[games_access] language thread, was The Human Controller
Barrie Ellis
barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk
Wed Jun 11 12:59:12 EDT 2008
Language is a contentious issue and I respect that you have a different opinion, Matthias. I just personally feel that certain phrases don't particularly tie up with disability rights - which is what the Game Accessibility movement is all about to my mind. I still feel that you are approaching this field from a Medical standpoint - rather that a Social rights stand point.
Barrie
www.OneSwitch.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: Matthias Troup
To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 5:28 PM
Subject: Re: [games_access] language thread, was The Human Controller
Kestrel, Perhaps I (and others) read it as this: If these are people without disabilities in the offensive sense... who aren't suffering in their environment... what would they need help with, and why would anyone be helping? I think Eitans choice of words is fine since his cause was a constructive effort for accessibility. At least, I feel hints of emotion help make any thesis a little less dry.
> From: kestrell at panix.com
> To: games_access at igda.org
> Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:57:14 -0400
> Subject: [games_access] language thread, was The Human Controller
>
> Regarding appropriate language, I'm not sure I see where you are disagreeing
> with my original post. I used the word "disability," and the site you linked
> to, which the wonderful BBC online disability magazine, Ouch!, also uses the
> word "disability." I totally agree with the list provided in the article as
> being offensive words, including the word "special."
>
> Granted the fifth day of ninety degree weather here in Boston is melting my
> brain, but what did I miss?
>
> Kes
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Barrie Ellis" <barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk>
> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 2:54 AM
> Subject: Re: [games_access] The Human Controller
>
>
> > Hi Eitan,
> >
> > I actually disagree with Kestrell's "people first stand point" with
> > "people with disabilities" (although I did used to use it myself). I've
> > long since prefered "disabled people" linking to people being disabled by
> > society / the inaccessibility of their environment.
> >
> > Take a look through this item:
> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3708576.stm.
> > Plus this on the Social Model and Medical Model of diability:
> > http://inclusion.uwe.ac.uk/inclusionweek/articles/socmod.htm
> >
> > Barrie
> > www.OneSwitch.org.uk
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Kestrell" <kestrell at panix.com>
> > To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:42 PM
> > Subject: Re: [games_access] The Human Controller
> >
> >
> >> Eitan,
> >>
> >> I seem to have missed your original post in which you posted the link,
> >> but here are some thoughts on language and disability:
> >>
> >> Certain words and phrases tend to really be button words, as in they will
> >> typically hit many readers' buttons, and the phrase "suffering from" is
> >> definitely one of those phrases. Often the phrase can be deleted
> >> altogether, leaving the phrase "people with disabilities" or "people with
> >> visual impairments" or "visually-impaired gamers," etc. The informal rule
> >> is that the individuals you are discussing are "people first," as
> >> mentioned in this online article
> >> http://iod.unh.edu/press.html
> >>
> >> and here is a link which includes links to writing about disability,
> >> language to use in interviewing people with disabilities, and more
> >> resources
> >> http://ncdj.org/links.html
> >>
> >> Kes
> >>
> >> ---- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Eitan Glinert" <glinert at mit.edu>
> >> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
> >> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 4:29 PM
> >> Subject: Re: [games_access] The Human Controller
> >>
> >>
> >>> Wow, awesome! Thanks for the feedback, I think you are the only person
> >>> outside of MIT to have actually read this. Comments below.
> >>> Eitan
> >>>
> >>> On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 6:48 PM, Barrie Ellis
> >>> <barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk> wrote:
> >>>> Hi Eitan,
> >>>>
> >>>> I've read through your thesis "The Human Controller"...
> >>>>
> >>>> Had these thoughts...
> >>>>
> >>>> Didn't like some of the language used. "Suffering from - impaired
> >>>> people -
> >>>> handicapped". All pretty crusty old terms with negative connotations.
> >>>
> >>>>>>EG: Point taken. Any suggestions for better terms?<<<
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Not sure about the controller analysis in Chapter 1 - there's been
> >>>> Driving
> >>>> controllers and light guns since the 70's for many games consoles -
> >>>> which
> >>>> are fairly natural feeling interfaces and have been popular in the
> >>>> past.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>>>>EG: I guess in chapter one I'm trying to draw general strokes about
> >>>>>>UIs, saying that they generally weren't adopted by a mainstream
> >>>>>>audience. Perhaps I should make this more explicit, though<<<
> >>>
> >>>> "Even if it is possible to remap controls it is not always advisable to
> >>>> do
> >>>> so. Frequently part of the fun of a game is the interface, and changing
> >>>> it
> >>>> without forethought is potentially detrimental. In the pervious example
> >>>> of
> >>>> Wii Sports tennis part of the fun is actually swinging the controller
> >>>> as if
> >>>> it were a racket. If this functionality were changed to pressing a
> >>>> button
> >>>> then much of the game's charm and fun would be lost.". I'm not happy
> >>>> with
> >>>> this statement personally - I'd like to see multiple-layers of
> >>>> accessibility
> >>>> (much like Dimitris "Parallel Universes" theory). Why can't a four
> >>>> player
> >>>> game of Wii Sports allow player 1 to use the Wii-remote - player 2 to
> >>>> use a
> >>>> standard JoyPad - player 3 to use a single button and player 4 to use
> >>>> an
> >>>> adapted Wii-remote with blue-tooth stereo head-set to relay
> >>>> personalised
> >>>> timing sounds (think of live singers having a click track that only
> >>>> they can
> >>>> hear) in an ideal world? You mention this type of thing later as if
> >>>> it's a
> >>>> good thing - so I find this early statement a bit overly negative.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>>>>EG: I agree with what you say, which is why I discuss such themes in
> >>>>>>chapter 2. I guess the reason I have that negative statement early on
> >>>>>>is because I wanted to acknowledge the tradeoff early on, even before
> >>>>>>I get to the sections on tradeoffs. I also wanted to make it clear
> >>>>>>that I don't feel accessibility is a magic bullet, even if it is
> >>>>>>almost always applicable.<<<
> >>>
> >>>> "Games have evolved tremendously over the past few decades, as
> >>>> advancements
> >>>> in technology have led to amazingly realistic and engaging offerings,
> >>>> while
> >>>> shifts in player demographics indicate the widespread popularity of
> >>>> video
> >>>> games. Despite these changes many different disabled groups are still
> >>>> unable
> >>>> to play most titles due to inaccessible UIs.." - Would argue that too.
