From thomas at westin.nu Tue Sep 1 10:26:15 2015 From: thomas at westin.nu (Thomas Westin) Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2015 16:26:15 +0200 Subject: [games_access] [PR Repost] AbleGamers Launches Fellowship for Aspiring Developers with Disabilities In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <104DE300-3D2A-4374-BB53-AD1AF3DDE4C0@westin.nu> Awesome, Steve! Kind regards, Thomas (Sent from my mobile) > On 1 sep 2015, at 03:15, Steve Spohn wrote: > > Hey all, > > Wanted to make sure that all of you saw the outstanding news of AbleGamers newest initiative. It's an honor and a privilege to partner with some of the game industry's biggest companies, and with the blessing of the IGDA, to bring this to life. We'll literally be changing the game industry from within, and within a decade all of the major game companies will have in-house game accessibility experts. > > AbleGamers Launches Fellowship for Aspiring Developers with Disabilities > > > Harpers Ferry, WV ? August 31, 2015? AbleGamers Charity is thrilled to announce the AbleGamers Fellowship, which is a brand-new program awarding a $10,000 scholarship to qualifying third and fourth year students with disabilities, majoring in a game development based degree, or computer science or education with a focus on gaming/media from an accredited college or university with a passion for game accessibility. > > Along with scholarship money, AbleGamers Fellows will receive mentoring from the game accessibility experts at AbleGamers, and paid internships with the industry?s leading game publishers. > > Trion Worlds, which contributed the program?s first $10,000, was delighted to partner with AbleGamers on this game changing initiative to bring more inclusivity to the industry from within. Motiga, creators of Gigantic, also jumped on board immediately, citing a love for helping bring positive change to the industry, offering paid internships to the outstanding individuals chosen for the first Fellowship. > > ?This is just the beginning,? said Mark Barlet, Founder and Executive Director of the AbleGamers Charity. ?As our AbleGamers Fellowship continues to grow and new partners come on board, we?ll continue to enhance the program each and every year.? > > ?We have a couple really big ideas in mind,? continued Barlet. ?We just need to find the right partners.? > > "As the International Game Developers Association is focused on creating an inclusive and diverse game industry, one where those who create games better reflect those who play them, we wholeheartedly support the AbleGamers Fellowship," said Kate Edwards, Executive Director, IGDA. "This is a great way by which the industry can expand its talent by making game development accessible to anyone who wants to pursue the field." > > For the first round of awards, AbleGamers and partners are looking for two outstanding individuals who are passionate about game design, game accessibility, and changing the world. For more information on the scholarship, becoming an AbleGamers Fellowship partner, or to apply, please visit www.ablegamersfellowship.com. For more information on AbleGamers charity, please visitwww.ablegamers.com. > > About AbleGamers > > The AbleGamers Charity is a 501(c)(3) public charity that runs AbleGamers.com, which provides news and reviews on the accessibility of mainstream video game titles, as well as consultation on assistive technology. As an alternative to Serious Gaming, mainstream video games supply many disabled individuals and veterans with rehabilitation as well as social stimulation in situations where they may be otherwise shut out of society's idea of normal everyday life. > > > ### > > For more information about this topic, the AbleGamers Charity, AbleGamers.com, donating, or to schedule an interview with Mark Barlet, President of The AbleGamers Charity, call (703) 891-9017 ext:101 or email Steve Spohn at press at AbleGamers.com > > > -- > Steve Spohn > > Chief Operations Officer > > AbleGamers Charity > AbleGamers.com | Facebook | Twitter > > Read the award-winning, critically acclaimed set of game accessibility guidelines for developers to create mainstream games that are accessible to everyone: Includification.com > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > https://pairlist7.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > The main SIG website page is http://igda-gasig.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From blindwolf8 at gmail.com Tue Sep 1 21:48:35 2015 From: blindwolf8 at gmail.com (Dan Fischbach) Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2015 21:48:35 -0400 Subject: [games_access] [PR Repost] AbleGamers Launches Fellowship for Aspiring Developers with Disabilities In-Reply-To: <104DE300-3D2A-4374-BB53-AD1AF3DDE4C0@westin.nu> References: <104DE300-3D2A-4374-BB53-AD1AF3DDE4C0@westin.nu> Message-ID: Sounds like progress to me! Glad to see some movement on this front. ***This message was sent from my cell phone so it may be more terse than usual.