accessibility
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Will the iPad and iPhone home buttons go away? Probably not
As soon as I heard of the new iPad multi-touch gestures in the iOS 4.3 beta, which allow you to reach the home screen with a four- or five-finger gesture, I thought, "Well, that's it for the home button." Boy Genius Report also says it's heard from a source within Apple that the company is testing next-gen iPads and iPhones that don't have a home button, which seems to lend credence to the speculation. But does it make sense for Apple to abandon the home button now? For the iPad, I'll give a qualified "Maybe, but probably not." For the iPhone, it's an unqualified "No." On the iPad, getting rid of the home button kind of makes sense, but you're not only making the device more complex to use by doing away with that single-use, very obvious button, you're also losing a lot of functionality. Although the iPad's new multi-touch gestures cover going to the home screen and switching between apps, look at the other functionality you're missing out on if you lose the home button: No way to take screenshots (power/sleep + home) No way to activate Voice Control (press and hold home) No access to VoiceOver features (triple-click home) No way to hard-reset (hold power/sleep + home until Apple logo appears) Certainly Apple could find ways to program those functions into the iPad and iPhone by using additional multi-touch gestures, but it seems like doing so would add needless complexity to the device's control scheme (although Apple has made similar missteps before). Plus, those new four- and five-finger multi-touch gestures that make perfect sense on a large-screened, larger form factor device like the iPad make no sense on the iPhone's smaller screen. With no home button, how will you use the iPhone one-handed? I agree with John Gruber of Daring Fireball's assessment: the home button isn't going anywhere. I could see Apple replacing the current clicker-style button with a touch-sensitive version like on the third-generation iPod, but doing away with the home button entirely comes with too many drawbacks and no discernible benefits. Besides that, the precedent has already been set on the Mac; although almost all MacBooks have had a multi-touch trackpad since early 2008, the specialized keyboard buttons for functions like Exposé and Dashboard haven't gone anywhere, nor has Apple done away with the Command-Tab gesture for switching between open applications.
Valve expresses interest in eye tracking, improving experience for able and disabled gamers
Valve is no stranger to experimenting with new ways of communicating and tracking data within games. Whether it's something as simple as closed captioning and customizable controls, or something a bit more niche like a colorblind mode, many of Valve's games have been celebrated for being more accessible. Mike Ambinder of Valve Software spoke with Gamasutra and explained how company's pursuits enables it to "improve the experience of both able and disabled gamers." In addition to previously documented research into sign language, Valve's Ambinder also expresses interest in "the potential of eyetrackers and the eventual ability to let gamers use their eyes as active controller inputs." With this method, you may be able to control a game completely hands-free ... without having to use your entire body as an input device. "It may be possible in the future to let the eyes act as a proxy for the mouse cursor, letting gamers transmit navigation and targeting inputs via eye movements. If you couple this approach with the use of blinks or other proxies for button presses, you may remove the need for a mouse and keyboard (or gamepad) all together," Ambinder added. While eye tracking sounds particularly ambitious, there are many other efforts in place by designers to make a game work better for disabled gamers. Read the full Gamasutra write-up for more.
The Soapbox: Accessibility and customer service
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I was originally pulled into World of Warcraft by two real-life friends of mine. They liked the game, played for a year or so, and then quit playing. They never got sucked into the world of MMOs like I did. I don't think they ever will either. It's not that they aren't gamers or that they don't fit into the culture. Maybe for their own reasons, they'd never play an MMO again... life and all that. But one interesting thing they told me makes me think they really will never play an MMO again: imperfect games. Now, besides the fact that no game -- online or off -- is perfect, there appears to me to be a great disparity in the functionality between MMOs and single-player games. It's easy to see how someone similar to me can work his way past a few speed bumps to get an MMO up and running, but what about a computer-illiterate person? Before there's even talk of bugs in the game or of the game being fun or not, there's an issue of accessibility and customer service. I want to talk about accessibility and customer service in this round of the Soapbox.
Ablegamers releases shopping list for disabled players
If you are a disabled player or know one, you might need some help with your gift shopping. Well, worry no more: Ablegamers.com has compiled a pretty nice list of items for your loved ones! Let's say you want a great iPad mount -- well someone has made one. Perhaps you're really needing an old-fashioned joystick controller, complete with extenders and customizable buttons? Well, there's one of those too! There are literally millions upon millions of disabled people in North America alone. Of those, a good percentage are gamers -- or want to be gamers but have issues connecting to and participating in these wonderful games that we all love. Why not buy one of these items for the disabled person in your life? Or perhaps you could locate a stranger who needs the item -- just ask your gaming buddies. Don't be surprised when someone knows somebody else who could use something that appears on this list! Thanks to Ablegamers.com, some players will not be left out of the game!