> >>>> I'd
> >>>> agree that most Blind gamers would be in that boat (those with very
> >>>> little
> >>>> usable sight) - but a better statement might have been "many different
> >>>> disabled groups are faced with deeply frustrating barriers with many
> >>>> main-stream games". I know Deaf gamers might struggle at certain points
> >>>> of
> >>>> certain games - and gamers using a single button frequently have to
> >>>> rely
> >>>> upon a friend/helper to take on extra controls and so on - but they can
> >>>> still play.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>>>>EG: Good suggestion, thanks! I might make a change to the argument on
> >>>>>>the online version.<<<
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Chaper 2
> >>>>
> >>>> "Game controls should be as simple as possible, but no simpler." - Not
> >>>> really sure what you're saying here.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>>>>EG: Simplicity is good, but you don't want to go overboard. You don't
> >>>>>>want to cut out critical game elements or features in the name of a
> >>>>>>"cleaner" UI. Maybe that's not clear? <<<
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> 2.5 "a rhythm title like Guitar Hero which focuses on music will not
> >>>> work
> >>>> for the hearing impaired, and it is probably not possible to make an
> >>>> accessible version." - I don't agree with this. Deaf gamers as a whole
> >>>> covers a very broad range of hearing ability. There will be many deaf
> >>>> gamers
> >>>> perfectly able to play Guitar Hero. Even those unable to hear at all
> >>>> might
> >>>> enjoy such a game - did you see Deaf Gamers 8.5/10 review score:
> >>>> http://www.deafgamers.com/07reviews_a/gh3_x360.html
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>>>>EG: Wow, I flubbed this one. I'm going to have to change the language
> >>>>>>on this. Good catch, thanks!<<<
> >>>
> >>>> But aside from this, I frequently found myself in full agreement with
> >>>> the
> >>>> majority of your thesis - and did enjoy reading it. Thanks for making
> >>>> it
> >>>> publicly available.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>>>>Great, thanks so much!<<<
> >>>
> >>>> Barrie
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eitan Glinert" <glinert at mit.edu>
> >>>> To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
> >>>> Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 10:50 PM
> >>>> Subject: [games_access] The Human Controller
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>> Good news, everyone! In a surprise twist, I'm graduating! I know a lot
> >>>>> of you are interested in my thesis, so you can check it out at
> >>>>> web.mit.edu/glinert/www/thesis . I'm happy to answer questions about
> >>>>> it, and I welcome feedback (both positive and negative). Special
> >>>>> thanks to Dimitris, Eelke, Michelle, and Reid for all their help
> >>>>> answering my questions over the months.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> In case you're not sure whether it is worth reading, here's some more
> >>>>> info:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> TITLE: The Human Controller: Usability and Accessibility in Video Game
> >>>>> Interfaces
> >>>>>
> >>>>> ABSTRACT:
> >>>>> Despite the advances in user interfaces and the new gaming genres, not
> >>>>> all people can play all games - disabled people are frequently
> >>>>> excluded from game play experiences. On the one hand this adds to the
> >>>>> list of discriminations disabled people face in our society, while on
> >>>>> the other hand actively including them potentially results in games
> >>>>> that are better for everyone. The largest hurdle to involvement is the
> >>>>> user interface, or how a player interacts with the game. Analyzing
> >>>>> usability and adhering to accessibility design principles makes it
> >>>>> both possible and practical to develop fun and engaging game user
> >>>>> interfaces that a broader range of the population can play. To
> >>>>> demonstrate these principles we created AudiOdyssey, a PC rhythm game
> >>>>> that is accessible to both sighted and non-sighted audiences. By
> >>>>> following accessibility guidelines we incorporated a novel combination
> >>>>> of features resulting in a similar play experience for both groups.
> >>>>> Testing AudiOdyssey yielded useful insights into which interface
> >>>>> elements work and which don't work for all users. Finally a case is
> >>>>> made for considering accessibility when designing future versions of
> >>>>> gaming user interfaces, and speculative scenarios are presented for
> >>>>> what such interfaces might look like.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Eitan
> >>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>> games_access mailing list
> >>>>> games_access at igda.org
> >>>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
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> >>>> games_access at igda.org
> >>>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
> >>>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
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> >>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
> >>
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