*** Dan Fischbach, Net+, MCP W: danfischbach.com P: 609-458-7920 Proud NJIT (BS) and UCF/FIEA (MS) graduate Please consider the environment before printing this email On Sep 1, 2015 10:26 AM, "Thomas Westin" wrote: > Awesome, Steve! > > Kind regards, > Thomas > > (Sent from my mobile) > > On 1 sep 2015, at 03:15, Steve Spohn wrote: > > Hey all, > > Wanted to make sure that all of you saw the outstanding news of AbleGamers > newest initiative. It's an honor and a privilege to partner with some of > the game industry's biggest companies, and with the blessing of the IGDA, > to bring this to life. We'll literally be changing the game industry from > within, and within a decade all of the major game companies will have > in-house game accessibility experts. > > AbleGamers Launches Fellowship for Aspiring Developers with Disabilities > > > > Harpers Ferry, WV ? August 31, 2015? AbleGamers Charity is thrilled to > announce the AbleGamers Fellowship, which is a brand-new program awarding a > $10,000 scholarship to qualifying third and fourth year students with > disabilities, majoring in a game development based degree, or computer > science or education with a focus on gaming/media from an accredited > college or university with a passion for game accessibility. > > > > Along with scholarship money, AbleGamers Fellows will receive mentoring > from the game accessibility experts at AbleGamers, and paid internships > with the industry?s leading game publishers. > > > > Trion Worlds, which contributed the program?s first $10,000, was delighted > to partner with AbleGamers on this game changing initiative to bring more > inclusivity to the industry from within. Motiga, creators of Gigantic, also > jumped on board immediately, citing a love for helping bring positive > change to the industry, offering paid internships to the outstanding > individuals chosen for the first Fellowship. > > > > ?This is just the beginning,? said Mark Barlet, Founder and Executive > Director of the AbleGamers Charity. ?As our AbleGamers Fellowship continues > to grow and new partners come on board, we?ll continue to enhance the > program each and every year.? > > > > ?We have a couple really big ideas in mind,? continued Barlet. ?We just > need to find the right partners.? > > > > "As the International Game Developers Association is focused on creating > an inclusive and diverse game industry, one where those who create games > better reflect those who play them, we wholeheartedly support the > AbleGamers Fellowship," said Kate Edwards, Executive Director, IGDA. "This > is a great way by which the industry can expand its talent by making game > development accessible to anyone who wants to pursue the field." > > > > For the first round of awards, AbleGamers and partners are looking for two > outstanding individuals who are passionate about game design, game > accessibility, and changing the world. For more information on the > scholarship, becoming an AbleGamers Fellowship partner, or to apply, please > visit www.ablegamersfellowship.com > . > For more information on AbleGamers charity, please visit > www.ablegamers.com > > . > > > *About AbleGamers* > > The AbleGamers Charity is a 501(c)(3) public charity that runs > AbleGamers.com, which provides news and reviews on the accessibility of > mainstream video game titles, as well as consultation on assistive > technology. As an alternative to Serious Gaming, mainstream video games > supply many disabled individuals and veterans with rehabilitation as well > as social stimulation in situations where they may be otherwise shut out of > society's idea of normal everyday life. > > > ### > > For more information about this topic, the AbleGamers Charity, > AbleGamers.com, donating, or to schedule an interview with Mark Barlet, > President of The AbleGamers Charity, call (703) 891-9017 ext:101 or email > Steve Spohn at press at AbleGamers.com > > > -- > Steve Spohn > > *Chief Operations Officer* > > AbleGamers Charity > AbleGamers.com | Facebook > | Twitter > > > Read the award-winning, critically acclaimed set of game accessibility > guidelines for developers to create mainstream games that are accessible to > *everyone*: Includification.com > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > https://pairlist7.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > The main SIG website page is http://igda-gasig.org > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > https://pairlist7.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > The main SIG website page is http://igda-gasig.org > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From i_h at hotmail.com Thu Sep 3 19:26:00 2015 From: i_h at hotmail.com (Ian Hamilton) Date: 3 Sep 2015 16:26:00 -0700 Subject: [games_access] =?utf-8?q?IGDA_developer_satisfaction_survey?= Message-ID: The 2015 survey results have just come out, interesting data on breakdown of disability amongst people in the industry. Up 3.5% on last year, although any difference in data could be down to gamergate input. http://www.igda.org/?page=dss2015 Ian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Screenshot_2015-09-04-00-06-38.png Type: application/octet-stream Size: 422995 bytes Desc: not available URL: From i_h at hotmail.com Mon Sep 14 20:38:53 2015 From: i_h at hotmail.com (Ian Hamilton) Date: 14 Sep 2015 17:38:53 -0700 Subject: [games_access] =?utf-8?q?Accessibility_on_XB1?= Message-ID: Mike Ybarra has confirmed that accessibility functionality is coming with November's UI update: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-xbox-one-update-will-make-some-functionality-5/1100-6430524/ No announcement yet of exactly which features will be in there. Nothing mentioned publicly yet by anyone else other than Sony and Microsoft, but with the CVAA deadline less than a month away now we should start seeing some more of these kind of announcements. Ian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk Tue Sep 15 02:37:04 2015 From: barrie.ellis at oneswitch.org.uk (Barrie Ellis) Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2015 06:37:04 +0000 Subject: [games_access] Accessibility on XB1 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: :) On Tue, 15 Sep 2015 01:43 Ian Hamilton wrote: > Mike Ybarra has confirmed that accessibility functionality is coming with > November's UI update: > > > http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-xbox-one-update-will-make-some-functionality-5/1100-6430524/ > > No announcement yet of exactly which features will be in there. > > Nothing mentioned publicly yet by anyone else other than Sony and > Microsoft, but with the CVAA deadline less than a month away now we should > start seeing some more of these kind of announcements. > > Ian > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > https://pairlist7.