[games_access] GDC 2009!

[Mark Barlet]

It's a secret :)



Sent from mobile device.

On Apr 4, 2009, at 2:56 PM, Reid Kimball <rkimball at gmail.com> wrote:


> I'm still looking forward to hearing about the "secret" news that is

> alluded to in so many posts on AbleGamers.

>

> On Sat, Apr 4, 2009 at 7:06 AM, Thomas Westin <thomas at pininteractive.com 

> > wrote:

>> GDC this year was pretty good, especially the Game accessibility  

>> 101 was

>> well attended (perhaps 30-40 people?), but also our social  

>> gathering at the

>> booth was more than the usual suspects, and the SIG roundtable too  

>> - we had

>> about 5-6 new people at each.

>> Just sad we couldn't have an arcade this year. The DVDs was also well

>> recieved.

>> /Thomas

>>

>> On 4 apr 2009, at 11.25, AudioGames.net wrote:

>>

>> Thanks!

>>

>>

>> ----- Original Message -----

>> From: Barrie Ellis

>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List

>> Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2009 10:47 AM

>> Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2009!

>> I recommend taking having a mooch

>> around http://www.ablegamers.com/gdc-09-9.html - I think Michelle,  

>> Mark and

>> Annette are somewhat exhausted from the show at the minute. Any  

>> news from

>> Thomas and Eitan?

>>

>> Barrie

>>

>>

>> ----- Original Message -----

>> From: AudioGames.net

>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List

>> Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2009 8:50 AM

>> Subject: Re: [games_access] GDC 2009!

>> So.... how was it?

>>

>>

>>

>> ----- Original Message -----

>> From: d. michelle hinn

>> To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List

>> Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 2:16 AM

>> Subject: [games_access] GDC 2009!

>> Hi All!!

>> Here's the rundown of this year's SIG and Game Accessibility  

>> related talks

>> happening at GDC! I'll include the times and places first and at  

>> the end of

>> the email you can read the full descriptions!

>> Talk One: The Story of AudiOdyssey & My Journey through Usability

>> Speaker: Eitan Glinert (President, Fire Hose Games)

>> Date/Time: Monday (March 23, 2009)   1:30pm - 2:00pm

>> Location (room): Room 3007, West Hall

>> Track: Serious Games Summit

>> Talk Two: Game Accessibility SIG Roundtable

>> Speaker: Michelle Hinn (IGDA Game Accessibility SIG Chair)

>> Date/Time: Thursday (March 26, 2009)   9:00am - 10:00am

>> Location (room): Room 120, North Hall

>> Track: Game Design

>> Talk Three: Accessibility 101: Crash Course for Beginners

>> Speakers: Michelle Hinn (IGDA Game Accessibility SIG Chair), Mark  

>> Barlet

>> (Editor-in-Chief, AbleGamers.com)

>> Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009)   9:00am - 10:00am

>> Location (room): Room 2002, West Hall

>> Track: Game Design

>> Talk Four: Game Accessibility & Developers with Disabilities Social

>> Gathering

>> Speaker: Thomas Westin (Dep. Computer & Systems Science, SU/KTH,  

>> Stockholm

>> University/KTH)

>> Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009)   10:30am - 11:30am

>> Location (room): IGDA Booth, West Hall

>> Track: Game Design

>> This year we will have full coverage on AbleGamers.com who have  

>> agreed to

>> host our soon-to-be-unveiled SIG web presence! This will be  

>> unveiled this

>> week but if you go to AbleGamers you'll already start to see some  

>> cool

>> social networking features that will undoubtedly help us reach to  

>> consumers,

>> which we have always been spread a little too thin to do, and help  

>> them

>> reach out (even more than the awesome job they've already been  

>> doing!) to

>> the industry.

>> So anyway, look forward to seeing videos from the talks and  

>> interviews with

>> major developers and daily coverage thanks to AbleGamers reporter  

>> Anet (who

>> is my former game design student/game journalism graduate from  

>> Illinois!).

>> This is our year -- I can feel it! Time to get Game Accessibility  

>> out and

>> about through some big time activism!

>> After GDC, I'm going to call a series of online meetings to get  

>> some of the

>> things some of us were talking about getting going at the beginning  

>> of the

>> year. Some of this is already underway but I can't yet tell you  

>> what it is

>> (it's BIG though...) until I get the permission of the third party  

>> involved.

>> Upcoming conference appearances by members of the SIG include:

>> * GDC Canada

>> * GDC Europe

>> * GDC China

>> * Microsoft One Day Game Accessibility Seminar (that's me!)

>> * Develop Brighton (Barrie -- can you make it to this again???)

