[games_access] IGDA Newsletter, Great Story on Page 16 and 17.

Wed Feb 10 09:33:17 EST 2010

Hi all,
I want to express my opinion because many of you are doing that  :)

I'm sorry, i want to be hard with game developers  xD
And I am a game developer!!  (coder)
But I think we are here to say all the truth and not to exclude a group of
people who are already in a excluded group.

I understand Mark, he wants to encourage the industry and not to punish
them. But I want to be realistic as he said he is realistic knowing he cant
do some things because his disability; as the same way, me as developer, I
have to be realistic and know that is really hard to make a videogame
accessible, and fully accessibility is impossible in a commercial game.

there are different points of view... but is the same cause...
so... keep working!!   ;)

2010/2/10 Mark Barlet <mark at ablegamers.com>

> Barrie,
>
> /start random rambling
>
>  I know we have had this discussion off list in the past. I agree that the
> game is not perfect for every disabled person out there. But one of the
> challenges AbleGamer has to come up with was what was a reasonable
> expectation for a MAINSTREAM game to have for accessibility. To your point "
> I know a lot of players who just can't grasp RPG's" to make a game that is
> accessible to those you call out would in turn make the game not a
> mainstream success that it has turned out to be. And if you want to argue
> inclusion before profit then I think we are all dreaming.  As a gamer I am
> willing to accept that there are some things that I may not be able to play
> due to my disability, just like I accept that there are NON gaming tasks I
> am not able to do,  but while I do not speak for the whole disabled gamers,
> the ones I know are would rather see a good game that they can not play than
> an okay game that they do not want to play.
>
> This is where I have always struggled with game accessibility in the
> mainstream space. There is a huge number of disabled people that are fully
> cognitive. They are in bodies that are less than ideal, but the cognitive
> side of the house is in order. With the technology that is out today there
> is no reason why MAINSTREAM games cannot be built to help that disabled
> population and still stay mainstream. DA proved it. That said, there is also
> this population of folks with cognitive disabilities, and the needs of this
> population is 180 degrees of what the other population needs to play and is
> a lot more complex to do even if you set out to do it, because many of these
> cognitive disabilities manifest themselves in SO MANY different ways. But
> even then DA did have one feature that is part of Michelle's top 10, and
> that is the ability to pause the game anywhere and do things. DA does that,
> and we called it out.
>
> I have had many conversations off list about mainstream gaming and
> universal accessibility, and to me, if that is where you want to set the
> bar, then the gaming industry will not be able to ever get over the top of
> it, and because the bar is so high and so counter to the art of making a
> blockbuster game, they will stop trying and move on. That is why AbleGamers
> has setup the review system as it has.  I can run 100 feet if I have to, I
> can not run 500 yards if I wanted to... and I am not even going to try
> because I know I will fail, and why on earth would I set myself up for
> failure?
>
> That said, the bulk of the staff of AbleGamers is in fact disabled. Some
> more than others but 80% of the staff is disabled. We are working with folks
> on the front line of some of the independent gaming space to make sure that
> we cover and call out games that are less mainstream and more focused on a
> target audience. Look for some of that in the spring.
>
> Anyway way that is my 2 cents... I am sure it is worth far less.
>
> Oh and speaking of text size and my promotion of AbleGamers Mainstream
> Accessible Game of the Year,
>
>
> http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/02/no-fix-for-mass-effect-2-text-issue-could-have-been-avoided.ars
>
> Off given that BIOWARE makes both games... and ME2 only got a 5.0 on our
> review.
> http://www.ablegamers.com/pc/mass-effect-2.html
>
> /end random rambling
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 6:37 AM, Sandra Uhling <sandra_uhling at web.de>wrote:
>
>> Hi Barrie,
>>
>> that is one of the reason why we should always work in a team. :-)
>> Game Accessibility is very complex and sometimes confusing.
>>
>> Usually it is not possible to make it accessible for all.
>> The only thing we can do is to reduce barriers and give feedback.
>>
>> And this is something that works very well in this group.
>> I like it that the members help each other and give friendly feedback.
>>
>> It would be great, when this would be the same with exergaming groups ;-)
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Sandra
>>
>> ************************************
>>
>> Barrie wrote:
>>
>> Thanks for the support, Joshua! We appreciate it.
>>
>> I think Mark had done a great job promoting this article as I've seen it
>> all
>> over the place, and the IGDA mag is looking very nice. A great improvment:
>>
>> http://www.igda.org/sites/default/files/February2010-IGDA_Perspectives.pdf
>>
>> I do think there are some overblown (perhaps just over enthusiastic
>> statements) as regards the Dragon Age: Origin's overall accessibility,
>> such
>> as: "However, the relatively small font size was immediately addressed by
>> Bioware, bringing the number of accessibility problems to zero." and
>> "Orders
>> can be issued during the pause, allowing anyone to keep up with the game
>> no
>> matter the level of cognitive impairment.". I don't agree with those
>> statements as I know a lot of players who just can't grasp RPG's, couldn't
>> manage the control scheme, and some of whom wouldn't get on with the
>> graphics as they stand. However, I can't take away the fact that Mark is
>> making some waves and the push for greater accessibility is a good thing.
>> I'd say, good effort, but don't forget the niche-of-a-niche disabled
>> gamers.
>> Now how arrogant do I sound?!
>>
>> Barrie
>> www.OneSwitch.org.uk
>> _________________________________________
>> NEU: Mit WEB.DE DSL über 1000,- ¿ sparen!
>> http://produkte.web.de/go/02/
>>
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>
>
>
> --
>
> The AbleGamers Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that advocates for
> greater accessibility in the digital entertainment space.
> Visit our site, http://www.ablegamers.org
>
>
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