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > The main SIG website page is http://igda-gasig.org > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thomas at westin.nu Tue Sep 15 02:45:11 2015 From: thomas at westin.nu (Thomas Westin) Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2015 08:45:11 +0200 Subject: [games_access] Accessibility on XB1 In-Reply-To: References:

Message-ID: <5FAD9648-57FB-4285-A361-32E73E019001@westin.nu> Wow! Accessibility built-in on both XBox and PS was a pipe dream ten years ago (just sad it had to take a legislation to make it happen) Best, Thomas > 15Sep 2015 kl. 08:37 skrev Barrie Ellis : > > :) > > > On Tue, 15 Sep 2015 01:43 Ian Hamilton > wrote: > Mike Ybarra has confirmed that accessibility functionality is coming with November's UI update: > > http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-xbox-one-update-will-make-some-functionality-5/1100-6430524/ > > No announcement yet of exactly which features will be in there. > > Nothing mentioned publicly yet by anyone else other than Sony and Microsoft, but with the CVAA deadline less than a month away now we should start seeing some more of these kind of announcements. > > Ian > > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > https://pairlist7.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > The main SIG website page is http://igda-gasig.org > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > https://pairlist7.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > The main SIG website page is http://igda-gasig.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From i_h at hotmail.com Wed Sep 16 10:48:51 2015 From: i_h at hotmail.com (Ian Hamilton) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2015 15:48:51 +0100 Subject: [games_access] iOS9 switch access Message-ID: Earlier in this year Barrie Ellis kicked off a bit of an awareness raiser about a possible addition to the switch functionality in iOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zlgmgBmqlA The feature being asked for was the ability to nominate a point on the screen and then have all subsequent switch inputs repeat the same input and location. iOS9 is out today, and it includes the feature. Before iOS9, making an input then returned you to a menu to choose a new point and action. What was there was a huge innovation, but it meant quick repeat presses was impossible. Considering how many thousands of games there are on iOS that are one button games perfectly suited to switch, and considering that the vast majority of them are based on quick repeat presses, it meant bucketloads of potential not able to be realised. As of today's update, those huge swathes of mobile games that are already one button (Flappy Birds, Ski Safari, Jetpack Joyride etc etc) are accessible to any switch users who are able to hit their input quickly enough. And not only that, Apple also extended it to gestures. So you can, for example, set up your switch to execute a swipe from left to right halfway up the screen, and use that repeatedly to play Fruit Ninja using only a single input. All a very nice step forwards, it would have been a crazy pipe-dream a couple of years ago. All credit to Apple, great to see a big company willing to both take stuff like this onboard and prioritise it on their backlog simply because they agree that it is a good thing to do (i.e. rather than having to be forced to by CVAA). I put up a post about it, can't grab demo videos yet but should have some up tomorrow of some of the above games being played with a single switch: http://ian-hamilton.com/accessibility-for-motor-impaired-gamers-in-ios9/ Any other time it would be difficult to top this kind of news, but I'm hoping that Oct/Nov's console/service announcements will manage to. Good times! Ian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thomas at westin.nu Wed Sep 16 17:43:00 2015 From: thomas at westin.nu (Thomas Westin) Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2015 23:43:00 +0200 Subject: [games_access] iOS9 switch access In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5C1E6A08-39C4-4CE6-9DE8-295347E4A46F@westin.nu> Yes fantastic news, thanks for sharing Ian Kind regards, Thomas (Sent from my mobile) > On 16 sep 2015, at 16:48, Ian Hamilton wrote: > > Earlier in this year Barrie Ellis kicked off a bit of an awareness raiser about a possible addition to the switch functionality in iOS: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zlgmgBmqlA > > The feature being asked for was the ability to nominate a point on the screen and then have all subsequent switch inputs repeat the same input and location. iOS9 is out today, and it includes the feature. > > Before iOS9, making an input then returned you to a menu to choose a new point and action. What was there was a huge innovation, but it meant quick repeat presses was impossible. > > Considering how many thousands of games there are on iOS that are one button games perfectly suited to switch, and considering that the vast majority of them are based on quick repeat presses, it meant bucketloads of potential not able to be realised. > > As of today's update, those huge swathes of mobile games that are already