Free for All: The camera control blues (or how I judge thee, F2P grinder)
This week, I wanted to cover something that must be discussed before I move any further into my career as "The Only Guy Who Liked That Game." Before I worked here at Massively, I used to work for Ablegamers.com, a site for disabled gamers. Although my job was a volunteer position, I learned enough to make it very much worth my while. One of the most interesting facts I learned was that many, many Americans are disabled, to varying degrees. Technically, my poor eyesight qualifies me as disabled, as do my chronic wrist issues due to 20 some-odd years of drumming and art. I've learned my limits but will never apologize for them. I do not expect every developer or game to allow for some of my special (yet common) circumstances, although I think that some of the fixes are so minor that they should have been in the game in the first place. Still, I have to find games that work for my particular set of issues. As I have begun to test and play more and more games, I have had to start enforcing a certain set of rules to pre-judge the games by, otherwise I am stuck with a game that I simply refuse to play. If not, the reviews at the end of the week would simply read: "I couldn't play this game because it asked me to hold down right-click the entire damn time." See whether any of these issues sound familiar. The fact is, if you're an average human being, at some point in your life you will have the same issues I am having. You might as well recognize them now in order to avoid the games that will cause you trouble.
Age of Conan's Morrison on designing for challenge and accessibility
Funcom executive producer Craig Morrison is drawing on his game journalist roots of late, via a series of in-depth postings on his personal blog. Morrison, a former IGN editor prior to his Funcom days, has a lot to say about gaming trends, which is great news for industry watchers and anyone interested in occasional glimpses into the thought process of an MMO developer. In his latest opus, the former Anarchy Online (and current Age of Conan) game director discusses the challenges in developing, well, challenge. In a followup post to his earlier discussion on progression, Morrison talks at length about the decisions developers face when it comes to providing players with a steady diet of dings and digital pats on the back, while simultaneously making it seem like something worthwhile is being accomplished. The post contains a number of interesting observations, among them the notion that most modern MMORPGs parcel out their challenging content in sideshows that are entirely optional (raids, dungeons, etc.) and, in many cases, tangential to the main event (questing and hunting). While it would seem to be a relatively simple matter to add occasional challenges to the leveling treadmill, Morrison cautions that care is needed to avoid alienating segments of your playerbase. "If you are going to be able to inject occasional challenge or difficulty spikes into the standard progression as well, you need to have thought about it to make sure that it won't become a bottleneck, and that it will survive a review," he says.
Swiss researchers show off brain-controlled, AI-augmented wheelchair
They're far from the first to try their hand at a brain-controlled wheelchair, but some researchers at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (or EPFL) in Switzerland seem to have pulled off a few new tricks with their latest project. Like some similar systems, this one relies on EEG readings to detect specific brain patterns, but it backs that up with some artificial intelligence that the researchers say allows for "shared control" of the wheelchair. That latter component is aided by a pair of cameras and some image processing software that allows the wheelchair to avoid obstacles, but it doesn't stop there -- the software is also able to distinguish between different types of objects. According to the researchers, that could let it go around a cabinet but pull up underneath a desk, for instance, or potentially even recognize the person's own desk and avoid others. Head on past the break to check it out in action.
Hero up! Hands-on with Marvel Super Hero Squad Online
Back in May, I scored Massively's first real look at Super Hero Squad Online, the Marvel-flavored, kid-friendly MMO from Gazillion Entertainment and The Amazing Society. I was smitten with the game at the time, and so when Gazillion offered me the opportunity to take a peek at the newest build earlier this week, I jumped at the chance. Who can resist some hands-on time with such an adorable toy! (Answer to rhetorical question: no one, which is why you should go sign up for beta right now.) Plus, if I learned anything the last time, it was that I have a duty to relentlessly inquire about Squirrel Girl. Am I right? Gazillion PR Manager Keith Mutzman and The Amazing Society's Director of Games Jay Minn wasted no time bringing me up to speed on the progress of the game as the team heads to PAX this weekend, so I'll pay that forward -- join me after the break and we'll dig in and hero up!
