Can the disabled play computer games?
Most people don’t think about the disabled when they make computer games and many of us cannot grab a game controller or use a mouse and keyboard effectively to play games. Some of us are frustrated that games are not designed with the disabled in mind to the point that one person is suing Sony for producing games that the disabled cannot play under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Rather than going that route, the Able Gamers Foundation is providing a point system for games so that the disabled can pick games they can play. Depending on what is used in the game visual, hearing, motion, and difficulty settings all come together to create a score for each game. A wide variety of games both on consoles and PCs are reviewed and placed in an area for review. They hope to open up computer gaming to the disabled regardless of what the disability is. (Source: Slashdot).
The disabled are not usually thought of when designing a game, so it is great to see someone create a database of games and who can play them based upon ability. Perhaps if the disabled were to send letters to game companies like Electronic Arts and let them know that we buy games and would like them to keep us in mind when they design a new one. That we are customers that spend money like everyone else and that a little bit of work on their part to make games easier for the disabled to play could translate into more money and profit. In this way we all win, the game company gains a new player and the disabled person has something that they can get some joy off of rather than just surfing the Internet. It can be difficult to find games that match up with different medical problems, and it is not fair to expect that shoot-em up games or fast driving games are going to be easily played by those that are quadriplegic. We have to expect that all games will not fit everyone and that lawsuits will just turn the game companies away from us when we want them to think of us as a group that wants to play.
When I was first injured I was still able to play most arcade games well. However, after complications from CRPS (a nasty pain generator from spinal cord injuries) I can only play turn based games or card games. That is ok for me because I can still do fun things and just have to change what I look for in a game. The moral of the story here is to pick the game that fits with what we can do and not expect miracles from game companies or console producers. Most controllers have tiny joysticks and lots of small buttons to press. No quads need apply to those controllers and the games that use them. However not all consoles are the same – Nintendo has changed the game with their WII console. The WII controller is a dramatic change in game controllers and may be the first to be disabled friendly. By allowing the user to swing or twist the controller the gamer can duplicate the swing of a tennis racquet or the turn of a car steering wheel. This makes for a fun experience that does not require hitting a zillion buttons to make a game work. Hopefully the other game makers will take the WII controller and expand on it so that everyone, including the disabled will have an easier and fun time playing games.
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