[games_access] Accessibility thoughts on Google Pixel and Daydream from a legally blind user

[Ian Hamilton]

A bit more on VR, a nice panel from VRDC:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27TT7cZ6Q3c&feature=youtu.be


Ian


________________________________
From: games_access <games_access-bounces at igda.org> on behalf of Dan Fischbach <blindwolf8 at gmail.com>
Sent: 28 November 2016 01:00
To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [games_access] Accessibility thoughts on Google Pixel and Daydream from a legally blind user

Hey Ian,
Thanks for the info. I pinged him on Twitter as you saw. The point about "leaning into" the interface is kind of what I was trying to do with Daydream when I had it on. I hope something like that is implemented. If anyone wants to test with me regarding visual acuity levels etc. regarding VR headsets, feel free to ping me.

Thanks everyone,

Dan Fischbach, Net+, MCP
W: danfischbach.com<http://danfischbach.com> P: 609-458-7920
Proud NJIT (BS) and UCF/FIEA (MS) graduate
Please consider the environment before printing this email

On Sat, Nov 26, 2016 at 10:07 AM, Ian Hamilton <i_h at hotmail.com<mailto:i_h at hotmail.com>> wrote:

The Oculus home screen has exactly the same issue -

http://www.gamasutra.com/db_area/images/blog/284491/oculushome.jpg

There's a bit about that in the post. Jesse Anderson contributed some great stuff about VR & low vision, including interfaces that are a fixed distance in front of you Vs interfaces that you can lean closer to.

For google contacts it might be worth hitting up @joshcarpenter on twitter, he should know good Daydream people. I'm sure he would be interested in hearing about your experiences too.

Ian


From: Dan Fischbach
Sent: Thursday, 24 November, 00:10
Subject: [games_access] Accessibility thoughts on Google Pixel and Daydream from a legally blind user
To: IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List

Hello everyone,

First off, Happy Thanksgiving from the GA SIG! :-)

I know it has been a very long time since I posted something on here. I figured it was time for me to share my experiences with advances in technology with everyone. (Ian: I saw your VR link from the start of the month and will get to it soon!) I apologize if this email comes off a tad ranty.

I recently purchased a new Google Pixel<https://madeby.google.com/phone/> (non-XL) phone to replace my aging Nexus 5<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_5>.

The first day or so having it as my main phone brought with it - for the first time for me - some accessibility challenges, notably the font and UI size. Luckily, I was able to adjust the DPI ("smallest width") in the Developer settings of the device to match my old device. For the record, the setting was 360. It's a shame that this helpful custom DPI setting is a tad hidden for normal users. (although accessing the Developer options<http://wccftech.com/enable-developer-options-android-nougat/> on any Android device is quite easy)

Anywho if you're reading this you're probably interested in Daydream<https://vr.google.com/daydream/> - which is Google's answer to the various VR headsets out there - and how I fared with it. It's designed to work with the Pixel phone. Since I bought the Pixel phone early enough, I was able to take advantage of an offer that allowed me to get the Daydream device for free. It was a nice gesture, but I was wary. I had never used a VR device before.

The device arrived today and I was skeptical. Would I be able to use this device?

The short answer is: Unfortunately, no.

The text is simply too small for me to read. I even had to fumble my way through the tutorial. I thought I would be able to get my way through by activating the triple-tap accessibility shortcut in Android<https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/6006949?hl=en> but no dice. VR doesn't take too kind to that and I would need to keep taking my phone out of the headset. I also had issues with recognizing some icons.

The cursor size and color leaves much to be desired as well. I already came upon a white-on-white (or close to it) scenario.

So now I am in possession of a Daydream device I can't really enjoy. If anyone would like to use me as a guinea pig for accessibility testing or otherwise regarding VR experiences and/or this device, let me know.

If you are or know someone over at Google, I am open to testing with them to improve accessibility of Android and/or Daydream.

Thanks everyone,

Dan Fischbach, Net+, MCP

W: danfischbach.com<http://danfischbach.com> P: 609-458-7920<tel:609-458-7920>
Proud NJIT (BS) and UCF/FIEA (MS) graduate
Please consider the environment before printing this email


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