Japanese researchers develop robotic wheelchair that can follow humans
We've already seen robotic wheelchairs designed to navigate autonomously, but it looks like some researchers at Saitama University's Human-Robot Interaction Center are taking a slightly different approach with their latest project. They've developed a wheelchair equipped with a camera and a laser sensor that instead of tracking its surroundings, simply locks onto a nearby human companion and follows them around. It can even apparently anticipate the direction the person is going to go by using a distance sensor to check which way their shoulders are facing. Still no word on a commercial version, but the wheelchair is already being field-tested in care centers, where the researchers say it could be particularly useful if the facilities are short-staffed. Head on past the break to check it out in action.
Anti-Aliased: UI see what you did there
Dear user interface designers: please stop making trashy-samey UIs. (Bree is going to kill me for making up a word.) I really am sick and tired of seeing World of Warcraft in every game I pick up. While many people say that graphics are the game's "first impression" tool, I'd disagree. UIs are the game's true first impression. These are the menus, artwork, and tools that will make a huge impact on how you perceive any game, yet we seem to be stuck in a rut with them as well. Many of today's UIs, instead of taking advantage of new approaches to deliver information in a stylish way, seem to fall flat against the screen. So this week I'm going after my biggest beefs with the default UIs that games ship with, and how I'd like to see user interfaces improve. Interested? Well then keep up with me and jog past the break!
Kompott 'robotic agent' helps the elderly stay connected, enjoys a nap
Full-fledged humanoid robots helping the elderly are certainly well and good, but what about somebody that just needs a little help staying in touch with their family? They might one day be using something like this so-called Kompott "robotic agent" designed by some students at the Zurich University of the Arts Interaction Design lab. As you can see, it's actually just a robot head, which has a touchscreen for a face and a couple of sensors that let you tap it on top to wake it up, and on each side to scroll through items. To simplify things even further, the bot also boasts both voice recognition and text-to-speech, and a single button on its chest that lets you access a list of contacts. Of course, it's still just a prototype, but it does appear to be fully functional -- head on past the break to check it out in action.
Microsoft announces InstaLoad battery technology: never insert a battery the wrong way again
Microsoft has certainly had some ups and downs with its products over the years, but we're pretty sure the company's new InstaLoad technology falls somewhere between a home run and the best thing it's ever done. It promises to do nothing short of redefine the way you insert batteries, and let you shove 'em into devices without any regard for positive or negative polarity. That's apparently possible thanks to a patented battery contact design, which Microsoft says "simply works," and is compatible with a whole range of battery sizes (both standard and rechargeable). What's more, Microsoft is now already licensing the technology to third party device suppliers, and is even offering a royalty-free license for suppliers and manufacturers of accessibility products. Still no word on when the first devices using the technology will be available, but Microsoft already counts Duracell and flashlight-manufacturer AE Light among its partners. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
Tiki'Labs virtual keyboard for iPhone takes shot at Swype, one-handed typing wars commence
One-handed touchscreen typing is the hip new thing, apparently, since mere weeks after getting our first whiff of Swype, Tiki'Labs has debuted its own free TikiNotes app for the iPhone with a proprietary "large target" sort of keyboard. We've seen the idea before, specifically with some accessibility devices, which lets the user drill down into one of six alphabet sectors, and then pick one of six characters. TikiNotes improves upon that by not only predicting the word you're currently typing, but also often correctly guessing the next word you were planning on typing. To be honest, we find that second feature just a little depressing -- all that money the government spent on our two years of high school education and we still form sentences like everybody else -- but certainly useful (Tiki'Labs claims a 40% success rate). We tried out the free app for a couple of minutes and found it more akin to a Brain Age-type exercise than a typing utility, but we're sure we could get used to it. What we can't get used to, however, is how hilariously great it is that Tiki'Labs spliced a Swype demo video (originally pitted against the iPhone keyboard) to serve as a typing race example... and still only barely squeaked through with the victory. It can be found after the break, naturally. The app will be available on Windows Mobile and Android soon.
Apple quietly updates the 5th Generation iPod nano to 1.0.2
This week Apple issued an update to the iPod nano, bringing it to version 1.0.2. Fixes and additions include: Fixed audiobook playbook setting so Normal, Slower, Faster, works for audio podcasts Resolved issue where Genius Mixes did not work when using the Nike+ Sport Kit Accessibility setting for Mono Audio in now working Fixed bug so VoiceOver menu items are no longer skipped when using headphone + and - volume buttons to navigate As always, you can download this update by clicking on the "Check for Update" button in iTunes when you connect your iPod nano to your computer.