>> More news to come! Follow me at Twitter (@vrgrrl), Mark Barlet and

>> AbleGamers (@ablegamers), Barrie Ellis (@OneSwitch) , Richard van Tol

>> (@AudioGames), and more! :)

>> Michelle

>> Chairperson,

>> IGDA Game Accessibility SIG

>> -------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Full Descriptions of Sessions:

>> ---------

>> Talk 1:

>> The Story of AudiOdyssey & My Journey through Usability

>> Speaker: Eitan Glinert (President, Fire Hose Games)

>> Date/Time: Monday (March 23, 2009)   1:30pm - 2:00pm

>> Location (room): Room 3007, West Hall

>> Track: Serious Games Summit

>> Format: 30-minute Lecture

>> Experience Level: All

>>

>> Session Description

>> Not all serious games need to be those with visually exciting  

>> graphics or

>> even graphics at all. AudiOdyssey is a game that provides the  

>> serious games

>> community with an interesting twist - developing a game that can be  

>> used to

>> engage visually impaired gamers and gamers together in the same  

>> shared

>> experience. The story of AudiOdyssey is itself a journey not only  

>> into game

>> design for the visually impaired but overall issues with how to  

>> create games

>> with easy UIs and engaging experiences. During this talk Eitan  

>> Glinert who

>> built AudiOdyssey while at MIT will present the story of  

>> AudiOdyssey while

>> also covering further issues in usability that are useful not only  

>> for

>> improving access for people with disabilities but all levels of  

>> people

>> learning, training and doing more with videogames. Together this talk

>> provides some critical highlights of issues that are of paramount  

>> importance

>> to games that don't get to be selective about their audiences and  

>> gives

>> insight into a game that moved beyond presenting just a graphical

>> experience.

>> -----

>> Talk 2:

>> Game Accessibility SIG

>> Speaker: Michelle Hinn (IGDA Game Accessibility SIG Chair)

>> Date/Time: Thursday (March 26, 2009)   9:00am - 10:00am

>> Location (room): Room 120, North Hall

>> Track: Game Design

>> Format: 60-minute Roundtable

>> Experience Level: All

>>

>> Session Description

>> The Game Accessibility SIG exists to help the game community strive  

>> towards

>> creating mainstream games that are universally accessible to all,  

>> regardless

>> of age, experience and disability. This SIG meeting will briefly  

>> highlight

>> our accomplishments from the past year. We are eager to accept  

>> input for new

>> initiatives to tackle and we are actively recruiting volunteers and

>> contributors.

>> -----

>> Talk 3:

>> Accessibility 101: Crash Course for Beginners

>> Speaker: Michelle Hinn (IGDA Game Accessibility SIG Chair), Mark  

>> Barlet

>> (Editor-in-Chief, AbleGamers.com)

>> Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009)   9:00am - 10:00am

>> Location (room): Room 2002, West Hall

>> Track: Game Design

>> Format: 60-minute Lecture

>> Experience Level: All

>>

>> Session Description

>> Want to increase the size and diversity of your game's audience by  

>> including

>> gamers with disabilities? This talk provides a list of 10 easy  

>> changes any

>> game developer can use to start increasing the accessibility of their

>> designs for ALL gamers, especially gamers with disabilities, with  

>> minimal

>> effort but maximum impact. Learn what disabled gamers and  

>> developers are

>> doing, from modding your game to your controllers, in order to play  

>> your

>> games so that you can begin implementing these fixes right from the  

>> start of

>> your development cycle!

>>

>> Takeaway

>> Session participants will learn at least ten concrete ways that game

>> designers can use to get started in increasing the accessibility of  

>> their

>> mainstream games titles, as well as some innovative ways of gaming  

>> that will

>> interest all gamers, not just gamers with disabilities. Different  

>> disability

>> types will be discussed - including visual (including low vision  

>> and color

>> blindness), auditory, mobility, and cognitive disabilities - and  

>> how these

>> different disabilities affect certain aspect of game play. Audience  

>> members

>> will come away with many examples of how gamers with disabilities  

>> currently

>> game and how their game companies can help assist these gamers  

>> through

>> design variations to make their game play experience the best  

>> possible.

>>

>> Intended Audience and Prerequisites

>> Designers, programmers, marketers, and publishers interested in a  

>> "crash

>> course" to learn and ask questions about game accessibility -  

>> issues that

>> gamers with disabilities face every day as they try and play your  

>> games.

>> Information given will include an overview of the issues that those  

>> with

>> specific disability types face, including color blind gamers, the top

>> accessibility problems in mainstream games, and concrete solutions.  

>> No

>> prerequisite knowledge is required - just come with an open mind and

>> willingness to seriously consider making games accessible to MORE!

>> -----

>> Talk 4:

>> Game Accessibility & Developers with Disabilities Social Gathering

>> Speaker: Thomas Westin (Dep. Computer & Systems Science, SU/KTH,  

>> Stockholm

>> University/KTH)

>> Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009)   10:30am - 11:30am

>> Location (room): IGDA Booth, West Hall

>> Track: Game Design

>> Format: 60-minute Social Gathering

>> Experience Level: All

>>

>> Session Description

>> Social Gatherings are a chance for like-minded developers to get  

>> together

>> for networking and open discussion at the IGDA booth. Come to meet  

>> your

>> peers and engage in deep dialogue over your area of specialty - or  

>> just

>> partake in witty small talk.

>>

>> Takeaway

>> Networking and discussion with your peers in a casual setting. A  

>> sense of

>> community.

>>

>> Intended Audience and Prerequisites

>> Developers interested in game accessibility and developers with

>> disabilities.

>> ________________________________

>> _______________________________________________

>> 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