[games_access] Project Natal: Microsoft's Alternative Controller

Fri Jun 5 06:53:33 EDT 2009

Hi Nathalie,

I'm in contact with the UK branch of Microsoft too. The more that get in touch the merrier is my thinking. My main thoughts are that I'd love for Microsoft to promote the use of an accessibility profiling system perhaps linked to their Avatar system, that takes into account preferences for game control and other accessibilty issues.

My concern is that from the Natal demos I have seen - many gamers will not be able to jump about to play games and will feel left out as they can do with the Wii - especially so wheelchair users. EyeToy gets around this issue as you can reposition the camera to focus on just a finger for instance, which can be used to play. Microsoft could get around this issue by promoting controller configuration options in a versatile way...

If gamers can define a mix of Natal moves/expressions/vocalisations to trigger particular functions (e.g. lift your eye brows to brake in a car game - tilt your head left/right to steer) many more gamers could be brought in. It would be a revolution for console gaming.

If there was a way to define your controls with a mix of user-definable JoyPad controls plus Natal interactions - you could make a huge number of games more accessible - and playable in totally new ways.

So... Will Microsoft consider versatile user-definable controls and promote this to game developers? Can Natal be used to play existing games that use a JoyPad controller? Have Microsoft ever seen the Vocal Joystick (http://switchgaming.blogspot.com/search?q=vocal+joystick)? Is Natal versatile enough to be used as a head-tracker? Will Microsoft consider pushing for greater accessibility in games that do not have Natal compatibility (as Forza 3 seems to be alluding to: http://switchgaming.blogspot.com/2009/06/forza-3-one-switch-mode.html).

That's all a bit garbled - do you think you could make sense of that and pose some of that to Microsoft?

Please let me know how you go...

Barrie
www.OneSwitch.org.uk

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Nathalie Caron 
  To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List 
  Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 4:49 PM
  Subject: Re: [games_access] Project Natal: Microsoft's Alternative Controller

  I am preparing an article on the subject and will be contacting Microsoft with some questions.

  If you have some you'd like answered about this technology, please let me know asap and I will include them.

  NC

  On Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 3:44 AM, David Colven <Colven at ace-centre.org.uk> wrote:

    I have hopes that it may be a useful tool for people with Asperger's
    syndrome or similar inter-personal communication problems.

    It would be interesting to see if it could be refined to produce switch
    actions - I am with the Cambridge team at the AEGIS meeting and they are
    very interested.

    How about the 3D web cam I've seen advertised?

    David

    David Colven
    Technical Advisor
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    077121 68901
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    > -----Original Message-----
    > From: games_access-bounces at igda.org
    [mailto:games_access-bounces at igda.org]
    > On Behalf Of will wade
    > Sent: 02 June 2009 19:14
    > To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List
    > Subject: Re: [games_access] Project Natal: Microsoft's Alternative
    > Controller
    >

    > Its a interesting development.
    > I agree - as it stands its not that potentially useful to
    > children/adults with a lot of movement. What would be interesting if
    > the technology could be used to look at a particular reliable movement
    > of a person for a particular output - e.g. move a hand inwards at a
    > certain angle in relation to the body, or a head movement to the left,
    > and that produces a output just like a switch. Something like this is
    > currently being developed by the inference group at Cambridge so watch
    > this space..
    >
    > w
    >
    > 2009/6/2 Nathalie Caron <nathalie at gamefwd.org>:
    > > Hi Barrie, and group:
    > >
    > > I watched the Microsoft presentation yesterday and while it has a
    lot of
    > > potential to increase mainstream accessibility, I think there is
    some
    > way to
    > > go in order for it to be accessible to all.
    > >
    > > I can already imagine one of my friends, who argued the same point.
    He
    > has
    > > CP and is in a wheel chair with minimal hand coordination, has
    managed
    > to
    > > adapt to use a controller, but does not speak (unless using a voice
    > device).
    > > I don't think Natal would be able to recognize his facial
    expressions as
    > > well, nor would it be able to find expressions in his synthetic
    voice
    > > (thinking in reference to that interactive game with the little boy
    -
    > Tobi
    > > was it?)
    > >
    > > I think that if Microsoft was really serious about this, they would
    have
    > to
    > > look, perhaps into neurofeedback for those who do not have the means
    to
    > use
    > > their bodies, voices and facial expressions. Surely they have the
    > ability to
    > > implement something like this en masse.
    > >
    > > I don't know if they would consider that, or if they are satisfied
    by
    > having
    > > already "broken new ground"... I guess we will have to watch and
    see.
    > >
    > > Nathalie
    > > http://gamefwd.org
    > >
    > > On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 5:14 PM, Barrie Ellis
    > <barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk>
    > > wrote:
    > >>
    > >> Lots of potential for improved accessibility? But will it be
    > realised...
    > >>
    > >> Microsoft announce Project Natal - gesture, facial expressions and
    > voice
    > >> recognition:
    > >>
    > >>
    http://switchgaming.blogspot.com/2009/06/microsofts-new-controller.html
    > >>
    > >>
    http://kotaku.com/5274317/microsoft-makes-you-the-motion-controller-
    > with-project-natal
    > >>
    > >>
    > >> _______________________________________________
    > >> games_access mailing list
    > >> games_access at igda.org
    > >> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
    > >>
    > >
    > >
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