one button (Flappy Birds, Ski Safari, Jetpack Joyride etc etc) are accessible to any switch users who are able to hit their input quickly enough. > > And not only that, Apple also extended it to gestures. So you can, for example, set up your switch to execute a swipe from left to right halfway up the screen, and use that repeatedly to play Fruit Ninja using only a single input. > > All a very nice step forwards, it would have been a crazy pipe-dream a couple of years ago. All credit to Apple, great to see a big company willing to both take stuff like this onboard and prioritise it on their backlog simply because they agree that it is a good thing to do (i.e. rather than having to be forced to by CVAA). > > I put up a post about it, can't grab demo videos yet but should have some up tomorrow of some of the above games being played with a single switch: > > http://ian-hamilton.com/accessibility-for-motor-impaired-gamers-in-ios9/ > > Any other time it would be difficult to top this kind of news, but I'm hoping that Oct/Nov's console/service announcements will manage to. Good times! > > Ian > > _______________________________________________ > games_access mailing list > games_access at igda.org > https://pairlist7.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access > The main SIG website page is http://igda-gasig.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From i_h at hotmail.com Thu Sep 17 18:24:58 2015 From: i_h at hotmail.com (Ian Hamilton) Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2015 23:24:58 +0100 Subject: [games_access] CVAA Message-ID: Further waiver granted for software, until Jan 2017: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-extends-acs-waiver-video-game-software Ian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From i_h at hotmail.com Sat Sep 19 12:18:03 2015 From: i_h at hotmail.com (Ian Hamilton) Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2015 17:18:03 +0100 Subject: [games_access] XB1 accessibility features Message-ID: A walkthrough video has shown an initial couple of features, there is an 'ease of access' section within the settings menus, which contains a screenreader (narrator, as in Windows) and a high contrast mode. 07:30 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=444&v=ex1WjrkLjAA Also arriving at the same time as the new update is an official chatpad - http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/xbox-one/accessories/communications/chatpad Ian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From four at nucleus.com Tue Sep 29 02:53:16 2015 From: four at nucleus.com (Siobhan Thomas) Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2015 07:53:16 +0100 Subject: [games_access] Guardian article on Twitch Message-ID: <38085CBF-819D-4BFA-86FE-05CB026B43DF@nucleus.com> http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/18/twitch-disabled-gamers-earn-a-living-online Sent from my iPhone From thomas at westin.nu Tue Sep 29 07:33:29 2015 From: thomas at westin.nu (Thomas Westin) Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:33:29 +0200 Subject: [games_access] Actions, updates Message-ID: Hi all, We just want to give some info about what is in the works regarding actions on the SIG Action list, and also take the opportunity to ask for updates of any of the other actions we have missed. Please also update the actions spreadsheet. Ian have finalized our long-time efforts of getting a Wordpress on the IGDA server which has several benefits. The next step is to transfer the content of the current website and while doing so we are thinking of some overhaul of both content and structure, as well as a more accessible theme. Related to this, a curriculum material is in the works to be used for education and awareness in general, under a Creative Commons license (BY, NC, SA). The work on all of this will be done a bit later this autumn and we will involve all who volunteered for each action. In addition, we're interested in learning about the progress from leads of their respective action(s), so please feel free to share :) Thanks, Thomas & Dan (Co-chairs) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chad at anacronist.com Wed Sep 30 00:11:13 2015 From: chad at anacronist.com (Chad Philip Johnson) Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2015 21:11:13 -0700 Subject: [games_access] Actions, updates In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1443586273.2526.28.camel@localhost> Not much to share for the Dev-Tools Action. Aside from guidance and feedback from Ian and Thomas, and supporting comments from Andreas, it's a one man gig at the moment. An audit was created by Ian using the bullet points from the Game Accessibility Guidelines website and I provided a short response for each entry. For anyone who wants a peek, that document can be viewed here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fjVi2nkAi6sPimea_k2ELnnkwjARt68wtTr8ND5iF84/edit#gid=0 We have yet to make contact with any of the tool-devs and little else has been done for the action. This is primarily due to the lack of people and the fact that my day-to-day work, while in the same general space, is not closely aligned with the work that needs to be done to move things forward for the action. It would probably be better if somebody else took the reigns on this on and I offered support, so if anyone else is interested.... That said, I am trying to come up with a plan that puts us on a path to meet the action's goals and also allows somebody else to step in and lead the charge. I have a couple of ideas and will soon share them with the rest of the group for input/feedback. -- Chad Philip Johnson Anacronist Software