> >> >> Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: >> >> Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for >> Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults appreciating >> that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own >> logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol of >> accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue >> background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with a >> very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games >> accessibility features. >> >> Any thoughts? >> >> Barrie >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Barrie Ellis >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM >> Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack >> >> >> Why don't we try this...? >> >> 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I >> suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. >> 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. >> 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. >> 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game >> development PR and management. >> 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. >> 6. Keep a log of our progress. >> >> Barrie >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> >> >> ________________________________ >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> > > > -- > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > Department of CS&E/171 > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Tue Nov 13 13:29:12 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:29:12 -0600 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack In-Reply-To: <47399709.2040502@ablegamers.com> References: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com> <47399709.2040502@ablegamers.com> Message-ID: Actually...a new golf game and pinball game -- at least for PC -- seems to come out nearly every year from some developer. And in the midwest...I can tell you that these games are really popular in bars...still! Yeah, the midwest is kinda behind the times sometimes but there's a saying that they use in marketing "but will it sell in Peoria?" (which is in Illinois and about an hour from me!). It's kind of like saying "but will it sell in middle America?" So there's "popular" and then there's the quirky things that never seem to go away -- then there's all my students who are selling their PS3's to buy "retro" (lol) consoles that were made before they were born (yes...people born in 1990 are now in college...eeeee...makes me feel super old!). Oddly...they are designing a college-age party style game that has mini-games that include pinball and golf and these are 17 - 21 year olds. Anyway, "old" never seems to really go away if it's good. So perhaps we should think in terms of "classic" genres and "experimental" genres -- the die hard "must have latest greatest now, now, now" will always shell out for experimental but there still a lot of people who still to investing their money into classics. Just adding my 2 cents (which at today's market is worth slightly less than dust) ;) -- I think we can look at both and that both will sell. Research money will tend to go to the "experimental" but that doesn't make "classic" obsolete. :) Michelle >I agree they are old, but I disagree that is bad. Right now one of >the hottest "waste time" games is Peggels from Pop Cap Games. This >downloadable game is so popular they now sell it on real media at >Walmart now. It is a pinball like game. In fact I have 2 disabled >friends who told me about Peggels. > >There are other examples, Bejewled is nothing more than a >modification of Penta (A few 1000 years old is I recall), and that >game was a smash hit for being something pop cap developed in 3 days. > >Mark > > > >Eelke Folmer wrote: >>Hmmmm....... >> >>I like the idea but these some of these game genres are pretty "old", >>I can't remember any recent pinball or golf (except wii sports) games >>coming out. It's good to investigate such interfaces to gain more >>insights into how people with disabilities can play games, but the >>experiences gained do not translate very well to the majority of >>modern games. I'd like to see more accessible versions of popular >>games genres such as an RTS (we're already working on that ;-) or >>games like monkey ball which I think could be translated easily to a >>one button game. >> >>Speaking of another popular game genre that we are trying to make >>accessible check out this video: >>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UwY0vyCXxg >>It's our first testrun with our "blind hero", its far from perfect but >>we made some adjustments and hope to continue testing our prototype >>glove within the next few weeks. >> >>cheers Eelke >> >> >> >>On 11/12/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: >> >>> >>>Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I think... >>>Here it is again: >>> >>> ________________________________ >>> >>> >>> >>>1. Generic Racing Game >>> >>>a. Fully Redefinable controls. >>>b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >>>(e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >>>c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval >>>track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. >>> >>> >>>2. Generic Golf Game >>> >>>a. Fully Redefinable controls. >>>b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >>>(e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >>>c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see >>>Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. >>> >>> >>>3. Generic Pinball Game. >>> >>> >>>a. Fully Redefinable controls. >>>b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >>>(e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >>>c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table to >>>slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - including >>>menu access. >>> >>> >>>Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: >>> >>>Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for >>>Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults appreciating >>>that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own >>>logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol of >>>accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue >>>background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with a >>>very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games >>>accessibility features. >>> >>>Any thoughts? >>> >>>Barrie >>>www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>----- Original Message ----- >>>From: Barrie Ellis >>>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>>Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM >>>Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack >>> >>> >>>Why don't we try this...? >>> >>>1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I >>>suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. >>>2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. >>>3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. >>>4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game >>>development PR and management. >>>5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. >>>6. Keep a log of our progress. >>> >>>Barrie >>>www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>> >>> >>> ________________________________ >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>games_access mailing list >>>games_access at igda.org >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>games_access mailing list >>>games_access at igda.org >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Tue Nov 13 13:32:03 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:32:03 -0600 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack In-Reply-To: <836db6300711130028g1948e145h39a25edf6d05a640@mail.gmail.com> References: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com> <000d01c825c8$dd161d00$6402a8c0@Delletje> <836db6300711130028g1948e145h39a25edf6d05a640@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: >We'll demo it at GDC so you can "feel" for yourself ;-) I hope we will -- still waiting on the GDC returns on proposals. But worst case? We add a mini-arcade to the meet and greet (which is open to anyone -- at least it was last year) to get people over to talk to us! Actually...maybe we should do that anyway...that may be a "best case" :) Michelle From hinn at uiuc.edu Tue Nov 13 14:12:57 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:12:57 -0600 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack In-Reply-To: <000d01c825c8$dd161d00$6402a8c0@Delletje> References: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com> <000d01c825c8$dd161d00$6402a8c0@Delletje> Message-ID: Why not? Too much audio can confusing, especially for a non-musician, and touch is one of the senses that can be honed in on when another sense (ie, sight) is diminished. Sorry...I love the audio games but I have to support the other senses too. :) Michelle >Why a glove... ? When Guitar Hero is all about listening, you chose >for a tactile accessible interface... ? > >(btw: you should put glitter on it and make it a Michael Jackson glove :) > > >----- Original Message ----- From: "Eelke Folmer" >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 8:26 AM >Subject: Re: [games_access] A Simpler Tack > >>Hmmmm....... >> >>I like the idea but these some of these game genres are pretty "old", >>I can't remember any recent pinball or golf (except wii sports) games >>coming out. It's good to investigate such interfaces to gain more >>insights into how people with disabilities can play games, but the >>experiences gained do not translate very well to the majority of >>modern games. I'd like to see more accessible versions of popular >>games genres such as an RTS (we're already working on that ;-) or >>games like monkey ball which I think could be translated easily to a >>one button game. >> >>Speaking of another popular game genre that we are trying to make >>accessible check out this video: >>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UwY0vyCXxg >>It's our first testrun with our "blind hero", its far from perfect but >>we made some adjustments and hope to continue testing our prototype >>glove within the next few weeks. >> >>cheers Eelke >> >> >> >>On 11/12/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>>Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I think... >>>Here it is again: >>> >>> ________________________________ >>> >>> >>> >>>1. Generic Racing Game >>> >>>a. Fully Redefinable controls. >>>b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >>>(e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >>>c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an oval >>>track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. >>> >>> >>>2. Generic Golf Game >>> >>>a. Fully Redefinable controls. >>>b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >>>(e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >>>c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see >>>Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu access. >>> >>> >>>3. Generic Pinball Game. >>> >>> >>>a. Fully Redefinable controls. >>>b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade Stick >>>(e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >>>c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the table to >>>slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - including >>>menu access. >>> >>> >>>Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: >>> >>>Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special Feature" for >>>Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults appreciating >>>that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have it's own >>>logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal symbol of >>>accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue >>>background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps with a >>>very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular games >>>accessibility features. >>> >>>Any thoughts? >>> >>>Barrie >>>www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>----- Original Message ----- >>>From: Barrie Ellis >>>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>>Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM >>>Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack >>> >>> >>>Why don't we try this...? >>> >>>1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more accessible. I >>>suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to comprehend. >>>2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. >>>3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. >>>4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but actual game >>>development PR and management. >>>5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. >>>6. Keep a log of our progress. >>> >>>Barrie >>>www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>> >>> >>> ________________________________ >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>games_access mailing list >>>games_access at igda.org >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>games_access mailing list >>>games_access at igda.org >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >> >> >>-- >>---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >>Department of CS&E/171 >>University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >>Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com >>---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From eelke.folmer at gmail.com Tue Nov 13 15:19:28 2007 From: eelke.folmer at gmail.com (Eelke Folmer) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:19:28 -0800 Subject: [games_access] Commodity blowing interface In-Reply-To: <4739C698.2020307@thechases.com> References: <4739C698.2020307@thechases.com> Message-ID: <836db6300711131219r4d694954gc9e23faf1cfdc548@mail.gmail.com> Hi, Great concept (except for people that have asthma ;-) I know of a company that's developing a monkey ball like game on the DS using the same mechanism. cheers Eelke On 11/13/07, Tim Chase wrote: > This crossed my plate this morning and thought it might be of > interest to folks here on the list(s): > > http://www.hackaday.com/2007/11/12/blowable-computer-interface/ > > I mirrored a copy on my website > > http://tim.thechases.com/blow_ui.pdf > > as it was getting pounded and took forever to download the > original. I haven't gotten a chance to watch the video as it too > was taking forever+1 to download. > > Abstract: using a standard built-in laptop microphone, these > developers have managed to get a modestly accurate interface > wherein you blow at places on your screen and it determines where > you blew based on the sound fingerprint. > > I'm not sure I'd want to use this for an interface to a twitch > game, as you'd have spittle all over the screen and end up > passed-out from hyperventilation, but it's got possibilities for > accessible gaming or at least novel interfacing. > > -tim > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From agdev at thechases.com Tue Nov 13 15:23:21 2007 From: agdev at thechases.com (Tim Chase) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:23:21 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Commodity blowing interface In-Reply-To: <836db6300711131219r4d694954gc9e23faf1cfdc548@mail.gmail.com> References: <4739C698.2020307@thechases.com> <836db6300711131219r4d694954gc9e23faf1cfdc548@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <473A07B9.1090208@thechases.com> > Great concept (except for people that have asthma ;-) ...or the flu or any other airborn illness... :) Time to go watch _12 Monkeys_ or _Outbreak_ ... -tim From hinn at uiuc.edu Tue Nov 13 15:27:45 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:27:45 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Commodity blowing interface In-Reply-To: <836db6300711131219r4d694954gc9e23faf1cfdc548@mail.gmail.com> References: <4739C698.2020307@thechases.com> <836db6300711131219r4d694954gc9e23faf1cfdc548@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: It also matches up with the sip/puff devices that already exist (but again...hard to play if you have any kind of lung or breathing problems!) but hopefully less expensive than some of those controllers! We're definitely living in some exciting times as people are creating new interfaces! Michelle >Hi, > >Great concept (except for people that have asthma ;-) > >I know of a company that's developing a monkey ball like game on the >DS using the same mechanism. > >cheers Eelke > > > >On 11/13/07, Tim Chase wrote: >> This crossed my plate this morning and thought it might be of >> interest to folks here on the list(s): >> >> http://www.hackaday.com/2007/11/12/blowable-computer-interface/ >> >> I mirrored a copy on my website >> >> http://tim.thechases.com/blow_ui.pdf >> >> as it was getting pounded and took forever to download the >> original. I haven't gotten a chance to watch the video as it too >> was taking forever+1 to download. >> >> Abstract: using a standard built-in laptop microphone, these >> developers have managed to get a modestly accurate interface >> wherein you blow at places on your screen and it determines where >> you blew based on the sound fingerprint. >> >> I'm not sure I'd want to use this for an interface to a twitch >> game, as you'd have spittle all over the screen and end up >> passed-out from hyperventilation, but it's got possibilities for >> accessible gaming or at least novel interfacing. >> >> -tim >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > > >-- >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >Department of CS&E/171 >University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From richard at audiogames.net Tue Nov 13 18:43:25 2007 From: richard at audiogames.net (AudioGames.net) Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:43:25 +0100 Subject: [games_access] A Simpler Tack References: <017701c82579$4dd367f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch><836db6300711122326x3b6e0daet7d2e085b8496b38@mail.gmail.com><000d01c825c8$dd161d00$6402a8c0@Delletje><836db6300711130028g1948e145h39a25edf6d05a640@mail.gmail.com> <836db6300711130037s4c532f37hcf1cd3e873e682e1@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <000c01c8264e$fc71cc40$6402a8c0@Delletje> Hi, Thanks for your reply! Well put and look forward to trying!!! Greets, Richard ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eelke Folmer" To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 9:37 AM Subject: Re: [games_access] A Simpler Tack > Also audio cues are linear e.g if you need to play a note on fret 1 > and fret 3 at the same time how would you do that as an audio cue? > With haptic input its much easier. > > cheers Eelke > > > > On 11/13/07, Eelke Folmer wrote: >> Hi Richard, >> >> It is all about listening allright, but you need some sort of stimuli >> to indicate when to press the right button and for how long, this >> creates a large number of different stimuli; there are 4 different >> frets and the notes vary in lenght on a scale from 1 to 40; which >> combined creates up to 250 different stimuli. We considered using >> audio cues, and with regard to the required hardware that would have >> been a better solution but listening to the music and using audio cues >> even using a headset with split outputs it is just too confusing. Our >> haptic glove each finger starts buzzing whenever you need to play a >> note and when it stops you release it. The video was the first time we >> tested it out with a blind person, who had never played guitar hero >> nor guitar before. We have slightly modified the glove increase it's >> "spatial" resolution and we get much better results. We ourselves can >> blind play most of the easy songs. >> >> We'll demo it at GDC so you can "feel" for yourself ;-) >> >> Cheers Eelke >> >> >> On 11/12/07, AudioGames.net wrote: >> > Why a glove... ? When Guitar Hero is all about listening, you chose for >> > a >> > tactile accessible interface... ? >> > >> > (btw: you should put glitter on it and make it a Michael Jackson glove >> > :) >> > >> > >> > ----- Original Message ----- >> > From: "Eelke Folmer" >> > To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >> > Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 8:26 AM >> > Subject: Re: [games_access] A Simpler Tack >> > >> > >> > > Hmmmm....... >> > > >> > > I like the idea but these some of these game genres are pretty "old", >> > > I can't remember any recent pinball or golf (except wii sports) games >> > > coming out. It's good to investigate such interfaces to gain more >> > > insights into how people with disabilities can play games, but the >> > > experiences gained do not translate very well to the majority of >> > > modern games. I'd like to see more accessible versions of popular >> > > games genres such as an RTS (we're already working on that ;-) or >> > > games like monkey ball which I think could be translated easily to a >> > > one button game. >> > > >> > > Speaking of another popular game genre that we are trying to make >> > > accessible check out this video: >> > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UwY0vyCXxg >> > > It's our first testrun with our "blind hero", its far from perfect >> > > but >> > > we made some adjustments and hope to continue testing our prototype >> > > glove within the next few weeks. >> > > >> > > cheers Eelke >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > On 11/12/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> Not sure if this made it through - e-mail filtered this one out I >> > >> think... >> > >> Here it is again: >> > >> >> > >> ________________________________ >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> 1. Generic Racing Game >> > >> >> > >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> > >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade >> > >> Stick >> > >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> > >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. Quick Start Menu System - test tracks - an >> > >> oval >> > >> track - driver assists (see most SEGA F355 Challenge) - barriers. >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> 2. Generic Golf Game >> > >> >> > >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> > >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade >> > >> Stick >> > >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> > >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to switch off wind and slice (see >> > >> Everybody's Golf) and a One-button play mode - including menu >> > >> access. >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> 3. Generic Pinball Game. >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> a. Fully Redefinable controls. >> > >> b. Compatibility with Alternative Controllers. Use a basic Arcade >> > >> Stick >> > >> (e.g. Xbox 360 HORI Arcade Stick) as easy to obtain example. >> > >> c. Easy Play Modes. E.g. ability to adjust the virtual slant of the >> > >> table >> > >> to >> > >> slow the game right down or speed it up - One-button play mode - >> > >> including >> > >> menu access. >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> Explanatory icon design? Off the top of my head: >> > >> >> > >> Not sure... I liked Atari's generic bear symbol for "Special >> > >> Feature" for >> > >> Kids. However, times have changed now, and I can't see adults >> > >> appreciating >> > >> that as a mark of accessibility. I think CC should probably have >> > >> it's own >> > >> logo. I can't see main-stream developers going for the "universal >> > >> symbol >> > >> of >> > >> accessibility" either (wheelchair stick drawing in white on a blue >> > >> background). Needs to be something simple, recongisable, and perhaps >> > >> with >> > >> a >> > >> very small URL showing people where to get info on that particular >> > >> games >> > >> accessibility features. >> > >> >> > >> Any thoughts? >> > >> >> > >> Barrie >> > >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> ----- Original Message ----- >> > >> From: Barrie Ellis >> > >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> > >> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 12:29 PM >> > >> Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> Why don't we try this...? >> > >> >> > >> 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more >> > >> accessible. I >> > >> suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to >> > >> comprehend. >> > >> 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. >> > >> 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. >> > >> 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but >> > >> actual >> > >> game >> > >> development PR and management. >> > >> 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. >> > >> 6. Keep a log of our progress. >> > >> >> > >> Barrie >> > >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> ________________________________ >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> > >> games_access mailing list >> > >> games_access at igda.org >> > >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> > >> games_access mailing list >> > >> games_access at igda.org >> > >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > >> >> > >> >> > > >> > > >> > > -- >> > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> > > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >> > > Department of CS&E/171 >> > > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >> > > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com >> > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> > > _______________________________________________ >> > > games_access mailing list >> > > games_access at igda.org >> > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > games_access mailing list >> > games_access at igda.org >> > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > >> >> >> -- >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >> Department of CS&E/171 >> University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >> Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> > > > -- > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > Department of CS&E/171 > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From dis at d-gamer.com Wed Nov 14 05:29:36 2007 From: dis at d-gamer.com (Corey 'Dis' Krull) Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:29:36 -0800 Subject: [games_access] Update on the DGAMER site Message-ID: <20071114102948.833E6AE39@mailwash7.pair.com> Hey All, I have moved DGAMER to a temporary site. I have said on the site that I am working on a new design but I keep having delays. So, for the time being I will be blogging at http://dgamerblog.wordpress.com until I get around to finishing the site. Also, I know that I've been neglecting updating the site but I'm going to update regularly. Yes, I know that a few times but now I'm serious. See you all there, Corey 'Dis' Krull -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Wed Nov 14 08:12:03 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:12:03 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Update on the DGAMER site Message-ID: <20071114071203.AXW42196@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Cool Corey (you are now dubbed "Cool Corey") -- good to see you back in action. And believe me...I (and probably most of the list) really understand delays. Seems to be so much we want to do and can't get to it and I know it can be frustrating. So don't beat yourself up about it! Seriously! I have an idea -- let's all become trust fund babies so that we can live off of that money and then we can have more time for game accessibility! Wait...how do we go back in time and make sure our parents/grandparents were super wealthy... Ok sorry for the tangent gang...I had a 5am flight this morning and am now waiting for my 11am connection to Toronto for FuturePlay so I'm trying to stay awake by torturing everyone with weird thoughts that pop into my head. Speaking of...and maybe this isn't sooo weird but we'll see...Kevin and I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow for the workshop and Friday for Dimitris' award presentation -- I mean we had 40 pre-registered...who knows how many more we might get at the last minute. The more the merrier! Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:29:36 -0800 >From: "Corey 'Dis' Krull" >Subject: [games_access] Update on the DGAMER site >To: > > Hey All, > > > > I have moved DGAMER to a temporary site. I have said > on the site that I am working on a new design but I > keep having delays. So, for the time being I will be > blogging at http://dgamerblog.wordpress.com until I > get around to finishing the site. Also, I know that > I've been neglecting updating the site but I'm going > to update regularly. Yes, I know that a few times > but now I'm serious. > > > > See you all there, > > Corey `Dis' Krull >________________ >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From glinert at MIT.EDU Wed Nov 14 11:05:52 2007 From: glinert at MIT.EDU (Eitan Glinert) Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:05:52 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Fwd: Something for the disabled player Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.2.20071114110401.03692d20@po12.mit.edu> I don't know if this has already gone out to the mailing list, but it's a new audio based blow detection device (I have no idea if it's on the market). It's pretty interesting technology, and seems to be better than the standard sip/puff controls. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34SEmMxbNkQ Eitan From bsawyer at dmill.com Thu Nov 15 16:28:02 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:28:02 -0500 Subject: [games_access] FYI Message-ID: <923E6EA0-D7C9-4A8F-9400-0E5DED2E5180@dmill.com> http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=203100808 - Ben From j.chetwynd at btinternet.com Fri Nov 16 02:17:09 2007 From: j.chetwynd at btinternet.com (=?UTF-8?B?In46Jycg44GC44KK44GM44Go44GG44GU44GW44GE44G+44GX44Gf?= =?UTF-8?B?44CCIg==?=) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:17:09 +0000 Subject: [games_access] haptic display was FYI In-Reply-To: <923E6EA0-D7C9-4A8F-9400-0E5DED2E5180@dmill.com> References: <923E6EA0-D7C9-4A8F-9400-0E5DED2E5180@dmill.com> Message-ID: 'Haptics' display sought to bring graphics to the blind absolutely excellent original research, watch this space. regards Jonathan Chetwynd Accessibility Consultant on Media Literacy and the Internet On 15 Nov 2007, at 21:28, Ben Sawyer wrote: http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=203100808 - Ben _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From bsawyer at dmill.com Fri Nov 16 08:54:26 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:26 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> Hi everyone, I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new development. As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as follows: 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of talks in front of audiences, etc.) 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially research roadmap. 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based research published - to the extent we don't already have this. Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. Games Accessibility Conference I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially entertainment. Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them to support more pervasive accessibility activities. We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra inexpensive block as well. My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my conference's core profitability. Win-win. If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear and learn from. BIG NEEDS So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I will do my best to answer them. 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or more in due time. At least that's my hope. I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me more names I'll follow up hard. FUTURE PLANS The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the community thus far. THANK YOU I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the spark you've more then created. Thank you all, Ben From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 16 11:25:33 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:25:33 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071116102533.AXZ43134@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Hey everyone -- so Ben and I have been discussing this for a time now and we're working together to come up with a plan as to how to best use this generous donation, find matching funds, etc. So this is the real deal! So, hey, we have some money now! So put on your thinking caps and help us think of ways to best invest our money so that it helps the SIG long-term! And thanks to Ben, of course, for his incredible support and including us in this initiative! Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:26 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >Hi everyone, > >I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part >of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation >into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new >development. > >As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. > >Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as I >want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some >other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now >I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. > >The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and what >the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all my >work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for >what they should be used for but my basic goals are as follows: > >1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number of >people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of >talks in front of audiences, etc.) > >2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >research roadmap. > >3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games accessibility >attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine >logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). > >4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what we >can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >research published - to the extent we don't already have this. > >Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to really >drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that >seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the >funds can support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, >improved Web site content and access, etc. > >I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked >her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me >before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. > >Games Accessibility Conference >I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, >logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. > >The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as possible >- I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best it can. >In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. > >I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that >explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be >applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or on-setting >disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, >case studies, research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of >games in general for any purpose -- especially entertainment. > >Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant >funds we have available. The other funds if there is a profit would >be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. > >We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood Johnson >Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in >the accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of >government agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to >support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them to >support more pervasive accessibility activities. > >We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. > >The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by Southwest >Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also >quite proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. We've >got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra >inexpensive block as well. > >My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >conference's core profitability. Win-win. > >If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in the >coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in our >call for content next week. We expect to then forward those papers >to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. I will >advise you on content just from my experience of organizing events >but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you as the >experts to decide what will be important for people to hear and learn >from. > >BIG NEEDS >So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I need >the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: > >1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >will do my best to answer them. > >2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. I >really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >more in due time. At least that's my hope. > >I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me >more names I'll follow up hard. > >FUTURE PLANS >The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: > >1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. >My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds >by then so they can be named in the Press Release. > >2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. > >3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds will >hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes are it >would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >community thus far. > >THANK YOU >I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into a >large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the spark >you've more then created. > >Thank you all, > >Ben > > > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From bsawyer at dmill.com Fri Nov 16 11:28:39 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:28:39 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <20071116102533.AXZ43134@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> References: <20071116102533.AXZ43134@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Message-ID: <119A6916-0FD5-48BB-83C8-F2485E2E9976@dmill.com> And thanks to Michelle for her leadership and for keeping this quiet long enough. It's been killing me to hold back. - Ben On Nov 16, 2007, at 11:25 AM, wrote: > Hey everyone -- so Ben and I have been discussing this for a time > now and we're working together to come up with a plan as to how to > best use this generous donation, find matching funds, etc. So this > is the real deal! So, hey, we have some money now! So put on your > thinking caps and help us think of ways to best invest our money so > that it helps the SIG long-term! > > And thanks to Ben, of course, for his incredible support and > including us in this initiative! > > Michelle > > ---- Original message ---- >> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:26 -0500 >> From: Ben Sawyer >> Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >> Accessibility >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part >> of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation >> into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new >> development. >> >> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >> >> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as I >> want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some >> other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now >> I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >> >> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and what >> the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all my >> work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for >> what they should be used for but my basic goals are as follows: >> >> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number of >> people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of >> talks in front of audiences, etc.) >> >> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >> research roadmap. >> >> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games accessibility >> attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine >> logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >> >> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what we >> can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >> >> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to really >> drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that >> seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the >> funds can support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, >> improved Web site content and access, etc. >> >> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked >> her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me >> before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >> >> Games Accessibility Conference >> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, >> logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. >> >> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as possible >> - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best it can. >> In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >> >> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that >> explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be >> applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or on-setting >> disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, >> case studies, research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of >> games in general for any purpose -- especially entertainment. >> >> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant >> funds we have available. The other funds if there is a profit would >> be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >> >> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood Johnson >> Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in >> the accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of >> government agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to >> support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them to >> support more pervasive accessibility activities. >> >> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >> >> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by Southwest >> Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also >> quite proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. We've >> got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra >> inexpensive block as well. >> >> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >> >> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in the >> coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in our >> call for content next week. We expect to then forward those papers >> to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. I will >> advise you on content just from my experience of organizing events >> but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you as the >> experts to decide what will be important for people to hear and learn >> from. >> >> BIG NEEDS >> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I need >> the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >> >> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >> will do my best to answer them. >> >> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. I >> really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >> >> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me >> more names I'll follow up hard. >> >> FUTURE PLANS >> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >> >> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. >> My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds >> by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >> >> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >> >> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds will >> hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes are it >> would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >> community thus far. >> >> THANK YOU >> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into a >> large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the spark >> you've more then created. >> >> Thank you all, >> >> Ben >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 16 11:44:14 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:44:14 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071116104414.AXZ45371@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Hehe...it's been killing me too but it helped to at least personally know that funding was on the way! :) So everyone -- your ideas are needed!! Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:28:39 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >And thanks to Michelle for her leadership and for keeping this quiet >long enough. It's been killing me to hold back. > >- Ben > >On Nov 16, 2007, at 11:25 AM, wrote: > >> Hey everyone -- so Ben and I have been discussing this for a time >> now and we're working together to come up with a plan as to how to >> best use this generous donation, find matching funds, etc. So this >> is the real deal! So, hey, we have some money now! So put on your >> thinking caps and help us think of ways to best invest our money so >> that it helps the SIG long-term! >> >> And thanks to Ben, of course, for his incredible support and >> including us in this initiative! >> >> Michelle >> >> ---- Original message ---- >>> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:26 -0500 >>> From: Ben Sawyer >>> Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >>> Accessibility >>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part >>> of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation >>> into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new >>> development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as I >>> want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some >>> other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now >>> I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and what >>> the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all my >>> work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for >>> what they should be used for but my basic goals are as follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number of >>> people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of >>> talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games accessibility >>> attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine >>> logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what we >>> can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to really >>> drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that >>> seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the >>> funds can support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, >>> improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked >>> her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me >>> before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, >>> logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as possible >>> - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best it can. >>> In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that >>> explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be >>> applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or on-setting >>> disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, >>> case studies, research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of >>> games in general for any purpose -- especially entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant >>> funds we have available. The other funds if there is a profit would >>> be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood Johnson >>> Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in >>> the accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of >>> government agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to >>> support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them to >>> support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by Southwest >>> Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also >>> quite proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. We've >>> got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra >>> inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in the >>> coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in our >>> call for content next week. We expect to then forward those papers >>> to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. I will >>> advise you on content just from my experience of organizing events >>> but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you as the >>> experts to decide what will be important for people to hear and learn >>> from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I need >>> the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. I >>> really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me >>> more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. >>> My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds >>> by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds will >>> hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes are it >>> would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into a >>> large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the spark >>> you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> ....................................... >> these are mediocre times and people are >> losing hope. it's hard for many people >> to believe that there are extraordinary >> things inside themselves, as well as >> others. i hope you can keep an open >> mind. >> -- "unbreakable" >> ....................................... >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Fri Nov 16 12:40:23 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:40:23 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEpCsA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEpCsA Message-ID: <005601c82877$c3f51fe0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Great information Ben thanks. Yes I have a couple ideas to add. As you know I spoke at the conference a couple years ago that was very enjoyable. I actually just got out of a hospital that day after two weeks of agony it was pretty remarkable actually made it to do the speech. I didn't have much energy on top of what I'm capable of most of it was drained. But I still turned out really good. First. Anyway I finished my documentary and aside from a few things I need to add to it I'd love to show it as selling tickets to come view it at the games for health conference this year if that's possible please let me know? I imagine that I would divide up the proceeds between my personal fun than healthy pay for medical related expenditures in my life at the same time help give a percentage back to our SIG. Please let me know if this sounds interesting and not my documentary needs a crowd and with my story and everything I've filmed over the past two years from attending GDC 2006 with a scholarship, meeting with Michelle and the whole group and David Peary asking questions about game accessibility and then getting involved with the story of my life the Emmy nominated associated press award winning stories that came out in the press over the years I think it would be of great attention grabber and money collector. Definitely inspiring. The trailer is on my home page currently but I'm working on a better version of it. www.RobertFlorio.com please check it out. A large portion of my speech at the conference is in the documentary. Second. On the idea of the documentary it would be good to reach out to people who would find something like that to put it in larger markets. Now I don't know how much of that I'd be willing to give back to the group knowing full well that I need this funds for my life to survive. Saying it will be a great strategy to bring people out to viewings to watch it at different locations across the country and then have a portion of that fund the group. As long as it was advertised and sponsored by one of the groups either the state over the games for health conference for publicity. Third. I think it's great that these funds could potentially fund a videogame project I think ultimately that's where we need to go that's what we will grab the most attention to actually show the world what can be done. Fourth. What you said about developing content that other gamers can actually use I think involves people with talents in programming but I don't know if our group is actually capable of that. I'm imagining that would be really expensive and most of that comes from actual game projects so I would suggest we found a game project to see what the results are but once that happens we probably one to keep for those people probably want to keep those ideas marketable so the developers would have to purchase the rights to use those programming easy plug-and-play features for their games but still give us ways to fund projects. Fifth. Just mentioned is briefly above but I think the gaming is the best way to go actually working on in game getting things developed and then selling out those programming rights to other companies largely on even more game projects but instead of selling the rights actually just leasing them in a way because once they are given over those other companies probably will already know looking at what to do to create their own coding next. The point is that a project largely develop the ideas come across the stumbling blocks that will get in the way of these things not working instead of just saying anyone out there who can write or thinks they can write programming that would help any game specific engines do it and then we can pass it out but I don't think it would happen that way. I think it comes from trial and error in a real project. Thanks for this information is really cool and I look forward to speaking hopefully again at the next conference. Please let me know if that will be possible. I live very close to Baltimore and it would be cool to get some of the members from the group around my area show them around and a lot more convenient than flying I'm sure we'll have that in her mind. For those who live close to the events. Robert www.RobertFlorio.com -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 11:44 AM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Hehe...it's been killing me too but it helped to at least personally know that funding was on the way! :) So everyone -- your ideas are needed!! Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:28:39 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >And thanks to Michelle for her leadership and for keeping this quiet >long enough. It's been killing me to hold back. > >- Ben > >On Nov 16, 2007, at 11:25 AM, wrote: > >> Hey everyone -- so Ben and I have been discussing this for a time >> now and we're working together to come up with a plan as to how to >> best use this generous donation, find matching funds, etc. So this >> is the real deal! So, hey, we have some money now! So put on your >> thinking caps and help us think of ways to best invest our money so >> that it helps the SIG long-term! >> >> And thanks to Ben, of course, for his incredible support and >> including us in this initiative! >> >> Michelle >> >> ---- Original message ---- >>> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:26 -0500 >>> From: Ben Sawyer >>> Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >>> Accessibility >>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part >>> of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation >>> into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new >>> development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as I >>> want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some >>> other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now >>> I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and what >>> the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all my >>> work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for >>> what they should be used for but my basic goals are as follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number of >>> people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of >>> talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games accessibility >>> attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine >>> logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what we >>> can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to really >>> drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that >>> seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the >>> funds can support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, >>> improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked >>> her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me >>> before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, >>> logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as possible >>> - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best it can. >>> In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that >>> explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be >>> applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or on-setting >>> disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, >>> case studies, research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of >>> games in general for any purpose -- especially entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant >>> funds we have available. The other funds if there is a profit would >>> be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood Johnson >>> Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in >>> the accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of >>> government agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to >>> support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them to >>> support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by Southwest >>> Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also >>> quite proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. We've >>> got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra >>> inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in the >>> coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in our >>> call for content next week. We expect to then forward those papers >>> to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. I will >>> advise you on content just from my experience of organizing events >>> but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you as the >>> experts to decide what will be important for people to hear and learn >>> from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I need >>> the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. I >>> really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me >>> more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. >>> My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds >>> by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds will >>> hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes are it >>> would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into a >>> large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the spark >>> you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> ....................................... >> these are mediocre times and people are >> losing hope. it's hard for many people >> to believe that there are extraordinary >> things inside themselves, as well as >> others. i hope you can keep an open >> mind. >> -- "unbreakable" >> ....................................... >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Fri Nov 16 12:57:01 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:57:01 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIykpCsA References: <20071116102533.AXZ43134@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIykpCsA Message-ID: <005c01c8287a$1714f630$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Some other thoughts I had. I'm thinking this could be an opportunity for employment I am not sure who would run a committee funded by this money. I know it is our sig but everybody is scattered everywhere would be a good idea to have an actual office location where project could be worked on a center location for more of a business type set up? This might be further in the line if more money can be raised but I would be interested in sitting in on that position to lead that project or this group if we needed a center location which I think would be good. I understand that money is very tight most likely the people are backing and we can find ways to fund it like using my documentary I'd be willing to go and give speeches across the country showing selling tickets to see the video and hopefully meet some people for more business opportunities to turn it into something larger. That's what I have right now to give. Again most of that would probably go to a personal fund of mine because it is a personal project but I'd be willing to give percentage to our group. It is a place to get funds from not a bad idea to use that idea because any opportunity for getting money would be good with a reasonable agreement. In another way this kind of center location for operating business would assure that the money have someone constantly on the projects and following through with that might be what Ben is doing unless someone else could be doing that? Granted he does a lot and knows a lot more about networking maybe that's not exactly what I mean. Just trying to figure out if this can turn into something that supports a larger kind of a company of research. And I'd love to do it because I'm so close locally, coincidentally graduating and looking for a job in my heart is there and my talent and knowledge is there and be perfect in a position to work on this turning it into a huge project more of a community company. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Ben Sawyer Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 11:29 AM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility And thanks to Michelle for her leadership and for keeping this quiet long enough. It's been killing me to hold back. - Ben On Nov 16, 2007, at 11:25 AM, wrote: > Hey everyone -- so Ben and I have been discussing this for a time > now and we're working together to come up with a plan as to how to > best use this generous donation, find matching funds, etc. So this > is the real deal! So, hey, we have some money now! So put on your > thinking caps and help us think of ways to best invest our money so > that it helps the SIG long-term! > > And thanks to Ben, of course, for his incredible support and > including us in this initiative! > > Michelle > > ---- Original message ---- >> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:26 -0500 >> From: Ben Sawyer >> Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >> Accessibility >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part >> of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation >> into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new >> development. >> >> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >> >> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as I >> want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some >> other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now >> I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >> >> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and what >> the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all my >> work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for >> what they should be used for but my basic goals are as follows: >> >> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number of >> people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of >> talks in front of audiences, etc.) >> >> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >> research roadmap. >> >> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games accessibility >> attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine >> logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >> >> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what we >> can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >> >> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to really >> drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that >> seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the >> funds can support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, >> improved Web site content and access, etc. >> >> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked >> her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me >> before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >> >> Games Accessibility Conference >> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, >> logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. >> >> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as possible >> - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best it can. >> In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >> >> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that >> explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be >> applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or on-setting >> disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, >> case studies, research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of >> games in general for any purpose -- especially entertainment. >> >> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant >> funds we have available. The other funds if there is a profit would >> be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >> >> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood Johnson >> Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in >> the accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of >> government agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to >> support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them to >> support more pervasive accessibility activities. >> >> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >> >> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by Southwest >> Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also >> quite proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. We've >> got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra >> inexpensive block as well. >> >> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >> >> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in the >> coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in our >> call for content next week. We expect to then forward those papers >> to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. I will >> advise you on content just from my experience of organizing events >> but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you as the >> experts to decide what will be important for people to hear and learn >> from. >> >> BIG NEEDS >> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I need >> the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >> >> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >> will do my best to answer them. >> >> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. I >> really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >> >> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me >> more names I'll follow up hard. >> >> FUTURE PLANS >> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >> >> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. >> My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds >> by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >> >> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >> >> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds will >> hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes are it >> would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >> community thus far. >> >> THANK YOU >> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into a >> large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the spark >> you've more then created. >> >> Thank you all, >> >> Ben >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From bsawyer at dmill.com Fri Nov 16 13:23:02 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:23:02 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <005c01c8287a$1714f630$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: <20071116102533.AXZ43134@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIykpCsA <005c01c8287a$1714f630$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: I would not spend money on an office. I think it's better invested in ever more capable Web services and presence. If there needs to be a phsyical locus then it should be at a university. More and more people are running virtual organizations - that's the high-tech way now we shouldn't be old school with bricks and mortor. - Ben On Nov 16, 2007, at 12:57 PM, Robert Florio wrote: > Some other thoughts I had. > > I'm thinking this could be an opportunity for employment I am not > sure who > would run a committee funded by this money. I know it is our sig but > everybody is scattered everywhere would be a good idea to have an > actual > office location where project could be worked on a center location > for more > of a business type set up? This might be further in the line if > more money > can be raised but I would be interested in sitting in on that > position to > lead that project or this group if we needed a center location > which I think > would be good. > > I understand that money is very tight most likely the people are > backing and > we can find ways to fund it like using my documentary I'd be > willing to go > and give speeches across the country showing selling tickets to see > the > video and hopefully meet some people for more business > opportunities to turn > it into something larger. That's what I have right now to give. > Again most > of that would probably go to a personal fund of mine because it is a > personal project but I'd be willing to give percentage to our > group. It is > a place to get funds from not a bad idea to use that idea because any > opportunity for getting money would be good with a reasonable > agreement. > > In another way this kind of center location for operating business > would > assure that the money have someone constantly on the projects and > following > through with that might be what Ben is doing unless someone else > could be > doing that? Granted he does a lot and knows a lot more about > networking > maybe that's not exactly what I mean. Just trying to figure out if > this can > turn into something that supports a larger kind of a company of > research. > And I'd love to do it because I'm so close locally, coincidentally > graduating and looking for a job in my heart is there and my talent > and > knowledge is there and be perfect in a position to work on this > turning it > into a huge project more of a community company. > > Robert > > -----Original Message----- > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access- > bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Ben Sawyer > Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 11:29 AM > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games > Accessibility > > And thanks to Michelle for her leadership and for keeping this quiet > long enough. It's been killing me to hold back. > > - Ben > > On Nov 16, 2007, at 11:25 AM, wrote: > >> Hey everyone -- so Ben and I have been discussing this for a time >> now and we're working together to come up with a plan as to how to >> best use this generous donation, find matching funds, etc. So this >> is the real deal! So, hey, we have some money now! So put on your >> thinking caps and help us think of ways to best invest our money so >> that it helps the SIG long-term! >> >> And thanks to Ben, of course, for his incredible support and >> including us in this initiative! >> >> Michelle >> >> ---- Original message ---- >>> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:26 -0500 >>> From: Ben Sawyer >>> Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >>> Accessibility >>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>> >>> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part >>> of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation >>> into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new >>> development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much >>> as I >>> want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some >>> other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now >>> I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and what >>> the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for >>> all my >>> work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal >>> for >>> what they should be used for but my basic goals are as follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, >>> number of >>> people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of >>> talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>> accessibility >>> attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine >>> logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing >>> what we >>> can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>> really >>> drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that >>> seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the >>> funds can support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, >>> improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked >>> her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me >>> before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, >>> logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as possible >>> - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best it can. >>> In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that >>> explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be >>> applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or on- >>> setting >>> disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, >>> case studies, research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of >>> games in general for any purpose -- especially entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant >>> funds we have available. The other funds if there is a profit would >>> be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>> Johnson >>> Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in >>> the accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of >>> government agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to >>> support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them to >>> support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>> Southwest >>> Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also >>> quite proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. >>> We've >>> got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra >>> inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>> the >>> coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in our >>> call for content next week. We expect to then forward those papers >>> to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. I will >>> advise you on content just from my experience of organizing events >>> but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you as the >>> experts to decide what will be important for people to hear and >>> learn >>> from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>> need >>> the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our >>> funds. I >>> really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me >>> more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. >>> My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds >>> by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds will >>> hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>> are it >>> would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help >>> into a >>> large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the spark >>> you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> ....................................... >> these are mediocre times and people are >> losing hope. it's hard for many people >> to believe that there are extraordinary >> things inside themselves, as well as >> others. i hope you can keep an open >> mind. >> -- "unbreakable" >> ....................................... >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From bsawyer at dmill.com Fri Nov 16 13:24:28 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:24:28 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <005601c82877$c3f51fe0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEpCsA <005601c82877$c3f51fe0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <0C496BA8-A4D4-4E25-824A-0216CB6A7C4F@dmill.com> Robert I'll view the film and see how we might use it if we can. It's certainly something depending on how it works that we could screen in an expo area during the accessibility day event. I'm not sure about developing games and selling them I think we need to build tools and example systems that reduce the cost of making games more accessible. By lowering the cost+time delta and raising the rhetoric accordingly you can close the gap but you can't do one without the other. - Ben On Nov 16, 2007, at 12:40 PM, Robert Florio wrote: > Great information Ben thanks. Yes I have a couple ideas to add. > As you > know I spoke at the conference a couple years ago that was very > enjoyable. > I actually just got out of a hospital that day after two weeks of > agony it > was pretty remarkable actually made it to do the speech. I didn't > have much > energy on top of what I'm capable of most of it was drained. But I > still > turned out really good. > > \ From eelke.folmer at gmail.com Fri Nov 16 14:14:59 2007 From: eelke.folmer at gmail.com (Eelke Folmer) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> References: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> Message-ID: Hi, This is great news! good job! - A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by game developers). - I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the mailinglist if you want. - standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. Cheers Eelke On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: > Hi everyone, > > I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is > part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson > Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited > about this new development. > > As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources > specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. > > Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG > activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as > I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding > some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. > Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. > > The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of > course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released > once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and > what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and > subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all > my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty > liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as > follows: > > 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some > simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number > of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number > of talks in front of audiences, etc.) > > 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that > outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially > research roadmap. > > 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games > accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we > can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). > > 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what > we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves > people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. > Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based > research published - to the extent we don't already have this. > > Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to > really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a > plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that > framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really > nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. > > I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've > asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to > me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. > > Games Accessibility Conference > I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day > conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health > Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration > systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place > for this. > > The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before > Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a > single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably > feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday > and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as > possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best > it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. > > I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My > only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks > that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts > can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or > on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on > core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the > accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially > entertainment. > > Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be > charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be > break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of > the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the > grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a > profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. > > We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood > Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep > contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a > variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive > them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them > to support more pervasive accessibility activities. > > We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We > will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to > showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. > > The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by > Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We > are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big > plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an > ultra inexpensive block as well. > > My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are > 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a > total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my > conference's core profitability. Win-win. > > If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as > planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in > the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in > our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those > papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. > I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing > events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you > as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear > and learn from. > > BIG NEEDS > So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm > writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I > need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: > > 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I > will do my best to answer them. > > 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at > organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. > I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no > reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or > more in due time. At least that's my hope. > > I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few > others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this > more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give > me more names I'll follow up hard. > > FUTURE PLANS > The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: > > 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before > Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of > the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. > > 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original > funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this > funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an > individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual > developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. > > 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a > basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be > articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds > will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes > are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility > technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game > developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it > might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with > disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the > community thus far. > > THANK YOU > I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for > sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely > relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. > I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while > it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into > a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the > spark you've more then created. > > Thank you all, > > Ben > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 16 17:17:03 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:17:03 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071116161703.AXZ81068@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and Jason has said that the management group they work with could also help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >From: Eelke Folmer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >Hi, > >This is great news! good job! > >- A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >game developers). >- I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >mailinglist if you want. >- standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. > >Cheers Eelke > > >On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: > >> Hi everyone, >> >> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >> about this new development. >> >> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >> >> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >> >> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >> follows: >> >> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >> >> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >> research roadmap. >> >> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >> >> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >> >> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >> >> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >> >> Games Accessibility Conference >> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >> for this. >> >> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >> >> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >> entertainment. >> >> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >> >> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >> >> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >> >> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >> ultra inexpensive block as well. >> >> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >> >> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >> and learn from. >> >> BIG NEEDS >> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >> need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >> >> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >> will do my best to answer them. >> >> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >> >> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >> me more names I'll follow up hard. >> >> FUTURE PLANS >> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >> >> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >> >> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >> >> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >> community thus far. >> >> THANK YOU >> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >> spark you've more then created. >> >> Thank you all, >> >> Ben >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From bsawyer at dmill.com Fri Nov 16 17:24:01 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:24:01 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <20071116161703.AXZ81068@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> References: <20071116161703.AXZ81068@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Message-ID: I think our offer to do the day before as a standalone daylong conference in May 2008 works - we will take care of everything but content. We're prepared already to do it. I just need conference material. We're assuming all the financial risk. - Ben On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:17 PM, wrote: > A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have > a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is > something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job > evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project > that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can > show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more > products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on > but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. > > A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to > discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had > their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give > our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people > outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is > very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and > Jason has said that the management group they work with could also > help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the > registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have > another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never > wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| > > Michelle > > ---- Original message ---- >> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >> From: Eelke Folmer >> Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >> Accessibility >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >> Hi, >> >> This is great news! good job! >> >> - A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >> games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >> game developers). >> - I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >> gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >> accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >> mailinglist if you want. >> - standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >> since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >> nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >> don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >> like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >> work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >> >> Cheers Eelke >> >> >> On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>> about this new development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>> follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of >>> interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>> for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>> entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>> and learn from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your >>> thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>> spark you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From bsawyer at dmill.com Fri Nov 16 17:28:21 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:28:21 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: References: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> Message-ID: <774C83BA-C146-471D-9DCF-52F20C0915FD@dmill.com> I'm not worried about the numbers - I think we can get to 50 at worst. We have a lot of people with deep contacts that will find this interesting. Keep in mind my core games for health audience which is 200+ have interest in this space for derivative needs like rehabilitation and therapeutic practices so I think from them alone I get 20 attendees. We have to start somewhere and this really is an ideal situation. - Ben From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 16 17:31:26 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:31:26 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071116163126.AXZ82548@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Yes, I agree -- just amongst the SIG we have plenty of content and if even a few of us reach out to other academics we could come up with an interesting program with not as much effort as we might think. This first year maybe it's all just personal emails and calls to colleagues to get things going with the idea that moving forward we work on a more open submission process for future years. At first glance a conference seems overwhelming but with you guys running all the things that some of us (like Eelke, Reid, Eitan) saw me having to figure out (all the union contracts...) at E for All, hopefully this will make people feel more at ease. I don't feel that nervous and after E for All I should be the MOST nervous of all! :) Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:24:01 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >I think our offer to do the day before as a standalone daylong >conference in May 2008 works - we will take care of everything but >content. We're prepared already to do it. I just need conference >material. We're assuming all the financial risk. > >- Ben > >On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:17 PM, wrote: > >> A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have >> a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is >> something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job >> evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project >> that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can >> show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more >> products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on >> but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. >> >> A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to >> discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had >> their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give >> our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people >> outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is >> very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and >> Jason has said that the management group they work with could also >> help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >> registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have >> another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never >> wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| >> >> Michelle >> >> ---- Original message ---- >>> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>> From: Eelke Folmer >>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >>> Accessibility >>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>> >>> Hi, >>> >>> This is great news! good job! >>> >>> - A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>> games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>> game developers). >>> - I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>> gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>> accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>> mailinglist if you want. >>> - standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>> since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>> nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>> don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>> like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>> work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >>> >>> Cheers Eelke >>> >>> >>> On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >>> >>>> Hi everyone, >>>> >>>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>>> about this new development. >>>> >>>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>>> >>>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>>> >>>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>>> follows: >>>> >>>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>>> >>>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>>> research roadmap. >>>> >>>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of >>>> interest). >>>> >>>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>>> >>>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>>> >>>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>>> >>>> Games Accessibility Conference >>>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>>> for this. >>>> >>>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>>> >>>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>>> entertainment. >>>> >>>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>>> >>>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>>> >>>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>>> >>>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>>> >>>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>>> >>>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>>> and learn from. >>>> >>>> BIG NEEDS >>>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your >>>> thoughts: >>>> >>>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>>> will do my best to answer them. >>>> >>>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>>> >>>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>>> >>>> FUTURE PLANS >>>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>>> >>>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>>> >>>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>>> >>>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>>> community thus far. >>>> >>>> THANK YOU >>>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>>> spark you've more then created. >>>> >>>> Thank you all, >>>> >>>> Ben >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> ....................................... >> these are mediocre times and people are >> losing hope. it's hard for many people >> to believe that there are extraordinary >> things inside themselves, as well as >> others. i hope you can keep an open >> mind. >> -- "unbreakable" >> ....................................... >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 16 17:37:59 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:37:59 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071116163759.AXZ83141@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> This is true -- more later but given the quality of participation (VERY high) we had yesterday at FuturePlay I agree that numbers aren't everything, even though we had about 20 in the audience (out of a conference of 160 people attending and a lot of things competing (including some of our audience members have to sneak out for a little bit to give their OWN presentations). But the fact is...we didn't present at least 1/4 of our material because we had people commenting the entire day with questions and ideas. That has NEVER happened...usually we're wondering "well what now...we sped through the content because no one ever had a question or comment and now we're stuck with two extra hours..." And given that this is on it's own day, we can hopefully get many more in attendance AND get people who care and haven't heard us before -- even if that number is mostly coming from all the Baltimore/Washington area games for health folks. Nothing wrong with local support!! Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:28:21 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >I'm not worried about the numbers - I think we can get to 50 at >worst. We have a lot of people with deep contacts that will find >this interesting. Keep in mind my core games for health audience >which is 200+ have interest in this space for derivative needs like >rehabilitation and therapeutic practices so I think from them alone I >get 20 attendees. > >We have to start somewhere and this really is an ideal situation. > > >- Ben > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From lynnvm at carolina.rr.com Fri Nov 16 19:00:50 2007 From: lynnvm at carolina.rr.com (Lynn Marentette) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:00:50 -0500 Subject: [games_access] games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 22 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <001501c828ac$ea5dc940$c801000a@HOME> Hi, all, I'm excited to hear about opportunity for the SIG to become a part of Games and Health. I was wondering if anyone has thought about linking with community resources to assist with this effort. I'm not sure that the "think globally - act locally" approach might work, but I think it is worth a try. For example, in my region, our regional library system has a director of emerging technologies, Matt Gullett, who was involved in developing the "gaming at the library" program as well as getting a Teen Second Life off the ground. Gaming events are held in a variety of branches across the county. The PLCMC (Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County) system also provides a variety of accessibility options for people with disabilities. This is one reason why I think that public libraries might be a good place for things to happen. In the Charlotte region, both Central Piedmont Community College and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte have game development programs. Students at both schools are encouraged to participate in community service. Personally, I'd like to see the library provide space for university researchers to conduct usability studies. Since "gamers" of all ages are getting accustomed to going to the library for socializing and gaming events, this would be a logical place to get the word out, at least on a local scale. I haven't been active much in this group- my dad has had a variety of health problems and was in and out of the hospital three times recently, and then I was side-tracked by an auto accident. I'm doing better now! Lynn Marentette TechPsych Interactive Multimedia Technology -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of games_access-request at igda.org Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 5:28 PM To: games_access at igda.org Subject: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 22 Send games_access mailing list submissions to games_access at igda.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to games_access-request at igda.org You can reach the person managing the list at games_access-owner at igda.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of games_access digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility (hinn at uiuc.edu) 2. Re: Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility (Ben Sawyer) 3. Re: Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility (Ben Sawyer) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:17:03 -0600 (CST) From: Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Message-ID: <20071116161703.AXZ81068 at expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and Jason has said that the management group they work with could also help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >From: Eelke Folmer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >Hi, > >This is great news! good job! > >- A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >game developers). >- I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >mailinglist if you want. >- standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. > >Cheers Eelke > > >On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: > >> Hi everyone, >> >> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >> about this new development. >> >> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >> >> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >> >> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >> follows: >> >> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >> >> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >> research roadmap. >> >> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >> >> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >> >> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >> >> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >> >> Games Accessibility Conference >> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >> for this. >> >> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >> >> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >> entertainment. >> >> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >> >> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >> >> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >> >> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >> ultra inexpensive block as well. >> >> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >> >> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >> and learn from. >> >> BIG NEEDS >> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >> need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >> >> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >> will do my best to answer them. >> >> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >> >> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >> me more names I'll follow up hard. >> >> FUTURE PLANS >> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >> >> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >> >> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >> >> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >> community thus far. >> >> THANK YOU >> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >> spark you've more then created. >> >> Thank you all, >> >> Ben >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:24:01 -0500 From: Ben Sawyer Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed I think our offer to do the day before as a standalone daylong conference in May 2008 works - we will take care of everything but content. We're prepared already to do it. I just need conference material. We're assuming all the financial risk. - Ben On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:17 PM, wrote: > A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have > a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is > something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job > evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project > that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can > show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more > products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on > but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. > > A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to > discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had > their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give > our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people > outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is > very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and > Jason has said that the management group they work with could also > help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the > registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have > another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never > wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| > > Michelle > > ---- Original message ---- >> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >> From: Eelke Folmer >> Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >> Accessibility >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >> Hi, >> >> This is great news! good job! >> >> - A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >> games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >> game developers). >> - I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >> gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >> accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >> mailinglist if you want. >> - standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >> since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >> nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >> don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >> like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >> work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >> >> Cheers Eelke >> >> >> On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>> about this new development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>> follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of >>> interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>> for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>> entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>> and learn from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your >>> thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>> spark you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:28:21 -0500 From: Ben Sawyer Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Message-ID: <774C83BA-C146-471D-9DCF-52F20C0915FD at dmill.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed I'm not worried about the numbers - I think we can get to 50 at worst. We have a lot of people with deep contacts that will find this interesting. Keep in mind my core games for health audience which is 200+ have interest in this space for derivative needs like rehabilitation and therapeutic practices so I think from them alone I get 20 attendees. We have to start somewhere and this really is an ideal situation. - Ben ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access End of games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 22 ******************************************** From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 16 21:50:02 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:50:02 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 22 Message-ID: <20071116205002.AXZ97325@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Hi Lynn -- First, I'm so sorry to hear that your father and you have both have had health issues but I'm glad to hear that things are getting better! As far as linking with local groups, that is an idea that I support 100% and is something that I try to do in my own community in Illinois. Often we (all) get sidetracked by the so called BIG impact areas but there is so much real change that can happen when we reach out just to our own communities. This is why when we think of how to evaluate SIG effectiveness we can't just evaluate on one single angle -- it takes so much more and every local show or library or even a single person that we reach is important. Yes, of course if a big corporation jumped in and could help thousands that would be great (and desired!). But I personally know the satisfaction and joy that comes from making our own communities a better place to live and learn to enjoy life so NOTHING we do to help make our big and small worlds accessible is a waste. Perhaps this isn't where the major funding is but by having examples of community change we now have lessons that we can show other communities so that! c! hange can become contagious! Cheers! Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:00:50 -0500 >From: "Lynn Marentette" >Subject: Re: [games_access] games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 22 >To: > >Hi, all, > >I'm excited to hear about opportunity for the SIG to become a part of Games >and Health. > >I was wondering if anyone has thought about linking with community resources >to assist with this effort. I'm not sure that the "think globally - act >locally" approach might work, but I think it is worth a try. > >For example, in my region, our regional library system has a director of >emerging technologies, Matt Gullett, who was involved in developing the >"gaming at the library" program as well as getting a Teen Second Life off >the ground. Gaming events are held in a variety of branches across the >county. > >The PLCMC (Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County) system also >provides a variety of accessibility options for people with disabilities. >This is one reason why I think that public libraries might be a good place >for things to happen. > >In the Charlotte region, both Central Piedmont Community College and the >University of North Carolina-Charlotte have game development programs. >Students at both schools are encouraged to participate in community service. > >Personally, I'd like to see the library provide space for university >researchers to conduct usability studies. Since "gamers" of all ages are >getting accustomed to going to the library for socializing and gaming >events, this would be a logical place to get the word out, at least on a >local scale. > >I haven't been active much in this group- my dad has had a variety of >health problems and was in and out of the hospital three times recently, and >then I was side-tracked by an auto accident. I'm doing better now! > >Lynn Marentette > >TechPsych >Interactive Multimedia Technology > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of games_access-request at igda.org >Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 5:28 PM >To: games_access at igda.org >Subject: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 22 > >Send games_access mailing list submissions to > games_access at igda.org > >To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > games_access-request at igda.org > >You can reach the person managing the list at > games_access-owner at igda.org > >When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >than "Re: Contents of games_access digest..." > > >Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility > (hinn at uiuc.edu) > 2. Re: Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility (Ben Sawyer) > 3. Re: Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility (Ben Sawyer) > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Message: 1 >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:17:03 -0600 (CST) >From: >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games > Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Message-ID: <20071116161703.AXZ81068 at expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > >A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have a ways >to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is something like what >Microsoft Research does as an alternative job evaluation mechanism for those >who largely work on a single project that on it's own isn't "sellable" but >is something that they can show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, >and 4 more products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" >on but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. > >A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to discuss. But >an option is doing what other conferences have had their start doing -- have >those of us already doing research give our papers but then the following >year focus on getting more people outside of the SIG through a submission >process. Also, the IGDA is very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a >conference and Jason has said that the management group they work with could >also help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have another E >for All situation where I learn "all the things we never wanted to know >about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| > >Michelle > >---- Original message ---- >>Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>From: Eelke Folmer >>Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility >>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >>Hi, >> >>This is great news! good job! >> >>- A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>game developers). >>- I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>mailinglist if you want. >>- standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >> >>Cheers Eelke >> >> >>On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>> about this new development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>> follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>> for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>> entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>> and learn from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>> spark you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >....................................... >these are mediocre times and people are >losing hope. it's hard for many people >to believe that there are extraordinary >things inside themselves, as well as >others. i hope you can keep an open >mind. > -- "unbreakable" >....................................... > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 2 >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:24:01 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games > Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Message-ID: >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed > >I think our offer to do the day before as a standalone daylong >conference in May 2008 works - we will take care of everything but >content. We're prepared already to do it. I just need conference >material. We're assuming all the financial risk. > >- Ben > >On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:17 PM, wrote: > >> A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have >> a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is >> something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job >> evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project >> that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can >> show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more >> products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on >> but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. >> >> A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to >> discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had >> their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give >> our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people >> outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is >> very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and >> Jason has said that the management group they work with could also >> help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >> registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have >> another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never >> wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| >> >> Michelle >> >> ---- Original message ---- >>> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>> From: Eelke Folmer >>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >>> Accessibility >>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>> >>> Hi, >>> >>> This is great news! good job! >>> >>> - A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>> games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>> game developers). >>> - I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>> gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>> accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>> mailinglist if you want. >>> - standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>> since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>> nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>> don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>> like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>> work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >>> >>> Cheers Eelke >>> >>> >>> On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >>> >>>> Hi everyone, >>>> >>>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>>> about this new development. >>>> >>>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>>> >>>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>>> >>>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>>> follows: >>>> >>>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>>> >>>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>>> research roadmap. >>>> >>>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of >>>> interest). >>>> >>>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>>> >>>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>>> >>>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>>> >>>> Games Accessibility Conference >>>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>>> for this. >>>> >>>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>>> >>>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>>> entertainment. >>>> >>>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>>> >>>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>>> >>>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>>> >>>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>>> >>>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>>> >>>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>>> and learn from. >>>> >>>> BIG NEEDS >>>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your >>>> thoughts: >>>> >>>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>>> will do my best to answer them. >>>> >>>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>>> >>>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>>> >>>> FUTURE PLANS >>>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>>> >>>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>>> >>>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>>> >>>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>>> community thus far. >>>> >>>> THANK YOU >>>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>>> spark you've more then created. >>>> >>>> Thank you all, >>>> >>>> Ben >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> ....................................... >> these are mediocre times and people are >> losing hope. it's hard for many people >> to believe that there are extraordinary >> things inside themselves, as well as >> others. i hope you can keep an open >> mind. >> -- "unbreakable" >> ....................................... >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 3 >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:28:21 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games > Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Message-ID: <774C83BA-C146-471D-9DCF-52F20C0915FD at dmill.com> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed > >I'm not worried about the numbers - I think we can get to 50 at >worst. We have a lot of people with deep contacts that will find >this interesting. Keep in mind my core games for health audience >which is 200+ have interest in this space for derivative needs like >rehabilitation and therapeutic practices so I think from them alone I >get 20 attendees. > >We have to start somewhere and this really is an ideal situation. > > >- Ben > > > >------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > >End of games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 22 >******************************************** > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 16 22:01:09 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 21:01:09 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and Dimitris (and team!) Message-ID: <20071116210109.AXZ97719@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Hi all, I'm excited to announce that "Game Over" won the people's choice award at "Play Arcadia," which was the Montreal portion of the game competition that was held again here at FuturePlay in Toronto. GameOver: http://www.ics.forth.gr/hci/ua-games/game-over/ Play Arcadia: http://www.playarcadia.com FuturePlay Competition: http://www.futureplay.org/games.php (please note that there is blinking text on this page :( ) So along with the funding announcement and now finding out that Dimitris' (and crew) game won one of the people's choice awards, this has been a GREAT day for accessibility! And as I was coming back to my hotel room I was thinking "what a great conference this has been!" I will write more later when I've had a chance to rest a bit and hopefully Kevin will be able to share his experiences with us as well on the list. But in summary we've made so many new friends of accessibility. Between this and E for All, we've seen amazing list growth and each and every person that learns about us IS a win. Sure, smaller conferences may frustrate us from time to time but we cannot forget that sometimes this is exactly how we attract people who will put game accessibility into their course work, tell others about it, share with a friend or a relative with a disability. Sometimes it's the one-on-one time we spend that results in impact that can be just as exciting and rewarding as speaking to a crowded room. Seeing someone walk away from talking about accessibility excited, offering help, and then joining the list...well that's just really, really cool. But again...CONGRATS to Dimitris and his team for the award for Game Over! I was proud to accept the award on their behalf (and Dimitris -- I need your mailing address to mail you the award certificate!). Michelle ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From j.chetwynd at btinternet.com Sat Nov 17 03:40:15 2007 From: j.chetwynd at btinternet.com (=?UTF-8?B?In46Jycg44GC44KK44GM44Go44GG44GU44GW44GE44G+44GX44Gf?= =?UTF-8?B?44CCIg==?=) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 08:40:15 +0000 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> References: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> Message-ID: <5B2804F7-A1BE-4359-80B2-6E819C911168@btinternet.com> a huge congratulations! do you already have a resource of health games? well ok accessible health games might be shorter? but there's a huge market out there and much work and commitment. regards Jonathan Chetwynd Accessibility Consultant on Media Literacy and the Internet On 16 Nov 2007, at 13:54, Ben Sawyer wrote: Hi everyone, I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new development. As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as follows: 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of talks in front of audiences, etc.) 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially research roadmap. 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based research published - to the extent we don't already have this. Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. Games Accessibility Conference I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially entertainment. Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them to support more pervasive accessibility activities. We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra inexpensive block as well. My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my conference's core profitability. Win-win. If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear and learn from. BIG NEEDS So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I will do my best to answer them. 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or more in due time. At least that's my hope. I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me more names I'll follow up hard. FUTURE PLANS The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the community thus far. THANK YOU I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the spark you've more then created. Thank you all, Ben _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From bsawyer at dmill.com Sat Nov 17 06:07:30 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (bsawyer at dmill.com) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 06:07:30 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <380-220071161711730619@M2W016.mail2web.com> We've got it under control. We've done this too many times. This event will either be at one of the hotels we've booked or at the School of Medicine. Either way no union contracts to worry about (we worry about those the following two days at the convention center but that's another problem) and we have registration set up, we have PR people on board, etc. We do need help with marketing but basically there I need you all to email people an invite we'll develop, and to blog about it, post on open forums, and send me contacts of people that I should talk to who might themselves send out emails, etc. If there are useful press contacts in the accessibility/disability community, if there are mailing lists I can buy just send this data to me and I have people ready to follow up on it. Teresa Kanter from RWJF is also going to probably lurk on the list and work to identify her contacts from the government accessibility community as well. I'm working my DoD contacts for names there as well since a lot of soldiers are living through injuries the percentage of casualties with disabilities is very high as some of you may know. Original Message: ----------------- From: hinn at uiuc.edu Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:31:26 -0600 (CST) To: games_access at igda.org Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Yes, I agree -- just amongst the SIG we have plenty of content and if even a few of us reach out to other academics we could come up with an interesting program with not as much effort as we might think. This first year maybe it's all just personal emails and calls to colleagues to get things going with the idea that moving forward we work on a more open submission process for future years. At first glance a conference seems overwhelming but with you guys running all the things that some of us (like Eelke, Reid, Eitan) saw me having to figure out (all the union contracts...) at E for All, hopefully this will make people feel more at ease. I don't feel that nervous and after E for All I should be the MOST nervous of all! :) Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:24:01 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >I think our offer to do the day before as a standalone daylong >conference in May 2008 works - we will take care of everything but >content. We're prepared already to do it. I just need conference >material. We're assuming all the financial risk. > >- Ben > >On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:17 PM, wrote: > >> A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have >> a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is >> something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job >> evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project >> that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can >> show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more >> products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on >> but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. >> >> A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to >> discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had >> their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give >> our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people >> outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is >> very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and >> Jason has said that the management group they work with could also >> help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >> registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have >> another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never >> wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| >> >> Michelle >> >> ---- Original message ---- >>> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>> From: Eelke Folmer >>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >>> Accessibility >>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>> >>> Hi, >>> >>> This is great news! good job! >>> >>> - A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>> games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>> game developers). >>> - I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>> gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>> accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>> mailinglist if you want. >>> - standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>> since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>> nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>> don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>> like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>> work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >>> >>> Cheers Eelke >>> >>> >>> On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >>> >>>> Hi everyone, >>>> >>>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>>> about this new development. >>>> >>>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>>> >>>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>>> >>>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>>> follows: >>>> >>>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>>> >>>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>>> research roadmap. >>>> >>>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of >>>> interest). >>>> >>>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>>> >>>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>>> >>>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>>> >>>> Games Accessibility Conference >>>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>>> for this. >>>> >>>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>>> >>>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>>> entertainment. >>>> >>>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>>> >>>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>>> >>>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>>> >>>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>>> >>>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>>> >>>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>>> and learn from. >>>> >>>> BIG NEEDS >>>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your >>>> thoughts: >>>> >>>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>>> will do my best to answer them. >>>> >>>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>>> >>>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>>> >>>> FUTURE PLANS >>>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>>> >>>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>>> >>>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>>> >>>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>>> community thus far. >>>> >>>> THANK YOU >>>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>>> spark you've more then created. >>>> >>>> Thank you all, >>>> >>>> Ben >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> ....................................... >> these are mediocre times and people are >> losing hope. it's hard for many people >> to believe that there are extraordinary >> things inside themselves, as well as >> others. i hope you can keep an open >> mind. >> -- "unbreakable" >> ....................................... >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web.com - Microsoft? Exchange solutions from a leading provider - http://link.mail2web.com/Business/Exchange From hinn at uiuc.edu Sat Nov 17 10:24:04 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 09:24:04 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071117092404.AYA26224@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Speaking of Disabled Veterans -- that is something I have been including in all my talks because it's becoming THE biggest reason people write me right now. Games can be a way for some to literally want to try to live again -- it's a very powerful tool and can be the first step injured soldiers use to learn how to do the things that they loved before the war in a new way. It also puts the urgency in the accessibility issue -- if we are talking about changing someone's mindset into literally being suicidal to seeing a ways to enjoy life and wanting to keep living...it's a pretty powerful statement. And one that I talked to Stars and Stripes magazine about at E for All. Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 06:07:30 -0500 >From: "bsawyer at dmill.com" >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: games_access at igda.org, games_access at igda.org > >We've got it under control. We've done this too many times. This event >will either be at one of the hotels we've booked or at the School of >Medicine. Either way no union contracts to worry about (we worry about >those the following two days at the convention center but that's another >problem) and we have registration set up, we have PR people on board, etc. > >We do need help with marketing but basically there I need you all to email >people an invite we'll develop, and to blog about it, post on open forums, >and send me contacts of people that I should talk to who might themselves >send out emails, etc. If there are useful press contacts in the >accessibility/disability community, if there are mailing lists I can buy >just send this data to me and I have people ready to follow up on it. > >Teresa Kanter from RWJF is also going to probably lurk on the list and work >to identify her contacts from the government accessibility community as >well. I'm working my DoD contacts for names there as well since a lot of >soldiers are living through injuries the percentage of casualties with >disabilities is very high as some of you may know. > > >Original Message: >----------------- >From: hinn at uiuc.edu >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:31:26 -0600 (CST) >To: games_access at igda.org >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility > > >Yes, I agree -- just amongst the SIG we have plenty of content and if even >a few of us reach out to other academics we could come up with an >interesting program with not as much effort as we might think. This first >year maybe it's all just personal emails and calls to colleagues to get >things going with the idea that moving forward we work on a more open >submission process for future years. > >At first glance a conference seems overwhelming but with you guys running >all the things that some of us (like Eelke, Reid, Eitan) saw me having to >figure out (all the union contracts...) at E for All, hopefully this will >make people feel more at ease. I don't feel that nervous and after E for >All I should be the MOST nervous of all! :) > >Michelle > >---- Original message ---- >>Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:24:01 -0500 >>From: Ben Sawyer >>Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility >>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >>I think our offer to do the day before as a standalone daylong >>conference in May 2008 works - we will take care of everything but >>content. We're prepared already to do it. I just need conference >>material. We're assuming all the financial risk. >> >>- Ben >> >>On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:17 PM, wrote: >> >>> A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have >>> a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is >>> something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job >>> evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project >>> that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can >>> show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more >>> products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on >>> but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. >>> >>> A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to >>> discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had >>> their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give >>> our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people >>> outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is >>> very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and >>> Jason has said that the management group they work with could also >>> help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >>> registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have >>> another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never >>> wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| >>> >>> Michelle >>> >>> ---- Original message ---- >>>> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>>> From: Eelke Folmer >>>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >>>> Accessibility >>>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>>> >>>> Hi, >>>> >>>> This is great news! good job! >>>> >>>> - A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>>> games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>>> game developers). >>>> - I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>>> gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>>> accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>>> mailinglist if you want. >>>> - standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>>> since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>>> nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>>> don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>>> like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>>> work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >>>> >>>> Cheers Eelke >>>> >>>> >>>> On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hi everyone, >>>>> >>>>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>>>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>>>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>>>> about this new development. >>>>> >>>>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>>>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>>>> >>>>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>>>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>>>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>>>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>>>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>>>> >>>>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>>>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>>>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>>>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>>>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>>>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>>>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>>>> follows: >>>>> >>>>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>>>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>>>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>>>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>>>> >>>>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>>>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>>>> research roadmap. >>>>> >>>>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>>>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>>>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of >>>>> interest). >>>>> >>>>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>>>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>>>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>>>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>>>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>>>> >>>>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>>>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>>>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>>>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>>>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>>>> >>>>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>>>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>>>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>>>> >>>>> Games Accessibility Conference >>>>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>>>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>>>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>>>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>>>> for this. >>>>> >>>>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>>>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>>>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>>>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>>>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>>>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>>>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>>>> >>>>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>>>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>>>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>>>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>>>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>>>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>>>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>>>> entertainment. >>>>> >>>>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>>>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>>>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>>>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>>>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>>>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>>>> >>>>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>>>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>>>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>>>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>>>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>>>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>>>> >>>>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>>>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>>>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>>>> >>>>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>>>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>>>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>>>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>>>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>>>> >>>>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>>>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>>>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>>>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>>>> >>>>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>>>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>>>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>>>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>>>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>>>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>>>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>>>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>>>> and learn from. >>>>> >>>>> BIG NEEDS >>>>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>>>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>>>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your >>>>> thoughts: >>>>> >>>>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>>>> will do my best to answer them. >>>>> >>>>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>>>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>>>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>>>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>>>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>>>> >>>>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>>>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>>>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>>>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>>>> >>>>> FUTURE PLANS >>>>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>>>> >>>>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>>>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>>>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>>>> >>>>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>>>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>>>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>>>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>>>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>>>> >>>>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>>>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>>>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>>>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>>>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>>>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>>>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>>>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>>>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>>>> community thus far. >>>>> >>>>> THANK YOU >>>>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>>>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>>>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>>>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>>>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>>>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>>>> spark you've more then created. >>>>> >>>>> Thank you all, >>>>> >>>>> Ben >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> ....................................... >>> these are mediocre times and people are >>> losing hope. it's hard for many people >>> to believe that there are extraordinary >>> things inside themselves, as well as >>> others. i hope you can keep an open >>> mind. >>> -- "unbreakable" >>> ....................................... >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >....................................... >these are mediocre times and people are >losing hope. it's hard for many people >to believe that there are extraordinary >things inside themselves, as well as >others. i hope you can keep an open >mind. > -- "unbreakable" >....................................... >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >-------------------------------------------------------------------- >mail2web.com - Microsoft? Exchange solutions from a leading provider - >http://link.mail2web.com/Business/Exchange > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From hinn at uiuc.edu Sat Nov 17 11:00:54 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:00:54 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071117100054.AYA27425@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> I can also say that after E for All I have a totally new appreciation for all that goes on behind putting on a conference. And it's a VERY BIG DEAL that you guys are willing to do all the logistical stuff -- it's MUCH more time consuming that many realize and it's very generous of you guys, even if you have done this a ton of times and know the drill. It's nice to be able to focus primarily on content and marketing for this -- I have a HUGE list of press contacts (over 1500 at last count) that I've collected over the years that I send press releases to. Combine that with the contacts you guys have -- we can reach an awful lot of people! Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 06:07:30 -0500 >From: "bsawyer at dmill.com" >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: games_access at igda.org, games_access at igda.org > >We've got it under control. We've done this too many times. This event >will either be at one of the hotels we've booked or at the School of >Medicine. Either way no union contracts to worry about (we worry about >those the following two days at the convention center but that's another >problem) and we have registration set up, we have PR people on board, etc. > >We do need help with marketing but basically there I need you all to email >people an invite we'll develop, and to blog about it, post on open forums, >and send me contacts of people that I should talk to who might themselves >send out emails, etc. If there are useful press contacts in the >accessibility/disability community, if there are mailing lists I can buy >just send this data to me and I have people ready to follow up on it. > >Teresa Kanter from RWJF is also going to probably lurk on the list and work >to identify her contacts from the government accessibility community as >well. I'm working my DoD contacts for names there as well since a lot of >soldiers are living through injuries the percentage of casualties with >disabilities is very high as some of you may know. > > >Original Message: >----------------- >From: hinn at uiuc.edu >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:31:26 -0600 (CST) >To: games_access at igda.org >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility > > >Yes, I agree -- just amongst the SIG we have plenty of content and if even >a few of us reach out to other academics we could come up with an >interesting program with not as much effort as we might think. This first >year maybe it's all just personal emails and calls to colleagues to get >things going with the idea that moving forward we work on a more open >submission process for future years. > >At first glance a conference seems overwhelming but with you guys running >all the things that some of us (like Eelke, Reid, Eitan) saw me having to >figure out (all the union contracts...) at E for All, hopefully this will >make people feel more at ease. I don't feel that nervous and after E for >All I should be the MOST nervous of all! :) > >Michelle > >---- Original message ---- >>Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:24:01 -0500 >>From: Ben Sawyer >>Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility >>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >>I think our offer to do the day before as a standalone daylong >>conference in May 2008 works - we will take care of everything but >>content. We're prepared already to do it. I just need conference >>material. We're assuming all the financial risk. >> >>- Ben >> >>On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:17 PM, wrote: >> >>> A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have >>> a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is >>> something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job >>> evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project >>> that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can >>> show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more >>> products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on >>> but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. >>> >>> A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to >>> discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had >>> their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give >>> our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people >>> outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is >>> very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and >>> Jason has said that the management group they work with could also >>> help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >>> registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have >>> another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never >>> wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| >>> >>> Michelle >>> >>> ---- Original message ---- >>>> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>>> From: Eelke Folmer >>>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >>>> Accessibility >>>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>>> >>>> Hi, >>>> >>>> This is great news! good job! >>>> >>>> - A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>>> games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>>> game developers). >>>> - I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>>> gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>>> accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>>> mailinglist if you want. >>>> - standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>>> since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>>> nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>>> don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>>> like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>>> work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >>>> >>>> Cheers Eelke >>>> >>>> >>>> On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hi everyone, >>>>> >>>>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>>>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>>>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>>>> about this new development. >>>>> >>>>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>>>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>>>> >>>>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>>>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>>>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>>>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>>>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>>>> >>>>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>>>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>>>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>>>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>>>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>>>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>>>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>>>> follows: >>>>> >>>>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>>>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>>>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>>>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>>>> >>>>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>>>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>>>> research roadmap. >>>>> >>>>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>>>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>>>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of >>>>> interest). >>>>> >>>>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>>>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>>>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>>>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>>>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>>>> >>>>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>>>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>>>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>>>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>>>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>>>> >>>>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>>>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>>>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>>>> >>>>> Games Accessibility Conference >>>>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>>>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>>>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>>>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>>>> for this. >>>>> >>>>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>>>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>>>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>>>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>>>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>>>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>>>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>>>> >>>>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>>>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>>>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>>>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>>>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>>>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>>>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>>>> entertainment. >>>>> >>>>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>>>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>>>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>>>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>>>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>>>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>>>> >>>>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>>>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>>>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>>>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>>>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>>>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>>>> >>>>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>>>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>>>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>>>> >>>>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>>>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>>>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>>>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>>>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>>>> >>>>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>>>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>>>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>>>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>>>> >>>>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>>>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>>>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>>>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>>>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>>>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>>>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>>>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>>>> and learn from. >>>>> >>>>> BIG NEEDS >>>>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>>>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>>>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your >>>>> thoughts: >>>>> >>>>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>>>> will do my best to answer them. >>>>> >>>>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>>>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>>>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>>>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>>>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>>>> >>>>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>>>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>>>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>>>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>>>> >>>>> FUTURE PLANS >>>>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>>>> >>>>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>>>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>>>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>>>> >>>>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>>>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>>>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>>>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>>>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>>>> >>>>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>>>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>>>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>>>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>>>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>>>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>>>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>>>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>>>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>>>> community thus far. >>>>> >>>>> THANK YOU >>>>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>>>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>>>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>>>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>>>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>>>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>>>> spark you've more then created. >>>>> >>>>> Thank you all, >>>>> >>>>> Ben >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> ....................................... >>> these are mediocre times and people are >>> losing hope. it's hard for many people >>> to believe that there are extraordinary >>> things inside themselves, as well as >>> others. i hope you can keep an open >>> mind. >>> -- "unbreakable" >>> ....................................... >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >....................................... >these are mediocre times and people are >losing hope. it's hard for many people >to believe that there are extraordinary >things inside themselves, as well as >others. i hope you can keep an open >mind. > -- "unbreakable" >....................................... >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >-------------------------------------------------------------------- >mail2web.com - Microsoft? Exchange solutions from a leading provider - >http://link.mail2web.com/Business/Exchange > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 17 13:55:56 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:55:56 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzkpisA References: <20071116102533.AXZ43134@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu>AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIykpCsA<005c01c8287a$1714f630$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzkpisA Message-ID: <000001c8294b$7c9cdc80$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Just throwing the idea out there the virtual office sounds good. Save money. Is it the same though to get people to commit to a project I guess so since we are all in different locations anyway. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Ben Sawyer Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 1:23 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility I would not spend money on an office. I think it's better invested in ever more capable Web services and presence. If there needs to be a phsyical locus then it should be at a university. More and more people are running virtual organizations - that's the high-tech way now we shouldn't be old school with bricks and mortor. - Ben On Nov 16, 2007, at 12:57 PM, Robert Florio wrote: > Some other thoughts I had. > > I'm thinking this could be an opportunity for employment I am not > sure who > would run a committee funded by this money. I know it is our sig but > everybody is scattered everywhere would be a good idea to have an > actual > office location where project could be worked on a center location > for more > of a business type set up? This might be further in the line if > more money > can be raised but I would be interested in sitting in on that > position to > lead that project or this group if we needed a center location > which I think > would be good. > > I understand that money is very tight most likely the people are > backing and > we can find ways to fund it like using my documentary I'd be > willing to go > and give speeches across the country showing selling tickets to see > the > video and hopefully meet some people for more business > opportunities to turn > it into something larger. That's what I have right now to give. > Again most > of that would probably go to a personal fund of mine because it is a > personal project but I'd be willing to give percentage to our > group. It is > a place to get funds from not a bad idea to use that idea because any > opportunity for getting money would be good with a reasonable > agreement. > > In another way this kind of center location for operating business > would > assure that the money have someone constantly on the projects and > following > through with that might be what Ben is doing unless someone else > could be > doing that? Granted he does a lot and knows a lot more about > networking > maybe that's not exactly what I mean. Just trying to figure out if > this can > turn into something that supports a larger kind of a company of > research. > And I'd love to do it because I'm so close locally, coincidentally > graduating and looking for a job in my heart is there and my talent > and > knowledge is there and be perfect in a position to work on this > turning it > into a huge project more of a community company. > > Robert > > -----Original Message----- > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access- > bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Ben Sawyer > Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 11:29 AM > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games > Accessibility > > And thanks to Michelle for her leadership and for keeping this quiet > long enough. It's been killing me to hold back. > > - Ben > > On Nov 16, 2007, at 11:25 AM, wrote: > >> Hey everyone -- so Ben and I have been discussing this for a time >> now and we're working together to come up with a plan as to how to >> best use this generous donation, find matching funds, etc. So this >> is the real deal! So, hey, we have some money now! So put on your >> thinking caps and help us think of ways to best invest our money so >> that it helps the SIG long-term! >> >> And thanks to Ben, of course, for his incredible support and >> including us in this initiative! >> >> Michelle >> >> ---- Original message ---- >>> Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 08:54:26 -0500 >>> From: Ben Sawyer >>> Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >>> Accessibility >>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>> >>> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part >>> of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation >>> into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new >>> development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much >>> as I >>> want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some >>> other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now >>> I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and what >>> the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for >>> all my >>> work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal >>> for >>> what they should be used for but my basic goals are as follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, >>> number of >>> people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of >>> talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>> accessibility >>> attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine >>> logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing >>> what we >>> can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>> really >>> drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that >>> seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the >>> funds can support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, >>> improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked >>> her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me >>> before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, >>> logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as possible >>> - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best it can. >>> In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that >>> explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be >>> applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or on- >>> setting >>> disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, >>> case studies, research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of >>> games in general for any purpose -- especially entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant >>> funds we have available. The other funds if there is a profit would >>> be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>> Johnson >>> Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in >>> the accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of >>> government agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to >>> support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them to >>> support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>> Southwest >>> Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also >>> quite proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. >>> We've >>> got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra >>> inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>> the >>> coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in our >>> call for content next week. We expect to then forward those papers >>> to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. I will >>> advise you on content just from my experience of organizing events >>> but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you as the >>> experts to decide what will be important for people to hear and >>> learn >>> from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>> need >>> the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our >>> funds. I >>> really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me >>> more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. >>> My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds >>> by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds will >>> hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>> are it >>> would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help >>> into a >>> large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the spark >>> you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> ....................................... >> these are mediocre times and people are >> losing hope. it's hard for many people >> to believe that there are extraordinary >> things inside themselves, as well as >> others. i hope you can keep an open >> mind. >> -- "unbreakable" >> ....................................... >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 17 14:01:50 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:01:50 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwEpysA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEpCsA<005601c82877$c3f51fe0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwEpysA Message-ID: <000101c8294c$4fc0ae20$6501a8c0@Inspiron> I know that I was suggesting that the best way to build the tools is through experience which is building a game. Have to hire the people to build the tools also isn't that how you get things done I don't think we have currently any real set up that people would devote their time to build tools. If they can they would be the only people because it's limited stumbling over people with that talent in this online group here. Unless there's a different way how do you get the people to build the tools? I'm not exactly sure what you mean by reducing the cost of making games more accessible... If what we do is create the avenue for people to pick up and go with what we create I think we are selling ourselves short on a market that we would be selling out on. Somehow collaboration with the better I think getting companies to work with us with their teams having those companies build schools with our experience somehow and contributing a portion of sales or a small fee to our fun or something. I don't know it just seems like selling out would be waste a lot of hard work. If it's different please explain not want to get something wrong. Cool thanks for taking a look at that documentary. As soon as I have the complete package I can e-mail a link to it to be viewed. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Ben Sawyer Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 1:24 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Robert I'll view the film and see how we might use it if we can. It's certainly something depending on how it works that we could screen in an expo area during the accessibility day event. I'm not sure about developing games and selling them I think we need to build tools and example systems that reduce the cost of making games more accessible. By lowering the cost+time delta and raising the rhetoric accordingly you can close the gap but you can't do one without the other. - Ben On Nov 16, 2007, at 12:40 PM, Robert Florio wrote: > Great information Ben thanks. Yes I have a couple ideas to add. > As you > know I spoke at the conference a couple years ago that was very > enjoyable. > I actually just got out of a hospital that day after two weeks of > agony it > was pretty remarkable actually made it to do the speech. I didn't > have much > energy on top of what I'm capable of most of it was drained. But I > still > turned out really good. > > \ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 17 14:04:03 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:04:03 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEpysA References: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIyEpysA Message-ID: <000201c8294c$9ed98d10$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Sounds cool Eelke maybe tried to get game developers to come to us to research to get their games more accessible. Something that I was thinking of also that would be good if we didn't have the resources to do it ourselves. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Eelke Folmer Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 2:15 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Hi, This is great news! good job! - A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by game developers). - I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the mailinglist if you want. - standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. Cheers Eelke On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: > Hi everyone, > > I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is > part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson > Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited > about this new development. > > As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources > specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. > > Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG > activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as > I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding > some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. > Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. > > The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of > course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released > once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and > what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and > subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all > my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty > liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as > follows: > > 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some > simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number > of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number > of talks in front of audiences, etc.) > > 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that > outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially > research roadmap. > > 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games > accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we > can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). > > 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what > we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves > people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. > Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based > research published - to the extent we don't already have this. > > Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to > really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a > plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that > framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really > nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. > > I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've > asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to > me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. > > Games Accessibility Conference > I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day > conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health > Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration > systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place > for this. > > The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before > Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a > single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably > feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday > and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as > possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best > it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. > > I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My > only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks > that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts > can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or > on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on > core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the > accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially > entertainment. > > Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be > charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be > break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of > the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the > grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a > profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. > > We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood > Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep > contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a > variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive > them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them > to support more pervasive accessibility activities. > > We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We > will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to > showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. > > The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by > Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We > are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big > plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an > ultra inexpensive block as well. > > My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are > 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a > total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my > conference's core profitability. Win-win. > > If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as > planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in > the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in > our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those > papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. > I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing > events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you > as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear > and learn from. > > BIG NEEDS > So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm > writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I > need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: > > 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I > will do my best to answer them. > > 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at > organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. > I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no > reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or > more in due time. At least that's my hope. > > I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few > others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this > more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give > me more names I'll follow up hard. > > FUTURE PLANS > The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: > > 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before > Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of > the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. > > 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original > funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this > funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an > individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual > developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. > > 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a > basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be > articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds > will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes > are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility > technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game > developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it > might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with > disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the > community thus far. > > THANK YOU > I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for > sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely > relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. > I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while > it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into > a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the > spark you've more then created. > > Thank you all, > > Ben > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 17 14:10:48 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:10:48 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzkqCsA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzkqCsA Message-ID: <000301c8294d$93763f80$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Hi Michelle about seeing how many games we can directly impact also the book is that book still in progress from our group to be published. When will it be written and who is writing it and how ? The other thing where you suggesting that it's difficult to come out to a conference personally yourself in May for what Ben is organizing or you mean all of us it's too short of the time frame I'm not sure if that's what you mean? What did you mean by a submission process I'm not sure what would that be submitting their ideas or submitting games or possibly research? I hope this comes across the right way I am just curious just want to understand what you mean. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 5:17 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have a ways to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is something like what Microsoft Research does as an alternative job evaluation mechanism for those who largely work on a single project that on it's own isn't "sellable" but is something that they can show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, and 4 more products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" on but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to discuss. But an option is doing what other conferences have had their start doing -- have those of us already doing research give our papers but then the following year focus on getting more people outside of the SIG through a submission process. Also, the IGDA is very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a conference and Jason has said that the management group they work with could also help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have another E for All situation where I learn "all the things we never wanted to know about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >From: Eelke Folmer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >Hi, > >This is great news! good job! > >- A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >game developers). >- I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >mailinglist if you want. >- standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. > >Cheers Eelke > > >On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: > >> Hi everyone, >> >> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >> about this new development. >> >> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >> >> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >> >> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >> follows: >> >> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >> >> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >> research roadmap. >> >> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >> >> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >> >> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >> >> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >> >> Games Accessibility Conference >> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >> for this. >> >> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >> >> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >> entertainment. >> >> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >> >> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >> >> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >> >> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >> ultra inexpensive block as well. >> >> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >> >> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >> and learn from. >> >> BIG NEEDS >> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >> need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >> >> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >> will do my best to answer them. >> >> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >> >> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >> me more names I'll follow up hard. >> >> FUTURE PLANS >> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >> >> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >> >> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >> >> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >> community thus far. >> >> THANK YOU >> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >> spark you've more then created. >> >> Thank you all, >> >> Ben >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 17 14:17:55 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:17:55 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkqSsA References: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkqSsA Message-ID: <000401c8294e$8e78d2d0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Is definitely an ideal situation to set up especially organization, games for health, Ben so if any of us can help like myself for whatever needed for the conference would be great. Perhaps compared to the past when these events are held by one of the members here that the outcome has more opportunities for doing more business and having contacts support with their ideas and back and forth after these things are over. That might just be word-of-mouth but perhaps an open invitation to meet with us individually about getting ideas and working with other people's companies and ideas things like that just reaching out offering support and as like we've been doing but if this is a conference really about games for help those are the specific people we need in our contact list. I know when I gave the speech last year or a couple years now ago, I was feeling so ill from being out of the hospital barely keeping conscience which was kind of funny now I had people writing me contactless left and right edges didn't have the energy or time to follow through unfortunately but those were really good people with great contacts. I just want to share something I learned my sister actually showed this to me. My sister was involved with something called the Leads club not sure if it's spelled right, and so was my mom, anyway they were getting frustrated that everyone would meet with their businesses they represented just to get ahead and not realizing that everybody had to actually give someone a piece of information and in return that person would help them with a piece of information like a business contact. Perhaps if we could bring this kind of accomplishment offering whatever we can I guess sessions ideas individual meetings for people in their companies to better their situation and in return get something from them like an investment or something. The story is that it was frustrating at these meetings and I attended one of them because everyone would you stand up and say what they were doing with their job and offer what anyone else wanted to do with the information but meeting after meeting I would see people not talking and I didn't think that was the point. I think it's really is about committing. Giving and getting. -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Ben Sawyer Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 5:28 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility I'm not worried about the numbers - I think we can get to 50 at worst. We have a lot of people with deep contacts that will find this interesting. Keep in mind my core games for health audience which is 200+ have interest in this space for derivative needs like rehabilitation and therapeutic practices so I think from them alone I get 20 attendees. We have to start somewhere and this really is an ideal situation. - Ben _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Sat Nov 17 14:55:39 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:55:39 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071117135539.AYA36168@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Hi Robert, Yes, the book is still on the agenda -- we had to switch editor contacts with the publisher, as the woman we were working with left for a different opportunity not related to games. So that's slowed things down. As soon as things get settled down a bit more with the publisher we'll be able to provide more information such as dates, etc. Re: submissions -- what is meant by this is proposals for papers and/or talks that would be given at the one day accessibility conference. It's like the submission process to be able to speak at conferences such as GDC. Re: May -- The initial worry was from Eelke who wasn't sure if he could make it but there was also the "is May too short a time frame to get the one day conference ready" questions. Since Ben's group is handling the conference logistics such as getting hotel conference room contracts, etc, this means that we can focus on the content and so May isn't that scary a target date. Basically I think that after I took a personal loss of $5000 from E for All (money that I'm not likely going to get back), this was concerning that it could happen again. But this is far from the same situation so we don't have to worry about that. At this point we have this initial funding but there are no plans to pay for staff right now. For example, I easily spend close to (and often more than) 40 hours a week on the SIG, all volunteer, and I don't expect that will change for a while. Right now the funds are giving us badly needed money to, for example, create high quality SIG materials to increase visibility -- this is money we have never had before. This will hopefully help us gain more matching funds (in addition to the ones we are already trying to get) so that at some point we can pay people small stipends for their time. But for now our focus should not be on salary because if we focused on that we'd be left with no money to actually afford to fund the activities that help get information out to a much wider audience to make games more accessible. Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:10:48 -0500 >From: "Robert Florio" >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: "'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List'" > >Hi Michelle about seeing how many games we can directly impact also the book >is that book still in progress from our group to be published. When will it >be written and who is writing it and how ? > >The other thing where you suggesting that it's difficult to come out to a >conference personally yourself in May for what Ben is organizing or you mean >all of us it's too short of the time frame I'm not sure if that's what you >mean? > >What did you mean by a submission process I'm not sure what would that be >submitting their ideas or submitting games or possibly research? I hope >this comes across the right way I am just curious just want to understand >what you mean. > >Robert > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu >Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 5:17 PM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility > >A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have a ways >to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is something like what >Microsoft Research does as an alternative job evaluation mechanism for those >who largely work on a single project that on it's own isn't "sellable" but >is something that they can show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, >and 4 more products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" >on but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. > >A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to discuss. But >an option is doing what other conferences have had their start doing -- have >those of us already doing research give our papers but then the following >year focus on getting more people outside of the SIG through a submission >process. Also, the IGDA is very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a >conference and Jason has said that the management group they work with could >also help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have another E >for All situation where I learn "all the things we never wanted to know >about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| > >Michelle > >---- Original message ---- >>Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>From: Eelke Folmer >>Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility >>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >>Hi, >> >>This is great news! good job! >> >>- A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>game developers). >>- I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>mailinglist if you want. >>- standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >> >>Cheers Eelke >> >> >>On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>> about this new development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>> follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>> for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>> entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>> and learn from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>> spark you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >....................................... >these are mediocre times and people are >losing hope. it's hard for many people >to believe that there are extraordinary >things inside themselves, as well as >others. i hope you can keep an open >mind. > -- "unbreakable" >....................................... >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From hinn at uiuc.edu Sat Nov 17 14:55:39 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:55:39 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071117135539.AYA36168@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Hi Robert, Yes, the book is still on the agenda -- we had to switch editor contacts with the publisher, as the woman we were working with left for a different opportunity not related to games. So that's slowed things down. As soon as things get settled down a bit more with the publisher we'll be able to provide more information such as dates, etc. Re: submissions -- what is meant by this is proposals for papers and/or talks that would be given at the one day accessibility conference. It's like the submission process to be able to speak at conferences such as GDC. Re: May -- The initial worry was from Eelke who wasn't sure if he could make it but there was also the "is May too short a time frame to get the one day conference ready" questions. Since Ben's group is handling the conference logistics such as getting hotel conference room contracts, etc, this means that we can focus on the content and so May isn't that scary a target date. Basically I think that after I took a personal loss of $5000 from E for All (money that I'm not likely going to get back), this was concerning that it could happen again. But this is far from the same situation so we don't have to worry about that. At this point we have this initial funding but there are no plans to pay for staff right now. For example, I easily spend close to (and often more than) 40 hours a week on the SIG, all volunteer, and I don't expect that will change for a while. Right now the funds are giving us badly needed money to, for example, create high quality SIG materials to increase visibility -- this is money we have never had before. This will hopefully help us gain more matching funds (in addition to the ones we are already trying to get) so that at some point we can pay people small stipends for their time. But for now our focus should not be on salary because if we focused on that we'd be left with no money to actually afford to fund the activities that help get information out to a much wider audience to make games more accessible. Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:10:48 -0500 >From: "Robert Florio" >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: "'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List'" > >Hi Michelle about seeing how many games we can directly impact also the book >is that book still in progress from our group to be published. When will it >be written and who is writing it and how ? > >The other thing where you suggesting that it's difficult to come out to a >conference personally yourself in May for what Ben is organizing or you mean >all of us it's too short of the time frame I'm not sure if that's what you >mean? > >What did you mean by a submission process I'm not sure what would that be >submitting their ideas or submitting games or possibly research? I hope >this comes across the right way I am just curious just want to understand >what you mean. > >Robert > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu >Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 5:17 PM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility > >A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have a ways >to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is something like what >Microsoft Research does as an alternative job evaluation mechanism for those >who largely work on a single project that on it's own isn't "sellable" but >is something that they can show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, >and 4 more products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" >on but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. > >A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to discuss. But >an option is doing what other conferences have had their start doing -- have >those of us already doing research give our papers but then the following >year focus on getting more people outside of the SIG through a submission >process. Also, the IGDA is very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a >conference and Jason has said that the management group they work with could >also help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have another E >for All situation where I learn "all the things we never wanted to know >about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| > >Michelle > >---- Original message ---- >>Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>From: Eelke Folmer >>Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility >>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >>Hi, >> >>This is great news! good job! >> >>- A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>game developers). >>- I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>mailinglist if you want. >>- standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >> >>Cheers Eelke >> >> >>On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>> about this new development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>> follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>> for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>> entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>> and learn from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>> spark you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >....................................... >these are mediocre times and people are >losing hope. it's hard for many people >to believe that there are extraordinary >things inside themselves, as well as >others. i hope you can keep an open >mind. > -- "unbreakable" >....................................... >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From thomas at pininteractive.com Sat Nov 17 15:15:53 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:15:53 +0100 Subject: [games_access] competetion: stop cyberbullying Message-ID: <94AB1A6D-2943-4701-9AAD-AB75A42F5138@pininteractive.com> a bit off topic, but a competition worth spreading the word about http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/news/cyber.asp?keycode=64074 /thomas From thomas at pininteractive.com Sat Nov 17 15:26:19 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:26:19 +0100 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> References: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> Message-ID: <132FF36C-6F2B-4BAE-9CA8-4862F3CCDB69@pininteractive.com> Hi Ben, Michelle and all, Wow! Great news. This is exactly what the SIG needs. For research efforts, I'm writing my (second) master thesis right now (yes, aiming for two masters), which should be ready before May, so the results can be presented there. I'll send a request soon to people in the SIG to be respondents in the study. I've got a deal with the professor at my department, so I can work with my research in my day time job, and not just nights and weekends as I've done up until now. That worked OK before I got kids, but after that, I had to almost stop working with the SIG as you may have noticed. I'm really excited about all of this. The last three years I've been a bit depressed and quite frustrated since I've not been able to contribute very much; but with my new work situation, things have improved. With this, I don't think I will need any of the funds you have been able to raise, but I'm sure there will be events where the money is well needed - not least to help Michelle with the money she spent on the E for all expo. So a big Thank you to you Ben! Kind regards Thomas 16 nov 2007 kl. 14.54 skrev Ben Sawyer: > Hi everyone, > > I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is > part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson > Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited > about this new development. > > As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources > specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. > > Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG > activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as > I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding > some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. > Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. > > The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of > course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released > once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and > what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and > subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all > my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty > liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as > follows: > > 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some > simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number > of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number > of talks in front of audiences, etc.) > > 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that > outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially > research roadmap. > > 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games > accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we > can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). > > 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what > we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves > people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. > Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based > research published - to the extent we don't already have this. > > Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to > really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a > plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that > framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really > nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. > > I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've > asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to > me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. > > Games Accessibility Conference > I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day > conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health > Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration > systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place > for this. > > The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before > Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a > single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably > feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday > and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as > possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best > it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. > > I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My > only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks > that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts > can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or > on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on > core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the > accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially > entertainment. > > Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be > charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be > break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of > the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the > grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a > profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. > > We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood > Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep > contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a > variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive > them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them > to support more pervasive accessibility activities. > > We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We > will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to > showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. > > The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by > Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We > are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big > plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an > ultra inexpensive block as well. > > My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are > 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a > total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my > conference's core profitability. Win-win. > > If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as > planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in > the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in > our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those > papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. > I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing > events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you > as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear > and learn from. > > BIG NEEDS > So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm > writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I > need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: > > 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I > will do my best to answer them. > > 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at > organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. > I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no > reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or > more in due time. At least that's my hope. > > I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few > others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this > more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give > me more names I'll follow up hard. > > FUTURE PLANS > The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: > > 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before > Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of > the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. > > 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original > funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this > funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an > individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual > developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. > > 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a > basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be > articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds > will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes > are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility > technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game > developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it > might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with > disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the > community thus far. > > THANK YOU > I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for > sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely > relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. > I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while > it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into > a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the > spark you've more then created. > > Thank you all, > > Ben > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From thomas at pininteractive.com Sat Nov 17 15:09:48 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:09:48 +0100 Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and Dimitris (and team!) In-Reply-To: <20071116210109.AXZ97719@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> References: <20071116210109.AXZ97719@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Message-ID: <3D277956-E279-4C1D-943B-C641AA9DECF2@pininteractive.com> Yes a big CONGRATULATION to you Dimitris and your team! /thomas 17 nov 2007 kl. 04.01 skrev : > Hi all, > > I'm excited to announce that "Game Over" won the people's choice > award at "Play Arcadia," which was the Montreal portion of the game > competition that was held again here at FuturePlay in Toronto. > > GameOver: http://www.ics.forth.gr/hci/ua-games/game-over/ > > Play Arcadia: http://www.playarcadia.com > > FuturePlay Competition: http://www.futureplay.org/games.php (please > note that there is blinking text on this page :( ) > > So along with the funding announcement and now finding out that > Dimitris' (and crew) game won one of the people's choice awards, > this has been a GREAT day for accessibility! > > And as I was coming back to my hotel room I was thinking "what a > great conference this has been!" I will write more later when I've > had a chance to rest a bit and hopefully Kevin will be able to > share his experiences with us as well on the list. But in summary > we've made so many new friends of accessibility. Between this and E > for All, we've seen amazing list growth and each and every person > that learns about us IS a win. Sure, smaller conferences may > frustrate us from time to time but we cannot forget that sometimes > this is exactly how we attract people who will put game > accessibility into their course work, tell others about it, share > with a friend or a relative with a disability. Sometimes it's the > one-on-one time we spend that results in impact that can be just as > exciting and rewarding as speaking to a crowded room. Seeing > someone walk away from talking about accessibility excited, > offering help, and then joining the list...well that's just really, > really cool. > > But again...CONGRATS to Dimitris and his team for the award for > Game Over! I was proud to accept the award on their behalf (and > Dimitris -- I need your mailing address to mail you the award > certificate!). > > Michelle > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From thomas at pininteractive.com Sat Nov 17 15:42:26 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:42:26 +0100 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> References: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> Message-ID: Hi Ben, Michelle and all, Wow! Great news. This is exactly what the SIG needs. For research efforts, I'm writing my (second) master thesis right now (yes, aiming for two masters), which should be ready before May, so the results can be presented there. I'll send a request soon to people in the SIG to be respondents in the study. I've got a deal with the professor at my department, so I can work with my research in my day time job, and not just nights and weekends as I've done up until now. That worked OK before I got kids, but after that, I had to almost stop working with the SIG as you may have noticed. I'm really excited about all of this. The last three years I've been a bit depressed and quite frustrated since I've not been able to contribute very much; but with my new work situation, things have improved. With this, I don't think I will need any of the funds you have been able to raise, but I'm sure there will be events where the money is well needed - not least to help Michelle with the money she spent on the E for all expo. So a big Thank you to you Ben! Kind regards Thomas 16 nov 2007 kl. 14.54 skrev Ben Sawyer: > Hi everyone, > > I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is > part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson > Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited > about this new development. > > As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources > specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. > > Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG > activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as > I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding > some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. > Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. > > The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of > course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released > once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and > what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and > subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all > my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty > liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as > follows: > > 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some > simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number > of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number > of talks in front of audiences, etc.) > > 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that > outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially > research roadmap. > > 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games > accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we > can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). > > 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what > we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves > people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. > Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based > research published - to the extent we don't already have this. > > Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to > really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a > plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that > framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really > nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. > > I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've > asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to > me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. > > Games Accessibility Conference > I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day > conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health > Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration > systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place > for this. > > The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before > Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a > single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably > feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday > and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as > possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best > it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. > > I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My > only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks > that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts > can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or > on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on > core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the > accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially > entertainment. > > Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be > charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be > break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of > the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the > grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a > profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. > > We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood > Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep > contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a > variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive > them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them > to support more pervasive accessibility activities. > > We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We > will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to > showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. > > The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by > Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We > are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big > plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an > ultra inexpensive block as well. > > My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are > 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a > total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my > conference's core profitability. Win-win. > > If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as > planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in > the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in > our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those > papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. > I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing > events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you > as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear > and learn from. > > BIG NEEDS > So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm > writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I > need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: > > 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I > will do my best to answer them. > > 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at > organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. > I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no > reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or > more in due time. At least that's my hope. > > I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few > others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this > more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give > me more names I'll follow up hard. > > FUTURE PLANS > The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: > > 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before > Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of > the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. > > 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original > funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this > funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an > individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual > developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. > > 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a > basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be > articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds > will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes > are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility > technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game > developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it > might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with > disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the > community thus far. > > THANK YOU > I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for > sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely > relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. > I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while > it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into > a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the > spark you've more then created. > > Thank you all, > > Ben > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From reid at rbkdesign.com Sat Nov 17 15:58:25 2007 From: reid at rbkdesign.com (Reid Kimball) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 12:58:25 -0800 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans Message-ID: Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they need. http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates-shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have experienced mental health problems." This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include gaming as part of a larger therapy? -Reid From thomas at pininteractive.com Sat Nov 17 17:21:50 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:21:50 +0100 Subject: [games_access] A simpler tack In-Reply-To: References: <00f901c82070$9f269130$0202a8c0@oneswitch><001c01c820bc$a64d6690$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <7DE75BB5-6CC4-4366-984C-D3BA4EDAF1AC@pininteractive.com> Yes, starting a company for the AAA market is a tough thing, I'm convinced although I have not done it myself; I've setup an independent company though (Pin) Making games as an indie is another thing. You do it "just for fun" as Linus Torvalds explained why he created Linux. You don't have a publisher to please, and no paycheck either by the way. Now, he was a teenager when creating Linux so he had plenty of time. It's a different thing when you have to pay for your living yourself It took a lot of time and effort to create Terraformers, and I would recommend anyone trying to break in to game dev to make sure you have plenty of time. I have no idea how much time we spent, but we began development in 2001 and released the game in 2003, most of the work was done on late nights and weekends. It took a couple of months just to learn the 3d engine and pipeline between tools, then another couple of months to get a proper alpha running. Then we remade the entire game since we realized too many issues. Then we went into optimization of code and graphics. Then we spent weeks on testing, and months on getting user feedback, bug fixing etc. Finally, we had to solve a way to sell the game, implement license keys etc. Even after release we spent a lot of time with support (unpaid) and looking for a very annoying bug that finally got nailed down after 6 months... So yes, anyone looking at going pro with game dev is definitely in for a roller-coaster ride. Roller-coasters are fun unless you get sick. So go for it but keep a close watch on your health, too many late nights gets to you sooner or later. /Thomas 7 nov 2007 kl. 00.27 skrev Reid Kimball: > If you want to create your own game, I recommend you read many of the > articles here: > > http://www.sloperama.com/advice/idea.htm > > Tom Sloper has over 60 articles about getting into the game industry > and what it takes to get your own game developed. > > Publishers will not buy a game from us. The most we can ever hope for > by creating an accessible game of our own is the following. I'm merely > offering the below to illustrate what it takes to create and get a > game published. > > - We start a game development company with a unique mission statement > to make Games for All, everyone, no matter their age, experience or > ability. > - We develop several game concepts that will satisfy our mission > statement > - We work for several months forming the company, seeking funding from > VC, maybe government grants, angel investors, because of our unique > mission statement. Maybe we make it a non-profit and can accept > donations from other organizations to help with the funding? > - Once we can hire a large enough team, we begin creating a prototype > demo of the game concept we decided on earlier. Again, this can take > months depending on the complexity and scope of the design. > - After working on a prototype using funds we collected from outside > investors and more likely, our own money, we approach publishers to > show them what we have. IF they like it, they'll agree to fund the > rest of the development. This is not free money. This is money used to > ensure that we can pay our bills and have the resources needed to > finish creating the full version of the game. > - Once the game is done months or even years later, the publisher will > release it, hopefully with lots of advertising/marketing support so > that lots of people are aware of the game and want to buy it. If it's > successful, we can make a profit on the royalities. If not, we need to > have another game already in development so we can get another > publishing deal which funds its development. > > That's a simplified version of what it takes for a new startup game > developer. > > I think if we all unlimited resources and time, we'd start a > consulting company and offer our services for hire to game development > studios. We'd work with them closely, evaluating the accessibility of > their games and help them implement solutions to make their game more > accessible. I've thought about doing this, but it's a scary thing to > quit your day job without knowing where your next pay check will come > from. Also, if I start a consulting biz while still doing my current > employment, because I already work in the game industry, it could > create "conflicts of interest". If my employer ever found out I was > helping competing companies, I could lose my job. Whoops! > > -Reid > > On 11/6/07, Robert Florio wrote: >> Okay thanks Reid and it's good to know about how hard it is. It's >> going to >> be hard to get started I guess I was hoping some others would be >> interested >> but that's cool. Talking about a game. >> >> However the talking to Eric from strange attractors they actually >> had a cell >> phone company that wanted to buy their game so I think they had >> more success >> than you might be suggesting if that's what you mean Reid? I >> think they >> turned it down I'm not sure why. >> >> Things like that I guess that means the company would take over >> the rights >> but if it's notoriously difficult anyway is not a good thing to >> get a game >> picked up by someone like that? Is that something worth shooting >> for to do >> a game and then shop it around to see which publisher game company >> wants to >> buy it and take on with it? >> >> Maybe not if their agenda is not the same. Okay so now I'm further >> frustrated so what's the secret how do we get how does anyone get >> a game >> into mainstream media with the biggest influence to influence other >> designers for accessibility?? I think we need to start thinking >> way out of >> the box and doing something like a large project. >> >> We could do a few things. >> >> 1.We can do picketing outside conferences. >> 2. create a booth and invite all the games we know to display. >> 3. actually get a federal government representative to introduce a >> bill >> mandatory to make all games accessible... That one seems really >> cool. You >> know how Hillary Clinton when on the whole rampage of violence in >> video >> games and the government started mandatory needs for rating. >> 4. or create a game. But some are saying there are many are games >> out there >> but the more the better I think games are on loudest voice. >> Sooner or later >> one of them might reach really big and make that huge wave. >> >> Robert >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access- >> bounces at igda.org] >> On Behalf Of Reid Kimball >> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:11 PM >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> Subject: Re: [games_access] A simpler tack >> >> I have to agree with Barrie's suggestions and we're some of them >> already. >> >> Robert, I read your ideas about making a game. Good idea at heart, >> but >> making a commercial game that will be picked up by the publisher is >> extremely difficult. Just ask Eitan or the creators of Strange >> Attractors. As pointed out by others, we do have many examples of >> games that already feature accessibility options. >> >> It doesn't look like we have the finances to get a booth at GDC but >> there's no reason to panic or even be frustrated. Michelle tried and >> it just happens to be really expensive! Then we move on to the next >> thing. Which is the FuturePlay conference and then waiting for the >> final selection of sessions for GDC 2008. >> >> In the meantime, each of us can do our part in educating and helping >> others to make their games more accessible for all. Several of us are >> creating guidelines to give to developers. Others are attending >> conferences to talk about what we do and network. Others are >> conducting interviews with software and hardware developers in the >> game industry. We're all contributing in valuable ways and we need to >> be persistent and patient because change does not happen over night. >> >> I also recommend that when people have ideas for doing something, by >> all means go ahead and try to get it started. Robert, if you can find >> people who want to make an accessible game, go for it. Barrie, can >> you >> start by creating a top 3 accessibility feature list for each >> genre of >> game you are interested in? >> >> -Reid >> >> On 11/6/07, Barrie Ellis wrote: >>> >>> >>> Why don't we try this...? >>> >>> 1. Discuss a few game genres that can easily be made more >>> accessible. I >>> suggest racing games, golf games and pinball. All easy to >>> comprehend. >>> 2. Make a top 3 accessibilty features wish list for each type. >>> 3. Draw up our own Accessibility logos for those features. >>> 4. Contact specific developers. Not Sony - Not Microsoft - but >>> actual game >>> development PR and management. >>> 5. Offer our support via the IGDA GASIG. >>> 6. Keep a log of our progress. >>> >>> Barrie >>> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 17 18:04:32 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:04:32 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEsCsA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEsCsA Message-ID: <001c01c8296e$36d02090$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Thanks Michelle. I agree about the thing for wages I think I was all he talked about it somehow this group could turn into a corporation or something. I did not know you had spent $5,000 for that trip. That is a cruncher. The book still being in play I'm glad about that. I'd like to write a proposal man for this he for all using my story and how I can directly relate to the veterans needing this kind of escapism from games and it's not available to them I think that would be good to put together. Our do it with someone else. I have a contact the guy who wrote the story about me in the Washington Post recently it was mostly about the Walter Reed situation with soldiers playing video games and then me in a similar situation but not a soldier. I could contact him and see if he will contact other people may be even rehab people from Walter Reed or something to give some insight on the real situation at hand. Firsthand encounters are really powerful to get a message across I think. It's interesting about three months ago I got a phone call from somebody in a veterans hospital in Florida. He wasn't a better in the a spinal cord injury and found my web site wondering how we could play games again and we talked on the phone. Well he was really excited about finding out funding from that hospital organization but never called me back so I don't know what happened. Just an example Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2007 2:56 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Hi Robert, Yes, the book is still on the agenda -- we had to switch editor contacts with the publisher, as the woman we were working with left for a different opportunity not related to games. So that's slowed things down. As soon as things get settled down a bit more with the publisher we'll be able to provide more information such as dates, etc. Re: submissions -- what is meant by this is proposals for papers and/or talks that would be given at the one day accessibility conference. It's like the submission process to be able to speak at conferences such as GDC. Re: May -- The initial worry was from Eelke who wasn't sure if he could make it but there was also the "is May too short a time frame to get the one day conference ready" questions. Since Ben's group is handling the conference logistics such as getting hotel conference room contracts, etc, this means that we can focus on the content and so May isn't that scary a target date. Basically I think that after I took a personal loss of $5000 from E for All (money that I'm not likely going to get back), this was concerning that it could happen again. But this is far from the same situation so we don't have to worry about that. At this point we have this initial funding but there are no plans to pay for staff right now. For example, I easily spend close to (and often more than) 40 hours a week on the SIG, all volunteer, and I don't expect that will change for a while. Right now the funds are giving us badly needed money to, for example, create high quality SIG materials to increase visibility -- this is money we have never had before. This will hopefully help us gain more matching funds (in addition to the ones we are already trying to get) so that at some point we can pay people small stipends for their time. But for now our focus should not be on salary because if we focused on that we'd be left with no money to actually afford to fund the activities that help get information out to a much wider audience to make games more accessible. Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:10:48 -0500 >From: "Robert Florio" >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: "'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List'" > >Hi Michelle about seeing how many games we can directly impact also the book >is that book still in progress from our group to be published. When will it >be written and who is writing it and how ? > >The other thing where you suggesting that it's difficult to come out to a >conference personally yourself in May for what Ben is organizing or you mean >all of us it's too short of the time frame I'm not sure if that's what you >mean? > >What did you mean by a submission process I'm not sure what would that be >submitting their ideas or submitting games or possibly research? I hope >this comes across the right way I am just curious just want to understand >what you mean. > >Robert > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu >Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 5:17 PM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility > >A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have a ways >to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is something like what >Microsoft Research does as an alternative job evaluation mechanism for those >who largely work on a single project that on it's own isn't "sellable" but >is something that they can show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, >and 4 more products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" >on but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. > >A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to discuss. But >an option is doing what other conferences have had their start doing -- have >those of us already doing research give our papers but then the following >year focus on getting more people outside of the SIG through a submission >process. Also, the IGDA is very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a >conference and Jason has said that the management group they work with could >also help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have another E >for All situation where I learn "all the things we never wanted to know >about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| > >Michelle > >---- Original message ---- >>Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>From: Eelke Folmer >>Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility >>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >>Hi, >> >>This is great news! good job! >> >>- A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>game developers). >>- I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>mailinglist if you want. >>- standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >> >>Cheers Eelke >> >> >>On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>> about this new development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>> follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>> for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>> entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>> and learn from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>> spark you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >....................................... >these are mediocre times and people are >losing hope. it's hard for many people >to believe that there are extraordinary >things inside themselves, as well as >others. i hope you can keep an open >mind. > -- "unbreakable" >....................................... >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 17 18:08:01 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:08:01 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEsCsA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEsCsA Message-ID: <001d01c8296e$b39e8170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> I'm currently finishing my degree at the Art Institute online the last class I'm taking is independent studies. So I chose to write on the state of the game development industry production cycles. In it I'll be researching through books written in to my experience at top-secret the challenge we had at top-secret, the accessibility issue, things I discovered about the right and wrong ways to develop games according to your type of development team you have and the results and concerns from top-secret. Maybe that would make a good proposal to talk about? Again I hope to return to top-secret I haven't been in there name of very slow and it was a very uplifting especially the proposal and send them they shot down. Long story short the ones getting paid, the projected conclusion of the game is 2009 and more time if needed, developers are saying it's too complex of the game and no one but myself wanting to cut back the scale which was needed. A big no-no so far when I researched and know about game design developer run your risks first not develop and then eventually find your risks and then ignore the risks. That's why I had to leave to finish my degree and then hopefully come back. But I did write a good bit of the amount of research on developing accessible UI for the game so hopefully they'll implement. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2007 2:56 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Hi Robert, Yes, the book is still on the agenda -- we had to switch editor contacts with the publisher, as the woman we were working with left for a different opportunity not related to games. So that's slowed things down. As soon as things get settled down a bit more with the publisher we'll be able to provide more information such as dates, etc. Re: submissions -- what is meant by this is proposals for papers and/or talks that would be given at the one day accessibility conference. It's like the submission process to be able to speak at conferences such as GDC. Re: May -- The initial worry was from Eelke who wasn't sure if he could make it but there was also the "is May too short a time frame to get the one day conference ready" questions. Since Ben's group is handling the conference logistics such as getting hotel conference room contracts, etc, this means that we can focus on the content and so May isn't that scary a target date. Basically I think that after I took a personal loss of $5000 from E for All (money that I'm not likely going to get back), this was concerning that it could happen again. But this is far from the same situation so we don't have to worry about that. At this point we have this initial funding but there are no plans to pay for staff right now. For example, I easily spend close to (and often more than) 40 hours a week on the SIG, all volunteer, and I don't expect that will change for a while. Right now the funds are giving us badly needed money to, for example, create high quality SIG materials to increase visibility -- this is money we have never had before. This will hopefully help us gain more matching funds (in addition to the ones we are already trying to get) so that at some point we can pay people small stipends for their time. But for now our focus should not be on salary because if we focused on that we'd be left with no money to actually afford to fund the activities that help get information out to a much wider audience to make games more accessible. Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:10:48 -0500 >From: "Robert Florio" >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: "'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List'" > >Hi Michelle about seeing how many games we can directly impact also the book >is that book still in progress from our group to be published. When will it >be written and who is writing it and how ? > >The other thing where you suggesting that it's difficult to come out to a >conference personally yourself in May for what Ben is organizing or you mean >all of us it's too short of the time frame I'm not sure if that's what you >mean? > >What did you mean by a submission process I'm not sure what would that be >submitting their ideas or submitting games or possibly research? I hope >this comes across the right way I am just curious just want to understand >what you mean. > >Robert > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu >Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 5:17 PM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility > >A couple comments -- I agree that it would be nice if we could have a ways >to see how many games we have directly impacted. This is something like what >Microsoft Research does as an alternative job evaluation mechanism for those >who largely work on a single project that on it's own isn't "sellable" but >is something that they can show directly impacts, say, 1 game, excel, word, >and 4 more products. I don't see this as something to judge the "whole SIG" >on but it is one thing that could add to the overall picture. > >A conference by May 2008 might be tough -- this is something to discuss. But >an option is doing what other conferences have had their start doing -- have >those of us already doing research give our papers but then the following >year focus on getting more people outside of the SIG through a submission >process. Also, the IGDA is very supportive of our SIG (and others) having a >conference and Jason has said that the management group they work with could >also help with all the stuff that's "too much" for us (ie, the >registrations, hotel space rentals, etc). That was we don't have another E >for All situation where I learn "all the things we never wanted to know >about expos" and then I'm personally out $5 grand. :| > >Michelle > >---- Original message ---- >>Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:14:59 -0800 >>From: Eelke Folmer >>Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games >Accessibility >>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> >>Hi, >> >>This is great news! good job! >> >>- A good metric for this SIG's success could also be the number of >>games that we were able to make more accessible. (Not by us but by >>game developers). >>- I am submitting a number of NSF proposals with the sole purpose to >>gain more insights and understanding on what makes games more >>accessible. I can share my personal research roadmap with you off the >>mailinglist if you want. >>- standalone conference; I welcome a research oriented conferences, >>since there is plenty of research to do in this area and It would be >>nice to get more researchers involved in this SIG. I would go but I >>don't know whether we can attract the number of people that we would >>like by as early as next may 2008. I know some researchers that do >>work in game accessibility but are not part of the SIG. >> >>Cheers Eelke >> >> >>On Nov 16, 2007, at 5:54 AM, Ben Sawyer wrote: >> >>> Hi everyone, >>> >>> I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is >>> part of a new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >>> Foundation into games and healthcare. We're extremely excited >>> about this new development. >>> >>> As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources >>> specifically to support the IGDA Accessibility community. >>> >>> Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG >>> activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as >>> I want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding >>> some other organizations who will join us with matching funds. >>> Right now I can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >>> >>> The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of >>> course some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released >>> once there is a written plan in place that provides for how and >>> what the funds will be spent on. That plan needs my approval and >>> subsequently I have to have the approval of the foundation for all >>> my work. I don't want it to sound dictatorish -- I'm pretty >>> liberal for what they should be used for but my basic goals are as >>> follows: >>> >>> 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some >>> simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number >>> of people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number >>> of talks in front of audiences, etc.) >>> >>> 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that >>> outline roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially >>> research roadmap. >>> >>> 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games >>> accessibility attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >>> can combine logistics and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >>> >>> 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what >>> we can to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves >>> people with disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >>> Eventually leading to some great empirical and evidence based >>> research published - to the extent we don't already have this. >>> >>> Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to >>> really drive things. So the restriction is the production of a >>> plan that seems smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >>> framework the funds can support travel subsidies, creating really >>> nice brochures, improved Web site content and access, etc. >>> >>> I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've >>> asked her to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to >>> me before the end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >>> >>> Games Accessibility Conference >>> I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day >>> conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health >>> Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration >>> systems, logistical support, massive PR support, already in place >>> for this. >>> >>> The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before >>> Games for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a >>> single track to start and a demo area. We would also probably >>> feature 2 sessions on accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday >>> and Friday. I hope this date works for everyone as much as >>> possible - I can't really move it. Hopefully it just works as best >>> it can. In 2009 we hope to have more flexibility for you. >>> >>> I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My >>> only stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks >>> that explore how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts >>> can be applied to health for people with permanent, temporary, or >>> on-setting disabilities. The rest of the content can be focused on >>> core needs, case studies, research, etc. that will improve the >>> accessibility of games in general for any purpose -- especially >>> entertainment. >>> >>> Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be >>> charged an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be >>> break-even or even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of >>> the profits from the event back to the SIG by adding it to the >>> grant funds we have available. The other funds if there is a >>> profit would be reinvested for planning the following year, etc. >>> >>> We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood >>> Johnson Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep >>> contacts in the accessibility community and is going to talk with a >>> variety of government agencies involved with accessibility to drive >>> them to support this event. That becomes a doorway to driving them >>> to support more pervasive accessibility activities. >>> >>> We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We >>> will be filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to >>> showcase work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. >>> >>> The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by >>> Southwest Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We >>> are also quite proximate to the federal government which is a big >>> plus. We've got two hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >>> ultra inexpensive block as well. >>> >>> My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are >>> 25-50% stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a >>> total transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my >>> conference's core profitability. Win-win. >>> >>> If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as >>> planned I want to make it part of our conference announcements in >>> the coming weeks. I also will be including games accessibility in >>> our call for content next week. We expect to then forward those >>> papers to a committee formed here to accept and mold that content. >>> I will advise you on content just from my experience of organizing >>> events but other then the 25% requirement I really leave it to you >>> as the experts to decide what will be important for people to hear >>> and learn from. >>> >>> BIG NEEDS >>> So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm >>> writing this all and providing as much information as I can is I >>> need the following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: >>> >>> 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I >>> will do my best to answer them. >>> >>> 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at >>> organizations in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. >>> I really want our funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >>> reason this can't eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >>> more in due time. At least that's my hope. >>> >>> I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few >>> others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this >>> more publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give >>> me more names I'll follow up hard. >>> >>> FUTURE PLANS >>> The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: >>> >>> 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before >>> Xmas. My goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of >>> the funds by then so they can be named in the Press Release. >>> >>> 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original >>> funders are challenging anyone else with resources to join this >>> funding -- as part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an >>> individual fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual >>> developers provide funds to match the larger gifts. >>> >>> 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a >>> basic plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be >>> articulated to the public so they can understand what the funds >>> will hopefully accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes >>> are it would accomplish funding development of more accessibility >>> technologies, standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game >>> developers to put these features in their games. I also hope it >>> might fund prototypes or games that are specific for people with >>> disabilities like some of the audio only games we've seen from the >>> community thus far. >>> >>> THANK YOU >>> I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for >>> sometime. As I've said many times the work here is extremely >>> relevant to the work I do on serious games, and games for health. >>> I've been hoping to bring some funds to the table to help and while >>> it's not as much as I wanted if I can parlay it with your help into >>> a large enough amount it hopefully can help be the fuel for the >>> spark you've more then created. >>> >>> Thank you all, >>> >>> Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >....................................... >these are mediocre times and people are >losing hope. it's hard for many people >to believe that there are extraordinary >things inside themselves, as well as >others. i hope you can keep an open >mind. > -- "unbreakable" >....................................... >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 17 19:33:40 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:33:40 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEsSsA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEsSsA Message-ID: <002401c8297a$aaea9b70$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Reid. Those are great questions. A good way to think about the alternative. Again another reason to look into this. I'd really love to team up with someone to find out really what the issue is and how best to serve it. I can relate to my own depressive means when I lost all my function and feeling but three months later some feeling in function came back but I definitely was suicidal even though,lol, I couldn't move a darn thing even if I wanted to do something about it. I can definitely relate in the first thing I looked for was videogames but the rehab department had them but did not have away from me to play. I remember for seven months that was the only thing I thought about that really got me inspired. So I really can relate to these guys I'd love to do it any ideas on getting started? Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Reid Kimball Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2007 3:58 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they need. http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates-shocking-rate -of-veteran-suicides/ "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have experienced mental health problems." This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include gaming as part of a larger therapy? -Reid _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From bsawyer at dmill.com Sun Nov 18 05:48:30 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 05:48:30 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4940CC8F-6215-419C-8442-B3701A8ACF62@dmill.com> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help veterans with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and supported therapy. The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the non- PTSD induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and suffering due to disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by others like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the cyberpsychology realm. In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games that help here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well worn veterans. There was some work by the Marines to use a game for anti- drug efforts in the Marines - I need to find out more about that project and if it produced results. The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other media/ processes or within them is a big part of some of the major funding RWJF is providing to the games for health community through Health Games Research. However, it's hard to do comparative media studies and it's likely we might not know for sometime these differences. It's also more likely that we parse using games vs. not based on the goals we have and how they map well to things games are accepted as doing quite well such as motivation and distance socialization. Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation of games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries and for people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, etc. These would obviously have crossover use to civilians suffering from the same issues be they by birth or accidents not involving warfare. Unfortunately it is likely the DoD has more $$ more easily available to tackle these issues then do private civilian side sources. - Ben On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: > Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games > reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind > boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they > need. > > http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- > shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ > > "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the > more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have > experienced mental health problems." > > This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games > really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused > like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include > gaming as part of a larger therapy? > > -Reid > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk Sun Nov 18 06:11:24 2007 From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk (Barrie Ellis) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:11:24 -0000 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans References: <4940CC8F-6215-419C-8442-B3701A8ACF62@dmill.com> Message-ID: <00c401c829d3$c23bb3f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the hyper-realistic FPS a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing reading reports. These are pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me Uo Poko any day of the week. This said, I'd happily see Department of Defence money taken for building accessible controllers for giving people some fun who can't otherwise. Do you think this is likely to happen? What might be the best approach? I have had a few people approach me stating that they are supporting soliers that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards one handed controllers as a solution to gaming. If we could get the DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one-handed controller back into production, this would aid a lot of one armed gamers. Unfortunately, we'd need to have to guarantee a lot of sales (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National Console Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a one-handed controller manufactured: http://gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds-manufacturer.html - It does not look to be the ideal solution for all. Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans > There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help veterans > with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and supported therapy. > > The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the non- PTSD > induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and suffering due to > disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. > > PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by others > like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the cyberpsychology realm. > > In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games that help > here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well worn veterans. There > was some work by the Marines to use a game for anti- drug efforts in the > Marines - I need to find out more about that project and if it produced > results. > > The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other media/ > processes or within them is a big part of some of the major funding RWJF > is providing to the games for health community through Health Games > Research. However, it's hard to do comparative media studies and it's > likely we might not know for sometime these differences. It's also more > likely that we parse using games vs. not based on the goals we have and > how they map well to things games are accepted as doing quite well such > as motivation and distance socialization. > > Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran > issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation of > games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries and for > people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, etc. These would > obviously have crossover use to civilians suffering from the same issues > be they by birth or accidents not involving warfare. Unfortunately it is > likely the DoD has more $$ more easily available to tackle these issues > then do private civilian side sources. > > - Ben > > > > On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: > >> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >> need. >> >> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >> >> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have >> experienced mental health problems." >> >> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused >> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >> >> -Reid >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From bsawyer at dmill.com Sun Nov 18 06:37:07 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:37:07 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <000401c8294e$8e78d2d0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkqSsA <000401c8294e$8e78d2d0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <09F27B6B-6F21-4730-A020-5F0151604C7D@dmill.com> On Nov 17, 2007, at 2:17 PM, Robert Florio wrote: > Is definitely an ideal situation to set up especially organization, > games > for health, Ben so if any of us can help like myself for whatever > needed for > the conference would be great. > I need names and contacts of resources that might be useful to reach out to. Eventually we need help spreading the word on things but before I do that I need to finalize the location of the conference and put out the announcement. My goal is to do that between Dec. 1 - 15. > Perhaps compared to the past when these events are held by one of the > members here that the outcome has more opportunities for doing more > business > and having contacts support with their ideas and back and forth > after these > things are over. That might just be word-of-mouth but perhaps an open > invitation to meet with us individually about getting ideas and > working with > other people's companies and ideas things like that just reaching out > offering support and as like we've been doing but if this is a > conference > really about games for help those are the specific people we need > in our > contact list. I want it to be a conference for the accessibility community and those interested in it and its related engineering, research, testing, and design goals. > I just want to share something I learned my sister actually showed > this to > me. My sister was involved with something called the Leads club > not sure if > it's spelled right, and so was my mom, anyway they were getting > frustrated > that everyone would meet with their businesses they represented > just to get > ahead and not realizing that everybody had to actually give someone > a piece > of information and in return that person would help them with a > piece of > information like a business contact. Perhaps if we could bring > this kind of > accomplishment offering whatever we can I guess sessions ideas > individual > meetings for people in their companies to better their situation > and in > return get something from them like an investment or something. > The story > is that it was frustrating at these meetings and I attended one of > them > because everyone would you stand up and say what they were doing > with their > job and offer what anyone else wanted to do with the information > but meeting > after meeting I would see people not talking and I didn't think > that was the > point. I think it's really is about committing. Giving and getting. > We're doing something to help with this - it plagues all meetings but ours less so because we work hard to avoid this problem. From bsawyer at dmill.com Sun Nov 18 06:39:15 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:39:15 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <000001c8294b$7c9cdc80$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: <20071116102533.AXZ43134@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu>AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIykpCsA<005c01c8287a$1714f630$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzkpisA <000001c8294b$7c9cdc80$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <03D5F7D9-1633-425F-91A8-96302E523403@dmill.com> It is not as much a problem so long as the core leadership are well located themselves (such as at universities, major companies, etc.) and there is the IGDA as well. We live in the year 2007+ and I think nexus is not the same as it was 10-20 years ago. On Nov 17, 2007, at 1:55 PM, Robert Florio wrote: > Just throwing the idea out there the virtual office sounds good. Save > money. Is it the same though to get people to commit to a project > I guess > so since we are all in different locations anyway. > > Robert > \ From bsawyer at dmill.com Sun Nov 18 06:45:40 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:45:40 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility In-Reply-To: <000101c8294c$4fc0ae20$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzEpCsA<005601c82877$c3f51fe0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwEpysA <000101c8294c$4fc0ae20$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <035AC64A-72AE-4E94-8275-90946F1EEB5B@dmill.com> On Nov 17, 2007, at 2:01 PM, Robert Florio wrote: > I know that I was suggesting that the best way to build the tools > is through > experience which is building a game. Have to hire the people to > build the > tools also isn't that how you get things done I don't think we have > currently any real set up that people would devote their time to build > tools. If they can they would be the only people because it's limited > stumbling over people with that talent in this online group here. > I'm not sure what you mean but hiring isn't going to be the problem if people are motivated to work on these issues and have some semblance of how to tackle it. > Unless there's a different way how do you get the people to build > the tools? > First they need to be defined. Eventually if things work out I suspect that there are grants that will be possible to get as well as industry support. > I'm not exactly sure what you mean by reducing the cost of making > games more > accessible... If what we do is create the avenue for people to > pick up and > go with what we create I think we are selling ourselves short on a > market > that we would be selling out on. This is not a market - the goal here is to fix a problem not make $ $. If we can define, and even prototype the tools needed to make games more accessible and the result is someone does this and the work gets put into every game then mission accomplished. > > Somehow collaboration with the better I think getting companies to > work with > us with their teams having those companies build schools with our > experience > somehow and contributing a portion of sales or a small fee to our > fun or > something. I don't know it just seems like selling out would be > waste a lot > of hard work. If it's different please explain not want to get > something > wrong. > I think it's entirely possible if someone built a tech and it cold be licensed for revenue that drove the sig that's great but it seems overly ambitious. If it happens it happens. I think the better thing to do is build the SIG up, build up its project and research basis and identify exactly how games can be made more accessible and then once those are identified much more succinctly and with examples or framework toolkits (I know some of this has been done) then there is a better platform upon which to engage industry. > Cool thanks for taking a look at that documentary. As soon as I > have the > complete package I can e-mail a link to it to be viewed. > Excellent. Looking forward to it. From bsawyer at dmill.com Sun Nov 18 07:20:27 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 07:20:27 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: <00c401c829d3$c23bb3f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> References: <4940CC8F-6215-419C-8442-B3701A8ACF62@dmill.com> <00c401c829d3$c23bb3f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> Message-ID: <0381A4F8-DB47-4124-9594-A01DB4F0A9B2@dmill.com> The likely approach for DoD is an SBIR grant - those must involve commercialization but such a path for one switch is easily done. The issue for DoD SBIRs is they are US based so we'd need a u.s. based organization to submit for one (provided there is a call for one to begin with which is another story). In the UK such a similar grant would come from the MoD. There will be many different types of schemes for grants/support/ commercialization of course. The conference should explore things like this. - Ben On Nov 18, 2007, at 6:11 AM, Barrie Ellis wrote: > I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the hyper- > realistic FPS a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing reading > reports. These are pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me Uo Poko > any day of the week. This said, I'd happily see Department of > Defence money taken for building accessible controllers for giving > people some fun who can't otherwise. Do you think this is likely to > happen? What might be the best approach? > > I have had a few people approach me stating that they are > supporting soliers that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards one > handed controllers as a solution to gaming. If we could get the > DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one-handed controller back into production, > this would aid a lot of one armed gamers. Unfortunately, we'd need > to have to guarantee a lot of sales (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi- > bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National Console Support suggest 20,000 > sales) to see this likely to happen. > > Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a one- > handed controller manufactured: http:// > gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds- > manufacturer.html - It does not look to be the ideal solution for all. > > Barrie > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" > To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM > Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping > veterans > > >> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help >> veterans with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and >> supported therapy. >> >> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the >> non- PTSD induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and >> suffering due to disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >> >> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by >> others like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the >> cyberpsychology realm. >> >> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games >> that help here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well >> worn veterans. There was some work by the Marines to use a game >> for anti- drug efforts in the Marines - I need to find out more >> about that project and if it produced results. >> >> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other >> media/ processes or within them is a big part of some of the major >> funding RWJF is providing to the games for health community >> through Health Games Research. However, it's hard to do >> comparative media studies and it's likely we might not know for >> sometime these differences. It's also more likely that we parse >> using games vs. not based on the goals we have and how they map >> well to things games are accepted as doing quite well such as >> motivation and distance socialization. >> >> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran >> issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation >> of games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries >> and for people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, >> etc. These would obviously have crossover use to civilians >> suffering from the same issues be they by birth or accidents not >> involving warfare. Unfortunately it is likely the DoD has more $ >> $ more easily available to tackle these issues then do private >> civilian side sources. >> >> - Ben >> >> >> >> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >> >>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>> need. >>> >>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>> >>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them >>> have >>> experienced mental health problems." >>> >>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused >>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>> >>> -Reid >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From kjb at it.rit.edu Sun Nov 18 07:42:09 2007 From: kjb at it.rit.edu (Kevin J. Bierre) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 07:42:09 -0500 Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay 2007 Message-ID: Michelle asked for a brief rundown on the workshop we did at FuturePlay, so here it is. FuturePlay is geared more towards academics and gets a high proportion of professors and students from game development programs in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. There were probably about 200 attendees, so it's not really a big conference. We were told we had 40 people signed up. I'm not certain how correct that count was, but we had about 20 show up for the session in the morning. This was still a much bigger turnout then we had seen even at GDC. About 15 of those stayed for the entire session, which ended around 5 PM. (The session statrted at 10:15 am, with a lunch break and a coffee break in the afternoon.) We started with an explaination of accessibility and why it was needed. Michelle had the audience tell why they were attending and who they were. We had a fair number of students, some professors and instructors, as well as some people from game or software companies. We then went over the effects of disabilities on gamers and did a demo of Doom3 without sound to show how the game played for the deaf. After lunch, we started out with Doom3 [CC] to show an approach to dealing with gaming if you were deaf. From there we demoed some other accessible games and went into the accessibility arcade. In addition to the games Michelle and I brought, Eitan Glinert brought AudiOdyssey and demonstrated it. We also had the audience try the "Game Over" game created by Dimitris and his team. After the arcade, Michelle went over some resources and groups that are available and I went over some current research and accesibility training at some schools. Finally there was a conclusion and discussion period. One of the things that impressed me the most about this group was the level of interaction. We had some great discussions and a lot of questions. People were very involved. I'd consider this to be one of our more successful presentations. Kevin Bierre, Associate Professor (kjb at it.rit.edu) Information Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology 585-475-5358 102 Lomb Memorial Drive Bldg 70-2637 Rochester, NY 14623 From ioo at ablegamers.com Sun Nov 18 11:00:43 2007 From: ioo at ablegamers.com (Ioo) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:00:43 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: <0381A4F8-DB47-4124-9594-A01DB4F0A9B2@dmill.com> References: <4940CC8F-6215-419C-8442-B3701A8ACF62@dmill.com> <00c401c829d3$c23bb3f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <0381A4F8-DB47-4124-9594-A01DB4F0A9B2@dmill.com> Message-ID: <474061AB.9060003@ablegamers.com> Ben, If you are really looking for a grant in this area, I would not go to the DOD for it, I would go to the VA. For the most part the DOD stabilizes vets, determins there ability to contune there service and if that results in discharge the VA takes it from there. I know this because I am a Disabled Vet, disabled on the job (non-combat), and I work here in Washington DC (and that is all I am going to say about that). The VA has money to give out, they are the ones that take care of Vets long term and they are the ones that would love to get a hold of things like we are speaking of. The DOD would use would benefit from these items, but they almost aways come out of the VA. For all of those that care. The VA and the DOD are not the same. They are 2 completely different agencies with different missions and different budgets. Best way to think about this is DOD Medical stabilization, VA is maintenance. Just a thought Mark Barlet AbleGamers.com Ben Sawyer wrote: > The likely approach for DoD is an SBIR grant - those must involve > commercialization but such a path for one switch is easily done. The > issue for DoD SBIRs is they are US based so we'd need a u.s. based > organization to submit for one (provided there is a call for one to > begin with which is another story). > > In the UK such a similar grant would come from the MoD. > > There will be many different types of schemes for > grants/support/commercialization of course. The conference should > explore things like this. > > - Ben > > On Nov 18, 2007, at 6:11 AM, Barrie Ellis wrote: > >> I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the >> hyper-realistic FPS a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing >> reading reports. These are pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me Uo >> Poko any day of the week. This said, I'd happily see Department of >> Defence money taken for building accessible controllers for giving >> people some fun who can't otherwise. Do you think this is likely to >> happen? What might be the best approach? >> >> I have had a few people approach me stating that they are supporting >> soliers that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards one handed >> controllers as a solution to gaming. If we could get the DragonPlus >> RPG DuoCon2 one-handed controller back into production, this would >> aid a lot of one armed gamers. Unfortunately, we'd need to have to >> guarantee a lot of sales >> (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National >> Console Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. >> >> Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a >> one-handed controller manufactured: >> http://gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds-manufacturer.html >> - It does not look to be the ideal solution for all. >> >> Barrie >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" >> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM >> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping >> veterans >> >> >>> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help >>> veterans with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and >>> supported therapy. >>> >>> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the >>> non- PTSD induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and >>> suffering due to disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >>> >>> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by >>> others like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the >>> cyberpsychology realm. >>> >>> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games that >>> help here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well worn >>> veterans. There was some work by the Marines to use a game for >>> anti- drug efforts in the Marines - I need to find out more about >>> that project and if it produced results. >>> >>> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other >>> media/ processes or within them is a big part of some of the major >>> funding RWJF is providing to the games for health community through >>> Health Games Research. However, it's hard to do comparative media >>> studies and it's likely we might not know for sometime these >>> differences. It's also more likely that we parse using games vs. >>> not based on the goals we have and how they map well to things >>> games are accepted as doing quite well such as motivation and >>> distance socialization. >>> >>> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran >>> issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation of >>> games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries and >>> for people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, etc. >>> These would obviously have crossover use to civilians suffering >>> from the same issues be they by birth or accidents not involving >>> warfare. Unfortunately it is likely the DoD has more $$ more >>> easily available to tackle these issues then do private civilian >>> side sources. >>> >>> - Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >>> >>>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>>> need. >>>> >>>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>>> >>>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >>>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have >>>> experienced mental health problems." >>>> >>>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused >>>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >>>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>>> >>>> -Reid >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > From swaddell at isupportlearning.com Sun Nov 18 11:41:41 2007 From: swaddell at isupportlearning.com (Steve Waddell) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 10:41:41 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Health Games Message-ID: <510340D7D04EFF49A2B126E4AA24056C02D580@hyperwebserver.hyperblast.com> A quick introduction and then onto my thoughts. I am Steve Waddell and I met Michelle at the E for All Conference. My company, I Support Learning, creates educational games. One of our games teaches middle and high school students how to create video games. In our product we have the students creating auditory games for the blind, and physical activity/ health games utilizing different human computer interfaces. We have partnered with a medical research univeristy and already have student teams in FL, CA, TX, KS, WI.... creating health games that will be highlighted as part of the future game designers competition which is run by the Support Learning Foundation and in part sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. Through our work we already have some experience with students creating games and games that are directly aimed at health issues (smoking, diabetes, health habits ...). Our exit interviews with students has been incredibly enlightening as the the impact of the immersion. To date none of those games are truly accessible to all players. I think it is great that the Accessibility SIG is getting involved with this movement. As I mentioned to Michelle in LA I have always had an interest in accessibility issues and gaming. It is why we have created our immersive courses to teach students to create so that players with different challenges can play games. I apologize for not posting earlier, but we have a large game project for the Dept of Commerce that we are working to finish. I promise to get more involved with this SIG and may be able to help with additional funding and/or partnerships that may translate to funding. I noticed the posting about SBIRs. That is an opportunity. But, as we found out - it takes a little bit to get through the initial paperwork before you can get involved with the application process. As with any government funding - lot's of little hoops to jump through. Sorry for the long post - just wanted to let you know who I am. Steve Waddell swaddell at iusupportlearning.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From InRNette at aol.com Sun Nov 18 12:57:04 2007 From: InRNette at aol.com (InRNette at aol.com) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 12:57:04 EST Subject: [games_access] Health Games Message-ID: Hello Steve I have tried to contact you through your email address about your educational games with no luck. Jeanette Morgan Homebound/Hospital Teacher Assistive Technology Specialist Mobile County Public Schools 6904 Honeysuckle Lane Theodore, Alabama 36582 1-251-583-1470 ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Sun Nov 18 13:09:19 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 12:09:19 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans Message-ID: <20071118120919.AYA81013@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> I know I get all the acronyms mixed up -- and I was born in raised in DC! -- so thanks for the advise, Mark! Mark and I had an email discussion the other night about this so I really feel like we're at a place of convergence with thinking about disabled veterans. I think Ben may know of some other opportunities that do include the DOD but I believe that the VA is a definite opportunity. All of my calls from the military have been from the VA -- I think that the DOD seems to be more interested in games that get people recruited for and trained for military service but I could be entirely wrong -- as Mark mentioned, the DOD is concerned with stabilization of injured veterans but they are not about long term care. This is just the reality of how different branches of government are broken down. The VA definitely gets us -- and it doesn't matter if you are pro or con the current world military situation...at least in my opinion. The issue is that we have people that have been hurt and not being helped (no matter what the reason) and that is not OK. The VA does a tremendous job but they need our help and they are a friendly audience. Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:00:43 -0500 >From: Ioo >Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >Ben, > > If you are really looking for a grant in this area, I would not go to >the DOD for it, I would go to the VA. For the most part the DOD >stabilizes vets, determins there ability to contune there service and if >that results in discharge the VA takes it from there. I know this >because I am a Disabled Vet, disabled on the job (non-combat), and I >work here in Washington DC (and that is all I am going to say about that). > >The VA has money to give out, they are the ones that take care of Vets >long term and they are the ones that would love to get a hold of things >like we are speaking of. The DOD would use would benefit from these >items, but they almost aways come out of the VA. > >For all of those that care. The VA and the DOD are not the same. They >are 2 completely different agencies with different missions and >different budgets. Best way to think about this is DOD Medical >stabilization, VA is maintenance. > >Just a thought >Mark Barlet >AbleGamers.com > >Ben Sawyer wrote: >> The likely approach for DoD is an SBIR grant - those must involve >> commercialization but such a path for one switch is easily done. The >> issue for DoD SBIRs is they are US based so we'd need a u.s. based >> organization to submit for one (provided there is a call for one to >> begin with which is another story). >> >> In the UK such a similar grant would come from the MoD. >> >> There will be many different types of schemes for >> grants/support/commercialization of course. The conference should >> explore things like this. >> >> - Ben >> >> On Nov 18, 2007, at 6:11 AM, Barrie Ellis wrote: >> >>> I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the >>> hyper-realistic FPS a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing >>> reading reports. These are pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me Uo >>> Poko any day of the week. This said, I'd happily see Department of >>> Defence money taken for building accessible controllers for giving >>> people some fun who can't otherwise. Do you think this is likely to >>> happen? What might be the best approach? >>> >>> I have had a few people approach me stating that they are supporting >>> soliers that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards one handed >>> controllers as a solution to gaming. If we could get the DragonPlus >>> RPG DuoCon2 one-handed controller back into production, this would >>> aid a lot of one armed gamers. Unfortunately, we'd need to have to >>> guarantee a lot of sales >>> (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National >>> Console Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. >>> >>> Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a >>> one-handed controller manufactured: >>> http://gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds-manufacturer.html >>> - It does not look to be the ideal solution for all. >>> >>> Barrie >>> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" >>> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >>> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM >>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping >>> veterans >>> >>> >>>> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help >>>> veterans with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and >>>> supported therapy. >>>> >>>> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the >>>> non- PTSD induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and >>>> suffering due to disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >>>> >>>> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by >>>> others like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the >>>> cyberpsychology realm. >>>> >>>> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games that >>>> help here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well worn >>>> veterans. There was some work by the Marines to use a game for >>>> anti- drug efforts in the Marines - I need to find out more about >>>> that project and if it produced results. >>>> >>>> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other >>>> media/ processes or within them is a big part of some of the major >>>> funding RWJF is providing to the games for health community through >>>> Health Games Research. However, it's hard to do comparative media >>>> studies and it's likely we might not know for sometime these >>>> differences. It's also more likely that we parse using games vs. >>>> not based on the goals we have and how they map well to things >>>> games are accepted as doing quite well such as motivation and >>>> distance socialization. >>>> >>>> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran >>>> issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation of >>>> games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries and >>>> for people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, etc. >>>> These would obviously have crossover use to civilians suffering >>>> from the same issues be they by birth or accidents not involving >>>> warfare. Unfortunately it is likely the DoD has more $$ more >>>> easily available to tackle these issues then do private civilian >>>> side sources. >>>> >>>> - Ben >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >>>> >>>>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>>>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>>>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>>>> need. >>>>> >>>>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>>>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>>>> >>>>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >>>>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have >>>>> experienced mental health problems." >>>>> >>>>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>>>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused >>>>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >>>>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>>>> >>>>> -Reid >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From hinn at uiuc.edu Sun Nov 18 13:22:56 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 12:22:56 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans Message-ID: <20071118122256.AYA81476@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> I am also very, very anti-war, Barrie. I think, though, that one thing that differentiates this war from Vietnam is that -- largely -- injured, returning soldiers aren't being treated with the coldness from the anti-war lot that they were then. I think people recognize that the tactics for recruiting and so forth are far different for this war and, unfortunately, we've had some absolute horror stories of veterans returning from Iraq not being cared for due to less funding going to the after-care of soldiers and more going to the recruitment and training of pre-war soldiers. Sadly...the irony is that games were used for recruitment in a huge way for Iraq and yet not everyone is as "enlightened" to realize that games can be even more powerful to help people who have been injured learn how to live in new ways. At the end of the day, my concern is with those who have been hurt -- on all sides. And -- on the record -- my opinion is my opinion and is not the opinion of the SIG and all SIG members. I feel the need to state that because of my position as SIG chair. Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:11:24 -0000 >From: "Barrie Ellis" >Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > >I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the hyper-realistic FPS >a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing reading reports. These are >pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me Uo Poko any day of the week. This >said, I'd happily see Department of Defence money taken for building >accessible controllers for giving people some fun who can't otherwise. Do >you think this is likely to happen? What might be the best approach? > >I have had a few people approach me stating that they are supporting soliers >that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards one handed controllers as a >solution to gaming. If we could get the DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one-handed >controller back into production, this would aid a lot of one armed gamers. >Unfortunately, we'd need to have to guarantee a lot of sales >(http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National Console >Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. > >Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a one-handed >controller manufactured: >http://gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds-manufacturer.html - >It does not look to be the ideal solution for all. > >Barrie >www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Ben Sawyer" >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM >Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans > > >> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help veterans >> with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and supported therapy. >> >> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the non- PTSD >> induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and suffering due to >> disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >> >> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by others >> like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the cyberpsychology realm. >> >> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games that help >> here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well worn veterans. There >> was some work by the Marines to use a game for anti- drug efforts in the >> Marines - I need to find out more about that project and if it produced >> results. >> >> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other media/ >> processes or within them is a big part of some of the major funding RWJF >> is providing to the games for health community through Health Games >> Research. However, it's hard to do comparative media studies and it's >> likely we might not know for sometime these differences. It's also more >> likely that we parse using games vs. not based on the goals we have and >> how they map well to things games are accepted as doing quite well such >> as motivation and distance socialization. >> >> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran >> issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation of >> games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries and for >> people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, etc. These would >> obviously have crossover use to civilians suffering from the same issues >> be they by birth or accidents not involving warfare. Unfortunately it is >> likely the DoD has more $$ more easily available to tackle these issues >> then do private civilian side sources. >> >> - Ben >> >> >> >> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >> >>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>> need. >>> >>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>> >>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have >>> experienced mental health problems." >>> >>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused >>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>> >>> -Reid >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sun Nov 18 13:24:51 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:24:51 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Health Games In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxkuCsA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxkuCsA Message-ID: <005d01c82a10$4f63c100$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Nice to meet you Steve. That's an awesome thing you are doing I wish I could be part of something like that. Robert _____ From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Steve Waddell Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 11:42 AM To: games_access at igda.org Subject: [games_access] Health Games A quick introduction and then onto my thoughts. I am Steve Waddell and I met Michelle at the E for All Conference. My company, I Support Learning, creates educational games. One of our games teaches middle and high school students how to create video games. In our product we have the students creating auditory games for the blind, and physical activity/ health games utilizing different human computer interfaces. We have partnered with a medical research univeristy and already have student teams in FL, CA, TX, KS, WI.... creating health games that will be highlighted as part of the future game designers competition which is run by the Support Learning Foundation and in part sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. Through our work we already have some experience with students creating games and games that are directly aimed at health issues (smoking, diabetes, health habits ...). Our exit interviews with students has been incredibly enlightening as the the impact of the immersion. To date none of those games are truly accessible to all players. I think it is great that the Accessibility SIG is getting involved with this movement. As I mentioned to Michelle in LA I have always had an interest in accessibility issues and gaming. It is why we have created our immersive courses to teach students to create so that players with different challenges can play games. I apologize for not posting earlier, but we have a large game project for the Dept of Commerce that we are working to finish. I promise to get more involved with this SIG and may be able to help with additional funding and/or partnerships that may translate to funding. I noticed the posting about SBIRs. That is an opportunity. But, as we found out - it takes a little bit to get through the initial paperwork before you can get involved with the application process. As with any government funding - lot's of little hoops to jump through. Sorry for the long post - just wanted to let you know who I am. Steve Waddell swaddell at iusupportlearning.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From swaddell at isupportlearning.com Sun Nov 18 13:28:41 2007 From: swaddell at isupportlearning.com (Steve Waddell) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 12:28:41 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Health Games References: Message-ID: <510340D7D04EFF49A2B126E4AA24056C02D583@hyperwebserver.hyperblast.com> Jeanette, Sorry for the hassles in getting to me. Our mail server went down twice in the past 10 days. It is being rebuilt as I type for the 3rd time. Hopefully that will be the charm. you are welcome to call me at my office at 877-828-1216 anytime. I will send this email, and if i don't hear back from you - then I will call you tues. have a great weekend. - steve ________________________________ From: games_access-bounces at igda.org on behalf of InRNette at aol.com Sent: Sun 11/18/2007 11:57 AM To: games_access at igda.org Subject: Re: [games_access] Health Games Hello Steve I have tried to contact you through your email address about your educational games with no luck. Jeanette Morgan Homebound/Hospital Teacher Assistive Technology Specialist Mobile County Public Schools 6904 Honeysuckle Lane Theodore, Alabama 36582 1-251-583-1470 ________________________________ See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage . -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 4584 bytes Desc: not available URL: From InRNette at aol.com Sun Nov 18 15:27:19 2007 From: InRNette at aol.com (InRNette at aol.com) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:27:19 EST Subject: [games_access] Health Games Message-ID: No problem! I am available anytime at the number I listed.....if you would rather me call you at the 877 number let me know I will just be using cell phone mins. Have a great weekend I look forward to hearing from you. Jeanette ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lynnvm at carolina.rr.com Sun Nov 18 16:29:06 2007 From: lynnvm at carolina.rr.com (Lynn Marentette) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:29:06 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Hi, Steve, all Message-ID: <000001c82a2a$0cbac960$c801000a@HOME> Steve, How are you doing? Do you remember me from the 2005 Serious Games Summit? It looks like you've been up to some very exciting things! To all: I'm interested in looking at ways to involve the community in the mission of this SIG. In my community, Charlotte, N.C., our public library system has a director of emerging technologies. He is the person that got the "Gaming at the Library" program off of the ground throughout our county. The library branch where he's located also has a large number of accessible computers. His name is Matt Gullet- he's also responsible for the library's involvement in Teen Second Life. (Since I'm taking HCI-related courses, I'd like to use the library as a "real-life" place to conduct user-centered design and usability studies.) Since we all live in different regions, it would be great if we each could find out what is going on in our local areas- for example. Science museums might also be a good resource, since they often have exhibits about health, the human body, and technology. The director of science education at Discovery Place in Charlotte used to be one of my daughter's high school science teachers, and I'm planning on calling him soon. I think I posted previously that we might want to consider a "think globally, act locally" strategy in our efforts. Another local resource might be the community college and university folks who are teaching game-development/design courses, as well as their students. Some students are required to do some form of community service project, so there might be volunteers right in our own backyards. TechPsych Interactive Multimedia Technology -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk Sun Nov 18 17:02:44 2007 From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk (Barrie Ellis) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:02:44 -0000 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <010301c82a2e$bfbce8f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> Great news re. Games for Health looking to invest in the GASIG and game accessibility. Thank you - we need this! Some personal thoughts on what we could do with the money if we were to receive it.... 1. Pay Michelle some cash back for the E for All whack. Sounds like we've made some good contacts here, and raised our profile. It would be a shame to see Michelle so badly out of pocket for her endeavours. 2. Keep the majority as a rolling fund for backing ways for us to reach out. Consider advertising at key places. Look to more ways to raise further funds to stop this running dry. 3. Consider hiring an artist for Game Accessibility icons for some kind of PEGI system of accessibility: www.pegi.info/en/index/ - And also for promotional usage. I still very much like the idea of approaching Etherbrian: http://etherbrian.typepad.com/ - maybe others have some thoughts? 4. Consider building a central hub web-site. Needs to be highly accessible - and unlike www.game-accessibility.com - fully in the hands of the GASIG community. I just don't find the WIKI that accessible personally. 5. Support hard-ware development and soft-ware development. This does not need to cost buckets of cash. And here's my pitch - I need access to a backward compatible PS3 and some of the various PS2 to PS3 joypad adapters. This is in order to test out the variety of one-handed and alternative controllers I support for compatibility. It's also to aid Geoff Harbach in testing out his switch interface for PS3 use. So far, Sony have not even replied to my e-mails, and I can't afford a PS2 compatible PS3... I'd certainly like to proceed with "The Simpler Tack" of three simple genres, three simple ways to make more accessible, with GASIG member support. This would go up on the blog or web-site. Anyway - thanks again! Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 1:54 PM Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility > Hi everyone, > > I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games for Health is part of a > new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation into games > and healthcare. We're extremely excited about this new development. > > As part of our specific grant we have allocated resources specifically to > support the IGDA Accessibility community. > > Over the next two years we will directly contribute funds to SIG > activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal it yet as much as I > want to because I'm actually looking to make it more by finding some > other organizations who will join us with matching funds. Right now I > can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. > > The funds will be used to support your activities but there are of course > some simple strings. Basically the funds will be released once there is > a written plan in place that provides for how and what the funds will be > spent on. That plan needs my approval and subsequently I have to have > the approval of the foundation for all my work. I don't want it to sound > dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for what they should be used for but my > basic goals are as follows: > > 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as outlined by some > simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the listserv, number of > people in the industry you are in regular contact with, number of talks > in front of audiences, etc.) > > 2. I'd like to see the community produce some written plans that outline > roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- especially research roadmap. > > 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on games accessibility > attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we can combine logistics > and hit on overlapping communities of interest). > > 4. I am also specifically interested in identifying and doing what we can > to nurture research into how accessibility to games improves people with > disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. Eventually leading to > some great empirical and evidence based research published - to the > extent we don't already have this. > > Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the community to really > drive things. So the restriction is the production of a plan that seems > smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that framework the funds can > support travel subsidies, creating really nice brochures, improved Web > site content and access, etc. > > I've already discussed the gist of this with Michelle and I've asked her > to produce with everyones help the plan and present it to me before the > end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. > > Games Accessibility Conference > I am very serious as I've said before in establishing a one-day > conference on games accessibility along side our Games for Health > Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, registration systems, > logistical support, massive PR support, already in place for this. > > The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which is the day before Games > for Health opens. It would be a one day conference with a single track > to start and a demo area. We would also probably feature 2 sessions on > accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday and Friday. I hope this > date works for everyone as much as possible - I can't really move it. > Hopefully it just works as best it can. In 2009 we hope to have more > flexibility for you. > > I want the SIG to take on the role of developing the content. My only > stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused on talks that explore > how accessibility technologies, research, and efforts can be applied to > health for people with permanent, temporary, or on-setting disabilities. > The rest of the content can be focused on core needs, case studies, > research, etc. that will improve the accessibility of games in general > for any purpose -- especially entertainment. > > Speakers would attend for free. All other registrants would be charged > an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the event be break-even or > even profitable within itself. I would share 50% of the profits from the > event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant funds we have available. > The other funds if there is a profit would be reinvested for planning the > following year, etc. > > We very much want to make this event happen. The Robert Wood Johnson > Foundation team we work with has someone on it with deep contacts in the > accessibility community and is going to talk with a variety of government > agencies involved with accessibility to drive them to support this event. > That becomes a doorway to driving them to support more pervasive > accessibility activities. > > We will be promoting this event heavily to all our attendees. We will be > filming parts of it, we will make an expo area available to showcase > work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the event. > > The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is served by Southwest > Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get to. We are also quite > proximate to the federal government which is a big plus. We've got two > hotels blocked out and we're searching for an ultra inexpensive block as > well. > > My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the event. My hopes are 25-50% > stay over for the rest of our event that week so yes from a total > transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases my conference's core > profitability. Win-win. > > If there is a good sense we can pull of the conference idea as planned I > want to make it part of our conference announcements in the coming weeks. > I also will be including games accessibility in our call for content next > week. We expect to then forward those papers to a committee formed here > to accept and mold that content. I will advise you on content just from > my experience of organizing events but other then the 25% requirement I > really leave it to you as the experts to decide what will be important > for people to hear and learn from. > > BIG NEEDS > So hopefully you're still digesting this all but the reason I'm writing > this all and providing as much information as I can is I need the > following help - please reply to the list with your thoughts: > > 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, provide comments, I will > do my best to answer them. > > 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a position or at organizations > in a position to possibly decide to match our funds. I really want our > funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no reason this can't > eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or more in due time. At > least that's my hope. > > I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM and a few > others. The early reception has been ok but until we release this more > publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. If you give me more > names I'll follow up hard. > > FUTURE PLANS > The basic outline for this all for me is as follows: > > 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for them before Xmas. My > goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or more of the funds by then > so they can be named in the Press Release. > > 2. I want to then announce in the press release that the original funders > are challenging anyone else with resources to join this funding -- as > part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup an individual > fundraising effort too - let gamers, and individual developers provide > funds to match the larger gifts. > > 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal would be to have a basic > plan in place because the core goals of that plan would be articulated to > the public so they can understand what the funds will hopefully > accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my hopes are it would > accomplish funding development of more accessibility technologies, > standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all game developers to put > these features in their games. I also hope it might fund prototypes or > games that are specific for people with disabilities like some of the > audio only games we've seen from the community thus far. > > THANK YOU > I've been following the work of the SIG and all of you here for sometime. > As I've said many times the work here is extremely relevant to the work I > do on serious games, and games for health. I've been hoping to bring > some funds to the table to help and while it's not as much as I wanted if > I can parlay it with your help into a large enough amount it hopefully > can help be the fuel for the spark you've more then created. > > Thank you all, > > Ben > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Sun Nov 18 18:35:33 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:35:33 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility Message-ID: <20071118173533.AYA93474@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Just a quick remark on reimbursing me in some part for E for All -- I definitely appreciate that idea! But while being out of pocket that much definitely hurt, I'd love to see that cost returned in more people directing some of their luck gaining grant funds or whatnot into reinvesting in the SIG. So things like Games for Health offering monies to invest, others writing in even a small bit of their grant monies to help specific SIG projects such as the website project, small travel grants, an equipment research library that could be loaned out so that software and hardware research solutions could be tested with a much larger group of disabled gamers -- Eelke and I, for instance, have discussed how my university (University of Illinois) has one of the largest populations of students with disabilities in the country would be a nice place to get college age gamers with disabilities looking at some of the work he does at University of Nevada. Take that a bit further and we could create a SIG database of gamers with disabilities ready to serve as beta testers that could be paid for by grant monies. Just a quick couple of thoughts about remembering to include the SIG in grant lines. Every bit counts and I'd rather see someone invest another $5 grand to our operating/project funds than to pay me back. [Also I agree...our web presence is just bad, bad, bad so this should be something we hit as soon as possible -- I'm working on a list of things I want to see the site have and I welcome others to add in their ideas. At last GDC, we were hoping that the great game experiment that garage was working on *might* be a solution but I think that with that falling through and not knowing what's happening with game-accessibility.com, we need to just focus on our own space for now. The wiki was meant to be a temporary way for people to find out information but it's definitely not friendly.] ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:02:44 -0000 >From: "Barrie Ellis" >Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > Great news re. Games for Health looking to invest in > the GASIG and game > accessibility. Thank you - we need this! > > Some personal thoughts on what we could do with the > money if we were to > receive it.... > > 1. Pay Michelle some cash back for the E for All > whack. Sounds like we've > made some good contacts here, and raised our > profile. It would be a shame to > see Michelle so badly out of pocket for her > endeavours. > > 2. Keep the majority as a rolling fund for backing > ways for us to reach out. > Consider advertising at key places. Look to more > ways to raise further funds > to stop this running dry. > > 3. Consider hiring an artist for Game Accessibility > icons for some kind of > PEGI system of accessibility: > www.pegi.info/en/index/ - And also for > promotional usage. I still very much like the idea > of approaching > Etherbrian: http://etherbrian.typepad.com/ - maybe > others have some > thoughts? > > 4. Consider building a central hub web-site. Needs > to be highly accessible - > and unlike www.game-accessibility.com - fully in the > hands of the GASIG > community. I just don't find the WIKI that > accessible personally. > > 5. Support hard-ware development and soft-ware > development. This does not > need to cost buckets of cash. And here's my pitch - > I need access to a > backward compatible PS3 and some of the various PS2 > to PS3 joypad adapters. > This is in order to test out the variety of > one-handed and alternative > controllers I support for compatibility. It's also > to aid Geoff Harbach in > testing out his switch interface for PS3 use. So > far, Sony have not even > replied to my e-mails, and I can't afford a PS2 > compatible PS3... > > I'd certainly like to proceed with "The Simpler > Tack" of three simple > genres, three simple ways to make more accessible, > with GASIG member > support. This would go up on the blog or web-site. > > Anyway - thanks again! > > Barrie > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ben Sawyer" > To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 1:54 PM > Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest > in Games Accessibility > > > Hi everyone, > > > > I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games > for Health is part of a > > new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson > Foundation into games > > and healthcare. We're extremely excited about > this new development. > > > > As part of our specific grant we have allocated > resources specifically to > > support the IGDA Accessibility community. > > > > Over the next two years we will directly > contribute funds to SIG > > activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal > it yet as much as I > > want to because I'm actually looking to make it > more by finding some > > other organizations who will join us with matching > funds. Right now I > > can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. > > > > The funds will be used to support your activities > but there are of course > > some simple strings. Basically the funds will be > released once there is > > a written plan in place that provides for how and > what the funds will be > > spent on. That plan needs my approval and > subsequently I have to have > > the approval of the foundation for all my work. > I don't want it to sound > > dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for what they > should be used for but my > > basic goals are as follows: > > > > 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as > outlined by some > > simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the > listserv, number of > > people in the industry you are in regular contact > with, number of talks > > in front of audiences, etc.) > > > > 2. I'd like to see the community produce some > written plans that outline > > roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- > especially research roadmap. > > > > 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on > games accessibility > > attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we > can combine logistics > > and hit on overlapping communities of interest). > > > > 4. I am also specifically interested in > identifying and doing what we can > > to nurture research into how accessibility to > games improves people with > > disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. > Eventually leading to > > some great empirical and evidence based research > published - to the > > extent we don't already have this. > > > > Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the > community to really > > drive things. So the restriction is the > production of a plan that seems > > smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that > framework the funds can > > support travel subsidies, creating really nice > brochures, improved Web > > site content and access, etc. > > > > I've already discussed the gist of this with > Michelle and I've asked her > > to produce with everyones help the plan and > present it to me before the > > end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. > > > > Games Accessibility Conference > > I am very serious as I've said before in > establishing a one-day > > conference on games accessibility along side our > Games for Health > > Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, > registration systems, > > logistical support, massive PR support, already in > place for this. > > > > The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which > is the day before Games > > for Health opens. It would be a one day > conference with a single track > > to start and a demo area. We would also probably > feature 2 sessions on > > accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday and > Friday. I hope this > > date works for everyone as much as possible - I > can't really move it. > > Hopefully it just works as best it can. In 2009 > we hope to have more > > flexibility for you. > > > > I want the SIG to take on the role of developing > the content. My only > > stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused > on talks that explore > > how accessibility technologies, research, and > efforts can be applied to > > health for people with permanent, temporary, or > on-setting disabilities. > > The rest of the content can be focused on core > needs, case studies, > > research, etc. that will improve the accessibility > of games in general > > for any purpose -- especially entertainment. > > > > Speakers would attend for free. All other > registrants would be charged > > an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the > event be break-even or > > even profitable within itself. I would share 50% > of the profits from the > > event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant > funds we have available. > > The other funds if there is a profit would be > reinvested for planning the > > following year, etc. > > > > We very much want to make this event happen. The > Robert Wood Johnson > > Foundation team we work with has someone on it > with deep contacts in the > > accessibility community and is going to talk with > a variety of government > > agencies involved with accessibility to drive them > to support this event. > > That becomes a doorway to driving them to support > more pervasive > > accessibility activities. > > > > We will be promoting this event heavily to all our > attendees. We will be > > filming parts of it, we will make an expo area > available to showcase > > work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the > event. > > > > The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is > served by Southwest > > Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get > to. We are also quite > > proximate to the federal government which is a big > plus. We've got two > > hotels blocked out and we're searching for an > ultra inexpensive block as > > well. > > > > My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the > event. My hopes are 25-50% > > stay over for the rest of our event that week so > yes from a total > > transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases > my conference's core > > profitability. Win-win. > > > > If there is a good sense we can pull of the > conference idea as planned I > > want to make it part of our conference > announcements in the coming weeks. > > I also will be including games accessibility in > our call for content next > > week. We expect to then forward those papers to > a committee formed here > > to accept and mold that content. I will advise > you on content just from > > my experience of organizing events but other then > the 25% requirement I > > really leave it to you as the experts to decide > what will be important > > for people to hear and learn from. > > > > BIG NEEDS > > So hopefully you're still digesting this all but > the reason I'm writing > > this all and providing as much information as I > can is I need the > > following help - please reply to the list with > your thoughts: > > > > 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, > provide comments, I will > > do my best to answer them. > > > > 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a > position or at organizations > > in a position to possibly decide to match our > funds. I really want our > > funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no > reason this can't > > eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or > more in due time. At > > least that's my hope. > > > > I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, > Cisco, IBM and a few > > others. The early reception has been ok but until > we release this more > > publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. > If you give me more > > names I'll follow up hard. > > > > FUTURE PLANS > > The basic outline for this all for me is as > follows: > > > > 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for > them before Xmas. My > > goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or > more of the funds by then > > so they can be named in the Press Release. > > > > 2. I want to then announce in the press release > that the original funders > > are challenging anyone else with resources to join > this funding -- as > > part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup > an individual > > fundraising effort too - let gamers, and > individual developers provide > > funds to match the larger gifts. > > > > 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal > would be to have a basic > > plan in place because the core goals of that plan > would be articulated to > > the public so they can understand what the funds > will hopefully > > accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my > hopes are it would > > accomplish funding development of more > accessibility technologies, > > standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all > game developers to put > > these features in their games. I also hope it > might fund prototypes or > > games that are specific for people with > disabilities like some of the > > audio only games we've seen from the community > thus far. > > > > THANK YOU > > I've been following the work of the SIG and all of > you here for sometime. > > As I've said many times the work here is > extremely relevant to the work I > > do on serious games, and games for health. I've > been hoping to bring > > some funds to the table to help and while it's > not as much as I wanted if > > I can parlay it with your help into a large > enough amount it hopefully > > can help be the fuel for the spark you've more > then created. > > > > Thank you all, > > > > Ben > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >________________ >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From gramenos at ics.forth.gr Mon Nov 19 05:18:59 2007 From: gramenos at ics.forth.gr (Dimitris Grammenos) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:18:59 +0200 Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and Dimitris (and team!) In-Reply-To: <20071116210109.AXZ97719@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Message-ID: <20071119101902.648F68E40FC@mailhost.ics.forth.gr> Hi Michelle, Thanks a lot! If it wasn't for you I would not be able to participate - and I also guess that your presentation contributed considerably in getting the people's choice award :-) You can send me the certificate to my work address: Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) Institute of Computer Science (ICS) Heraklion, Crete GR - 70013 Greece Once more, THANK YOU, Dimitris -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2007 5:01 AM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and Dimitris (and team!) Hi all, I'm excited to announce that "Game Over" won the people's choice award at "Play Arcadia," which was the Montreal portion of the game competition that was held again here at FuturePlay in Toronto. GameOver: http://www.ics.forth.gr/hci/ua-games/game-over/ Play Arcadia: http://www.playarcadia.com FuturePlay Competition: http://www.futureplay.org/games.php (please note that there is blinking text on this page :( ) So along with the funding announcement and now finding out that Dimitris' (and crew) game won one of the people's choice awards, this has been a GREAT day for accessibility! And as I was coming back to my hotel room I was thinking "what a great conference this has been!" I will write more later when I've had a chance to rest a bit and hopefully Kevin will be able to share his experiences with us as well on the list. But in summary we've made so many new friends of accessibility. Between this and E for All, we've seen amazing list growth and each and every person that learns about us IS a win. Sure, smaller conferences may frustrate us from time to time but we cannot forget that sometimes this is exactly how we attract people who will put game accessibility into their course work, tell others about it, share with a friend or a relative with a disability. Sometimes it's the one-on-one time we spend that results in impact that can be just as exciting and rewarding as speaking to a crowded room. Seeing someone walk away from talking about accessibility excited, offering help, and then joining the list...well that's just really, really cool. But again...CONGRATS to Dimitris and his team for the award for Game Over! I was proud to accept the award on their behalf (and Dimitris -- I need your mailing address to mail you the award certificate!). Michelle ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From bsawyer at dmill.com Mon Nov 19 06:39:19 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:39:19 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: <474061AB.9060003@ablegamers.com> References: <4940CC8F-6215-419C-8442-B3701A8ACF62@dmill.com> <00c401c829d3$c23bb3f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <0381A4F8-DB47-4124-9594-A01DB4F0A9B2@dmill.com> <474061AB.9060003@ablegamers.com> Message-ID: Thanks Mark - I did understand they were two different agencies but I made the mistake of only focusing on one. Dumb of me. My only reason for saying DoD is that they do have research funds that filter to the two big distributors of medical research funds which is ONR and TATRC and I have good contacts at each. But you're right we should hit up Veterans. I also used to work for one of the congressmen who sits on the Veteran's affairs committee so I need to contact him - I saw him last week ironically on a plane trip back to Maine but we had about 2 minutes to catch up before it took off. I think Dave Rejeski at Woodrow has also talked with Veteran's Affairs but not in this vein so I'll check with him. - Ben On Nov 18, 2007, at 11:00 AM, Ioo wrote: > Ben, > > If you are really looking for a grant in this area, I would not go > to the DOD for it, I would go to the VA. For the most part the DOD > stabilizes vets, determins there ability to contune there service > and if that results in discharge the VA takes it from there. I > know this because I am a Disabled Vet, disabled on the job (non- > combat), and I work here in Washington DC (and that is all I am > going to say about that). > > The VA has money to give out, they are the ones that take care of > Vets long term and they are the ones that would love to get a hold > of things like we are speaking of. The DOD would use would benefit > from these items, but they almost aways come out of the VA. > > For all of those that care. The VA and the DOD are not the same. > They are 2 completely different agencies with different missions > and different budgets. Best way to think about this is DOD Medical > stabilization, VA is maintenance. > > Just a thought > Mark Barlet > AbleGamers.com > > Ben Sawyer wrote: >> The likely approach for DoD is an SBIR grant - those must involve >> commercialization but such a path for one switch is easily done. >> The issue for DoD SBIRs is they are US based so we'd need a u.s. >> based organization to submit for one (provided there is a call for >> one to begin with which is another story). >> >> In the UK such a similar grant would come from the MoD. >> >> There will be many different types of schemes for grants/support/ >> commercialization of course. The conference should explore things >> like this. >> >> - Ben >> >> On Nov 18, 2007, at 6:11 AM, Barrie Ellis wrote: >> >>> I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the hyper- >>> realistic FPS a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing >>> reading reports. These are pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me >>> Uo Poko any day of the week. This said, I'd happily see >>> Department of Defence money taken for building accessible >>> controllers for giving people some fun who can't otherwise. Do >>> you think this is likely to happen? What might be the best approach? >>> >>> I have had a few people approach me stating that they are >>> supporting soliers that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards >>> one handed controllers as a solution to gaming. If we could get >>> the DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one-handed controller back into >>> production, this would aid a lot of one armed gamers. >>> Unfortunately, we'd need to have to guarantee a lot of sales >>> (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National >>> Console Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. >>> >>> Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a >>> one-handed controller manufactured: http:// >>> gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds- >>> manufacturer.html - It does not look to be the ideal solution for >>> all. >>> >>> Barrie >>> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" >>> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >>> >>> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM >>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games >>> helping veterans >>> >>> >>>> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help >>>> veterans with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and >>>> supported therapy. >>>> >>>> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the >>>> non- PTSD induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and >>>> suffering due to disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >>>> >>>> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by >>>> others like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the >>>> cyberpsychology realm. >>>> >>>> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games >>>> that help here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well >>>> worn veterans. There was some work by the Marines to use a >>>> game for anti- drug efforts in the Marines - I need to find out >>>> more about that project and if it produced results. >>>> >>>> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other >>>> media/ processes or within them is a big part of some of the >>>> major funding RWJF is providing to the games for health >>>> community through Health Games Research. However, it's hard to >>>> do comparative media studies and it's likely we might not know >>>> for sometime these differences. It's also more likely that we >>>> parse using games vs. not based on the goals we have and how >>>> they map well to things games are accepted as doing quite well >>>> such as motivation and distance socialization. >>>> >>>> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at >>>> veteran issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and >>>> creation of games for people who have suffered various >>>> ambulatory injuries and for people with rehabilitation needs >>>> from head injuries, etc. These would obviously have crossover >>>> use to civilians suffering from the same issues be they by >>>> birth or accidents not involving warfare. Unfortunately it is >>>> likely the DoD has more $$ more easily available to tackle >>>> these issues then do private civilian side sources. >>>> >>>> - Ben >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >>>> >>>>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>>>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>>>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>>>> need. >>>>> >>>>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>>>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>>>> >>>>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of >>>>> the >>>>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of >>>>> them have >>>>> experienced mental health problems." >>>>> >>>>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>>>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be >>>>> abused >>>>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to >>>>> include >>>>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>>>> >>>>> -Reid >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From bsawyer at dmill.com Mon Nov 19 06:41:35 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:41:35 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: <20071118120919.AYA81013@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> References: <20071118120919.AYA81013@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Message-ID: > > All of my calls from the military have been from the VA -- I think > that the DOD seems to be more interested in games that get people > recruited for and trained for military service but I could be > entirely wrong -- as Mark mentioned, the DOD is concerned with > stabilization of injured veterans but they are not about long term > care. This is just the reality of how different branches of > government are broken down. > There are two branches concerned with health and medical care but yes otherwise it's recruitment, education, and skills training. > The VA definitely gets us -- and it doesn't matter if you are pro > or con the current world military situation...at least in my > opinion. The issue is that we have people that have been hurt and > not being helped (no matter what the reason) and that is not OK. > The VA does a tremendous job but they need our help and they are a > friendly audience. > We should get a speaker from VA... > Michelle From ioo at ablegamers.com Mon Nov 19 07:14:20 2007 From: ioo at ablegamers.com (Ioo) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:14:20 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: References: <4940CC8F-6215-419C-8442-B3701A8ACF62@dmill.com> <00c401c829d3$c23bb3f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <0381A4F8-DB47-4124-9594-A01DB4F0A9B2@dmill.com> <474061AB.9060003@ablegamers.com> Message-ID: <47417E1C.50601@ablegamers.com> Ben, I would never call you dumb, nor imply it. I just know from the work I do (all I can say about that) that there is far more cash to be had in the VA at the moment. If anyone is dumb it is me, I would not know what a grant application looks like if it came up and beat me up in a dark hallway. I just say to remember the VA, because to most that are not in the system (like me) they think that one is an arm of the other and they lump them together. When the Walter Reed scandal broke, all over the news it was about how the VA failed the vets, Walter Reed is not a VA hospital, it is DOD. So please do not take my post as anything more than a crusade of mine to make sure that the few things I count on to not go down with the ship. .mark Ben Sawyer wrote: > Thanks Mark - I did understand they were two different agencies but I > made the mistake of only focusing on one. Dumb of me. > > My only reason for saying DoD is that they do have research funds that > filter to the two big distributors of medical research funds which is > ONR and TATRC and I have good contacts at each. But you're right we > should hit up Veterans. I also used to work for one of the > congressmen who sits on the Veteran's affairs committee so I need to > contact him - I saw him last week ironically on a plane trip back to > Maine but we had about 2 minutes to catch up before it took off. > > I think Dave Rejeski at Woodrow has also talked with Veteran's Affairs > but not in this vein so I'll check with him. > > - Ben > > On Nov 18, 2007, at 11:00 AM, Ioo wrote: > >> Ben, >> >> If you are really looking for a grant in this area, I would not go to >> the DOD for it, I would go to the VA. For the most part the DOD >> stabilizes vets, determins there ability to contune there service and >> if that results in discharge the VA takes it from there. I know this >> because I am a Disabled Vet, disabled on the job (non-combat), and I >> work here in Washington DC (and that is all I am going to say about >> that). >> >> The VA has money to give out, they are the ones that take care of >> Vets long term and they are the ones that would love to get a hold of >> things like we are speaking of. The DOD would use would benefit from >> these items, but they almost aways come out of the VA. >> >> For all of those that care. The VA and the DOD are not the same. They >> are 2 completely different agencies with different missions and >> different budgets. Best way to think about this is DOD Medical >> stabilization, VA is maintenance. >> >> Just a thought >> Mark Barlet >> AbleGamers.com >> >> Ben Sawyer wrote: >>> The likely approach for DoD is an SBIR grant - those must involve >>> commercialization but such a path for one switch is easily done. >>> The issue for DoD SBIRs is they are US based so we'd need a u.s. >>> based organization to submit for one (provided there is a call for >>> one to begin with which is another story). >>> >>> In the UK such a similar grant would come from the MoD. >>> >>> There will be many different types of schemes for >>> grants/support/commercialization of course. The conference should >>> explore things like this. >>> >>> - Ben >>> >>> On Nov 18, 2007, at 6:11 AM, Barrie Ellis wrote: >>> >>>> I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the >>>> hyper-realistic FPS a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing >>>> reading reports. These are pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me >>>> Uo Poko any day of the week. This said, I'd happily see Department >>>> of Defence money taken for building accessible controllers for >>>> giving people some fun who can't otherwise. Do you think this is >>>> likely to happen? What might be the best approach? >>>> >>>> I have had a few people approach me stating that they are >>>> supporting soliers that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards one >>>> handed controllers as a solution to gaming. If we could get the >>>> DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one-handed controller back into production, >>>> this would aid a lot of one armed gamers. Unfortunately, we'd need >>>> to have to guarantee a lot of sales >>>> (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National >>>> Console Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. >>>> >>>> Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a >>>> one-handed controller manufactured: >>>> http://gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds-manufacturer.html >>>> - It does not look to be the ideal solution for all. >>>> >>>> Barrie >>>> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>>> >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" >>>> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >>>> >>>> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM >>>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping >>>> veterans >>>> >>>> >>>>> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help >>>>> veterans with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and >>>>> supported therapy. >>>>> >>>>> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the >>>>> non- PTSD induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and >>>>> suffering due to disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >>>>> >>>>> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by >>>>> others like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the >>>>> cyberpsychology realm. >>>>> >>>>> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games >>>>> that help here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well >>>>> worn veterans. There was some work by the Marines to use a game >>>>> for anti- drug efforts in the Marines - I need to find out more >>>>> about that project and if it produced results. >>>>> >>>>> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other >>>>> media/ processes or within them is a big part of some of the major >>>>> funding RWJF is providing to the games for health community >>>>> through Health Games Research. However, it's hard to do >>>>> comparative media studies and it's likely we might not know for >>>>> sometime these differences. It's also more likely that we parse >>>>> using games vs. not based on the goals we have and how they map >>>>> well to things games are accepted as doing quite well such as >>>>> motivation and distance socialization. >>>>> >>>>> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran >>>>> issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation >>>>> of games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries >>>>> and for people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, >>>>> etc. These would obviously have crossover use to civilians >>>>> suffering from the same issues be they by birth or accidents not >>>>> involving warfare. Unfortunately it is likely the DoD has more >>>>> $$ more easily available to tackle these issues then do private >>>>> civilian side sources. >>>>> >>>>> - Ben >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>>>>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>>>>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>>>>> need. >>>>>> >>>>>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>>>>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>>>>> >>>>>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >>>>>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them >>>>>> have >>>>>> experienced mental health problems." >>>>>> >>>>>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>>>>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused >>>>>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >>>>>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>>>>> >>>>>> -Reid >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > From bsawyer at dmill.com Mon Nov 19 07:20:22 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:20:22 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: <47417E1C.50601@ablegamers.com> References: <4940CC8F-6215-419C-8442-B3701A8ACF62@dmill.com> <00c401c829d3$c23bb3f0$0202a8c0@oneswitch> <0381A4F8-DB47-4124-9594-A01DB4F0A9B2@dmill.com> <474061AB.9060003@ablegamers.com> <47417E1C.50601@ablegamers.com> Message-ID: <09676BEF-5483-42AB-9C68-2E5CA7434145@dmill.com> Don't worry - I was just saying dumb of me - I am too focused on the places I know people and you made a good point that should have been obvious to me. On Nov 19, 2007, at 7:14 AM, Ioo wrote: > Ben, I would never call you dumb, nor imply it. I just know from > the work I do (all I can say about that) that there is far more > cash to be had in the VA at the moment. If anyone is dumb it is me, > I would not know what a grant application looks like if it came up > and beat me up in a dark hallway. > > I just say to remember the VA, because to most that are not in the > system (like me) they think that one is an arm of the other and > they lump them together. When the Walter Reed scandal broke, all > over the news it was about how the VA failed the vets, Walter Reed > is not a VA hospital, it is DOD. > > So please do not take my post as anything more than a crusade of > mine to make sure that the few things I count on to not go down > with the ship. > > .mark > From hinn at uiuc.edu Mon Nov 19 08:26:39 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:26:39 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans Message-ID: <20071119072639.AYB27879@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Definitely neither of you are dumb -- who can keep up with the complexity of sub-units of sub-units of parts of branches of government that overlap each other but yet are important to keep separate or we risk punishing the sub-unit that is trying to do the work that is needed? Ahhhhh... Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:14:20 -0500 >From: Ioo >Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >Ben, I would never call you dumb, nor imply it. I just know from the >work I do (all I can say about that) that there is far more cash to be >had in the VA at the moment. If anyone is dumb it is me, I would not >know what a grant application looks like if it came up and beat me up in >a dark hallway. > >I just say to remember the VA, because to most that are not in the >system (like me) they think that one is an arm of the other and they >lump them together. When the Walter Reed scandal broke, all over the >news it was about how the VA failed the vets, Walter Reed is not a VA >hospital, it is DOD. > >So please do not take my post as anything more than a crusade of mine to >make sure that the few things I count on to not go down with the ship. > >.mark > >Ben Sawyer wrote: >> Thanks Mark - I did understand they were two different agencies but I >> made the mistake of only focusing on one. Dumb of me. >> >> My only reason for saying DoD is that they do have research funds that >> filter to the two big distributors of medical research funds which is >> ONR and TATRC and I have good contacts at each. But you're right we >> should hit up Veterans. I also used to work for one of the >> congressmen who sits on the Veteran's affairs committee so I need to >> contact him - I saw him last week ironically on a plane trip back to >> Maine but we had about 2 minutes to catch up before it took off. >> >> I think Dave Rejeski at Woodrow has also talked with Veteran's Affairs >> but not in this vein so I'll check with him. >> >> - Ben >> >> On Nov 18, 2007, at 11:00 AM, Ioo wrote: >> >>> Ben, >>> >>> If you are really looking for a grant in this area, I would not go to >>> the DOD for it, I would go to the VA. For the most part the DOD >>> stabilizes vets, determins there ability to contune there service and >>> if that results in discharge the VA takes it from there. I know this >>> because I am a Disabled Vet, disabled on the job (non-combat), and I >>> work here in Washington DC (and that is all I am going to say about >>> that). >>> >>> The VA has money to give out, they are the ones that take care of >>> Vets long term and they are the ones that would love to get a hold of >>> things like we are speaking of. The DOD would use would benefit from >>> these items, but they almost aways come out of the VA. >>> >>> For all of those that care. The VA and the DOD are not the same. They >>> are 2 completely different agencies with different missions and >>> different budgets. Best way to think about this is DOD Medical >>> stabilization, VA is maintenance. >>> >>> Just a thought >>> Mark Barlet >>> AbleGamers.com >>> >>> Ben Sawyer wrote: >>>> The likely approach for DoD is an SBIR grant - those must involve >>>> commercialization but such a path for one switch is easily done. >>>> The issue for DoD SBIRs is they are US based so we'd need a u.s. >>>> based organization to submit for one (provided there is a call for >>>> one to begin with which is another story). >>>> >>>> In the UK such a similar grant would come from the MoD. >>>> >>>> There will be many different types of schemes for >>>> grants/support/commercialization of course. The conference should >>>> explore things like this. >>>> >>>> - Ben >>>> >>>> On Nov 18, 2007, at 6:11 AM, Barrie Ellis wrote: >>>> >>>>> I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the >>>>> hyper-realistic FPS a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing >>>>> reading reports. These are pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me >>>>> Uo Poko any day of the week. This said, I'd happily see Department >>>>> of Defence money taken for building accessible controllers for >>>>> giving people some fun who can't otherwise. Do you think this is >>>>> likely to happen? What might be the best approach? >>>>> >>>>> I have had a few people approach me stating that they are >>>>> supporting soliers that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards one >>>>> handed controllers as a solution to gaming. If we could get the >>>>> DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one-handed controller back into production, >>>>> this would aid a lot of one armed gamers. Unfortunately, we'd need >>>>> to have to guarantee a lot of sales >>>>> (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National >>>>> Console Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. >>>>> >>>>> Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a >>>>> one-handed controller manufactured: >>>>> http://gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds-manufacturer.html >>>>> - It does not look to be the ideal solution for all. >>>>> >>>>> Barrie >>>>> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" >>>>> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >>>>> >>>>> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM >>>>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping >>>>> veterans >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help >>>>>> veterans with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and >>>>>> supported therapy. >>>>>> >>>>>> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the >>>>>> non- PTSD induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and >>>>>> suffering due to disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >>>>>> >>>>>> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by >>>>>> others like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the >>>>>> cyberpsychology realm. >>>>>> >>>>>> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games >>>>>> that help here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well >>>>>> worn veterans. There was some work by the Marines to use a game >>>>>> for anti- drug efforts in the Marines - I need to find out more >>>>>> about that project and if it produced results. >>>>>> >>>>>> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other >>>>>> media/ processes or within them is a big part of some of the major >>>>>> funding RWJF is providing to the games for health community >>>>>> through Health Games Research. However, it's hard to do >>>>>> comparative media studies and it's likely we might not know for >>>>>> sometime these differences. It's also more likely that we parse >>>>>> using games vs. not based on the goals we have and how they map >>>>>> well to things games are accepted as doing quite well such as >>>>>> motivation and distance socialization. >>>>>> >>>>>> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran >>>>>> issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation >>>>>> of games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries >>>>>> and for people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, >>>>>> etc. These would obviously have crossover use to civilians >>>>>> suffering from the same issues be they by birth or accidents not >>>>>> involving warfare. Unfortunately it is likely the DoD has more >>>>>> $$ more easily available to tackle these issues then do private >>>>>> civilian side sources. >>>>>> >>>>>> - Ben >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>>>>>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>>>>>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>>>>>> need. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>>>>>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>>>>>> >>>>>>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >>>>>>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them >>>>>>> have >>>>>>> experienced mental health problems." >>>>>>> >>>>>>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>>>>>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused >>>>>>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >>>>>>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -Reid >>>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>>>> >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From bsawyer at dmill.com Mon Nov 19 11:00:17 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:00:17 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Games for Health Conference Call for Content Message-ID: <3E05E74D-AEF6-48A7-B080-78727D9271C2@dmill.com> Hello everyone, The official announcement of our Games for Health 2008 conference is very soon but the call for content information is now done and I'm providing it here ahead of posting it more widely.: GAMES FOR HEALTH CONFERENCE 2008 Baltimore, MD May 8-9, 2008 Call for Content The 2008 Games for Health conference is set to be held on May 8-9 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD. Our call for content is now open. Please send all submissions to content at gamesforhealth.org by Jan 8, 2008. All speakers receive free entry to the conference and all related events + free expo space for displaying their related projects, products, or services. All other attendees can now register for the conference at http:// www.gamesforhealth.org TOPICS & CONTENT REQUESTED The Games for Health Conference 2008 will feature over 40 sessions of content. Content planned includes panels, poster sessions, general lectures, case studies of projects and games, technology presentations, and how-to sessions. We seek a large variety of content across a range of topics and game types and health areas including: Exergaming & Rehabitainment Health Behavior Change Disease Management & Education Public Health Messaging & Patient Communication Cognitive Health Training & Management Sims & Occupational Recruitment Accessibility for Games & Disability focused Games Epidemiology Pain Distraction & Stress Relief CyberPsychology Entertainment Games About Health or Substantial Health Related Play Health Effects of Games First Responders & Mass Casualty Training Medical Informatics & Health Data Collection Virtual Patients Interface & Visualization Applications Personal Health & Electronic Medical Record Systems For more information please see topic summaries below SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Please send your submission as a plain text email, Microsoft Word document, or Adobe PDF file. Email them to content at gamesforhealth.org. If you are suggesting a specific session style please label it as follows: Panel, Poster, Case Study/Demo, Lecture, How-To, etc. Include 2-3 Paragraph Bios for speaker(s) associated with session submission Please list the minimum time required by your session. Minimal time for presentations is 20 minutes. Maximum time is 90 minutes (Panels or How-To sessions only!) For all submissions referencing software please provide an explanation of the software's status (i.e. alpha, beta, completed, published, prototype, etc.) and 1-3 screenshots with your submission. Links to video demonstrations or downloadable demos may be sent in addition to your screenshots. All sessions must relate to the use of computer games / videogames or their related technologies or other industry resources. If your submission doesn't make this link obvious please provide an explanation under the heading "Game Connection" in your submission. If your submission requires Internet access, runs on a mobile platform, or requires other special equipment please let us know of these requirements so we may plan accordingly for such needs during your presentation. Please also ensure we have FULL CONTACT INFORMATION including mailing address, organization affiliation, title, office and mobile phones, and at least one alternative email address. SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES Games for Health offers the following special opportunities for content submissions: Virtual Worlds & Health Games for Health will feature a full day of content focused on the use of virtual world systems and health. Virtual worlds combine social systems with game-based interfaces and graphics to create entirely new synthetic spaces to train, practice, and visualize. Such systems hold great promise to health and healthcare through layering on of game-play or enabling pure simulation or new forms of social interaction. Our Virtual Worlds & Health Day is accepting talks, case studies, poster sessions, and panels that cover the use of virtual world technologies and applications that support new ideas in health and healthcare. Peer Review Status Opportunities Games for Health will be implementing a professional peer review process for the 2008 conference. This is limited to research oriented content wishing to submit for peer review. Please label your content submission "FOR PEER REVIEW". Up to eight submissions will be selected by a peer review committee and designated with peer review status if accepted. Accepted papers will be designated for lecture or poster presentation. Papers which do not achieve peer review acceptance may be considered for other portions of the conference but will not be given peer reviewed status. TOPIC AREA SUMMARIES Exergaming & Rehabitainment : Use of game software and/or associated hardware to motivate, track, and induce various forms of physical activity (aerobic, physical therapy, anti-atrophy, etc.) that provides specific health outcomes. Health Behavior Change : Use of game software and related resources to effect and support individuals in changing behaviors that put them at-risk for poor health Disease Management & Education : Use of game software and related resources to educate people about diseases and especially to assist those with diseases and chronic illnesses to live well with those ailments. Public Health Messaging & Patient Communication : Use of game software and related resources to communicate to the public about health concerns, policies, or health issues. Cognitive Health : Exploring the theories and practices behind using games to improve various aspects of cognitive health via game-based conditioning/stimulation including but not limited to various forms of memory, equilibrium, and eye-hand coordination. Training & Managment Sims & Occupational Recruitment : Training skills, management practices using games. Using games to visualize health-related jobs, practices, and systems in an attempt to recruit talent to health-based occupations. Accessibility for Games & Disability focused Games : Making all games accessible or providing games specific to disabilities in order to people with lifelong or temporary disabilities enhanced quality of life, specific therapy, new social capabilities, or disability related training. Epidemiology : The use of games in all aspects of epidemiology including training, visualization, behavior research, modeling, and more. Pain Distraction & Stress Relief : Games or game-like environments provided to offer distraction from chronic, or temporary pain, medical procedures or as means to provide relief from stress. CyberPsychology : Games or game-based environments that provide support for psychological assessment, treatment, or education. Entertainment Games About Health or Substantial Health Related Play : Games that offer interesting media studios, design patterns, or other insight into how health is or could be portrayed in games. Health Effects of Games : Studies that show general health related outcomes from playing games in general (e.g. repetitive stress injuries, online game addiction, motion sickness, etc.) First Aide, First Responders & Mass Casualty Training : Games that specialize in training citizens and professional first responders in all forms of pre-hospital care and aide including for incidents involving mass casualties. Medical Informatics & Health Data Collection : The use of games, game technologies, and design patterns to aide in the collection, visualization, and analysis of health and medical information. Virtual Patients : Use of game-based technologies and design techniques to create believable physiological and psychological synthetic humans for use in training and other relevant situations. Interface & Visualization Applications : Applying game design techniques and game technologies to problems in health and healthcare involving application interface design and general issues of visualization. Personal Health & Electronic Medical Record Systems : Using interface ideas and avatar technologies from games along with other design and engineering resources to foster innovation in personal health and electronic medical record systems. ABOUT GAMES FOR HEALTH Games for Health is a project produced by The Serious Games Initiative, a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars effort that applies cutting-edge games and game technologies to a range of public and private policy, leadership, and management issues. The project also produces The Games for Health Conference now in its 4th year. The Initiative founded Games for Health to develop a community and best practices platform for the numerous games being built for health care applications. To date the project has brought together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health, health care, and policy. For more information, visit www.gamesforhealth.org. From lynnvm at carolina.rr.com Mon Nov 19 11:14:09 2007 From: lynnvm at carolina.rr.com (Lynn Marentette) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:14:09 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Start a fund-raising cause on Facebook? RE: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <003101c82ac7$37810540$c801000a@HOME> Hi, all. I recently joined FaceBook because some of my classmates were doing their research project about it and I was curious to learn more about it. One of the first things I did was donate some money to a few causes. There are plenty of organizations involved in fundraising on FaceBook. I am not sure how to set this up, but I think it might be a good idea to have one established for the mission of this SIG. Several organizations outside of Facebook have a FaceBook group, and since a large number of FaceBook members are connected to universities in some way, this might be an approach worth investigating. I belong to the Professional School Psychologists group, as well as the Classroom 2.0 groups in FaceBook, and I'd be willing to post something on the walls of these groups. Lynn Marentette TechPsych Interactive Multimedia Technology -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of games_access-request at igda.org Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 6:39 AM To: games_access at igda.org Subject: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 Send games_access mailing list submissions to games_access at igda.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to games_access-request at igda.org You can reach the person managing the list at games_access-owner at igda.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of games_access digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility (hinn at uiuc.edu) 2. Re: FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and Dimitris (and team!) (Dimitris Grammenos) 3. Re: Research questions about games helping veterans (Ben Sawyer) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:35:33 -0600 (CST) From: Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Message-ID: <20071118173533.AYA93474 at expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Just a quick remark on reimbursing me in some part for E for All -- I definitely appreciate that idea! But while being out of pocket that much definitely hurt, I'd love to see that cost returned in more people directing some of their luck gaining grant funds or whatnot into reinvesting in the SIG. So things like Games for Health offering monies to invest, others writing in even a small bit of their grant monies to help specific SIG projects such as the website project, small travel grants, an equipment research library that could be loaned out so that software and hardware research solutions could be tested with a much larger group of disabled gamers -- Eelke and I, for instance, have discussed how my university (University of Illinois) has one of the largest populations of students with disabilities in the country would be a nice place to get college age gamers with disabilities looking at some of the work he does at University of Nevada. Take that a bit further and we could create a SIG database of gamers with disabilities ready to serve as beta testers that could be paid for by grant monies. Just a quick couple of thoughts about remembering to include the SIG in grant lines. Every bit counts and I'd rather see someone invest another $5 grand to our operating/project funds than to pay me back. [Also I agree...our web presence is just bad, bad, bad so this should be something we hit as soon as possible -- I'm working on a list of things I want to see the site have and I welcome others to add in their ideas. At last GDC, we were hoping that the great game experiment that garage was working on *might* be a solution but I think that with that falling through and not knowing what's happening with game-accessibility.com, we need to just focus on our own space for now. The wiki was meant to be a temporary way for people to find out information but it's definitely not friendly.] ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:02:44 -0000 >From: "Barrie Ellis" >Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > Great news re. Games for Health looking to invest in > the GASIG and game > accessibility. Thank you - we need this! > > Some personal thoughts on what we could do with the > money if we were to > receive it.... > > 1. Pay Michelle some cash back for the E for All > whack. Sounds like we've > made some good contacts here, and raised our > profile. It would be a shame to > see Michelle so badly out of pocket for her > endeavours. > > 2. Keep the majority as a rolling fund for backing > ways for us to reach out. > Consider advertising at key places. Look to more > ways to raise further funds > to stop this running dry. > > 3. Consider hiring an artist for Game Accessibility > icons for some kind of > PEGI system of accessibility: > www.pegi.info/en/index/ - And also for > promotional usage. I still very much like the idea > of approaching > Etherbrian: http://etherbrian.typepad.com/ - maybe > others have some > thoughts? > > 4. Consider building a central hub web-site. Needs > to be highly accessible - > and unlike www.game-accessibility.com - fully in the > hands of the GASIG > community. I just don't find the WIKI that > accessible personally. > > 5. Support hard-ware development and soft-ware > development. This does not > need to cost buckets of cash. And here's my pitch - > I need access to a > backward compatible PS3 and some of the various PS2 > to PS3 joypad adapters. > This is in order to test out the variety of > one-handed and alternative > controllers I support for compatibility. It's also > to aid Geoff Harbach in > testing out his switch interface for PS3 use. So > far, Sony have not even > replied to my e-mails, and I can't afford a PS2 > compatible PS3... > > I'd certainly like to proceed with "The Simpler > Tack" of three simple > genres, three simple ways to make more accessible, > with GASIG member > support. This would go up on the blog or web-site. > > Anyway - thanks again! > > Barrie > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ben Sawyer" > To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 1:54 PM > Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest > in Games Accessibility > > > Hi everyone, > > > > I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games > for Health is part of a > > new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson > Foundation into games > > and healthcare. We're extremely excited about > this new development. > > > > As part of our specific grant we have allocated > resources specifically to > > support the IGDA Accessibility community. > > > > Over the next two years we will directly > contribute funds to SIG > > activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal > it yet as much as I > > want to because I'm actually looking to make it > more by finding some > > other organizations who will join us with matching > funds. Right now I > > can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. > > > > The funds will be used to support your activities > but there are of course > > some simple strings. Basically the funds will be > released once there is > > a written plan in place that provides for how and > what the funds will be > > spent on. That plan needs my approval and > subsequently I have to have > > the approval of the foundation for all my work. > I don't want it to sound > > dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for what they > should be used for but my > > basic goals are as follows: > > > > 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as > outlined by some > > simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the > listserv, number of > > people in the industry you are in regular contact > with, number of talks > > in front of audiences, etc.) > > > > 2. I'd like to see the community produce some > written plans that outline > > roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- > especially research roadmap. > > > > 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on > games accessibility > > attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we > can combine logistics > > and hit on overlapping communities of interest). > > > > 4. I am also specifically interested in > identifying and doing what we can > > to nurture research into how accessibility to > games improves people with > > disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. > Eventually leading to > > some great empirical and evidence based research > published - to the > > extent we don't already have this. > > > > Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the > community to really > > drive things. So the restriction is the > production of a plan that seems > > smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that > framework the funds can > > support travel subsidies, creating really nice > brochures, improved Web > > site content and access, etc. > > > > I've already discussed the gist of this with > Michelle and I've asked her > > to produce with everyones help the plan and > present it to me before the > > end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. > > > > Games Accessibility Conference > > I am very serious as I've said before in > establishing a one-day > > conference on games accessibility along side our > Games for Health > > Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, > registration systems, > > logistical support, massive PR support, already in > place for this. > > > > The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which > is the day before Games > > for Health opens. It would be a one day > conference with a single track > > to start and a demo area. We would also probably > feature 2 sessions on > > accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday and > Friday. I hope this > > date works for everyone as much as possible - I > can't really move it. > > Hopefully it just works as best it can. In 2009 > we hope to have more > > flexibility for you. > > > > I want the SIG to take on the role of developing > the content. My only > > stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused > on talks that explore > > how accessibility technologies, research, and > efforts can be applied to > > health for people with permanent, temporary, or > on-setting disabilities. > > The rest of the content can be focused on core > needs, case studies, > > research, etc. that will improve the accessibility > of games in general > > for any purpose -- especially entertainment. > > > > Speakers would attend for free. All other > registrants would be charged > > an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the > event be break-even or > > even profitable within itself. I would share 50% > of the profits from the > > event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant > funds we have available. > > The other funds if there is a profit would be > reinvested for planning the > > following year, etc. > > > > We very much want to make this event happen. The > Robert Wood Johnson > > Foundation team we work with has someone on it > with deep contacts in the > > accessibility community and is going to talk with > a variety of government > > agencies involved with accessibility to drive them > to support this event. > > That becomes a doorway to driving them to support > more pervasive > > accessibility activities. > > > > We will be promoting this event heavily to all our > attendees. We will be > > filming parts of it, we will make an expo area > available to showcase > > work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the > event. > > > > The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is > served by Southwest > > Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get > to. We are also quite > > proximate to the federal government which is a big > plus. We've got two > > hotels blocked out and we're searching for an > ultra inexpensive block as > > well. > > > > My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the > event. My hopes are 25-50% > > stay over for the rest of our event that week so > yes from a total > > transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases > my conference's core > > profitability. Win-win. > > > > If there is a good sense we can pull of the > conference idea as planned I > > want to make it part of our conference > announcements in the coming weeks. > > I also will be including games accessibility in > our call for content next > > week. We expect to then forward those papers to > a committee formed here > > to accept and mold that content. I will advise > you on content just from > > my experience of organizing events but other then > the 25% requirement I > > really leave it to you as the experts to decide > what will be important > > for people to hear and learn from. > > > > BIG NEEDS > > So hopefully you're still digesting this all but > the reason I'm writing > > this all and providing as much information as I > can is I need the > > following help - please reply to the list with > your thoughts: > > > > 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, > provide comments, I will > > do my best to answer them. > > > > 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a > position or at organizations > > in a position to possibly decide to match our > funds. I really want our > > funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no > reason this can't > > eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or > more in due time. At > > least that's my hope. > > > > I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, > Cisco, IBM and a few > > others. The early reception has been ok but until > we release this more > > publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. > If you give me more > > names I'll follow up hard. > > > > FUTURE PLANS > > The basic outline for this all for me is as > follows: > > > > 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for > them before Xmas. My > > goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or > more of the funds by then > > so they can be named in the Press Release. > > > > 2. I want to then announce in the press release > that the original funders > > are challenging anyone else with resources to join > this funding -- as > > part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup > an individual > > fundraising effort too - let gamers, and > individual developers provide > > funds to match the larger gifts. > > > > 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal > would be to have a basic > > plan in place because the core goals of that plan > would be articulated to > > the public so they can understand what the funds > will hopefully > > accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my > hopes are it would > > accomplish funding development of more > accessibility technologies, > > standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all > game developers to put > > these features in their games. I also hope it > might fund prototypes or > > games that are specific for people with > disabilities like some of the > > audio only games we've seen from the community > thus far. > > > > THANK YOU > > I've been following the work of the SIG and all of > you here for sometime. > > As I've said many times the work here is > extremely relevant to the work I > > do on serious games, and games for health. I've > been hoping to bring > > some funds to the table to help and while it's > not as much as I wanted if > > I can parlay it with your help into a large > enough amount it hopefully > > can help be the fuel for the spark you've more > then created. > > > > Thank you all, > > > > Ben > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >________________ >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:18:59 +0200 From: "Dimitris Grammenos" Subject: Re: [games_access] FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and Dimitris (and team!) To: "'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List'" Message-ID: <20071119101902.648F68E40FC at mailhost.ics.forth.gr> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi Michelle, Thanks a lot! If it wasn't for you I would not be able to participate - and I also guess that your presentation contributed considerably in getting the people's choice award :-) You can send me the certificate to my work address: Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) Institute of Computer Science (ICS) Heraklion, Crete GR - 70013 Greece Once more, THANK YOU, Dimitris -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2007 5:01 AM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and Dimitris (and team!) Hi all, I'm excited to announce that "Game Over" won the people's choice award at "Play Arcadia," which was the Montreal portion of the game competition that was held again here at FuturePlay in Toronto. GameOver: http://www.ics.forth.gr/hci/ua-games/game-over/ Play Arcadia: http://www.playarcadia.com FuturePlay Competition: http://www.futureplay.org/games.php (please note that there is blinking text on this page :( ) So along with the funding announcement and now finding out that Dimitris' (and crew) game won one of the people's choice awards, this has been a GREAT day for accessibility! And as I was coming back to my hotel room I was thinking "what a great conference this has been!" I will write more later when I've had a chance to rest a bit and hopefully Kevin will be able to share his experiences with us as well on the list. But in summary we've made so many new friends of accessibility. Between this and E for All, we've seen amazing list growth and each and every person that learns about us IS a win. Sure, smaller conferences may frustrate us from time to time but we cannot forget that sometimes this is exactly how we attract people who will put game accessibility into their course work, tell others about it, share with a friend or a relative with a disability. Sometimes it's the one-on-one time we spend that results in impact that can be just as exciting and rewarding as speaking to a crowded room. Seeing someone walk away from talking about accessibility excited, offering help, and then joining the list...well that's just really, really cool. But again...CONGRATS to Dimitris and his team for the award for Game Over! I was proud to accept the award on their behalf (and Dimitris -- I need your mailing address to mail you the award certificate!). Michelle ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:39:19 -0500 From: Ben Sawyer Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Thanks Mark - I did understand they were two different agencies but I made the mistake of only focusing on one. Dumb of me. My only reason for saying DoD is that they do have research funds that filter to the two big distributors of medical research funds which is ONR and TATRC and I have good contacts at each. But you're right we should hit up Veterans. I also used to work for one of the congressmen who sits on the Veteran's affairs committee so I need to contact him - I saw him last week ironically on a plane trip back to Maine but we had about 2 minutes to catch up before it took off. I think Dave Rejeski at Woodrow has also talked with Veteran's Affairs but not in this vein so I'll check with him. - Ben On Nov 18, 2007, at 11:00 AM, Ioo wrote: > Ben, > > If you are really looking for a grant in this area, I would not go > to the DOD for it, I would go to the VA. For the most part the DOD > stabilizes vets, determins there ability to contune there service > and if that results in discharge the VA takes it from there. I > know this because I am a Disabled Vet, disabled on the job (non- > combat), and I work here in Washington DC (and that is all I am > going to say about that). > > The VA has money to give out, they are the ones that take care of > Vets long term and they are the ones that would love to get a hold > of things like we are speaking of. The DOD would use would benefit > from these items, but they almost aways come out of the VA. > > For all of those that care. The VA and the DOD are not the same. > They are 2 completely different agencies with different missions > and different budgets. Best way to think about this is DOD Medical > stabilization, VA is maintenance. > > Just a thought > Mark Barlet > AbleGamers.com > > Ben Sawyer wrote: >> The likely approach for DoD is an SBIR grant - those must involve >> commercialization but such a path for one switch is easily done. >> The issue for DoD SBIRs is they are US based so we'd need a u.s. >> based organization to submit for one (provided there is a call for >> one to begin with which is another story). >> >> In the UK such a similar grant would come from the MoD. >> >> There will be many different types of schemes for grants/support/ >> commercialization of course. The conference should explore things >> like this. >> >> - Ben >> >> On Nov 18, 2007, at 6:11 AM, Barrie Ellis wrote: >> >>> I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the hyper- >>> realistic FPS a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing >>> reading reports. These are pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me >>> Uo Poko any day of the week. This said, I'd happily see >>> Department of Defence money taken for building accessible >>> controllers for giving people some fun who can't otherwise. Do >>> you think this is likely to happen? What might be the best approach? >>> >>> I have had a few people approach me stating that they are >>> supporting soliers that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards >>> one handed controllers as a solution to gaming. If we could get >>> the DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one-handed controller back into >>> production, this would aid a lot of one armed gamers. >>> Unfortunately, we'd need to have to guarantee a lot of sales >>> (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National >>> Console Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. >>> >>> Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a >>> one-handed controller manufactured: http:// >>> gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds- >>> manufacturer.html - It does not look to be the ideal solution for >>> all. >>> >>> Barrie >>> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" >>> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >>> >>> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM >>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games >>> helping veterans >>> >>> >>>> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help >>>> veterans with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and >>>> supported therapy. >>>> >>>> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the >>>> non- PTSD induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and >>>> suffering due to disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >>>> >>>> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by >>>> others like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the >>>> cyberpsychology realm. >>>> >>>> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games >>>> that help here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well >>>> worn veterans. There was some work by the Marines to use a >>>> game for anti- drug efforts in the Marines - I need to find out >>>> more about that project and if it produced results. >>>> >>>> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other >>>> media/ processes or within them is a big part of some of the >>>> major funding RWJF is providing to the games for health >>>> community through Health Games Research. However, it's hard to >>>> do comparative media studies and it's likely we might not know >>>> for sometime these differences. It's also more likely that we >>>> parse using games vs. not based on the goals we have and how >>>> they map well to things games are accepted as doing quite well >>>> such as motivation and distance socialization. >>>> >>>> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at >>>> veteran issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and >>>> creation of games for people who have suffered various >>>> ambulatory injuries and for people with rehabilitation needs >>>> from head injuries, etc. These would obviously have crossover >>>> use to civilians suffering from the same issues be they by >>>> birth or accidents not involving warfare. Unfortunately it is >>>> likely the DoD has more $$ more easily available to tackle >>>> these issues then do private civilian side sources. >>>> >>>> - Ben >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >>>> >>>>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>>>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>>>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>>>> need. >>>>> >>>>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>>>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>>>> >>>>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of >>>>> the >>>>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of >>>>> them have >>>>> experienced mental health problems." >>>>> >>>>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>>>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be >>>>> abused >>>>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to >>>>> include >>>>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>>>> >>>>> -Reid >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access End of games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 ******************************************** From bsawyer at dmill.com Mon Nov 19 11:20:38 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:20:38 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Start a fund-raising cause on Facebook? RE: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 In-Reply-To: <003101c82ac7$37810540$c801000a@HOME> References: <003101c82ac7$37810540$c801000a@HOME> Message-ID: <2A4DC7AA-B2BC-42F5-8D52-C7CE24A44444@dmill.com> FWIW... my thought was to loop these types of direct to people efforts in once we get the news out about our funds and then wrap it in a call for individuals to match the donation via paypal, etc. So I think this is a great idea but I think it'd be more effective if it's done as an appeal to match our gift that way people see it as a bigger cause and it has stronger messaging provided to it. Some of the various Presidential campaigns have done this sort of match appeal to great effectiveness. I would just do it after we hit up some other big players first. - Ben On Nov 19, 2007, at 11:14 AM, Lynn Marentette wrote: > Hi, all. > > I recently joined FaceBook because some of my classmates were doing > their > research project about it and I was curious to learn more about > it. One of > the first things I did was donate some money to a few causes. > > There are plenty of organizations involved in fundraising on > FaceBook. I am > not sure how to set this up, but I think it might be a good idea to > have one > established for the mission of this SIG. > > Several organizations outside of Facebook have a FaceBook group, > and since a > large number of FaceBook members are connected to universities in > some way, > this might be an approach worth investigating. > > I belong to the Professional School Psychologists group, as well as > the > Classroom 2.0 groups in FaceBook, and I'd be willing to post > something on > the walls of these groups. > > Lynn Marentette > > From hinn at uiuc.edu Mon Nov 19 11:23:45 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:23:45 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Start a fund-raising cause on Facebook? RE: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 Message-ID: <20071119102345.AYB39109@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> That's a good idea, Ben, especially as initial fundraising efforts on the web haven't been super successful yet. ---- Original message ---- >Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:20:38 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Start a fund-raising cause on Facebook? RE: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 >To: lynnvm at carolina.rr.com, IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >FWIW... my thought was to loop these types of direct to people >efforts in once we get the news out about our funds and then wrap it >in a call for individuals to match the donation via paypal, etc. So I >think this is a great idea but I think it'd be more effective if it's >done as an appeal to match our gift that way people see it as a >bigger cause and it has stronger messaging provided to it. Some of >the various Presidential campaigns have done this sort of match >appeal to great effectiveness. > >I would just do it after we hit up some other big players first. > >- Ben > > >On Nov 19, 2007, at 11:14 AM, Lynn Marentette wrote: > >> Hi, all. >> >> I recently joined FaceBook because some of my classmates were doing >> their >> research project about it and I was curious to learn more about >> it. One of >> the first things I did was donate some money to a few causes. >> >> There are plenty of organizations involved in fundraising on >> FaceBook. I am >> not sure how to set this up, but I think it might be a good idea to >> have one >> established for the mission of this SIG. >> >> Several organizations outside of Facebook have a FaceBook group, >> and since a >> large number of FaceBook members are connected to universities in >> some way, >> this might be an approach worth investigating. >> >> I belong to the Professional School Psychologists group, as well as >> the >> Classroom 2.0 groups in FaceBook, and I'd be willing to post >> something on >> the walls of these groups. >> >> Lynn Marentette >> >> >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From hinn at uiuc.edu Mon Nov 19 11:22:04 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:22:04 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Start a fund-raising cause on Facebook? RE: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 Message-ID: <20071119102204.AYB39013@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Hi Lynn, We do have a game accessibility facebook group but that's a good idea about adding a link to fundraising pages we already have (unfortunately I'm afraid that until we get the plan set up to allocate some of the accessibility funds to creating a much, much better web presence for the SIG, we don't have much to show on our side (even though we do an awful lot). I've been on facebook for about three years now so I know it's ballooned in membership since they opened it up outside of universities. Also -- re: library research. You should take a look at www.lis.uiuc.edu -- this is the department of library and information science at University of Illinois, which is the top library program in the country. They have been doing usability studies at libraries and community groups for a long, long time now and you might find some of the research there to be of interest in your own work. :) Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:14:09 -0500 >From: "Lynn Marentette" >Subject: [games_access] Start a fund-raising cause on Facebook? RE: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 >To: > >Hi, all. > >I recently joined FaceBook because some of my classmates were doing their >research project about it and I was curious to learn more about it. One of >the first things I did was donate some money to a few causes. > >There are plenty of organizations involved in fundraising on FaceBook. I am >not sure how to set this up, but I think it might be a good idea to have one >established for the mission of this SIG. > >Several organizations outside of Facebook have a FaceBook group, and since a >large number of FaceBook members are connected to universities in some way, >this might be an approach worth investigating. > >I belong to the Professional School Psychologists group, as well as the >Classroom 2.0 groups in FaceBook, and I'd be willing to post something on >the walls of these groups. > > Lynn Marentette > > >TechPsych >Interactive Multimedia Technology >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of games_access-request at igda.org >Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 6:39 AM >To: games_access at igda.org >Subject: games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 > >Send games_access mailing list submissions to > games_access at igda.org > >To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > games_access-request at igda.org > >You can reach the person managing the list at > games_access-owner at igda.org > >When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >than "Re: Contents of games_access digest..." > > >Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility > (hinn at uiuc.edu) > 2. Re: FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and Dimitris (and > team!) (Dimitris Grammenos) > 3. Re: Research questions about games helping veterans (Ben Sawyer) > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >Message: 1 >Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:35:33 -0600 (CST) >From: >Subject: Re: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games > Accessibility >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Message-ID: <20071118173533.AYA93474 at expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > >Just a quick remark on reimbursing me in some part for E for All -- I >definitely appreciate that idea! But while being out of pocket that much >definitely hurt, I'd love to see that cost returned in more people directing >some of their luck gaining grant funds or whatnot into reinvesting in the >SIG. > >So things like Games for Health offering monies to invest, others writing in >even a small bit of their grant monies to help specific SIG projects such as >the website project, small travel grants, an equipment research library that >could be loaned out so that software and hardware research solutions could >be tested with a much larger group of disabled gamers -- Eelke and I, for >instance, have discussed how my university (University of Illinois) has one >of the largest populations of students with disabilities in the country >would be a nice place to get college age gamers with disabilities looking at >some of the work he does at University of Nevada. Take that a bit further >and we could create a SIG database of gamers with disabilities ready to >serve as beta testers that could be paid for by grant monies. > >Just a quick couple of thoughts about remembering to include the SIG in >grant lines. Every bit counts and I'd rather see someone invest another $5 >grand to our operating/project funds than to pay me back. > >[Also I agree...our web presence is just bad, bad, bad so this should be >something we hit as soon as possible -- I'm working on a list of things I >want to see the site have and I welcome others to add in their ideas. At >last GDC, we were hoping that the great game experiment that garage was >working on *might* be a solution but I think that with that falling through >and not knowing what's happening with game-accessibility.com, we need to >just focus on our own space for now. The wiki was meant to be a temporary >way for people to find out information but it's definitely not friendly.] > >---- Original message ---- >>Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:02:44 -0000 >>From: "Barrie Ellis" >>Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest in Games Accessibility >>To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >> >> Great news re. Games for Health looking to invest in >> the GASIG and game >> accessibility. Thank you - we need this! >> >> Some personal thoughts on what we could do with the >> money if we were to >> receive it.... >> >> 1. Pay Michelle some cash back for the E for All >> whack. Sounds like we've >> made some good contacts here, and raised our >> profile. It would be a shame to >> see Michelle so badly out of pocket for her >> endeavours. >> >> 2. Keep the majority as a rolling fund for backing >> ways for us to reach out. >> Consider advertising at key places. Look to more >> ways to raise further funds >> to stop this running dry. >> >> 3. Consider hiring an artist for Game Accessibility >> icons for some kind of >> PEGI system of accessibility: >> www.pegi.info/en/index/ - And also for >> promotional usage. I still very much like the idea >> of approaching >> Etherbrian: http://etherbrian.typepad.com/ - maybe >> others have some >> thoughts? >> >> 4. Consider building a central hub web-site. Needs >> to be highly accessible - >> and unlike www.game-accessibility.com - fully in the >> hands of the GASIG >> community. I just don't find the WIKI that >> accessible personally. >> >> 5. Support hard-ware development and soft-ware >> development. This does not >> need to cost buckets of cash. And here's my pitch - >> I need access to a >> backward compatible PS3 and some of the various PS2 >> to PS3 joypad adapters. >> This is in order to test out the variety of >> one-handed and alternative >> controllers I support for compatibility. It's also >> to aid Geoff Harbach in >> testing out his switch interface for PS3 use. So >> far, Sony have not even >> replied to my e-mails, and I can't afford a PS2 >> compatible PS3... >> >> I'd certainly like to proceed with "The Simpler >> Tack" of three simple >> genres, three simple ways to make more accessible, >> with GASIG member >> support. This would go up on the blog or web-site. >> >> Anyway - thanks again! >> >> Barrie >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Ben Sawyer" >> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >> >> Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 1:54 PM >> Subject: [games_access] Games for Health to Invest >> in Games Accessibility >> >> > Hi everyone, >> > >> > I've got some big news. As many of you saw Games >> for Health is part of a >> > new round of investment by The Robert Wood Johnson >> Foundation into games >> > and healthcare. We're extremely excited about >> this new development. >> > >> > As part of our specific grant we have allocated >> resources specifically to >> > support the IGDA Accessibility community. >> > >> > Over the next two years we will directly >> contribute funds to SIG >> > activities. The amount is set but I can't reveal >> it yet as much as I >> > want to because I'm actually looking to make it >> more by finding some >> > other organizations who will join us with matching >> funds. Right now I >> > can tell you this - it's more then $10,000. >> > >> > The funds will be used to support your activities >> but there are of course >> > some simple strings. Basically the funds will be >> released once there is >> > a written plan in place that provides for how and >> what the funds will be >> > spent on. That plan needs my approval and >> subsequently I have to have >> > the approval of the foundation for all my work. >> I don't want it to sound >> > dictatorish -- I'm pretty liberal for what they >> should be used for but my >> > basic goals are as follows: >> > >> > 1. I'd like to see the community double is size as >> outlined by some >> > simple metrics (i.e. number of subscribers to the >> listserv, number of >> > people in the industry you are in regular contact >> with, number of talks >> > in front of audiences, etc.) >> > >> > 2. I'd like to see the community produce some >> written plans that outline >> > roadmaps for better accessibility efforts -- >> especially research roadmap. >> > >> > 3. I want to establish a standalone conference on >> games accessibility >> > attached to our Games for Health Conference (so we >> can combine logistics >> > and hit on overlapping communities of interest). >> > >> > 4. I am also specifically interested in >> identifying and doing what we can >> > to nurture research into how accessibility to >> games improves people with >> > disabilities mentally, socially, and physically. >> Eventually leading to >> > some great empirical and evidence based research >> published - to the >> > extent we don't already have this. >> > >> > Beyond those goals I look to everyone here in the >> community to really >> > drive things. So the restriction is the >> production of a plan that seems >> > smartly aimed toward these goals. Within that >> framework the funds can >> > support travel subsidies, creating really nice >> brochures, improved Web >> > site content and access, etc. >> > >> > I've already discussed the gist of this with >> Michelle and I've asked her >> > to produce with everyones help the plan and >> present it to me before the >> > end of the year. The funds are for 2008 and 2009. >> > >> > Games Accessibility Conference >> > I am very serious as I've said before in >> establishing a one-day >> > conference on games accessibility along side our >> Games for Health >> > Conference. We have facilities, hotel blocks, >> registration systems, >> > logistical support, massive PR support, already in >> place for this. >> > >> > The date to hold this would be May 7, 2008 which >> is the day before Games >> > for Health opens. It would be a one day >> conference with a single track >> > to start and a demo area. We would also probably >> feature 2 sessions on >> > accessibility at Games for Health on Thursday and >> Friday. I hope this >> > date works for everyone as much as possible - I >> can't really move it. >> > Hopefully it just works as best it can. In 2009 >> we hope to have more >> > flexibility for you. >> > >> > I want the SIG to take on the role of developing >> the content. My only >> > stipulation is 25% of the content MUST be focused >> on talks that explore >> > how accessibility technologies, research, and >> efforts can be applied to >> > health for people with permanent, temporary, or >> on-setting disabilities. >> > The rest of the content can be focused on core >> needs, case studies, >> > research, etc. that will improve the accessibility >> of games in general >> > for any purpose -- especially entertainment. >> > >> > Speakers would attend for free. All other >> registrants would be charged >> > an amount <$200 to attend. My goal is that the >> event be break-even or >> > even profitable within itself. I would share 50% >> of the profits from the >> > event back to the SIG by adding it to the grant >> funds we have available. >> > The other funds if there is a profit would be >> reinvested for planning the >> > following year, etc. >> > >> > We very much want to make this event happen. The >> Robert Wood Johnson >> > Foundation team we work with has someone on it >> with deep contacts in the >> > accessibility community and is going to talk with >> a variety of government >> > agencies involved with accessibility to drive them >> to support this event. >> > That becomes a doorway to driving them to support >> more pervasive >> > accessibility activities. >> > >> > We will be promoting this event heavily to all our >> attendees. We will be >> > filming parts of it, we will make an expo area >> available to showcase >> > work, and we will have dedicated PR staff on the >> event. >> > >> > The event is to be held in Baltimore, MD which is >> served by Southwest >> > Airlines which makes it pretty inexpensive to get >> to. We are also quite >> > proximate to the federal government which is a big >> plus. We've got two >> > hotels blocked out and we're searching for an >> ultra inexpensive block as >> > well. >> > >> > My goal is to have 50-100 people attend the >> event. My hopes are 25-50% >> > stay over for the rest of our event that week so >> yes from a total >> > transparency standpoint I'm hoping this increases >> my conference's core >> > profitability. Win-win. >> > >> > If there is a good sense we can pull of the >> conference idea as planned I >> > want to make it part of our conference >> announcements in the coming weeks. >> > I also will be including games accessibility in >> our call for content next >> > week. We expect to then forward those papers to >> a committee formed here >> > to accept and mold that content. I will advise >> you on content just from >> > my experience of organizing events but other then >> the 25% requirement I >> > really leave it to you as the experts to decide >> what will be important >> > for people to hear and learn from. >> > >> > BIG NEEDS >> > So hopefully you're still digesting this all but >> the reason I'm writing >> > this all and providing as much information as I >> can is I need the >> > following help - please reply to the list with >> your thoughts: >> > >> > 1. I do need general feedback - ask questions, >> provide comments, I will >> > do my best to answer them. >> > >> > 2. I need NAMES of people you think are in a >> position or at organizations >> > in a position to possibly decide to match our >> funds. I really want our >> > funds to catalyze others to chip in. There is no >> reason this can't >> > eventually snowball to generate over $100,000 or >> more in due time. At >> > least that's my hope. >> > >> > I am already reaching out to Microsoft, Intel, >> Cisco, IBM and a few >> > others. The early reception has been ok but until >> we release this more >> > publicly I expect things to be slow to develop. >> If you give me more >> > names I'll follow up hard. >> > >> > FUTURE PLANS >> > The basic outline for this all for me is as >> follows: >> > >> > 1. I want to announce the funds and the goals for >> them before Xmas. My >> > goal is we have 2 other funders matching 50% or >> more of the funds by then >> > so they can be named in the Press Release. >> > >> > 2. I want to then announce in the press release >> that the original funders >> > are challenging anyone else with resources to join >> this funding -- as >> > part of this I was thinking it'd be cool to setup >> an individual >> > fundraising effort too - let gamers, and >> individual developers provide >> > funds to match the larger gifts. >> > >> > 3. In order to accomplish points 1 & 2 the goal >> would be to have a basic >> > plan in place because the core goals of that plan >> would be articulated to >> > the public so they can understand what the funds >> will hopefully >> > accomplish. Ultimately if we raised enough my >> hopes are it would >> > accomplish funding development of more >> accessibility technologies, >> > standards, and SDKs to make it easier for all >> game developers to put >> > these features in their games. I also hope it >> might fund prototypes or >> > games that are specific for people with >> disabilities like some of the >> > audio only games we've seen from the community >> thus far. >> > >> > THANK YOU >> > I've been following the work of the SIG and all of >> you here for sometime. >> > As I've said many times the work here is >> extremely relevant to the work I >> > do on serious games, and games for health. I've >> been hoping to bring >> > some funds to the table to help and while it's >> not as much as I wanted if >> > I can parlay it with your help into a large >> enough amount it hopefully >> > can help be the fuel for the spark you've more >> then created. >> > >> > Thank you all, >> > >> > Ben >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > games_access mailing list >> > games_access at igda.org >> > >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>________________ >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >....................................... >these are mediocre times and people are >losing hope. it's hard for many people >to believe that there are extraordinary >things inside themselves, as well as >others. i hope you can keep an open >mind. > -- "unbreakable" >....................................... > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 2 >Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:18:59 +0200 >From: "Dimitris Grammenos" >Subject: Re: [games_access] FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and > Dimitris (and team!) >To: "'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List'" > >Message-ID: <20071119101902.648F68E40FC at mailhost.ics.forth.gr> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > >Hi Michelle, > >Thanks a lot! If it wasn't for you I would not be able to participate - and >I also guess that your presentation contributed considerably in getting the >people's choice award :-) > >You can send me the certificate to my work address: > >Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) >Institute of Computer Science (ICS) >Heraklion, Crete >GR - 70013 Greece > > >Once more, THANK YOU, > >Dimitris > > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of hinn at uiuc.edu >Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2007 5:01 AM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: [games_access] FuturePlay: Congrats to "Game Over" and Dimitris >(and team!) > >Hi all, > >I'm excited to announce that "Game Over" won the people's choice award at >"Play Arcadia," which was the Montreal portion of the game competition that >was held again here at FuturePlay in Toronto. > >GameOver: http://www.ics.forth.gr/hci/ua-games/game-over/ > >Play Arcadia: http://www.playarcadia.com > >FuturePlay Competition: http://www.futureplay.org/games.php (please note >that there is blinking text on this page :( ) > >So along with the funding announcement and now finding out that Dimitris' >(and crew) game won one of the people's choice awards, this has been a GREAT >day for accessibility! > >And as I was coming back to my hotel room I was thinking "what a great >conference this has been!" I will write more later when I've had a chance to >rest a bit and hopefully Kevin will be able to share his experiences with us >as well on the list. But in summary we've made so many new friends of >accessibility. Between this and E for All, we've seen amazing list growth >and each and every person that learns about us IS a win. Sure, smaller >conferences may frustrate us from time to time but we cannot forget that >sometimes this is exactly how we attract people who will put game >accessibility into their course work, tell others about it, share with a >friend or a relative with a disability. Sometimes it's the one-on-one time >we spend that results in impact that can be just as exciting and rewarding >as speaking to a crowded room. Seeing someone walk away from talking about >accessibility excited, offering help, and then joining the list...well >that's just really, really cool. > >But again...CONGRATS to Dimitris and his team for the award for Game Over! I >was proud to accept the award on their behalf (and Dimitris -- I need your >mailing address to mail you the award certificate!). > >Michelle >....................................... >these are mediocre times and people are >losing hope. it's hard for many people >to believe that there are extraordinary >things inside themselves, as well as >others. i hope you can keep an open >mind. > -- "unbreakable" >....................................... >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > >------------------------------ > >Message: 3 >Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:39:19 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping > veterans >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Message-ID: >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed > >Thanks Mark - I did understand they were two different agencies but I >made the mistake of only focusing on one. Dumb of me. > >My only reason for saying DoD is that they do have research funds >that filter to the two big distributors of medical research funds >which is ONR and TATRC and I have good contacts at each. But you're >right we should hit up Veterans. I also used to work for one of the >congressmen who sits on the Veteran's affairs committee so I need to >contact him - I saw him last week ironically on a plane trip back to >Maine but we had about 2 minutes to catch up before it took off. > >I think Dave Rejeski at Woodrow has also talked with Veteran's >Affairs but not in this vein so I'll check with him. > >- Ben > >On Nov 18, 2007, at 11:00 AM, Ioo wrote: > >> Ben, >> >> If you are really looking for a grant in this area, I would not go >> to the DOD for it, I would go to the VA. For the most part the DOD >> stabilizes vets, determins there ability to contune there service >> and if that results in discharge the VA takes it from there. I >> know this because I am a Disabled Vet, disabled on the job (non- >> combat), and I work here in Washington DC (and that is all I am >> going to say about that). >> >> The VA has money to give out, they are the ones that take care of >> Vets long term and they are the ones that would love to get a hold >> of things like we are speaking of. The DOD would use would benefit >> from these items, but they almost aways come out of the VA. >> >> For all of those that care. The VA and the DOD are not the same. >> They are 2 completely different agencies with different missions >> and different budgets. Best way to think about this is DOD Medical >> stabilization, VA is maintenance. >> >> Just a thought >> Mark Barlet >> AbleGamers.com >> >> Ben Sawyer wrote: >>> The likely approach for DoD is an SBIR grant - those must involve >>> commercialization but such a path for one switch is easily done. >>> The issue for DoD SBIRs is they are US based so we'd need a u.s. >>> based organization to submit for one (provided there is a call for >>> one to begin with which is another story). >>> >>> In the UK such a similar grant would come from the MoD. >>> >>> There will be many different types of schemes for grants/support/ >>> commercialization of course. The conference should explore things >>> like this. >>> >>> - Ben >>> >>> On Nov 18, 2007, at 6:11 AM, Barrie Ellis wrote: >>> >>>> I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the hyper- >>>> realistic FPS a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing >>>> reading reports. These are pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me >>>> Uo Poko any day of the week. This said, I'd happily see >>>> Department of Defence money taken for building accessible >>>> controllers for giving people some fun who can't otherwise. Do >>>> you think this is likely to happen? What might be the best approach? >>>> >>>> I have had a few people approach me stating that they are >>>> supporting soliers that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards >>>> one handed controllers as a solution to gaming. If we could get >>>> the DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one-handed controller back into >>>> production, this would aid a lot of one armed gamers. >>>> Unfortunately, we'd need to have to guarantee a lot of sales >>>> (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National >>>> Console Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. >>>> >>>> Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a >>>> one-handed controller manufactured: http:// >>>> gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds- >>>> manufacturer.html - It does not look to be the ideal solution for >>>> all. >>>> >>>> Barrie >>>> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >>>> >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Sawyer" >>>> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >>>> >>>> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM >>>> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games >>>> helping veterans >>>> >>>> >>>>> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help >>>>> veterans with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and >>>>> supported therapy. >>>>> >>>>> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the >>>>> non- PTSD induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and >>>>> suffering due to disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >>>>> >>>>> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by >>>>> others like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the >>>>> cyberpsychology realm. >>>>> >>>>> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games >>>>> that help here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well >>>>> worn veterans. There was some work by the Marines to use a >>>>> game for anti- drug efforts in the Marines - I need to find out >>>>> more about that project and if it produced results. >>>>> >>>>> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other >>>>> media/ processes or within them is a big part of some of the >>>>> major funding RWJF is providing to the games for health >>>>> community through Health Games Research. However, it's hard to >>>>> do comparative media studies and it's likely we might not know >>>>> for sometime these differences. It's also more likely that we >>>>> parse using games vs. not based on the goals we have and how >>>>> they map well to things games are accepted as doing quite well >>>>> such as motivation and distance socialization. >>>>> >>>>> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at >>>>> veteran issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and >>>>> creation of games for people who have suffered various >>>>> ambulatory injuries and for people with rehabilitation needs >>>>> from head injuries, etc. These would obviously have crossover >>>>> use to civilians suffering from the same issues be they by >>>>> birth or accidents not involving warfare. Unfortunately it is >>>>> likely the DoD has more $$ more easily available to tackle >>>>> these issues then do private civilian side sources. >>>>> >>>>> - Ben >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>>>>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>>>>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>>>>> need. >>>>>> >>>>>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>>>>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>>>>> >>>>>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of >>>>>> the >>>>>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of >>>>>> them have >>>>>> experienced mental health problems." >>>>>> >>>>>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>>>>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be >>>>>> abused >>>>>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to >>>>>> include >>>>>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>>>>> >>>>>> -Reid >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > >------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > >End of games_access Digest, Vol 41, Issue 36 >******************************************** > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From foreversublime at hotmail.com Mon Nov 19 11:28:28 2007 From: foreversublime at hotmail.com (Matthias Troup) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:28:28 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: <20071118122256.AYA81476@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> References: <20071118122256.AYA81476@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Message-ID: Hi All, Regarding Vets; Here's an LA Times article that might give some a more intimate look into a war vet's life. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/photography/la-na-marlboro11nov11,0,2214837.story PS - Creating a relationship with high profile persons such as "The Marlboro Marine" could prove advantageous.-Matt> From: hinn at uiuc.edu> To: games_access at igda.org> Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 12:22:56 -0600> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans> > I am also very, very anti-war, Barrie. I think, though, that one thing that differentiates this war from Vietnam is that -- largely -- injured, returning soldiers aren't being treated with the coldness from the anti-war lot that they were then. I think people recognize that the tactics for recruiting and so forth are far different for this war and, unfortunately, we've had some absolute horror stories of veterans returning from Iraq not being cared for due to less funding going to the after-care of soldiers and more going to the recruitment and training of pre-war soldiers. Sadly...the irony is that games were used for recruitment in a huge way for Iraq and yet not everyone is as "enlightened" to realize that games can be even more powerful to help people who have been injured learn how to live in new ways. At the end of the day, my concern is with those who have been hurt -- on all sides.> > And -- on the record -- my opinion is my opinion and is not the opinion of the SIG and all SIG members. I feel the need to state that because of my position as SIG chair. > > Michelle> > ---- Original message ----> >Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:11:24 -0000> >From: "Barrie Ellis" > >Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans > >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > >> >I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the hyper-realistic FPS > >a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing reading reports. These are > >pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me Uo Poko any day of the week. This > >said, I'd happily see Department of Defence money taken for building > >accessible controllers for giving people some fun who can't otherwise. Do > >you think this is likely to happen? What might be the best approach?> >> >I have had a few people approach me stating that they are supporting soliers > >that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards one handed controllers as a > >solution to gaming. If we could get the DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one-handed > >controller back into production, this would aid a lot of one armed gamers. > >Unfortunately, we'd need to have to guarantee a lot of sales > >(http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National Console > >Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen.> >> >Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a one-handed > >controller manufactured: > >http://gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller-finds-manufacturer.html - > >It does not look to be the ideal solution for all.> >> >Barrie> >www.OneSwitch.org.uk> >> >> >----- Original Message ----- > >From: "Ben Sawyer" > >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > >Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM> >Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans> >> >> >> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help veterans > >> with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and supported therapy.> >>> >> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the non- PTSD > >> induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and suffering due to > >> disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc.> >>> >> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by others > >> like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the cyberpsychology realm.> >>> >> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games that help > >> here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well worn veterans. There > >> was some work by the Marines to use a game for anti- drug efforts in the > >> Marines - I need to find out more about that project and if it produced > >> results.> >>> >> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other media/ > >> processes or within them is a big part of some of the major funding RWJF > >> is providing to the games for health community through Health Games > >> Research. However, it's hard to do comparative media studies and it's > >> likely we might not know for sometime these differences. It's also more > >> likely that we parse using games vs. not based on the goals we have and > >> how they map well to things games are accepted as doing quite well such > >> as motivation and distance socialization.> >>> >> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran > >> issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation of > >> games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries and for > >> people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, etc. These would > >> obviously have crossover use to civilians suffering from the same issues > >> be they by birth or accidents not involving warfare. Unfortunately it is > >> likely the DoD has more $$ more easily available to tackle these issues > >> then do private civilian side sources.> >>> >> - Ben> >>> >>> >>> >> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote:> >>> >>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games> >>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind> >>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they> >>> need.> >>>> >>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- > >>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/> >>>> >>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the> >>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have> >>> experienced mental health problems."> >>>> >>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games> >>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused> >>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include> >>> gaming as part of a larger therapy?> >>>> >>> -Reid> >>> _______________________________________________> >>> games_access mailing list> >>> games_access at igda.org> >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access> >>> >> _______________________________________________> >> games_access mailing list> >> games_access at igda.org> >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >> >> >> >_______________________________________________> >games_access mailing list> >games_access at igda.org> >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access> .......................................> these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind.> -- "unbreakable"> .......................................> _______________________________________________> games_access mailing list> games_access at igda.org> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access _________________________________________________________________ Put your friends on the big screen with Windows Vista? + Windows Live?. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/shop/specialoffers.mspx?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_CPC_MediaCtr_bigscreen_102007 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From eelke.folmer at gmail.com Mon Nov 19 15:07:10 2007 From: eelke.folmer at gmail.com (Eelke Folmer) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:07:10 -0800 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <836db6300711191207n753c929r621ec619d51385ad@mail.gmail.com> Related to this I saw this on joystick this week: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/10/president-bush-plays-video-games-with-injured-soldiers/ I have moral issues with getting military funding; a simple solution would just be to stop making more people with disabilities. Aside from my personal opinion. I think this SIG should focus on making games accessible. Researching how games can help deal with trauma is a different research question which -at least for me- lies outside of my field of expertise. If veterans have to play games they should play katamari rather than violent FPS's in my opinion. Do you help a rape victim deal with trauma by showing her a rape scene from a violent movie? I'm very sceptic about this approach. Cheers Eelke On Nov 17, 2007 12:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: > Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games > reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind > boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they > need. > > http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates-shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ > > "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the > more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have > experienced mental health problems." > > This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games > really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused > like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include > gaming as part of a larger therapy? > > -Reid > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bsawyer at dmill.com Mon Nov 19 16:06:31 2007 From: bsawyer at dmill.com (Ben Sawyer) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:06:31 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: <836db6300711191207n753c929r621ec619d51385ad@mail.gmail.com> References: <836db6300711191207n753c929r621ec619d51385ad@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2191041E-8D18-4B2E-A73E-EDB42EC4DC15@dmill.com> There are differences from rehabilitation of physical injuries vs. those that are mental. I think the SIG's more natural tendencies lie in those with physiological disabilities acquired or inherited. We have an entire other group of people looking at mental issues with games including PTSD so my feeling is let those experts deal with that. As for the ethics of military funding I don't have the same issues with the military - my moral issues are with political leadership vs. the soldiers but I think it's important to consider that the SIG may want to confine it's acceptance of funds to veteran's affairs vs. the core active DoD. Or at any case it may decide not to take those funds but direct those agencies to entities within its community who don't have objections. As for dealing with Trauma through exposure therapy I think there is a decent body of research that supports this being an at times effective approach - especially with PTSD issues be they military, auto accident or other forms of trauma. As to whether they translate to criminal attacks that's beyond my scope as well. - Ben On Nov 19, 2007, at 3:07 PM, Eelke Folmer wrote: > Related to this I saw this on joystick this week: > > http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/10/president-bush-plays-video-games- > with-injured-soldiers/ > > I have moral issues with getting military funding; a simple solution > would just be to stop making more people with disabilities. > > Aside from my personal opinion. I think this SIG should focus on > making games accessible. Researching how games can help deal with > trauma is a different research question which -at least for me- lies > outside of my field of expertise. If veterans have to play games they > should play katamari rather than violent FPS's in my opinion. Do you > help a rape victim deal with trauma by showing her a rape scene from a > violent movie? I'm very sceptic about this approach. > > Cheers Eelke > > > > On Nov 17, 2007 12:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >> need. >> >> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >> >> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have >> experienced mental health problems." >> >> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused >> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >> >> -Reid >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > > > > -- > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > ------ > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > Department of CS&E/171 > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > ------ > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Mon Nov 19 17:19:34 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:19:34 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans Message-ID: <20071119161934.AYB71727@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Well, by telling injured war veterans that they can only play katamari is akin to telling any one disabled in any way that they can only play katamari. The core issue remains -- shouldn't more games be accessible? Period. If we start getting into issues of who gets to play what depending on how they were injured...we start down a slippery slope. Should someone who was disabled due to a mistake they made in any other situation be treated in that same way? We are not the morality police -- we are about game accessibility. That being said, why should we take any money from any government-related unit, including the NSF and NASA? The sad reality is that many of our veterans are on the 3rd and 4th tours of duty and our military keeps sending them back, even those with documented PTSD (which is actually one area of my expertise being a psychologist). We have a situation where it's our most impoverished who are over there -- see how many members of the senate, etc who actually have sons or daughters that serve. Basically there's a major, major class division that has occurred and not every soldier is over there because they really, really want to be. The fact is...we have a veterans administration that is around to help the soldiers who are hurt that is NOT the same as the department of defense. The VA calls me all the time and why should I not tell them about controllers that they can use because of my position on the war (against). And the VA gets answers all the time -- why not seek funding from a group that needs us? We are not talking about funding from the same group that creates the violent games! f! or military training. But I agree with Ben, that our natural area of expertise should be focused on disabilities that require different design and controllers and not psychological issues unless we are pointing toward how games can serve as a way to improve quality of life for those who are disabled. That's a whole other area of research -- and showing rape victims rape scenario IS used in several forms of therapy to help break through and get the person talking about it so that they can come to a point of resolution in their lives about the rape so that they can begin to heal. But again, trauma is not what we are concerned with -- accessible games and controllers are. I will say this on the list because by now you all know me to be a pretty open person -- as a rape victim from long ago, I can tell you that there are kinds of things that bug me with all different kinds of media. But I can turn off the TV, the game, etc. But if I so choose -- whether or not it's good for me or not psychologically -- I have the choice of participating in that media. The same should be true for gamers with disabilities. Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:06:31 -0500 >From: Ben Sawyer >Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > >There are differences from rehabilitation of physical injuries vs. >those that are mental. I think the SIG's more natural tendencies lie >in those with physiological disabilities acquired or inherited. We >have an entire other group of people looking at mental issues with >games including PTSD so my feeling is let those experts deal with that. > >As for the ethics of military funding I don't have the same issues >with the military - my moral issues are with political leadership vs. >the soldiers but I think it's important to consider that the SIG may >want to confine it's acceptance of funds to veteran's affairs vs. the >core active DoD. Or at any case it may decide not to take those >funds but direct those agencies to entities within its community who >don't have objections. > >As for dealing with Trauma through exposure therapy I think there is >a decent body of research that supports this being an at times >effective approach - especially with PTSD issues be they military, >auto accident or other forms of trauma. As to whether they translate >to criminal attacks that's beyond my scope as well. > >- Ben > >On Nov 19, 2007, at 3:07 PM, Eelke Folmer wrote: > >> Related to this I saw this on joystick this week: >> >> http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/10/president-bush-plays-video-games- >> with-injured-soldiers/ >> >> I have moral issues with getting military funding; a simple solution >> would just be to stop making more people with disabilities. >> >> Aside from my personal opinion. I think this SIG should focus on >> making games accessible. Researching how games can help deal with >> trauma is a different research question which -at least for me- lies >> outside of my field of expertise. If veterans have to play games they >> should play katamari rather than violent FPS's in my opinion. Do you >> help a rape victim deal with trauma by showing her a rape scene from a >> violent movie? I'm very sceptic about this approach. >> >> Cheers Eelke >> >> >> >> On Nov 17, 2007 12:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>> need. >>> >>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>> >>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have >>> experienced mental health problems." >>> >>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused >>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>> >>> -Reid >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> ------ >> Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >> Department of CS&E/171 >> University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >> Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> ------ >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From hinn at uiuc.edu Mon Nov 19 17:29:10 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:29:10 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans Message-ID: <20071119162910.AYB72413@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> >I have moral issues with getting military funding; a simple solution >would just be to stop making more people with disabilities. Well, that would be the ideal and is very much what I would like to see come to a hault. And anything that Bush does? It has "clueless" all over. We can see the irony of US recruitment games being used and then games being something that could help those same people who got hurt in Iraq. I doubt he can. I mean if we were to get money from a gambling company, I might also have an issue because gambling is something that people are seriously addicted to and have faced financial ruin as an effect of. All I'm saying is that nearly every funder is going to put us in some kind of ethical quandary -- we just have to figure out how to deal with them as they come up. But...I disgress... Michelle ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From richard at audiogames.net Mon Nov 19 18:17:27 2007 From: richard at audiogames.net (AudioGames.net) Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:17:27 +0100 Subject: [games_access] Still Here References: <2BF53865-BF62-4392-878A-12D61F0F698D@dmill.com> Message-ID: <006a01c82b02$59cc7680$6402a8c0@Delletje> Hi Guys, Just to let you know: I'm still here!!! Very busy with PhD stuff (missed my preferred deadline but no worries, will finish :) and my new job (which started this summer). Some VERY BRIEF comments: > Dimitris: congrats with your winning! > Michelle & Kevin & Eitan: good job! > Ben: EXCELLENT! > Barrie: good job with simpler track suggestions setup. Acc-icons I think > need some discussion (later). GA-website: out of my hands now, don't think > Accessibility foundation is busy with it, suggest SIG contacting them > directly for non-hostile take-over ;) Would like to have some more > blind-related suggestions though :) K... email when I got time (not now) Richard From hinn at uiuc.edu Mon Nov 19 18:25:32 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:25:32 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Still Here Message-ID: <20071119172532.AYB77245@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Yeah my preferred deadline for finishing my PhD stuff has now had to moved to March thanks to all things health and committee related. Oh well. I'll be glad when the all-nighters go down to once a week rather than being every other day... So I know all about the business. Yet...I must not care that I'm swamped and have no life outside the PhD and the SIG at the moment...I must say...what's this thing I hear called "beer"? ;) Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:17:27 +0100 >From: "AudioGames.net" >Subject: [games_access] Still Here >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > >Hi Guys, > >Just to let you know: I'm still here!!! Very busy with PhD stuff (missed my >preferred deadline but no worries, will finish :) and my new job (which >started this summer). Some VERY BRIEF comments: > >> Dimitris: congrats with your winning! >> Michelle & Kevin & Eitan: good job! >> Ben: EXCELLENT! >> Barrie: good job with simpler track suggestions setup. Acc-icons I think >> need some discussion (later). GA-website: out of my hands now, don't think >> Accessibility foundation is busy with it, suggest SIG contacting them >> directly for non-hostile take-over ;) Would like to have some more >> blind-related suggestions though :) > >K... email when I got time (not now) > >Richard > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Mon Nov 19 18:38:57 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:38:57 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxkxCsA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxkxCsA Message-ID: <000901c82b05$5a727320$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Eelke you make an excellent point it currently doesn't make sense for soldiers of more to be playing violent video games. I know for example my brother is an electrician when he comes over to my house I asked him to do some more and the last thing he wants to do is more electrician. It's probably similar. Except for experiencing death and murder and then again in a videogame. I'm surprised this is not getting back reputations. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Eelke Folmer Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 3:07 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans Related to this I saw this on joystick this week: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/10/president-bush-plays-video-games-with-inju red-soldiers/ I have moral issues with getting military funding; a simple solution would just be to stop making more people with disabilities. Aside from my personal opinion. I think this SIG should focus on making games accessible. Researching how games can help deal with trauma is a different research question which -at least for me- lies outside of my field of expertise. If veterans have to play games they should play katamari rather than violent FPS's in my opinion. Do you help a rape victim deal with trauma by showing her a rape scene from a violent movie? I'm very sceptic about this approach. Cheers Eelke On Nov 17, 2007 12:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: > Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games > reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind > boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they > need. > > http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates-shocking-rate -of-veteran-suicides/ > > "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the > more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have > experienced mental health problems." > > This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games > really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused > like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include > gaming as part of a larger therapy? > > -Reid > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From eelke.folmer at gmail.com Mon Nov 19 19:01:37 2007 From: eelke.folmer at gmail.com (Eelke Folmer) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:01:37 -0800 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: <20071119161934.AYB71727@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> References: <20071119161934.AYB71727@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Message-ID: <836db6300711191601m1e9a3224j588263c51844ec3c@mail.gmail.com> Hi Michelle, -- and showing rape victims rape scenario IS used in several forms of therapy to help break through ---- Hmm I didn't know that but it kind of make sense too if you think about it. My remarks just show that I don't know too much about psychology ;-) Cheers Eelke > >As for the ethics of military funding I don't have the same issues > >with the military - my moral issues are with political leadership vs. > >the soldiers but I think it's important to consider that the SIG may > >want to confine it's acceptance of funds to veteran's affairs vs. the > >core active DoD. Or at any case it may decide not to take those > >funds but direct those agencies to entities within its community who > >don't have objections. > > > >As for dealing with Trauma through exposure therapy I think there is > >a decent body of research that supports this being an at times > >effective approach - especially with PTSD issues be they military, > >auto accident or other forms of trauma. As to whether they translate > >to criminal attacks that's beyond my scope as well. > > > >- Ben > > > >On Nov 19, 2007, at 3:07 PM, Eelke Folmer wrote: > > > >> Related to this I saw this on joystick this week: > >> > >> http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/10/president-bush-plays-video-games- > >> with-injured-soldiers/ > >> > >> I have moral issues with getting military funding; a simple solution > >> would just be to stop making more people with disabilities. > >> > >> Aside from my personal opinion. I think this SIG should focus on > >> making games accessible. Researching how games can help deal with > >> trauma is a different research question which -at least for me- lies > >> outside of my field of expertise. If veterans have to play games they > >> should play katamari rather than violent FPS's in my opinion. Do you > >> help a rape victim deal with trauma by showing her a rape scene from a > >> violent movie? I'm very sceptic about this approach. > >> > >> Cheers Eelke > >> > >> > >> > >> On Nov 17, 2007 12:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: > >>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games > >>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind > >>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they > >>> need. > >>> > >>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- > >>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ > >>> > >>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the > >>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them have > >>> experienced mental health problems." > >>> > >>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games > >>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be abused > >>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include > >>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? > >>> > >>> -Reid > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> games_access mailing list > >>> games_access at igda.org > >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >>> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> ------ > >> Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > >> Department of CS&E/171 > >> University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > >> Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> ------ > >> _______________________________________________ > >> games_access mailing list > >> games_access at igda.org > >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > >_______________________________________________ > >games_access mailing list > >games_access at igda.org > >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From thomas at pininteractive.com Tue Nov 20 01:16:02 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 07:16:02 +0100 Subject: [games_access] Research questions about games helping veterans In-Reply-To: <20071118122256.AYA81476@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> References: <20071118122256.AYA81476@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Message-ID: <394B0FE3-20C4-46D7-A523-A288332C3073@pininteractive.com> a twist on this would be to use games for Iraq civilian refugees too - Sweden receives 50% of all Iraq refugees in Europe so Sweden could be a good starting point for such development. Sweden gets about 5 million USD from the EU for this. This way Iraq civilians and soldier vets can meet and learn to know each other in a game. Also, learning English through chatting in a game could be one way to reach at least the young refugees, and help them integrate in the European society. /Thomas 18 nov 2007 kl. 19.22 skrev : > I am also very, very anti-war, Barrie. I think, though, that one > thing that differentiates this war from Vietnam is that -- largely > -- injured, returning soldiers aren't being treated with the > coldness from the anti-war lot that they were then. I think people > recognize that the tactics for recruiting and so forth are far > different for this war and, unfortunately, we've had some absolute > horror stories of veterans returning from Iraq not being cared for > due to less funding going to the after-care of soldiers and more > going to the recruitment and training of pre-war soldiers. > Sadly...the irony is that games were used for recruitment in a huge > way for Iraq and yet not everyone is as "enlightened" to realize > that games can be even more powerful to help people who have been > injured learn how to live in new ways. At the end of the day, my > concern is with those who have been hurt -- on all sides. > > And -- on the record -- my opinion is my opinion and is not the > opinion of the SIG and all SIG members. I feel the need to state > that because of my position as SIG chair. > > Michelle > > ---- Original message ---- >> Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:11:24 -0000 >> From: "Barrie Ellis" >> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping >> veterans >> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >> >> >> I am very anti-war - and really don't like a lot of the hyper- >> realistic FPS >> a lot of these soldiers seem to like playing reading reports. >> These are >> pretty nasty games in my eyes. Give me Uo Poko any day of the >> week. This >> said, I'd happily see Department of Defence money taken for building >> accessible controllers for giving people some fun who can't >> otherwise. Do >> you think this is likely to happen? What might be the best approach? >> >> I have had a few people approach me stating that they are >> supporting soliers >> that have lost limbs, mostly looking towards one handed >> controllers as a >> solution to gaming. If we could get the DragonPlus RPG DuoCon2 one- >> handed >> controller back into production, this would aid a lot of one armed >> gamers. >> Unfortunately, we'd need to have to guarantee a lot of sales >> (http://www.ncsxshop.com/cgi-bin/shop/SAM-PS2RDC2.html - National >> Console >> Support suggest 20,000 sales) to see this likely to happen. >> >> Although Ben Heck seems to be having some success in getting a one- >> handed >> controller manufactured: >> http://gameaccessibility.blogspot.com/2007/10/access-controller- >> finds-manufacturer.html - >> It does not look to be the ideal solution for all. >> >> Barrie >> www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Ben Sawyer" >> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >> >> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 10:48 AM >> Subject: Re: [games_access] Research questions about games helping >> veterans >> >> >>> There is some emerging evidence that virtual environments help >>> veterans >>> with PTSD as long as it's part of a very scaffold and supported >>> therapy. >>> >>> The more specific question might be are some of these cases (the >>> non- PTSD >>> induced ones) a result of veterans who suffer pain and suffering >>> due to >>> disabilities, reduced social atmosphere, etc. >>> >>> PTSD is a very debilitating problem but it's well worked on by >>> others >>> like Skip Rizzo, Russ Shilling, and others in the cyberpsychology >>> realm. >>> >>> In terms of drugs and alcohol while there are ideas for games >>> that help >>> here they are more suited to teens, etc. then well worn >>> veterans. There >>> was some work by the Marines to use a game for anti- drug efforts >>> in the >>> Marines - I need to find out more about that project and if it >>> produced >>> results. >>> >>> The issue of whether games work or not or especially vs. other >>> media/ >>> processes or within them is a big part of some of the major >>> funding RWJF >>> is providing to the games for health community through Health Games >>> Research. However, it's hard to do comparative media studies >>> and it's >>> likely we might not know for sometime these differences. It's >>> also more >>> likely that we parse using games vs. not based on the goals we >>> have and >>> how they map well to things games are accepted as doing quite >>> well such >>> as motivation and distance socialization. >>> >>> Where the SIG and its members might do well in looking at veteran >>> issues/defense needs is in adaptation of controllers and creation of >>> games for people who have suffered various ambulatory injuries >>> and for >>> people with rehabilitation needs from head injuries, etc. These >>> would >>> obviously have crossover use to civilians suffering from the >>> same issues >>> be they by birth or accidents not involving warfare. >>> Unfortunately it is >>> likely the DoD has more $$ more easily available to tackle these >>> issues >>> then do private civilian side sources. >>> >>> - Ben >>> >>> >>> >>> On Nov 17, 2007, at 3:58 PM, Reid Kimball wrote: >>> >>>> Michelle's recent post about veterans seeking relief through games >>>> reminded me I saw this the other day. Truly staggering and mind >>>> boggling the numbers of veterans that aren't getting the help they >>>> need. >>>> >>>> http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/15/cbs-news-investigates- >>>> shocking-rate-of-veteran-suicides/ >>>> >>>> "In 2005 alone, 125 veterans committed suicide each week and of the >>>> more than 88,000 vets returning from Iraq, more than 28% of them >>>> have >>>> experienced mental health problems." >>>> >>>> This is definitely an area we need to research, how much can games >>>> really help depressed veterans? Will it help them? Will it be >>>> abused >>>> like drugs and alcohol? Is it THE solution or is it best to include >>>> gaming as part of a larger therapy? >>>> >>>> -Reid >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk Fri Nov 23 15:49:43 2007 From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk (Barrie Ellis) Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:49:43 -0000 Subject: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... Message-ID: <00eb01c82e12$6026be60$0202a8c0@oneswitch> http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=109_1195663753 Barrie www.OneSwitch.org.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 23 17:44:00 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:44:00 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... Message-ID: <20071123164400.AYE99757@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Yeah...kind of "terminator"-like for sure. I read today that there were 20k US soldiers with traumatic brain injury that had gone unaccounted for by the military until now...leaked today on US Thanksgiving..eee. Can't find a link at the moment as I am traveling and on a low bandwidth connection. Michelle ---- Original message ---- >Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:49:43 -0000 >From: "Barrie Ellis" >Subject: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=109_1195663753 > > Barrie > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > >________________ >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From thomas at pininteractive.com Sat Nov 24 06:16:59 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:16:59 +0100 Subject: [games_access] GAIM framework Message-ID: Hello I've created a site for my research I will do this winter, which will result in a master thesis in computer and systems science. You'll find a brief project description (abstracted from my thesis) on the site. An even briefer description: what I'm aiming for is to propose a general model (framework) for implementing game accessibility. It will be described with UML to be independent of concrete implementation language, but still applicable in any language. The short name for it is GAIM, or Game Accessibility Implementation Model I would really appreciate if you could participate in the study. Hopefully the results can be used as a starting point for an open source framework. http://people.dsv.su.se/~thomasw/gaim Thanks Thomas From jbannick at 7128.com Sat Nov 24 13:25:14 2007 From: jbannick at 7128.com (John Bannick) Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:25:14 -0500 Subject: [games_access] GAIM framework In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20071124130618.01dfe9d8@enigami.com> Hi Thomas, My name is John Bannick. I build computer games that are accessible to gamers who are blind, visually impaired, color blind, deaf, or motion impaired. I've been building commercial software for 30 years, specializing in user interfaces. Your forthcoming research is very much consistent with my own work making user interfaces more accessible. If you are interested, I'd be happy to participate in your study. Our company Web site is www.7128.com and a couple of newspaper articles about our people are at http://www.7128.com/news/resourcesnews.html. BTW. You might contact Veli-Pekka T?til? (vtatila at mail.student.oulu.fi) a Computer Science PhD candidate in Finland. He is a gamer and has some well thought out and articulated ideas about keyboard accessibility. Later, John Bannick CTO 7-128 Software At 06:16 AM 11/24/2007, you wrote: >Hello > >I've created a site for my research I will do this winter, which will >result in a master thesis in computer and systems science. > >You'll find a brief project description (abstracted from my thesis) >on the site. An even briefer description: what I'm aiming for is to >propose a general model (framework) for implementing game >accessibility. It will be described with UML to be independent of >concrete implementation language, but still applicable in any language. > >The short name for it is GAIM, or Game Accessibility Implementation >Model > >I would really appreciate if you could participate in the study. >Hopefully the results can be used as a starting point for an open >source framework. > >http://people.dsv.su.se/~thomasw/gaim > >Thanks >Thomas > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > >-- >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: >269.16.5/1149 - Release Date: 11/24/2007 10:06 AM From reid at rbkdesign.com Sat Nov 24 15:47:02 2007 From: reid at rbkdesign.com (Reid Kimball) Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:47:02 -0800 Subject: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... In-Reply-To: <20071123164400.AYE99757@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> References: <20071123164400.AYE99757@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> Message-ID: I found this link from crooksandliars.com about the article you are referring to Michelle. Combat brain injuries multiply 20,000 not listed in Pentagon tally By Gregg Zoroya USA TODAY http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071123/1a_lede23.art.htm -Reid On Nov 23, 2007 2:44 PM, wrote: > Yeah...kind of "terminator"-like for sure. > > I read today that there were 20k US soldiers with traumatic brain injury that had gone unaccounted for by the military until now...leaked today on US Thanksgiving..eee. Can't find a link at the moment as I am traveling and on a low bandwidth connection. > > Michelle > > > ---- Original message ---- > >Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:49:43 -0000 > >From: "Barrie Ellis" > >Subject: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... > >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > > > http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=109_1195663753 > > > > Barrie > > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > > >________________ > >_______________________________________________ > >games_access mailing list > >games_access at igda.org > >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 24 19:58:58 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 19:58:58 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Robert doing PR Baltimore early show. In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzk7isA References: <20071123164400.AYE99757@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzk7isA Message-ID: <009801c82efe$5c941a80$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Hey everyone just wanted to say the Babe Ruth Museum I did the Babe Ruth portrait of the doing a really huge PR campaign. And now I don't live in Baltimore but were hoping to get coverage of New York this time but right now I did a really sports radio show Monday morning I'm doing prerecording with Don Scott and Marty that to be aired the 27th of November for the early show coffee with. That's cool. That's local Baltimore. They have all the main actors and someone who's really famous on that show got Baltimore's most ratings for morning shows. So crossing my fingers I hope it gets the attraction of some huge I want to bid on this thinking a huge bid. Check out my homepage for the painting. I know the Baltimore Sun is doing a story on it also I believe. So wherever I get a chance I'll do my best to mention our group. What is the web site to refer people to now? For one group? Robert www.RobertFlorio.com -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Reid Kimball Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 3:47 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... I found this link from crooksandliars.com about the article you are referring to Michelle. Combat brain injuries multiply 20,000 not listed in Pentagon tally By Gregg Zoroya USA TODAY http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071123/1a_lede23.art.htm -Reid On Nov 23, 2007 2:44 PM, wrote: > Yeah...kind of "terminator"-like for sure. > > I read today that there were 20k US soldiers with traumatic brain injury that had gone unaccounted for by the military until now...leaked today on US Thanksgiving..eee. Can't find a link at the moment as I am traveling and on a low bandwidth connection. > > Michelle > > > ---- Original message ---- > >Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:49:43 -0000 > >From: "Barrie Ellis" > >Subject: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... > >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > > > http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=109_1195663753 > > > > Barrie > > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > > >________________ > >_______________________________________________ > >games_access mailing list > >games_access at igda.org > >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Sat Nov 24 20:02:11 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 20:02:11 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Robert doing PR Baltimore early show. In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxk8SsA References: <20071123164400.AYE99757@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu>AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIzk7isA AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxk8SsA Message-ID: <00a101c82efe$cf8a7e30$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Correction I do live in Baltimore I was just saying I know a lot of you don't. That was a typo. :-) Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Robert Florio Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 7:59 PM To: 'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List' Subject: Re: [games_access] Robert doing PR Baltimore early show. Hey everyone just wanted to say the Babe Ruth Museum I did the Babe Ruth portrait of the doing a really huge PR campaign. And now I don't live in Baltimore but were hoping to get coverage of New York this time but right now I did a really sports radio show Monday morning I'm doing prerecording with Don Scott and Marty that to be aired the 27th of November for the early show coffee with. That's cool. That's local Baltimore. They have all the main actors and someone who's really famous on that show got Baltimore's most ratings for morning shows. So crossing my fingers I hope it gets the attraction of some huge I want to bid on this thinking a huge bid. Check out my homepage for the painting. I know the Baltimore Sun is doing a story on it also I believe. So wherever I get a chance I'll do my best to mention our group. What is the web site to refer people to now? For one group? Robert www.RobertFlorio.com -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Reid Kimball Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 3:47 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... I found this link from crooksandliars.com about the article you are referring to Michelle. Combat brain injuries multiply 20,000 not listed in Pentagon tally By Gregg Zoroya USA TODAY http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071123/1a_lede23.art.htm -Reid On Nov 23, 2007 2:44 PM, wrote: > Yeah...kind of "terminator"-like for sure. > > I read today that there were 20k US soldiers with traumatic brain injury that had gone unaccounted for by the military until now...leaked today on US Thanksgiving..eee. Can't find a link at the moment as I am traveling and on a low bandwidth connection. > > Michelle > > > ---- Original message ---- > >Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:49:43 -0000 > >From: "Barrie Ellis" > >Subject: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... > >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" > > > > http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=109_1195663753 > > > > Barrie > > www.OneSwitch.org.uk > > > >________________ > >_______________________________________________ > >games_access mailing list > >games_access at igda.org > >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > ....................................... > these are mediocre times and people are > losing hope. it's hard for many people > to believe that there are extraordinary > things inside themselves, as well as > others. i hope you can keep an open > mind. > -- "unbreakable" > ....................................... > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Sun Nov 25 00:38:14 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (hinn at uiuc.edu) Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:38:14 -0600 (CST) Subject: [games_access] Robert doing PR Baltimore early show. Message-ID: <20071124233814.AYF64758@expms2.cites.uiuc.edu> use http://www.igda.org/accessibility for now for the URL -- it will always take people to the latest no matter what style it becomes over the next few months. ---- Original message ---- >Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 20:02:11 -0500 >From: "Robert Florio" >Subject: Re: [games_access] Robert doing PR Baltimore early show. >To: "'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List'" > >Correction I do live in Baltimore I was just saying I know a lot of you >don't. That was a typo. :-) >Robert > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of Robert Florio >Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 7:59 PM >To: 'IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List' >Subject: Re: [games_access] Robert doing PR Baltimore early show. > >Hey everyone just wanted to say the Babe Ruth Museum I did the Babe Ruth >portrait of the doing a really huge PR campaign. > >And now I don't live in Baltimore but were hoping to get coverage of New >York this time but right now I did a really sports radio show Monday morning >I'm doing prerecording with Don Scott and Marty that to be aired the 27th of >November for the early show coffee with. That's cool. That's local >Baltimore. > >They have all the main actors and someone who's really famous on that show >got Baltimore's most ratings for morning shows. So crossing my fingers I >hope it gets the attraction of some huge I want to bid on this thinking a >huge bid. Check out my homepage for the painting. > >I know the Baltimore Sun is doing a story on it also I believe. So wherever >I get a chance I'll do my best to mention our group. > >What is the web site to refer people to now? For one group? > >Robert >www.RobertFlorio.com > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >On Behalf Of Reid Kimball >Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 3:47 PM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: Re: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... > >I found this link from crooksandliars.com about the article you are >referring to Michelle. > >Combat brain injuries multiply >20,000 not listed in Pentagon tally >By Gregg Zoroya >USA TODAY >http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071123/1a_lede23.art.htm > >-Reid > >On Nov 23, 2007 2:44 PM, wrote: >> Yeah...kind of "terminator"-like for sure. >> >> I read today that there were 20k US soldiers with traumatic brain injury >that had gone unaccounted for by the military until now...leaked today on US >Thanksgiving..eee. Can't find a link at the moment as I am traveling and on >a low bandwidth connection. > >> >> Michelle >> >> >> ---- Original message ---- >> >Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:49:43 -0000 >> >From: "Barrie Ellis" >> >Subject: [games_access] Impressive and Scary at the same time... >> >To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" >> > >> > http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=109_1195663753 >> > >> > Barrie >> > www.OneSwitch.org.uk >> > >> >________________ >> >_______________________________________________ >> >games_access mailing list >> >games_access at igda.org >> >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> ....................................... >> these are mediocre times and people are >> losing hope. it's hard for many people >> to believe that there are extraordinary >> things inside themselves, as well as >> others. i hope you can keep an open >> mind. >> -- "unbreakable" >> ....................................... >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access ....................................... these are mediocre times and people are losing hope. it's hard for many people to believe that there are extraordinary things inside themselves, as well as others. i hope you can keep an open mind. -- "unbreakable" ....................................... From thomas at pininteractive.com Sat Nov 24 16:49:53 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 22:49:53 +0100 Subject: [games_access] GAIM framework In-Reply-To: <6.1.0.6.2.20071124130618.01dfe9d8@enigami.com> References: <6.1.0.6.2.20071124130618.01dfe9d8@enigami.com> Message-ID: <53A108C3-39E4-4AB5-8D26-B23DE26E8C32@pininteractive.com> Thanks John, that's great, I'll contact you later in the upcoming week when I'm back at work, to work out some details. Thanks also for the info about Veli-Pekka, I'm located in Sweden so it's convenient with local contacts too. Kind regards, Thomas 24 nov 2007 kl. 19.25 skrev John Bannick: > Hi Thomas, > > My name is John Bannick. > > I build computer games that are accessible to gamers who are blind, > visually impaired, color blind, deaf, or motion impaired. > I've been building commercial software for 30 years, specializing > in user interfaces. > > Your forthcoming research is very much consistent with my own work > making user interfaces more accessible. > > If you are interested, I'd be happy to participate in your study. > > Our company Web site is www.7128.com and a couple of newspaper > articles about our people are at http://www.7128.com/news/ > resourcesnews.html. > > BTW. You might contact Veli-Pekka T?til? > (vtatila at mail.student.oulu.fi) a Computer Science PhD candidate in > Finland. > He is a gamer and has some well thought out and articulated ideas > about keyboard accessibility. > > Later, > > John Bannick > CTO > 7-128 Software > > > > > > > At 06:16 AM 11/24/2007, you wrote: >> Hello >> >> I've created a site for my research I will do this winter, which will >> result in a master thesis in computer and systems science. >> >> You'll find a brief project description (abstracted from my thesis) >> on the site. An even briefer description: what I'm aiming for is to >> propose a general model (framework) for implementing game >> accessibility. It will be described with UML to be independent of >> concrete implementation language, but still applicable in any >> language. >> >> The short name for it is GAIM, or Game Accessibility Implementation >> Model >> >> I would really appreciate if you could participate in the study. >> Hopefully the results can be used as a starting point for an open >> source framework. >> >> http://people.dsv.su.se/~thomasw/gaim >> >> Thanks >> Thomas >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> -- >> No virus found in this incoming message. >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: >> 269.16.5/1149 - Release Date: 11/24/2007 10:06 AM > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From agdev at thechases.com Tue Nov 27 10:25:47 2007 From: agdev at thechases.com (Tim Chase) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:25:47 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Mind control in Second Life Message-ID: <474C36FB.9030801@thechases.com> On one of my tech-feeds today: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071127/wr_nm/brainwaves_secondlife_dc_2 Just playing Johny-Appleseed... -tim From hinn at uiuc.edu Tue Nov 27 11:40:25 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:40:25 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Mind control in Second Life In-Reply-To: <474C36FB.9030801@thechases.com> References: <474C36FB.9030801@thechases.com> Message-ID: I could use some extra mind control in my first life. ;) Seriously, though, cool. Michelle >On one of my tech-feeds today: > >http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071127/wr_nm/brainwaves_secondlife_dc_2 > >Just playing Johny-Appleseed... > >-tim > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Tue Nov 27 14:27:12 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:27:12 -0500 Subject: [games_access] Mind control in Second Life In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkBiwA References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkBiwA Message-ID: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> That's awesome I added the info on one of my pages on my web site. Thanks. Seems like they are there but not in their the part about, having to stay focused is hard because the brain is so free to think. It said it views lose focus you can jump off a cliff so once they get the programming just right hopefully to only pick up movements and block out something else, if that makes any sense it would make it great for marketing but I think that one part about focusing makes it really hard for a great sale. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Tim Chase Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 10:26 AM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: [games_access] Mind control in Second Life On one of my tech-feeds today: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071127/wr_nm/brainwaves_secondlife_dc_2 Just playing Johny-Appleseed... -tim _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From thomas at pininteractive.com Tue Nov 27 15:22:28 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:22:28 +0100 Subject: [games_access] Mind control in Second Life In-Reply-To: <474C36FB.9030801@thechases.com> References: <474C36FB.9030801@thechases.com> Message-ID: <53D93C1A-145B-4EAB-9FCF-FCCF0841C634@pininteractive.com> yes articles about brain interfaces pop up from time to time, but I'm just wondering why Cyberlink are not mentioned in any articles; similar stuff was done with the Cyberlink years ago /Thomas 27 nov 2007 kl. 16.25 skrev Tim Chase: > On one of my tech-feeds today: > > http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071127/wr_nm/brainwaves_secondlife_dc_2 > > Just playing Johny-Appleseed... > > -tim > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Tue Nov 27 15:25:00 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:25:00 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkBiwA <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: Ok... So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC submissions without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it doesn't matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying that it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the archive without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, really let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last year and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push came to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth every day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could have" things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this a while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. I know. I know. Stop it. So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this will get more people) submission. [https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456] The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the system) -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the meet and greet because he helped on the proposals. I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by IGDA (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more passes. The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I am trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE costs $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" minimum of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get us more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just being able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in my tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot say when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these people, please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without penalty. So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know if the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to try and talk our asses off at GDC. Michelle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From reid at rbkdesign.com Tue Nov 27 15:44:43 2007 From: reid at rbkdesign.com (Reid Kimball) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:44:43 -0800 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we can help them. -Reid On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn wrote: > > > Ok... > > > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC submissions > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it doesn't > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. > > > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying that > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the archive > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, really > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last year > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push came > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth every > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could have" > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this a > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. I > know. I know. Stop it. > > > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this will > get more people) submission. > [https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456] > > > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the system) > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the meet > and greet because he helped on the proposals. > > > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by IGDA > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more > passes. > > > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I am > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE costs > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" minimum > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get us > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just being > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. > > > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in my > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot say > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these people, > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without > penalty. > > > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know if > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to try > and talk our asses off at GDC. > > > Michelle > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > From hinn at uiuc.edu Tue Nov 27 16:04:14 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:04:14 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: It is a good idea to try and set up a few meetings -- I'm dubious after what happened with the GarageGames meeting (ie, they disappeared after a solution was developed by you and Eelke and they didn't use it either...just total silence...). But perhaps we're better known now -- my main fear is that we are back to GDC 04, 05, 06 where we got one/two proposals accepted (with 06 being the best because the workshop got accepted -- it was shot down again after two years of trying to get it back on schedule) and not much attention from devs, etc... That doesn't mean we have to accept that it will happen again -- that's my problem more than anyone else's, my fears coming through. So we need to make a plan of who will contact which company to set up those meetings -- that's going to be between the three of us. A lot of these meetings happen casually over drinks at the exclusive parties so those are the ones I can get a couple of us into (beyond Level 99). As for fliers -- that may end up coming down to the three of us. This might be something to put down on the funding plan for Ben, since publicity/SIG growth is one thing that can be covered. Michelle >While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the >group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. > >If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. > >I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try >to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >can help them. > >-Reid > >On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn wrote: >> >> >> Ok... >> >> >> So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC submissions >> without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we >> have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >> submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it doesn't >> matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >> >> >> Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again >> but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big >> post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying that >> it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the archive >> without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, really >> let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make >> our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >> advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from >> perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not >> saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had >> more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for >> me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last year >> and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push came >> to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth every >> day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could have" >> things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this a >> while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now >> that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. I >> know. I know. Stop it. >> >> >> So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. >> Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this will >> get more people) submission. >> [https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456] >> >> >> The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the system) >> -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more > > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke >for the meet >> and greet because he helped on the proposals. >> >> >> I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few >> more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by IGDA >> (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To >> pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more >> passes. >> >> >> The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I am >> trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE costs >> $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" minimum >> of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get us >> more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just being >> able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. >> >> >> I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in my >> tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot say >> when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have >> already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these people, >> please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without >> penalty. >> >> >> So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know if >> the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have >> fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to try >> and talk our asses off at GDC. >> >> >> Michelle >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Tue Nov 27 16:15:40 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:15:40 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: Re: No hardware -- I think it's a bad idea not to bring ANY hardware. Even just a broken (ask me about airport security) Quad Controller gets more "what the HECK IS THAT????" comments and it starts meaningful discussions. So we can do what we did at E for All -- very scaled back (even more so) and just let people see what the controllers really look like. Michelle >It is a good idea to try and set up a few meetings -- I'm dubious >after what happened with the GarageGames meeting (ie, they >disappeared after a solution was developed by you and Eelke and they >didn't use it either...just total silence...). But perhaps we're >better known now -- my main fear is that we are back to GDC 04, 05, >06 where we got one/two proposals accepted (with 06 being the best >because the workshop got accepted -- it was shot down again after >two years of trying to get it back on schedule) and not much >attention from devs, etc... That doesn't mean we have to accept that >it will happen again -- that's my problem more than anyone else's, >my fears coming through. > >So we need to make a plan of who will contact which company to set >up those meetings -- that's going to be between the three of us. A >lot of these meetings happen casually over drinks at the exclusive >parties so those are the ones I can get a couple of us into (beyond >Level 99). > >As for fliers -- that may end up coming down to the three of us. >This might be something to put down on the funding plan for Ben, >since publicity/SIG growth is one thing that can be covered. > >Michelle > >>While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the >>group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. >> >>If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >>hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >>about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. >> >>I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try >>to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >>can help them. >> >>-Reid >> >>On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn wrote: >>> >>> >>> Ok... >>> >>> >>> So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC >>>submissions >>> without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we >>> have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >>> submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and >>>it doesn't >>> matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >>> >>> >>> Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again >>> but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big >>> post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying that >>> it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at >>>the archive >>> without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, really >>> let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make >>> our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >>> advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from >>> perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not >>> saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had >>> more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for >>> me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so >>>great last year >>> and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push came >>> to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth every >>> day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" >>>"could have" >>> things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this a >>> while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now >>> that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. I >>> know. I know. Stop it. >>> >>> >>> So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. >>> Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this will >>> get more people) submission. >>> [https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456] >>> >>> >>> The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the system) >>> -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more >> > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke >>for the meet >>> and greet because he helped on the proposals. >>> >>> >>> I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few >>> more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by IGDA >>> (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To >>> pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more >>> passes. >>> >>> >>> The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money >>>FAST. I am >>> trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE costs >>> $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" minimum >>> of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it >>>will get us >>> more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just being >>> able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. >>> >>> >>> I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the >>>anger/sadness in my >>> tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I >>>cannot say >>> when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have >>> already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these people, >>> please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without >>> penalty. >>> >>> >>> So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know if >>> the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have >>> fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to try >>> and talk our asses off at GDC. >>> >>> >>> Michelle >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Tue Nov 27 16:20:43 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:20:43 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: Not E for All -- FuturePlay I mean. E for All was too much stuff! :) >Re: No hardware -- I think it's a bad idea not to bring ANY >hardware. Even just a broken (ask me about airport security) Quad >Controller gets more "what the HECK IS THAT????" comments and it >starts meaningful discussions. So we can do what we did at E for All >-- very scaled back (even more so) and just let people see what the >controllers really look like. > >Michelle > >>It is a good idea to try and set up a few meetings -- I'm dubious >>after what happened with the GarageGames meeting (ie, they >>disappeared after a solution was developed by you and Eelke and >>they didn't use it either...just total silence...). But perhaps >>we're better known now -- my main fear is that we are back to GDC >>04, 05, 06 where we got one/two proposals accepted (with 06 being >>the best because the workshop got accepted -- it was shot down >>again after two years of trying to get it back on schedule) and not >>much attention from devs, etc... That doesn't mean we have to >>accept that it will happen again -- that's my problem more than >>anyone else's, my fears coming through. >> >>So we need to make a plan of who will contact which company to set >>up those meetings -- that's going to be between the three of us. A >>lot of these meetings happen casually over drinks at the exclusive >>parties so those are the ones I can get a couple of us into (beyond >>Level 99). >> >>As for fliers -- that may end up coming down to the three of us. >>This might be something to put down on the funding plan for Ben, >>since publicity/SIG growth is one thing that can be covered. >> >>Michelle >> >>>While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the >>>group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. >>> >>>If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >>>hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >>>about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. >>> >>>I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try >>>to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >>>can help them. >>> >>>-Reid >>> >>>On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> Ok... >>>> >>>> >>>> So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC >>>>submissions >>>> without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we >>>> have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >>>> submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline >>>>and it doesn't >>>> matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >>>> >>>> >>>> Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again >>>> but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big >>>> post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not >>>>saying that >>>> it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at >>>>the archive >>>> without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had >>>>really, really >>>> let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make >>>> our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >>>> advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from >>>> perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not >>>> saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had >>>> more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for >>>> me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so >>>>great last year >>>> and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push came >>>> to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and >>>>forth every >>>> day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" >>>>"could have" >>>> things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this a >>>> while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now >>>> that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. I >>>> know. I know. Stop it. >>>> >>>> >>>> So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. >>>> Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this will >>>> get more people) submission. >>>> [https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456] >>>> >>>> >>>> The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the system) >>>> -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more >>> > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke >>>for the meet >>>> and greet because he helped on the proposals. >>>> >>>> >>>> I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few >>>> more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by IGDA >>>> (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To >>>> pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more >>>> passes. >>>> >>>> >>>> The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS >>>>money FAST. I am >>>> trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth >>>>SPACE costs >>>> $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the >>>>"required" minimum >>>> of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it >>>>will get us >>>> more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to >>>>just being >>>> able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. >>>> >>>> >>>> I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the >>>>anger/sadness in my >>>> tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. >>>>I cannot say >>>> when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have >>>> already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of >>>>these people, >>>> please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without >>>> penalty. >>>> >>>> >>>> So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let >>>>you know if >>>> the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have >>>> fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to try >>>> and talk our asses off at GDC. >>>> >>>> >>>> Michelle >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> games_access mailing list >>>> games_access at igda.org >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>games_access mailing list >>>games_access at igda.org >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From thomas at pininteractive.com Wed Nov 28 10:10:42 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:10:42 +0100 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: I have inside contacts with Adobe so I can cover them /Thomas /thomas 27 nov 2007 kl. 22.04 skrev d. michelle hinn: > So we need to make a plan of who will contact which company to set > up those meetings -- that's going to be between the three of us. A > lot of these meetings happen casually over drinks at the exclusive > parties so those are the ones I can get a couple of us into (beyond > Level 99). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From richard at audiogames.net Wed Nov 28 10:16:14 2007 From: richard at audiogames.net (AudioGames.net) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:16:14 +0100 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <002601c831d1$9e449600$6402a8c0@Delletje> Hi! (Richard suddenly pops up) I guess I (and Sander?) will still be visiting GDC together with the annual Dutch invasion from my university. So if you'd keep me posted of those meetings (and parties! :) ) I can keep them into account when making my schedule and so I can still contribute to GA this year. (Swoosh) Byyeeeeeeee! ----- Original Message ----- From: Thomas Westin To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 4:10 PM Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News I have inside contacts with Adobe so I can cover them /Thomas /thomas 27 nov 2007 kl. 22.04 skrev d. michelle hinn: So we need to make a plan of who will contact which company to set up those meetings -- that's going to be between the three of us. A lot of these meetings happen casually over drinks at the exclusive parties so those are the ones I can get a couple of us into (beyond Level 99). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk Wed Nov 28 11:17:46 2007 From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk (Barrie Ellis) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:17:46 -0000 Subject: [games_access] Fw: GDC 2008: Not that bad... Message-ID: <022201c831da$37707e90$0202a8c0@oneswitch> GDC 2008: VERY Bad NewsStop beating yourself up, Michelle! We still have a prescence at GDC and that is good - but this isn't the be all and end all. There are so many unexpolored avenues and places we've only dipped a toe in left to try. We're doing okay! We're building membership and awareness. Let's keep chipping away at developers because we all want to see a mainstream developer start to take on board what we are saying. We will get lots of knock backs - but eventually we'll find a chink and things will start to build for disabled gamers as a whole. We go forwards! Barrie ----- Original Message ----- From: d. michelle hinn To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 8:25 PM Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News Ok... So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC submissions without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it doesn't matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying that it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the archive without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, really let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last year and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push came to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth every day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could have" things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this a while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. I know. I know. Stop it. So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this will get more people) submission. [https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456] The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the system) -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the meet and greet because he helped on the proposals. I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by IGDA (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more passes. The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I am trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE costs $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" minimum of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get us more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just being able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in my tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot say when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these people, please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without penalty. So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know if the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to try and talk our asses off at GDC. Michelle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Wed Nov 28 11:47:12 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:47:12 -0600 Subject: [games_access] Fw: GDC 2008: Not that bad... In-Reply-To: <022201c831da$37707e90$0202a8c0@oneswitch> References: <022201c831da$37707e90$0202a8c0@oneswitch> Message-ID: I know...it's just bad news coming on top of (personal) bad news and I really, really wanted one talk to get accepted in particular and that didn't happen. I'll get over it. I just wish I hadn't heard some inside talk that I heard and that was where my anger at myself was really, really coming from. It's like GDC 07 will NEVER end. The latest reality I've learned is that only about 200 talks were accepted this year even though GDC is now MASSIVE (last year was the first year we saw their move towards being the WORLD CONGRESS OF GAMES (yes, I made that title up) and we couldn't begin to cover it with 15 of us!). Yes, I am a bit sore about putting even more work into it this year for 15 fewer passes -- if only we could flip years and have those passes we had last year for this year to do the things we wanted to do that might change our post-GDC outcome. But there are a lot of things to work on, including re-strategizing for GDC. I have exactly the same number of passes to events and parties that I have passes (three). Eelke, Reid and I should get every shot we can think of to help prevent getting sick this year -- we have much to do. Michelle >Stop beating yourself up, Michelle! > >We still have a prescence at GDC and that is good - but this isn't >the be all and end all. There are so many unexpolored avenues and >places we've only dipped a toe in left to try. We're doing okay! >We're building membership and awareness. Let's keep chipping away at >developers because we all want to see a mainstream developer start >to take on board what we are saying. We will get lots of knock backs >- but eventually we'll find a chink and things will start to build >for disabled gamers as a whole. > >We go forwards! > >Barrie > > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: d. michelle hinn >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 8:25 PM >Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News > >Ok... > >So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC >submissions without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been >accepted now so we have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put >up all the final submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after >the deadline and it doesn't matter as much now. I'll get them up for >archive reasons. > >Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up >again but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out >about our big post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the >net...). I'm not saying that it was any one person or any one >comment -- I can't even look at the archive without beating myself >up about it because I felt like I had really, really let everyone >down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make our >showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far >from perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the >work. I'm not saying everything goes back to that but we had a big >year last year, had more than enough passes for everyone...and that >was then. It's hard for me...well, it's very sad for me to realize >that we had it so great last year and we didn't recognize it, we >didn't have enough real help when push came to shove (or suitcase >pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth every day to the >convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could have" >things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about >this a while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I >realize now that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not >being superhuman. I know. I know. Stop it. > >So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in >now. Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I >think this will get more people) submission. >[https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456] > >The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the >system) -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That >buys us two more passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one >was for Eelke for the meet and greet because he helped on the >proposals. > >I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get >a few more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was >solicited by IGDA (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's >accessibility arcade. To pull that off, we need more people. I hope >that this gets us a few more passes. > >The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money >FAST. I am trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The >booth SPACE costs $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more >for the "required" minimum of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF >we get an expo booth it will get us more EXPO passes, which will >restrict those with these passes to just being able to get into the >expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. > >I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the >anger/sadness in my tone. We are not going to be able to bring >everyone we want to. I cannot say when or if I'll hear if we can get >more passes. I know some of you have already made flight and hotel >arrangements. If you are one of these people, please check with your >airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without penalty. > >So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you >know if the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look >great. We now have fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance >are going to have to try and talk our asses off at GDC. > >Michelle > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Wed Nov 28 13:07:02 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:07:02 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC: Michelle is not in THAT bad a mood In-Reply-To: References: <022201c831da$37707e90$0202a8c0@oneswitch> Message-ID: Ok...before I get flooded with more email asking about how I'm doing (which I appreciate!!), I wanted to let everyone know that I'm not in that bad a mood...I'm just disappointed with some insider stuff I heard, guilt left over from last year, frustration that I'm in a pretty serious financial bind that's threatening my being able to pay my fees to graduate, and just general disappointment that some really good and interesting proposals weren't given a fighting chance...that and being able to bring fewer people at a conference that has expanded 5 fold since we started going is disappointing. And, yes, I do wish more had helped with the proposals so that we could have had ones that were not written by me simultaneously at the deadline. More acceptances would have come with more passes (each acceptance generally comes with only one pass unless it's something like a tutorial). But we'll do what we can and we'll rethink strategies for how we go about things this year. And those of us that go will need to make sure we are as healthy as possible!!!! We can't afford ER visits and such this year!! I wish I could get everyone passes to some of the VIP events even if you are going to pay your own way -- unfortunately I can get exactly the same number of passes to those that I can get for the GDC in general. It would be great if I could get an idea of who will be going regardless of having a SIG pass. I mainly ask because it would be nice to know who will be there and if I can get people into certain events that their pass doesn't not let them into, I will try my best. I hope that regardless of getting a pass to go, everyone can add a couple hours into helping us plan for GDC. We'll be representing the SIG as a whole and while things are different this year, they aren't that different from where we were just a couple years ago where only one person could go. The thing is? We can't forget what we are about -- making sure that mainstream games are accessible to as many people as possible. Thanks, Michelle From eelke.folmer at gmail.com Fri Nov 30 03:20:35 2007 From: eelke.folmer at gmail.com (Eelke Folmer) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:20:35 -0800 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com> Hi, I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF so I can take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is space to demo them?) Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those proposals? what were the main criteria for not accepting them? I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my grant that I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to approve my travel request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me to go there anyway. Cheers Eelke On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball wrote: > > While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the > group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. > > If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any > hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures > about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. > > I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try > to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we > can help them. > > -Reid > > On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn wrote: > > > > > > Ok... > > > > > > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC > submissions > > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so > we > > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final > > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it > doesn't > > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. > > > > > > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up > again > > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big > > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying > that > > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the > archive > > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, > really > > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't > make > > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere > > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from > > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not > > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had > > > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for > > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last > year > > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push > came > > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth > every > > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could > have" > > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this > a > > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now > > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. > I > > know. I know. Stop it. > > > > > > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. > > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this > will > > get more people) submission. > > [https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] > > > > > > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the > system) > > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two > more > > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the > meet > > and greet because he helped on the proposals. > > > > > > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a > few > > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by > IGDA > > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To > > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more > > passes. > > > > > > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. > I am > > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE > costs > > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" > minimum > > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will > get us > > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just > being > > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. > > > > > > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness > in my > > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot > say > > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have > > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these > people, > > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without > > penalty. > > > > > > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know > if > > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now > have > > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to > try > > and talk our asses off at GDC. > > > > > > Michelle > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From eelke.folmer at gmail.com Fri Nov 30 03:11:44 2007 From: eelke.folmer at gmail.com (Eelke Folmer) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:11:44 -0800 Subject: [games_access] Mind control in Second Life In-Reply-To: <53D93C1A-145B-4EAB-9FCF-FCCF0841C634@pininteractive.com> References: <474C36FB.9030801@thechases.com> <53D93C1A-145B-4EAB-9FCF-FCCF0841C634@pininteractive.com> Message-ID: <836db6300711300011k78f3e4d2g7164ebc922cdbe4f@mail.gmail.com> Hi, controlling SL with your mind is cool. On a related note we have our switch accessible version of SL almost ready. First screenshot shows our one button navigation mechanism. (An arrow is at your feet and goes from left to right, pressing a button stops the arrow (so you will go in that direction) and makes the arrow grow (so you can select how far you will go). Navigating like this in SL works pretty well. Figure 2 shows object select mode where you will just iterate over any object that is in a certain range. This is something that we still work on to keep the number of objects small by only iterating over objects of interest). We've develop a lot of cool AI/Pattern recognition to help us recognize objects such as billboards without actually asking the server for the name of that object (doing that for sometimes hundreds of objects in your range clogs the server). Cheers Eelke Cheers Eelke On 27/11/2007, Thomas Westin wrote: > yes articles about brain interfaces pop up from time to time, but I'm > just wondering why Cyberlink are not mentioned in any articles; > similar stuff was done with the Cyberlink years ago > > /Thomas > > 27 nov 2007 kl. 16.25 skrev Tim Chase: > > > On one of my tech-feeds today: > > > > http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071127/wr_nm/brainwaves_secondlife_dc_2 > > > > Just playing Johny-Appleseed... > > > > -tim > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: Screenshot-Edited Second Life -2.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 44533 bytes Desc: not available URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 30 12:47:37 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:47:37 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: <836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com> References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Hey, The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who work there -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as based on low numbers of attendees and a lot of bad press from GDC07 (many people on the advisory boards for each section (audio, design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants complained...and, yeah, that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are not our friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- There's too much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have until GDC08 talking about what happened after GDC07. I know I brought it up because, yes, I was angry that morning because the low number of acceptances for this year was what I was afraid might happen. But I was also angry because I really, really killed myself over the proposals for this year. Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us with concrete comments or a feedback page about what we could have done better/differently or even what they hated. And it's not a blind review either. Basically this year we need to atone and re-earn respect as a group. From what I've heard, however, if you have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they were EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I guess we are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited but even those went through a bit of a review as well). So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you want to buy your own pass? We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show some stuff at -- we won't have as much room but we should have stuff for people to look at and some of the stuff are great conversation starters. So we won't need as much this year -- my broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now been broken TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around at FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D Michelle >Hi, > > >I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF >so I can take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is >space to demo them?) > >Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those >proposals? what were the main criteria for not accepting them? > >I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my >grant that I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to >approve my travel request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me >to go there anyway. > >Cheers Eelke > > > > > >On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball ><reid at rbkdesign.com> wrote: > >While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the >group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. > >If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. > >I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try >to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >can help them. > >-Reid > >On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < >hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: >> >> >> Ok... >> >> >> So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC submissions >> without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we >> have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >> submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it doesn't >> matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >> >> >> Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again >> but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big >> post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying that >> it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the archive > > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, really >> let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make >> our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >> advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from >> perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not >> saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had >> more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for >> me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last year >> and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push came >> to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth every >> day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could have" >> things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this a >> while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now >> that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. I >> know. I know. Stop it. >> >> >> So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. >> Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this will >> get more people) submission. >> [ >>https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] >> >> >> The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the system) >> -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more >> passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the meet >> and greet because he helped on the proposals. >> >> >> I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few >> more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by IGDA >> (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To >> pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more >> passes. >> >> >> The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I am >> trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE costs >> $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" minimum >> of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get us >> more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just being >> able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. >> >> >> I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in my >> tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot say >> when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have >> already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these people, >> please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without >> penalty. >> >> >> So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know if >> the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have >> fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to try >> and talk our asses off at GDC. >> >> >> Michelle >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > >-- >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >Department of CS&E/171 >University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Fri Nov 30 13:20:23 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:20:23 -0500 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkIiwA References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron><836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkIiwA Message-ID: <008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation now about our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the word out about our initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind like game accessibility is just not excepted at all by the mainstream game design community. Until someday, some mainstream game designers are injured and can't find their favorite games anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years they've all been pretty invulnerable. Robert _____ From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News Hey, The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who work there -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as based on low numbers of attendees and a lot of bad press from GDC07 (many people on the advisory boards for each section (audio, design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants complained...and, yeah, that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are not our friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- There's too much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have until GDC08 talking about what happened after GDC07. I know I brought it up because, yes, I was angry that morning because the low number of acceptances for this year was what I was afraid might happen. But I was also angry because I really, really killed myself over the proposals for this year. Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us with concrete comments or a feedback page about what we could have done better/differently or even what they hated. And it's not a blind review either. Basically this year we need to atone and re-earn respect as a group. From what I've heard, however, if you have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they were EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I guess we are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited but even those went through a bit of a review as well). So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you want to buy your own pass? We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show some stuff at -- we won't have as much room but we should have stuff for people to look at and some of the stuff are great conversation starters. So we won't need as much this year -- my broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now been broken TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around at FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D Michelle Hi, I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF so I can take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is space to demo them?) Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those proposals? what were the main criteria for not accepting them? I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my grant that I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to approve my travel request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me to go there anyway. Cheers Eelke On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball wrote: While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we can help them. -Reid On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: > > > Ok... > > > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC submissions > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it doesn't > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. > > > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying that > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the archive > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, really > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last year > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push came > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth every > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could have" > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this a > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. I > know. I know. Stop it. > > > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this will > get more people) submission. > [ https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] > > > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the system) > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the meet > and greet because he helped on the proposals. > > > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by IGDA > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more > passes. > > > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I am > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE costs > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" minimum > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get us > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just being > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. > > > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in my > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot say > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these people, > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without > penalty. > > > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know if > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to try > and talk our asses off at GDC. > > > Michelle > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor Department of CS&E/171 University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 30 14:00:44 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:00:44 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: <008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron><836db630 0711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkIiwA <008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget that some of us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu and/or had to go to hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the selection committee doesn't allow you to petition for that. That DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions and Idol went way differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad luck last year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our proposals were viewed. As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a volunteer group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time we get a chance we have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, we all have individual goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all remembered to mention that we are a part of this group, this movement, I think it would go a long way....especially when it's something good! :) Michelle >Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation >now about our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the word >out about our initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind like >game accessibility is just not excepted at all by the mainstream >game design community. Until someday, some mainstream game >designers are injured and can't find their favorite games anymore >and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years they've all >been pretty invulnerable. > >Robert > > >From: games_access-bounces at igda.org >[mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn >Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM >To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News > >Hey, > >The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who >work there -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as >based on low numbers of attendees and a lot of bad press from GDC07 >(many people on the advisory boards for each section (audio, design, >etc) gossiped, Idol participants complained...and, yeah, that web >archive was mentioned -- google, etc are not our friends). So we >live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics because it will >hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- There's too much to >do and we cannot spend the little time we have until GDC08 talking >about what happened after GDC07. I know I brought it up because, >yes, I was angry that morning because the low number of acceptances >for this year was what I was afraid might happen. But I was also >angry because I really, really killed myself over the proposals for >this year. > >Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us with >concrete comments or a feedback page about what we could have done >better/differently or even what they hated. And it's not a blind >review either. Basically this year we need to atone and re-earn >respect as a group. >From what I've heard, however, if you have >never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they were EVEN >MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I guess we >are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited but even >those went through a bit of a review as well). > >So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you want >to buy your own pass? > >We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show some >stuff at -- we won't have as much room but we should have stuff for >people to look at and some of the stuff are great conversation >starters. So we won't need as much this year -- my broken controller >(the Quad Controller that has now been broken TWICE by airport >security so it really looks bad) is quite the conversation piece. I >think I could have just carried that around at FuturePlay all day to >get the word out about accessibility! :D > >Michelle > > >>Hi, >> >> >> >> >>I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF >>so I can take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is >>space to demo them?) >> >> >> >>Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those >>proposals? what were the main criteria for not accepting them? >> >> >> >>I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my >>grant that I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to >>approve my travel request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me >>to go there anyway. >> >> >> >>Cheers Eelke >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >>On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball >><reid at rbkdesign.com> wrote: >>While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the >>group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. >> >>If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >>hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >>about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. >> >>I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try >>to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >>can help them. >> >>-Reid >> >>On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < >>hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: >>> >>> >>> Ok... >>> >>> >>> So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC >>>submissions >>> without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we >>> have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >>> submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and >>>it doesn't >>> matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >>> >>> >>> Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again >>> but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big >>> post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying that >>> it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at >>>the archive >> >> > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had >>really, really >>> let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make >>> our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >>> advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from >>> perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not >>> saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had >>> more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for >>> me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so >>>great last year >>> and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push came >>> to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth every >>> day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" >>>"could have" >>> things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this a >>> while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now >>> that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. I >>> know. I know. Stop it. >>> >>> >>> So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. >>> Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this will >>> get more people) submission. >>> [ >>>https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] >>> >>> >>> The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the system) >>> -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more >>> passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke >>>for the meet >>> and greet because he helped on the proposals. >>> >>> >>> I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few >>> more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by IGDA >>> (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To >>> pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more >>> passes. >>> >>> >>> The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money >>>FAST. I am >>> trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE costs >>> $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" minimum >>> of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it >>>will get us >>> more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just being >>> able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. >>> >>> >>> I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the >>>anger/sadness in my >> > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. >>I cannot say >>> when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have >>> already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these people, >>> please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without >>> penalty. >>> >>> >>> So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know if >>> the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have >>> fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to try >>> and talk our asses off at GDC. >>> >>> >>> Michelle >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> >>-- >>---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >>Department of CS&E/171 >>University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >>Game interaction >>design www.helpyouplay.com >>---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >> >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thomas at pininteractive.com Fri Nov 30 18:01:14 2007 From: thomas at pininteractive.com (Thomas Westin) Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 00:01:14 +0100 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron><836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com>AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwkIiwA<008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> Hi just want to add I've started to become a bit cynical about GDC after four years of low number of attendees. I'm also disappointed by this, but for other reasons than the GDC judges Let's not forget GDC is just one conference, although the biggest it's perhaps not the best - low numbers of attendees is really not our problem, it's the industry's problem, that they can't see the importance of accessibility for the future of the industry. We're here to help, but since the industry (with a few exceptions/ individuals) isn't listening at GDC, they do listen elsewhere. I'd say we should aim for other conferences where people have interest and time to listen to us. FuturePlay was a great success; let's focus on similar conferences where we can succeed rather than getting disappointed at GDC. /Thomas 30 nov 2007 kl. 20.00 skrev d. michelle hinn: > Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget > that some of us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu > and/or had to go to hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the > selection committee doesn't allow you to petition for that. That > DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions and Idol went way > differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad luck last > year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our > proposals were viewed. > > As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a > volunteer group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time > we get a chance we have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, > we all have individual goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all > remembered to mention that we are a part of this group, this > movement, I think it would go a long way....especially when it's > something good! :) > > Michelle > >> Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation >> now about our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the >> word out about our initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind >> like game accessibility is just not excepted at all by the >> mainstream game design community. Until someday, some mainstream >> game designers are injured and can't find their favorite games >> anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years >> they've all been pretty invulnerable. >> >> Robert >> >> From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access- >> bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn >> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News >> >> Hey, >> >> The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who >> work there -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as >> based on low numbers of attendees and a lot of bad press from >> GDC07 (many people on the advisory boards for each section (audio, >> design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants complained...and, yeah, >> that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are not our >> friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics >> because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- >> There's too much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have >> until GDC08 talking about what happened after GDC07. I know I >> brought it up because, yes, I was angry that morning because the >> low number of acceptances for this year was what I was afraid >> might happen. But I was also angry because I really, really killed >> myself over the proposals for this year. >> >> Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us >> with concrete comments or a feedback page about what we could have >> done better/differently or even what they hated. And it's not a >> blind review either. Basically this year we need to atone and re- >> earn respect as a group. >From what I've heard, however, if you >> have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they were >> EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I >> guess we are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited >> but even those went through a bit of a review as well). >> >> So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you >> want to buy your own pass? >> >> We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show >> some stuff at -- we won't have as much room but we should have >> stuff for people to look at and some of the stuff are great >> conversation starters. So we won't need as much this year -- my >> broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now been broken >> TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the >> conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around >> at FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D >> >> Michelle >> >>> Hi, >>> >>> >>> I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to >>> SF so I can take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there >>> is space to demo them?) >>> >>> Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those >>> proposals? what were the main criteria for not accepting them? >>> >>> >>> I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my >>> grant that I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not >>> to approve my travel request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap >>> for me to go there anyway. >>> >>> Cheers Eelke >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball wrote: >>> While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for >>> the >>> group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we >>> can. >>> >>> If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >>> hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >>> about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using >>> them. >>> >>> I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, >>> we try >>> to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >>> can help them. >>> >>> -Reid >>> >>> On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: >>> > >>> > >>> > Ok... >>> > >>> > >>> > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the >>> GDC submissions >>> > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted >>> now so we >>> > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >>> > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline >>> and it doesn't >>> > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >>> > >>> > >>> > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring >>> this up again >>> > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about >>> our big >>> > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not >>> saying that >>> > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look >>> at the archive >>> > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had >>> really, really >>> > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I >>> couldn't make >>> > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be >>> everywhere >>> > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all >>> far from >>> > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the >>> work. I'm not >>> > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last >>> year, had >>> > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's >>> hard for >>> > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so >>> great last year >>> > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help >>> when push came >>> > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and >>> forth every >>> > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" >>> "could have" >>> > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself >>> about this a >>> > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I >>> realize now >>> > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being >>> superhuman. I >>> > know. I know. Stop it. >>> > >>> > >>> > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are >>> in now. >>> > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I >>> think this will >>> > get more people) submission. >>> > [ https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] >>> > >>> > >>> > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through >>> the system) >>> > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys >>> us two more >>> > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke >>> for the meet >>> > and greet because he helped on the proposals. >>> > >>> > >>> > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and >>> get a few >>> > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was >>> solicited by IGDA >>> > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility >>> arcade. To >>> > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a >>> few more >>> > passes. >>> > >>> > >>> > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS >>> money FAST. I am >>> > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth >>> SPACE costs >>> > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the >>> "required" minimum >>> > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth >>> it will get us >>> > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes >>> to just being >>> > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the >>> reality. >>> > >>> > >>> > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/ >>> sadness in my >>> > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. >>> I cannot say >>> > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of >>> you have >>> > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of >>> these people, >>> > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to >>> cancel without >>> > penalty. >>> > >>> > >>> > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let >>> you know if >>> > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. >>> We now have >>> > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to >>> have to try >>> > and talk our asses off at GDC. >>> > >>> > >>> > Michelle >>> > _______________________________________________ >>> > games_access mailing list >>> > games_access at igda.org >>> > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> > >>> > >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> -------- >>> Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >>> Department of CS&E/171 >>> University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >>> Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> -------- >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> games_access mailing list >>> games_access at igda.org >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From reid at rbkdesign.com Fri Nov 30 19:04:42 2007 From: reid at rbkdesign.com (Reid Kimball) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:04:42 -0800 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: <30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com> <008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> Message-ID: Talking to other audiences is fine and valuable but we can't abandon the main games industry. We've made a lot of progress. You can't see it right now, but I know we have. People have heard of us, they've seen our work. That's step one. Steps two and three will come. It often takes 10 years for an industry to adopt radically new ways of thinking and unfortunately, accessibility does complicate the design and tech requirements which requires developers to think differently. On Nov 30, 2007 3:01 PM, Thomas Westin wrote: > Hi > > just want to add I've started to become a bit cynical about GDC after four > years of low number of attendees. I'm also disappointed by this, but for > other reasons than the GDC judges > > Let's not forget GDC is just one conference, although the biggest it's > perhaps not the best - low numbers of attendees is really not our problem, > it's the industry's problem, that they can't see the importance of > accessibility for the future of the industry. We're here to help, but since > the industry (with a few exceptions/individuals) isn't listening at GDC, > they do listen elsewhere. > > I'd say we should aim for other conferences where people have interest and > time to listen to us. FuturePlay was a great success; let's focus on similar > conferences where we can succeed rather than getting disappointed at GDC. > > /Thomas > > > > 30 nov 2007 kl. 20.00 skrev d. michelle hinn: > > > > Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget that some of > us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu and/or had to go to > hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the selection committee doesn't allow you > to petition for that. That DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions and > Idol went way differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad luck > last year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our > proposals were viewed. > > > As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a volunteer > group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time we get a chance we > have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, we all have individual > goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all remembered to mention that we are a > part of this group, this movement, I think it would go a long > way....especially when it's something good! :) > > > Michelle > > > Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation now about > our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the word out about our > initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind like game accessibility is > just not excepted at all by the mainstream game design community. Until > someday, some mainstream game designers are injured and can't find their > favorite games anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years > they've all been pretty invulnerable. > > Robert > > ________________________________ > > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn > Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News > > Hey, > > The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who work there > -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as based on low numbers of > attendees and a lot of bad press from GDC07 (many people on the advisory > boards for each section (audio, design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants > complained...and, yeah, that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are > not our friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics > because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- There's too > much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have until GDC08 talking > about what happened after GDC07. I know I brought it up because, yes, I was > angry that morning because the low number of acceptances for this year was > what I was afraid might happen. But I was also angry because I really, > really killed myself over the proposals for this year. > > Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us with concrete > comments or a feedback page about what we could have done better/differently > or even what they hated. And it's not a blind review either. Basically this > year we need to atone and re-earn respect as a group. >From what I've heard, > however, if you have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they > were EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I guess we > are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited but even those went > through a bit of a review as well). > > So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you want to buy > your own pass? > > We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show some stuff at > -- we won't have as much room but we should have stuff for people to look at > and some of the stuff are great conversation starters. So we won't need as > much this year -- my broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now > been broken TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the > conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around at > FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D > > Michelle > > > Hi, > > > > > I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF so I can > take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is space to demo > them?) > > > > Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those proposals? > what were the main criteria for not accepting them? > > > > > I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my grant that > I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to approve my travel > request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me to go there anyway. > > > > Cheers Eelke > > > > > > > > > On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball wrote: > While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the > group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. > > If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any > hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures > about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. > > I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try > to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we > can help them. > > -Reid > > On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: > > > > > > Ok... > > > > > > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC > submissions > > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we > > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final > > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it > doesn't > > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. > > > > > > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again > > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big > > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying > that > > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the > archive > > > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, > really > > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make > > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere > > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from > > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not > > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had > > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for > > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last > year > > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push > came > > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth > every > > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could > have" > > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this > a > > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now > > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. > I > > know. I know. Stop it. > > > > > > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. > > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this > will > > get more people) submission. > > [ https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] > > > > > > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the > system) > > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more > > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the > meet > > and greet because he helped on the proposals. > > > > > > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few > > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by > IGDA > > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To > > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more > > passes. > > > > > > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I > am > > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE > costs > > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" > minimum > > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get > us > > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just > being > > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. > > > > > > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in > my > > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot > say > > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have > > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these > people, > > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without > > penalty. > > > > > > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know > if > > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have > > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to > try > > and talk our asses off at GDC. > > > > > > Michelle > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > -- > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > Department of CS&E/171 > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 30 19:46:47 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:46:47 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com> <008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> Message-ID: And, you know, if it is true that we didn't get a lot accepted due to bad word of mouth...the fact that the selection committee was even talking about us means they know about us. And we are still in the game. So maybe even I can take that as a sign of progress. Hehe. Any press is good press I guess... :) If you get talked about, that means you've been noticed in the crowd of 10's of thousands -- many groups don't even get that far. Michelle >Talking to other audiences is fine and valuable but we can't abandon >the main games industry. We've made a lot of progress. You can't see >it right now, but I know we have. People have heard of us, they've >seen our work. That's step one. Steps two and three will come. It >often takes 10 years for an industry to adopt radically new ways of >thinking and unfortunately, accessibility does complicate the design >and tech requirements which requires developers to think differently. > >On Nov 30, 2007 3:01 PM, Thomas Westin wrote: >> Hi >> >> just want to add I've started to become a bit cynical about GDC after four >> years of low number of attendees. I'm also disappointed by this, but for >> other reasons than the GDC judges >> >> Let's not forget GDC is just one conference, although the biggest it's >> perhaps not the best - low numbers of attendees is really not our problem, >> it's the industry's problem, that they can't see the importance of >> accessibility for the future of the industry. We're here to help, but since >> the industry (with a few exceptions/individuals) isn't listening at GDC, >> they do listen elsewhere. >> >> I'd say we should aim for other conferences where people have interest and >> time to listen to us. FuturePlay was a great success; let's focus on similar >> conferences where we can succeed rather than getting disappointed at GDC. >> >> /Thomas >> >> >> >> 30 nov 2007 kl. 20.00 skrev d. michelle hinn: >> >> >> >> Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget that some of >> us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu and/or had to go to >> hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the selection committee doesn't allow you >> to petition for that. That DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions and >> Idol went way differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad luck >> last year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our >> proposals were viewed. >> >> >> As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a volunteer >> group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time we get a chance we >> have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, we all have individual >> goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all remembered to mention that we are a >> part of this group, this movement, I think it would go a long >> way....especially when it's something good! :) >> >> >> Michelle >> >> >> Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation now about >> our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the word out about our >> initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind like game accessibility is >> just not excepted at all by the mainstream game design community. Until >> someday, some mainstream game designers are injured and can't find their >> favorite games anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years >> they've all been pretty invulnerable. >> >> Robert >> >> ________________________________ >> >> From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >> On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn >> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News >> >> Hey, >> >> The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who work there >> -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as based on low numbers of >> attendees and a lot of bad press from GDC07 (many people on the advisory >> boards for each section (audio, design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants > > complained...and, yeah, that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are >> not our friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics >> because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- There's too >> much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have until GDC08 talking >> about what happened after GDC07. I know I brought it up because, yes, I was >> angry that morning because the low number of acceptances for this year was >> what I was afraid might happen. But I was also angry because I really, >> really killed myself over the proposals for this year. >> >> Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us with concrete >> comments or a feedback page about what we could have done better/differently >> or even what they hated. And it's not a blind review either. Basically this >> year we need to atone and re-earn respect as a group. >From what I've heard, >> however, if you have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they >> were EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I guess we >> are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited but even those went >> through a bit of a review as well). >> >> So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you want to buy >> your own pass? >> >> We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show some stuff at >> -- we won't have as much room but we should have stuff for people to look at >> and some of the stuff are great conversation starters. So we won't need as >> much this year -- my broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now >> been broken TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the >> conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around at >> FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D >> >> Michelle >> >> >> Hi, >> >> >> >> >> I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF so I can >> take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is space to demo >> them?) >> >> >> >> Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those proposals? >> what were the main criteria for not accepting them? >> >> >> >> >> I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my grant that >> I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to approve my travel >> request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me to go there anyway. >> >> >> >> Cheers Eelke >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball wrote: >> While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the >> group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. >> >> If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >> hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >> about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. >> >> I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try >> to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >> can help them. >> >> -Reid >> >> On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: >> > >> > >> > Ok... >> > >> > >> > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC >> submissions >> > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we >> > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >> > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it >> doesn't >> > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >> > >> > >> > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again >> > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big >> > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying >> that >> > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the >> archive >> >> > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, >> really >> > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make >> > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >> > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from > > > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not >> > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had >> > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for >> > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last >> year >> > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push >> came >> > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth >> every >> > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could >> have" >> > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this >> a >> > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now >> > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. >> I >> > know. I know. Stop it. >> > >> > >> > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. >> > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this >> will >> > get more people) submission. >> > [ https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] >> > >> > >> > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the >> system) >> > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more >> > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the >> meet >> > and greet because he helped on the proposals. >> > >> > >> > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few >> > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by >> IGDA >> > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To >> > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more >> > passes. >> > >> > >> > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I >> am >> > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE >> costs >> > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" >> minimum >> > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get >> us >> > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just >> being >> > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. >> > >> > >> > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in >> my >> > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot >> say >> > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have >> > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these >> people, >> > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without >> > penalty. >> > >> > >> > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know >> if >> > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have >> > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to >> try >> > and talk our asses off at GDC. >> > >> > >> > Michelle >> > _______________________________________________ >> > games_access mailing list >> > games_access at igda.org >> > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >> Department of CS&E/171 >> University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >> Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 30 19:39:02 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:39:02 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: <30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron><836db630 0711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com>AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa 5lcIwkIiwA<008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> Message-ID: Yeah...it's hard not to become cynical about GDC -- it's getting bigger and bigger but we're not seeing the interest go up. And we can't participate in the ways that we'd like -- an expo booth is absolutely out of the question this year. Without passes, you can't get to most of the people at GDC and without the really expensive passes (speaker's) you can't get to the people who hold the purse strings. Attendance is one thing -- even at FuturePlay we didn't have the 40 people that they said signed up. But we did have around 20 people who were very engaged. Most, though, we're not in the "industry" -- as in commercial gaming -- as it was an academic-oriented conference. That doesn't mean that's bad -- it's just also not getting the "industry." But even then -- will that talk end up impacting any type of gaming, including serious? It's hard to tell. Maybe, hopefully. But we don't really have a way of knowing unless people say "I put X in my game because I heard a talk three years ago that discussed it." I guess I'm a bit cynical about talks at smaller venues -- what is "success" at any conference? The transient feeling of success immediately after a talk? That can be a misleading predictor. GDC is GDC not just because of the sessions but because you gain access to a LOT of people. FuturePlay had about 170 attendees whereas GDC had way over 10,000 attendees -- it's the "big fish/little pond - little fish/big pond" scenario. We have to approach every conference with the realization that we're about to enter a little or big pond (and hopefully at one of those we'll be the big fish?) and adjust our expectations and how we feel about our presence afterwards. We just are not going to see a large turnout at any of our sessions at GDC. That seems to be bordering on becoming a fact. So while the talks get us into the conference, the real impact is in the connections we can make outside the talks. But while I caution against false feelings of success after smaller conferences...let's also remember the smaller GDCs -- Austin, Leipzig, China, etc. Austin was very successful and resulted in a lot of contacts and new members, inquiries about our talk in the weeks after, etc. That is one way to feel that word is getting out. And as we keep getting the word out we'll start seeing solutions that different members are working on being implemented -- because in the end, if no one knows about it because there's no conference talk, no one-on-one networking, no press coverage...the solutions will just sit there unused. So maybe we don't put as much into the BIG GDC (San Fran) and focus on getting more of us out to the smaller, regional ones? But I think it would be a mistake to ignore the biggest developers conference in the world! Even if they try to ignore us...yet, we're still in it! We just have to remember that we're there to fight versus feel sorry for ourselves if we only get 2 people in a conference room but we connect with 100 a piece. Michelle >Hi > >just want to add I've started to become a bit cynical about GDC >after four years of low number of attendees. I'm also disappointed >by this, but for other reasons than the GDC judges > >Let's not forget GDC is just one conference, although the biggest >it's perhaps not the best - low numbers of attendees is really not >our problem, it's the industry's problem, that they can't see the >importance of accessibility for the future of the industry. We're >here to help, but since the industry (with a few >exceptions/individuals) isn't listening at GDC, they do listen >elsewhere. > >I'd say we should aim for other conferences where people have >interest and time to listen to us. FuturePlay was a great success; >let's focus on similar conferences where we can succeed rather than >getting disappointed at GDC. > >/Thomas > > >30 nov 2007 kl. 20.00 skrev d. michelle hinn: > >>Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget >>that some of us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu >>and/or had to go to hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the >>selection committee doesn't allow you to petition for that. That >>DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions and Idol went way >>differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad luck last >>year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our >>proposals were viewed. >> >>As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a >>volunteer group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time >>we get a chance we have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, >>we all have individual goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all >>remembered to mention that we are a part of this group, this >>movement, I think it would go a long way....especially when it's >>something good! :) >> >>Michelle >> >>>Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation >>>now about our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the >>>word out about our initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind >>>like game accessibility is just not excepted at all by the >>>mainstream game design community. Until someday, some mainstream >>>game designers are injured and can't find their favorite games >>>anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years >>>they've all been pretty invulnerable. >>> >>> >>> >>>Robert >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>From: games_access-bounces at igda.org >>>[mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >>>On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn >>>Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM >>>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>>Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News >>> >>> >>> >>>Hey, >>> >>> >>> >>>The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who >>>work there -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as >>>based on low numbers of attendees and a lot of bad press from >>>GDC07 (many people on the advisory boards for each section (audio, >>>design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants complained...and, yeah, >>>that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are not our >>>friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics >>>because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- >>>There's too much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have >>>until GDC08 talking about what happened after GDC07. I know I >>>brought it up because, yes, I was angry that morning because the >>>low number of acceptances for this year was what I was afraid >>>might happen. But I was also angry because I really, really killed >>>myself over the proposals for this year. >>> >>> >>> >>>Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us >>>with concrete comments or a feedback page about what we could have >>>done better/differently or even what they hated. And it's not a >>>blind review either. Basically this year we need to atone and >>>re-earn respect as a group. >From what I've heard, however, if you >>>have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they were >>>EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I >>>guess we are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited >>>but even those went through a bit of a review as well). >>> >>> >>> >>>So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you >>>want to buy your own pass? >>> >>> >>> >>>We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show >>>some stuff at -- we won't have as much room but we should have >>>stuff for people to look at and some of the stuff are great >>>conversation starters. So we won't need as much this year -- my >>>broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now been broken >>>TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the >>>conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around >>>at FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D >>> >>> >>> >>>Michelle >>> >>> >>> >>>>Hi, >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to >>>>SF so I can take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there >>>>is space to demo them?) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those >>>>proposals? what were the main criteria for not accepting them? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my >>>>grant that I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not >>>>to approve my travel request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap >>>>for me to go there anyway. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>Cheers Eelke >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball >>>><reid at rbkdesign.com> wrote: >>>> >>>>While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the >>>>group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. >>>> >>>>If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >>>>hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >>>>about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. >>>> >>>>I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try >>>>to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >>>>can help them. >>>> >>>>-Reid >>>> >>>>On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn >>>>< hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Ok... >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the >>>>>GDC submissions >>>>> without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we >>>>> have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >>>>> submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline >>>>>and it doesn't >>>>> matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again >>>>> but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big >>>>> post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not >>>>>saying that >>>>> it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look >>>>>at the archive >>>> >>>> > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had >>>>really, really >>>>> let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make >>>>> our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >>>>> advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from >>>>> perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not >>>>> saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had >>>>> more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for >>>>> me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so >>>>>great last year >>>>> and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help >>>>>when push came >>>>> to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and >>>>>forth every >>>>> day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" >>>>>"could have" >>>>> things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself >>>>>about this a >>>>> while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now >>>>> that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being >>>>>superhuman. I >>>>> know. I know. Stop it. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. >>>>> Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I >>>>>think this will >>>>> get more people) submission. >>>>> >>>>>[ >>>>>https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through >>>>>the system) >>>>> -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more >>>>> passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke >>>>>for the meet >>>>> and greet because he helped on the proposals. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few >>>>> more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was >>>>>solicited by IGDA >>>>> (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To >>>>> pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more >>>>> passes. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS >>>>>money FAST. I am >>>>> trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth >>>>>SPACE costs >>>>> $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the >>>>>"required" minimum >>>>> of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth >>>>>it will get us >>>>> more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes >>>>>to just being >>>>> able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the >>>>>anger/sadness in my >>>> >>>> > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want >>>>to. I cannot say >>>>> when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have >>>>> already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of >>>>>these people, >>>>> please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without >>>>> penalty. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let >>>>>you know if >>>>> the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have >>>> > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to >>>>have to try >>>>> and talk our asses off at GDC. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Michelle >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> >>>>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>>> >>>>> >>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>games_access mailing list >>>>games_access at igda.org >>>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>-- >>>>---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >>>>Department of CS&E/171 >>>>University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >>>>Game interaction >>>>design www.helpyouplay.com >>>>---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> >>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>games_access mailing list >>>> >>>>games_access at igda.org >>>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>games_access mailing list >>>games_access at igda.org >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hinn at uiuc.edu Fri Nov 30 21:03:22 2007 From: hinn at uiuc.edu (d. michelle hinn) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:03:22 -0600 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: <30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron><836db630 0711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com>AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa 5lcIwkIiwA<008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> Message-ID: Yeah...it's hard not to become cynical about GDC -- it's getting bigger and bigger but we're not seeing the interest go up. And we can't participate in the ways that we'd like -- an expo booth is absolutely out of the question this year. Without passes, you can't get to most of the people at GDC and without the really expensive passes (speaker's) you can't get to the people who hold the purse strings. Attendance is one thing -- even at FuturePlay we didn't have the 40 people that they said signed up. But we did have around 20 people who were very engaged. Most, though, we're not in the "industry" -- as in commercial gaming -- as it was an academic-oriented conference. That doesn't mean that's bad -- it's just also not getting the "industry." But even then -- will that talk end up impacting any type of gaming, including serious? It's hard to tell. Maybe, hopefully. But we don't really have a way of knowing unless people say "I put X in my game because I heard a talk three years ago that discussed it." I guess I'm a bit cynical about talks at smaller venues -- what is "success" at any conference? The transient feeling of success immediately after a talk? That can be a misleading predictor. GDC is GDC not just because of the sessions but because you gain access to a LOT of people. FuturePlay had about 170 attendees whereas GDC had way over 10,000 attendees -- it's the "big fish/little pond - little fish/big pond" scenario. We have to approach every conference with the realization that we're about to enter a little or big pond (and hopefully at one of those we'll be the big fish?) and adjust our expectations and how we feel about our presence afterwards. We just are not going to see a large turnout at any of our sessions at GDC. That seems to be bordering on becoming a fact. So while the talks get us into the conference, the real impact is in the connections we can make outside the talks. But while I caution against false feelings of success after smaller conferences...let's also remember the smaller GDCs -- Austin, Leipzig, China, etc. Austin was very successful and resulted in a lot of contacts and new members, inquiries about our talk in the weeks after, etc. That is one way to feel that word is getting out. And as we keep getting the word out we'll start seeing solutions that different members are working on being implemented -- because in the end, if no one knows about it because there's no conference talk, no one-on-one networking, no press coverage...the solutions will just sit there unused. So maybe we don't put as much into the BIG GDC (San Fran) and focus on getting more of us out to the smaller, regional ones? But I think it would be a mistake to ignore the biggest developers conference in the world! Even if they try to ignore us...yet, we're still in it! We just have to remember that we're there to fight versus feel sorry for ourselves if we only get 2 people in a conference room but we connect with 100 a piece. Michelle >Hi > >just want to add I've started to become a bit cynical about GDC >after four years of low number of attendees. I'm also disappointed >by this, but for other reasons than the GDC judges > >Let's not forget GDC is just one conference, although the biggest >it's perhaps not the best - low numbers of attendees is really not >our problem, it's the industry's problem, that they can't see the >importance of accessibility for the future of the industry. We're >here to help, but since the industry (with a few >exceptions/individuals) isn't listening at GDC, they do listen >elsewhere. > >I'd say we should aim for other conferences where people have >interest and time to listen to us. FuturePlay was a great success; >let's focus on similar conferences where we can succeed rather than >getting disappointed at GDC. > >/Thomas > > >30 nov 2007 kl. 20.00 skrev d. michelle hinn: > >>Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget >>that some of us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu >>and/or had to go to hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the >>selection committee doesn't allow you to petition for that. That >>DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions and Idol went way >>differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad luck last >>year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our >>proposals were viewed. >> >>As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a >>volunteer group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time >>we get a chance we have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, >>we all have individual goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all >>remembered to mention that we are a part of this group, this >>movement, I think it would go a long way....especially when it's >>something good! :) >> >>Michelle >> >>>Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation >>>now about our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the >>>word out about our initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind >>>like game accessibility is just not excepted at all by the >>>mainstream game design community. Until someday, some mainstream >>>game designers are injured and can't find their favorite games >>>anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years >>>they've all been pretty invulnerable. >>> >>> >>> >>>Robert >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>From: games_access-bounces at igda.org >>>[mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >>>On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn >>>Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM >>>To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >>>Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News >>> >>> >>> >>>Hey, >>> >>> >>> >>>The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who >>>work there -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as >>>based on low numbers of attendees and a lot of bad press from >>>GDC07 (many people on the advisory boards for each section (audio, >>>design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants complained...and, yeah, >>>that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are not our >>>friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics >>>because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- >>>There's too much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have >>>until GDC08 talking about what happened after GDC07. I know I >>>brought it up because, yes, I was angry that morning because the >>>low number of acceptances for this year was what I was afraid >>>might happen. But I was also angry because I really, really killed >>>myself over the proposals for this year. >>> >>> >>> >>>Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us >>>with concrete comments or a feedback page about what we could have >>>done better/differently or even what they hated. And it's not a >>>blind review either. Basically this year we need to atone and >>>re-earn respect as a group. >From what I've heard, however, if you >>>have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they were >>>EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I >>>guess we are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited >>>but even those went through a bit of a review as well). >>> >>> >>> >>>So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you >>>want to buy your own pass? >>> >>> >>> >>>We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show >>>some stuff at -- we won't have as much room but we should have >>>stuff for people to look at and some of the stuff are great >>>conversation starters. So we won't need as much this year -- my >>>broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now been broken >>>TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the >>>conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around >>>at FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D >>> >>> >>> >>>Michelle >>> >>> >>> >>>>Hi, >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to >>>>SF so I can take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there >>>>is space to demo them?) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those >>>>proposals? what were the main criteria for not accepting them? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my >>>>grant that I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not >>>>to approve my travel request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap >>>>for me to go there anyway. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>Cheers Eelke >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball >>>><reid at rbkdesign.com> wrote: >>>> >>>>While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the >>>>group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. >>>> >>>>If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >>>>hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >>>>about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. >>>> >>>>I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try >>>>to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >>>>can help them. >>>> >>>>-Reid >>>> >>>>On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn >>>>< hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Ok... >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the >>>>>GDC submissions >>>>> without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we >>>>> have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >>>>> submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline >>>>>and it doesn't >>>>> matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again >>>>> but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big >>>>> post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not >>>>>saying that >>>>> it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look >>>>>at the archive >>>> >>>> > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had >>>>really, really >>>>> let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make >>>>> our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >>>>> advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from >>>>> perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not >>>>> saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had >>>>> more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for >>>>> me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so >>>>>great last year >>>>> and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help >>>>>when push came >>>>> to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and >>>>>forth every >>>>> day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" >>>>>"could have" >>>>> things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself >>>>>about this a >>>>> while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now >>>>> that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being >>>>>superhuman. I >>>>> know. I know. Stop it. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. >>>>> Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I >>>>>think this will >>>>> get more people) submission. >>>>> >>>>>[ >>>>>https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through >>>>>the system) >>>>> -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more >>>>> passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke >>>>>for the meet >>>>> and greet because he helped on the proposals. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few >>>>> more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was >>>>>solicited by IGDA >>>>> (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To >>>>> pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more >>>>> passes. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS >>>>>money FAST. I am >>>>> trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth >>>>>SPACE costs >>>>> $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the >>>>>"required" minimum >>>>> of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth >>>>>it will get us >>>>> more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes >>>>>to just being >>>>> able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the >>>>>anger/sadness in my >>>> >>>> > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want >>>>to. I cannot say >>>>> when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have >>>>> already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of >>>>>these people, >>>>> please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without >>>>> penalty. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let >>>>>you know if >>>>> the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have >>>> > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to >>>>have to try >>>>> and talk our asses off at GDC. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Michelle >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> games_access mailing list >>>>> games_access at igda.org >>>>> >>>>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>>> >>>>> >>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>games_access mailing list >>>>games_access at igda.org >>>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>-- >>>>---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >>>>Department of CS&E/171 >>>>University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >>>>Game interaction >>>>design www.helpyouplay.com >>>>---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> >>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>games_access mailing list >>>> >>>>games_access at igda.org >>>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>games_access mailing list >>>games_access at igda.org >>>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >>> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>games_access mailing list >>games_access at igda.org >>http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > > >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Fri Nov 30 21:10:03 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:10:03 -0500 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwEKCwA References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron><836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com><008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron><30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwEKCwA Message-ID: <000301c833bf$4c509a20$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Perhaps we should take the Hillary Clinton path? Start soliciting or lobbying senators for a change. Backed up by leading government and university research backing petitions to get the industry to respond by law? It is dramatic but it will be very effective. Honestly it should the law I think. No if and or buts about it. That's the job of our government to stand up for people who can't speak for themselves. Countless other committees have gotten together and did speak up for those who couldn't, making sure that their rights were heard. If the largest conference in the world will ignore us maybe we can get someone on our side that they can't. I have to say it really is disappointing to see the low numbers of attendees at that conference. And then hear the response just walking around talking to developers they just seem clueless. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Reid Kimball Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 7:05 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News Talking to other audiences is fine and valuable but we can't abandon the main games industry. We've made a lot of progress. You can't see it right now, but I know we have. People have heard of us, they've seen our work. That's step one. Steps two and three will come. It often takes 10 years for an industry to adopt radically new ways of thinking and unfortunately, accessibility does complicate the design and tech requirements which requires developers to think differently. On Nov 30, 2007 3:01 PM, Thomas Westin wrote: > Hi > > just want to add I've started to become a bit cynical about GDC after four > years of low number of attendees. I'm also disappointed by this, but for > other reasons than the GDC judges > > Let's not forget GDC is just one conference, although the biggest it's > perhaps not the best - low numbers of attendees is really not our problem, > it's the industry's problem, that they can't see the importance of > accessibility for the future of the industry. We're here to help, but since > the industry (with a few exceptions/individuals) isn't listening at GDC, > they do listen elsewhere. > > I'd say we should aim for other conferences where people have interest and > time to listen to us. FuturePlay was a great success; let's focus on similar > conferences where we can succeed rather than getting disappointed at GDC. > > /Thomas > > > > 30 nov 2007 kl. 20.00 skrev d. michelle hinn: > > > > Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget that some of > us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu and/or had to go to > hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the selection committee doesn't allow you > to petition for that. That DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions and > Idol went way differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad luck > last year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our > proposals were viewed. > > > As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a volunteer > group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time we get a chance we > have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, we all have individual > goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all remembered to mention that we are a > part of this group, this movement, I think it would go a long > way....especially when it's something good! :) > > > Michelle > > > Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation now about > our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the word out about our > initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind like game accessibility is > just not excepted at all by the mainstream game design community. Until > someday, some mainstream game designers are injured and can't find their > favorite games anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years > they've all been pretty invulnerable. > > Robert > > ________________________________ > > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn > Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News > > Hey, > > The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who work there > -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as based on low numbers of > attendees and a lot of bad press from GDC07 (many people on the advisory > boards for each section (audio, design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants > complained...and, yeah, that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are > not our friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics > because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- There's too > much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have until GDC08 talking > about what happened after GDC07. I know I brought it up because, yes, I was > angry that morning because the low number of acceptances for this year was > what I was afraid might happen. But I was also angry because I really, > really killed myself over the proposals for this year. > > Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us with concrete > comments or a feedback page about what we could have done better/differently > or even what they hated. And it's not a blind review either. Basically this > year we need to atone and re-earn respect as a group. >From what I've heard, > however, if you have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they > were EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I guess we > are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited but even those went > through a bit of a review as well). > > So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you want to buy > your own pass? > > We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show some stuff at > -- we won't have as much room but we should have stuff for people to look at > and some of the stuff are great conversation starters. So we won't need as > much this year -- my broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now > been broken TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the > conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around at > FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D > > Michelle > > > Hi, > > > > > I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF so I can > take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is space to demo > them?) > > > > Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those proposals? > what were the main criteria for not accepting them? > > > > > I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my grant that > I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to approve my travel > request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me to go there anyway. > > > > Cheers Eelke > > > > > > > > > On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball wrote: > While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the > group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. > > If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any > hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures > about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. > > I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try > to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we > can help them. > > -Reid > > On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: > > > > > > Ok... > > > > > > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC > submissions > > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we > > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final > > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it > doesn't > > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. > > > > > > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again > > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big > > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying > that > > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the > archive > > > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, > really > > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make > > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere > > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from > > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not > > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had > > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for > > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last > year > > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push > came > > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth > every > > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could > have" > > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this > a > > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now > > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. > I > > know. I know. Stop it. > > > > > > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. > > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this > will > > get more people) submission. > > [ https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] > > > > > > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the > system) > > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more > > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the > meet > > and greet because he helped on the proposals. > > > > > > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few > > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by > IGDA > > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To > > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more > > passes. > > > > > > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I > am > > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE > costs > > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" > minimum > > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get > us > > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just > being > > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. > > > > > > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in > my > > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot > say > > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have > > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these > people, > > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without > > penalty. > > > > > > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know > if > > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have > > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to > try > > and talk our asses off at GDC. > > > > > > Michelle > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > -- > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > Department of CS&E/171 > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Fri Nov 30 21:12:27 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:12:27 -0500 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxEKCwA References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron><836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com><008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron><30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIxEKCwA Message-ID: <000401c833bf$9f2596b0$6501a8c0@Inspiron> It still is completely ignorant shows that part of humanity in the game design industry just don't give a crap. I mean if they honest cause anyone with a right sane mind logically thinks game accessibility should be a no-brainer. It's so hard to believe that not one person on the voting committee doesn't stand up and say there should at least be one great conference table or something about this. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 7:47 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News And, you know, if it is true that we didn't get a lot accepted due to bad word of mouth...the fact that the selection committee was even talking about us means they know about us. And we are still in the game. So maybe even I can take that as a sign of progress. Hehe. Any press is good press I guess... :) If you get talked about, that means you've been noticed in the crowd of 10's of thousands -- many groups don't even get that far. Michelle >Talking to other audiences is fine and valuable but we can't abandon >the main games industry. We've made a lot of progress. You can't see >it right now, but I know we have. People have heard of us, they've >seen our work. That's step one. Steps two and three will come. It >often takes 10 years for an industry to adopt radically new ways of >thinking and unfortunately, accessibility does complicate the design >and tech requirements which requires developers to think differently. > >On Nov 30, 2007 3:01 PM, Thomas Westin wrote: >> Hi >> >> just want to add I've started to become a bit cynical about GDC after four >> years of low number of attendees. I'm also disappointed by this, but for >> other reasons than the GDC judges >> >> Let's not forget GDC is just one conference, although the biggest it's >> perhaps not the best - low numbers of attendees is really not our problem, >> it's the industry's problem, that they can't see the importance of >> accessibility for the future of the industry. We're here to help, but since >> the industry (with a few exceptions/individuals) isn't listening at GDC, >> they do listen elsewhere. >> >> I'd say we should aim for other conferences where people have interest and >> time to listen to us. FuturePlay was a great success; let's focus on similar >> conferences where we can succeed rather than getting disappointed at GDC. >> >> /Thomas >> >> >> >> 30 nov 2007 kl. 20.00 skrev d. michelle hinn: >> >> >> >> Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget that some of >> us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu and/or had to go to >> hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the selection committee doesn't allow you >> to petition for that. That DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions and >> Idol went way differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad luck >> last year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our >> proposals were viewed. >> >> >> As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a volunteer >> group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time we get a chance we >> have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, we all have individual >> goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all remembered to mention that we are a >> part of this group, this movement, I think it would go a long >> way....especially when it's something good! :) >> >> >> Michelle >> >> >> Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation now about >> our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the word out about our >> initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind like game accessibility is >> just not excepted at all by the mainstream game design community. Until >> someday, some mainstream game designers are injured and can't find their >> favorite games anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years >> they've all been pretty invulnerable. >> >> Robert >> >> ________________________________ >> >> From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] >> On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn >> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM >> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List >> Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News >> >> Hey, >> >> The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who work there >> -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as based on low numbers of >> attendees and a lot of bad press from GDC07 (many people on the advisory >> boards for each section (audio, design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants > > complained...and, yeah, that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are >> not our friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics >> because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- There's too >> much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have until GDC08 talking >> about what happened after GDC07. I know I brought it up because, yes, I was >> angry that morning because the low number of acceptances for this year was >> what I was afraid might happen. But I was also angry because I really, >> really killed myself over the proposals for this year. >> >> Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us with concrete >> comments or a feedback page about what we could have done better/differently >> or even what they hated. And it's not a blind review either. Basically this >> year we need to atone and re-earn respect as a group. >From what I've heard, >> however, if you have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they >> were EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I guess we >> are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited but even those went >> through a bit of a review as well). >> >> So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you want to buy >> your own pass? >> >> We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show some stuff at >> -- we won't have as much room but we should have stuff for people to look at >> and some of the stuff are great conversation starters. So we won't need as >> much this year -- my broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now >> been broken TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the >> conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around at >> FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D >> >> Michelle >> >> >> Hi, >> >> >> >> >> I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF so I can >> take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is space to demo >> them?) >> >> >> >> Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those proposals? >> what were the main criteria for not accepting them? >> >> >> >> >> I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my grant that >> I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to approve my travel >> request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me to go there anyway. >> >> >> >> Cheers Eelke >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball wrote: >> While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the >> group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. >> >> If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any >> hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures >> about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. >> >> I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try >> to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we >> can help them. >> >> -Reid >> >> On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: >> > >> > >> > Ok... >> > >> > >> > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC >> submissions >> > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we >> > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final >> > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it >> doesn't >> > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. >> > >> > >> > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again >> > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big >> > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying >> that >> > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the >> archive >> >> > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, >> really >> > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make >> > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere >> > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from > > > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not >> > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had >> > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for >> > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last >> year >> > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push >> came >> > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth >> every >> > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could >> have" >> > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this >> a >> > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now >> > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. >> I >> > know. I know. Stop it. >> > >> > >> > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. >> > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this >> will >> > get more people) submission. >> > [ https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] >> > >> > >> > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the >> system) >> > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more >> > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the >> meet >> > and greet because he helped on the proposals. >> > >> > >> > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few >> > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by >> IGDA >> > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To >> > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more >> > passes. >> > >> > >> > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I >> am >> > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE >> costs >> > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" >> minimum >> > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get >> us >> > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just >> being >> > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. >> > >> > >> > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in >> my >> > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot >> say >> > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have >> > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these >> people, >> > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without >> > penalty. >> > >> > >> > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know >> if >> > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have >> > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to >> try >> > and talk our asses off at GDC. >> > >> > >> > Michelle >> > _______________________________________________ >> > games_access mailing list >> > games_access at igda.org >> > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor >> Department of CS&E/171 >> University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 >> Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at igda.org >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access >> >> >_______________________________________________ >games_access mailing list >games_access at igda.org >http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From arthit73 at cablespeed.com Fri Nov 30 21:14:01 2007 From: arthit73 at cablespeed.com (Robert Florio) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:14:01 -0500 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwEKCwA References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron><836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com><008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron><30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> AAAAADBf8GSYa4xDlD4sBa5lcIwEKCwA Message-ID: <000501c833bf$d6fd3e30$6501a8c0@Inspiron> That's really pathetic the way I think about it Reid 10 years to be implemented. No offense I'm just stating what it is. For those of us who directly are impacted by the lack of design in this industry it is so damn frustrating. I think we need to reach to a higher power outside that will interact for us. Maybe we can call Greenpeace get their connections? See if we can get some of their senators on our side. Robert -----Original Message----- From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Reid Kimball Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 7:05 PM To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News Talking to other audiences is fine and valuable but we can't abandon the main games industry. We've made a lot of progress. You can't see it right now, but I know we have. People have heard of us, they've seen our work. That's step one. Steps two and three will come. It often takes 10 years for an industry to adopt radically new ways of thinking and unfortunately, accessibility does complicate the design and tech requirements which requires developers to think differently. On Nov 30, 2007 3:01 PM, Thomas Westin wrote: > Hi > > just want to add I've started to become a bit cynical about GDC after four > years of low number of attendees. I'm also disappointed by this, but for > other reasons than the GDC judges > > Let's not forget GDC is just one conference, although the biggest it's > perhaps not the best - low numbers of attendees is really not our problem, > it's the industry's problem, that they can't see the importance of > accessibility for the future of the industry. We're here to help, but since > the industry (with a few exceptions/individuals) isn't listening at GDC, > they do listen elsewhere. > > I'd say we should aim for other conferences where people have interest and > time to listen to us. FuturePlay was a great success; let's focus on similar > conferences where we can succeed rather than getting disappointed at GDC. > > /Thomas > > > > 30 nov 2007 kl. 20.00 skrev d. michelle hinn: > > > > Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget that some of > us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu and/or had to go to > hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the selection committee doesn't allow you > to petition for that. That DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions and > Idol went way differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad luck > last year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our > proposals were viewed. > > > As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a volunteer > group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time we get a chance we > have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, we all have individual > goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all remembered to mention that we are a > part of this group, this movement, I think it would go a long > way....especially when it's something good! :) > > > Michelle > > > Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation now about > our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the word out about our > initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind like game accessibility is > just not excepted at all by the mainstream game design community. Until > someday, some mainstream game designers are injured and can't find their > favorite games anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 years > they've all been pretty invulnerable. > > Robert > > ________________________________ > > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn > Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News > > Hey, > > The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who work there > -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as based on low numbers of > attendees and a lot of bad press from GDC07 (many people on the advisory > boards for each section (audio, design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants > complained...and, yeah, that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc are > not our friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into specifics > because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- There's too > much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have until GDC08 talking > about what happened after GDC07. I know I brought it up because, yes, I was > angry that morning because the low number of acceptances for this year was > what I was afraid might happen. But I was also angry because I really, > really killed myself over the proposals for this year. > > Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us with concrete > comments or a feedback page about what we could have done better/differently > or even what they hated. And it's not a blind review either. Basically this > year we need to atone and re-earn respect as a group. >From what I've heard, > however, if you have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, they > were EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I guess we > are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited but even those went > through a bit of a review as well). > > So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you want to buy > your own pass? > > We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show some stuff at > -- we won't have as much room but we should have stuff for people to look at > and some of the stuff are great conversation starters. So we won't need as > much this year -- my broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now > been broken TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite the > conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around at > FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D > > Michelle > > > Hi, > > > > > I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF so I can > take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is space to demo > them?) > > > > Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those proposals? > what were the main criteria for not accepting them? > > > > > I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my grant that > I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to approve my travel > request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me to go there anyway. > > > > Cheers Eelke > > > > > > > > > On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball wrote: > While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the > group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. > > If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any > hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures > about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. > > I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try > to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we > can help them. > > -Reid > > On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: > > > > > > Ok... > > > > > > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC > submissions > > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now so we > > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final > > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it > doesn't > > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. > > > > > > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up again > > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our big > > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not saying > that > > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the > archive > > > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, > really > > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't make > > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere > > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far from > > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm not > > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, had > > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard for > > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great last > year > > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push > came > > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth > every > > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" "could > have" > > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about this > a > > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize now > > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being superhuman. > I > > know. I know. Stop it. > > > > > > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in now. > > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this > will > > get more people) submission. > > [ https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] > > > > > > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the > system) > > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two more > > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for the > meet > > and greet because he helped on the proposals. > > > > > > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a few > > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by > IGDA > > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. To > > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few more > > passes. > > > > > > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money FAST. I > am > > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE > costs > > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" > minimum > > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will get > us > > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just > being > > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. > > > > > > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the anger/sadness in > my > > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I cannot > say > > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you have > > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these > people, > > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel without > > penalty. > > > > > > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you know > if > > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now have > > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have to > try > > and talk our asses off at GDC. > > > > > > Michelle > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > -- > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > Department of CS&E/171 > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at igda.org http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access From glinert at mit.edu Fri Nov 30 23:09:54 2007 From: glinert at mit.edu (Eitan Glinert) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:09:54 -0500 Subject: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News In-Reply-To: <000301c833bf$4c509a20$6501a8c0@Inspiron> References: <006501c8312b$82902a60$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <836db6300711300020r477e9abbldc4a6261effa5686@mail.gmail.com> <008701c8337d$ac6de170$6501a8c0@Inspiron> <30EC442C-11A9-416C-BE37-0540384E8C0A@pininteractive.com> <000301c833bf$4c509a20$6501a8c0@Inspiron> Message-ID: <3dd2060e0711302009g3635fb8eq5a12c64cb86a5972@mail.gmail.com> It is law, at least federally: http://www.section508.gov/ The gov't doesn't regulate private industry in this regard, and I don't think lobbying is going to change that. The best way to get through to industry is to show profitability; do so, and others will follow. That said, I understand that many people spent a lot time working on the proposals, and that it's sad that most got rejected. I also know that our SIG's acceptance rate actually isn't that bad, GDC rejected *tons* of talks this year, since so many people want to speak. So try not to worry too much about talks that didn't get in, and let's focus on making the most out of what we've got! If we're concerned with low talk attendance numbers, let's figure out a new way to sell this so that we can increase the number of people who show up for our presentations. Cheers, Eitan On Nov 30, 2007 9:10 PM, Robert Florio wrote: > Perhaps we should take the Hillary Clinton path? Start soliciting or > lobbying senators for a change. Backed up by leading government and > university research backing petitions to get the industry to respond by > law? > It is dramatic but it will be very effective. Honestly it should the law > I > think. > > No if and or buts about it. That's the job of our government to stand up > for people who can't speak for themselves. Countless other committees > have > gotten together and did speak up for those who couldn't, making sure that > their rights were heard. If the largest conference in the world will > ignore > us maybe we can get someone on our side that they can't. > > I have to say it really is disappointing to see the low numbers of > attendees > at that conference. And then hear the response just walking around > talking > to developers they just seem clueless. > > Robert > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Reid Kimball > Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 7:05 PM > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News > > Talking to other audiences is fine and valuable but we can't abandon > the main games industry. We've made a lot of progress. You can't see > it right now, but I know we have. People have heard of us, they've > seen our work. That's step one. Steps two and three will come. It > often takes 10 years for an industry to adopt radically new ways of > thinking and unfortunately, accessibility does complicate the design > and tech requirements which requires developers to think differently. > > On Nov 30, 2007 3:01 PM, Thomas Westin wrote: > > Hi > > > > just want to add I've started to become a bit cynical about GDC after > four > > years of low number of attendees. I'm also disappointed by this, but for > > other reasons than the GDC judges > > > > Let's not forget GDC is just one conference, although the biggest it's > > perhaps not the best - low numbers of attendees is really not our > problem, > > it's the industry's problem, that they can't see the importance of > > accessibility for the future of the industry. We're here to help, but > since > > the industry (with a few exceptions/individuals) isn't listening at GDC, > > they do listen elsewhere. > > > > I'd say we should aim for other conferences where people have interest > and > > time to listen to us. FuturePlay was a great success; let's focus on > similar > > conferences where we can succeed rather than getting disappointed at > GDC. > > > > /Thomas > > > > > > > > 30 nov 2007 kl. 20.00 skrev d. michelle hinn: > > > > > > > > Well, there's lots to do, that's for sure. We also can't forget that > some > of > > us (you, me, Richard, others) were hit by the GDC flu and/or had to go > to > > hospital (my kidney nightmare) and the selection committee doesn't allow > you > > to petition for that. That DRAMATICALLY impacted a lot of our sessions > and > > Idol went way differently than we'd planned for. So we had a lot of bad > luck > > last year that isn't the fault of anyone -- but it did impact how our > > proposals were viewed. > > > > > > As a group, we just need to remember that we are a group. We are a > volunteer > > group. But we are a group and we do a lot! And every time we get a > chance > we > > have to remember to talk about the group. Sure, we all have individual > > goals, jobs, lives, etc -- but if we all remembered to mention that we > are > a > > part of this group, this movement, I think it would go a long > > way....especially when it's something good! :) > > > > > > Michelle > > > > > > Sounds like a challenge. It's too bad there was a bad reputation now > about > > our group. Just feels the fighter though to get the word out about our > > initiatives even more. Still baffles my mind like game accessibility is > > just not excepted at all by the mainstream game design community. Until > > someday, some mainstream game designers are injured and can't find their > > favorite games anymore and then we'll see. But apparently the last 20 > years > > they've all been pretty invulnerable. > > > > Robert > > > > ________________________________ > > > > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org [mailto: > games_access-bounces at igda.org] > > On Behalf Of d. michelle hinn > > Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:48 PM > > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List > > Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2008: VERY Bad News > > > > Hey, > > > > The only feedback I've gotten was informal from people I know who work > there > > -- the sessions weren't judged on content as much as based on low > numbers > of > > attendees and a lot of bad press from GDC07 (many people on the advisory > > boards for each section (audio, design, etc) gossiped, Idol participants > > complained...and, yeah, that web archive was mentioned -- google, etc > are > > not our friends). So we live and learn. I'm not going to go into > specifics > > because it will hurt us to go into it and we don't need that -- There's > too > > much to do and we cannot spend the little time we have until GDC08 > talking > > about what happened after GDC07. I know I brought it up because, yes, I > was > > angry that morning because the low number of acceptances for this year > was > > what I was afraid might happen. But I was also angry because I really, > > really killed myself over the proposals for this year. > > > > Unfortunately, it's not academia so they won't ever provide us with > concrete > > comments or a feedback page about what we could have done > better/differently > > or even what they hated. And it's not a blind review either. Basically > this > > year we need to atone and re-earn respect as a group. >From what I've > heard, > > however, if you have never had a proposal accepted that you turned in, > they > > were EVEN MORE likely to not take a chance on your proposal...so I guess > we > > are lucky that we got three sessions (two were solicited but even those > went > > through a bit of a review as well). > > > > So when you say you can pay your own way...do you mean that you want to > buy > > your own pass? > > > > We'll have accessibility arcade and the meet and greet to show some > stuff > at > > -- we won't have as much room but we should have stuff for people to > look > at > > and some of the stuff are great conversation starters. So we won't need > as > > much this year -- my broken controller (the Quad Controller that has now > > been broken TWICE by airport security so it really looks bad) is quite > the > > conversation piece. I think I could have just carried that around at > > FuturePlay all day to get the word out about accessibility! :D > > > > Michelle > > > > > > Hi, > > > > > > > > > > I'm sorry to hear about the passes. I'll be driving from Reno to SF so I > can > > take all my accessible hardware if need be. (If there is space to demo > > them?) > > > > > > > > Michelle, did they provide us with specific feedback on those proposals? > > what were the main criteria for not accepting them? > > > > > > > > > > I can pay my own way to GDC since I have some money left from my grant > that > > I need to spend before august, after UNR decided not to approve my > travel > > request to Futureplay. Besides it's cheap for me to go there anyway. > > > > > > > > Cheers Eelke > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On 27/11/2007, Reid Kimball wrote: > > While this is isn't the ideal situation it's not a total loss for the > > group and we have to work within our resources to do the best we can. > > > > If only three of us can come, then I suggest we don't bring any > > hardware accessories. Instead, let's create flyer's and brochures > > about the accessories. Maybe even produce videos of people using them. > > > > I also recommend that because we are a smaller group this year, we try > > to have personal meetings with game developers to talk about how we > > can help them. > > > > -Reid > > > > On Nov 27, 2007 12:25 PM, d. michelle hinn < hinn at uiuc.edu> wrote: > > > > > > > > > Ok... > > > > > > > > > So remember when I was writing for days straight for all the GDC > > submissions > > > without a whole lot of help? All submissions have been accepted now > so > we > > > have some bad, bad music to face. I never did put up all the final > > > submissions on the WIKI -- I was too tired after the deadline and it > > doesn't > > > matter as much now. I'll get them up for archive reasons. > > > > > > > > > Well...we've been hit by reality this year. I hate to bring this up > again > > > but I feel that I have to -- A lot of public word got out about our > big > > > post-GDC fight last year (it's archived on the net...). I'm not > saying > > that > > > it was any one person or any one comment -- I can't even look at the > > archive > > > > > without beating myself up about it because I felt like I had really, > > really > > > let everyone down. I got the proposals and the passes but I couldn't > make > > > our showing work in the best way possible. I couldn't be everywhere > > > advertising our sessions. I was far from perfect, we were all far > from > > > perfect, we had big dreams but not enough people doing the work. I'm > not > > > saying everything goes back to that but we had a big year last year, > had > > > more than enough passes for everyone...and that was then. It's hard > for > > > me...well, it's very sad for me to realize that we had it so great > last > > year > > > and we didn't recognize it, we didn't have enough real help when push > > came > > > to shove (or suitcase pulling came to suitcase pulling back and forth > > every > > > day to the convention center). All the "should of" "would have" > "could > > have" > > > things are coming back to haunt me. I stopped flogging myself about > this > > a > > > while ago and thought that I had come to peace with it but I realize > now > > > that I still haven't stopped flogging myself about not being > superhuman. > > I > > > know. I know. Stop it. > > > > > > > > > So...we only had one proposal accepted. All the acceptances are in > now. > > > Reid's [cc] poster (downgraded from a 20 minute talk but I think this > > will > > > get more people) submission. > > > [ https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=6456 ] > > > > > > > > > The other two were IGDA solicited (ie, they did not go through the > > system) > > > -- accessibility arcade and the SIG meet and greet. That buys us two > more > > > passes -- one is mine since I'm SIG chair and one was for Eelke for > the > > meet > > > and greet because he helped on the proposals. > > > > > > > > > I'm going to try and talk to everyone I can think of to try and get a > few > > > more passes because one of those is a roundtable and was solicited by > > IGDA > > > (that was NOT in the proposal process) and it's accessibility arcade. > To > > > pull that off, we need more people. I hope that this gets us a few > more > > > passes. > > > > > > > > > The booth is out of question unless we can get some SERIOUS money > FAST. > I > > am > > > trying every angle I can think of but so far no luck. The booth SPACE > > costs > > > $5100 for 10x10 booth -- add on about $3000 more for the "required" > > minimum > > > of stuff we have to provide...no way. IF we get an expo booth it will > get > > us > > > more EXPO passes, which will restrict those with these passes to just > > being > > > able to get into the expo area (no talks, etc). That's the reality. > > > > > > > > > I'm sorry to have to tell you this and I'm sorry for the > anger/sadness > in > > my > > > tone. We are not going to be able to bring everyone we want to. I > cannot > > say > > > when or if I'll hear if we can get more passes. I know some of you > have > > > already made flight and hotel arrangements. If you are one of these > > people, > > > please check with your airlines, etc for the last date to cancel > without > > > penalty. > > > > > > > > > So three passes...that's it. That's where we are at. I will let you > know > > if > > > the pass situation changes but for now it doesn't look great. We now > have > > > fifteen fewer passes so those of us in attendance are going to have > to > > try > > > and talk our asses off at GDC. > > > > > > > > > Michelle > > > _______________________________________________ > > > games_access mailing list > > > games_access at igda.org > > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Eelke Folmer Assistant Professor > > Department of CS&E/171 > > University of Nevada Reno, Nevada 89557 > > Game interaction design www.helpyouplay.com > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > _______________________________________________ > > games_access mailing list > > games_access at igda.org > > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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