Valerie Singleton wants more Facebook friends, promotes Linux for the elderly
We're not really sure whether to consider this patronizing or genuinely useful. Former Blue Peter presenter Valerie Singleton, who is herself at an advanced age now, has partnered with Wessex Computers to create a custom Linux desktop targeted at easing the elderly into the use of a computer. Dubbed SimplicITy (the Brits do love their puns), it features only six chunky buttons that lead to a web or file browser, chat, email and profile apps, and awesomely enough, video tutorials from Valerie herself. Once you get your web-legs under you and feel confident enough to handle more complexity, you can disable the SimplicITy desktop and use a more conventional Linux distro. Hit the read link for a video of one lady's reaction to the software.
The Mac-cessability Network: resources for Apple accessibility
Touting another blog or website isn't an everyday occurrence here at TUAW, but a recent press release got our notice. A site called The Mac-cessibility Network is the work of six dedicated individiduals, all of whom are visually impaired, who provide the Apple community with a source of information on accessibility. Through updated news, the Mac-cessibility Round Table Podcast, and a list of other sites and resources, The Mac-cessibility Network delivers a single source for information for blind and visually impaired Apple fans, as well as providing other useful facts for other disability groups. One item that I was totally unaware of until I visited The Mac-cessibility Network is that our favorite smartphone, the Apple iPhone 3GS, is also the most useful smartphone for visually impaired people. Why? Going to Settings > General > Accessibility allows you to turn on VoiceOver, which was previously limited to only running on Macs and the iPod shuffle. VoiceOver on the 3GS is amazing, reading your email, helping you to type replies by announcing the keys that are being touched, and otherwise telling you what you're currently touching on the phone. Hints like this, as well as the other resources on this site, make The Mac-cessibility Network a "must-bookmark" site for the visually impaired and for Apple consultants and resellers. Consider making a donation to support the continued viability of The Mac-cessibility Network.
The Daily Grind: Do MMOs need to be more accessible to disabled people?
Last week, a blind friend of mine decided to get herself addicted to WoW. We re-rolled characters on a different realm and are slowly leveling. I'm not a fan of leveling but suddenly looking at a basic UI, a new set of icons and an unfamiliar map has reminded me how scary WoW can be for a visually impaired person. The same applies to every other MMO from EVE (which is especially terrifying due to a lack of a humanoid avatar) to Second Life and I often think MMOs should come with the option of an in-game white can or a service animal. I suppose the one perk is you can't run into people and if you do fall off a cliff and die, you get to rez at the nearest graveyard.I can't help but wonder that there is still a lot games companies need to do in order to make MMOs much more accessible to all kinds of disabled people. I would love to have icons which double in size when you mouse over them, icons on the map, much larger text sizes for the chat box and a radar circle on the floor to tell you how close until you aggro something hostile. For some kinds of disabled gamers, MMOs can offer freedom from their disability and a chance to distance themselves from their everyday lives but for others - usually visually related disabilities - MMOs can range from passable to appalling. So come on readers, do you have a disability that affects your life? Do you play MMOs? How do you find the experience? Do you wish your chosen MMO had more options for people with a specific disability? How would you alter your MMO to make it easier and more comfortable to play.
Do developers consider disabled gamers enough?
Have you ever stopped to consider the large percentage of gamers who are disabled? Do you think game developers consider this as well? In a recent article at MSNBC, the topic has been discussed as it pertains to the public's awareness of disabled gamers. "It doesn't take a whole lot," says Nissa Ludwig, a disabled gamer who was interviewed for the article. "I think if you save one life by changing an interface, you should get on that."Mythic's Warhammer Online actually won an award last year for the AbleGamers.com 2008 Accessible Game of the Year for adding color-blind features, flexibility for those with mobile impairments and more. Mythic's Paul Barnett is sympathetic to the cause as he himself is color-blind, dyslexic and hearing-impaired. "Some people are, through no fault of their own, living a restricted physical life - on our world, you can fly, ride, get married, run, jump and swim," Barnett points out.
Virtually leading the blind
Virtual environments are an extraordinarily useful piece of technology, being that they possess most of the qualities of the atomic world (obviously barring physical substance and fine granularity) at an infinitesimal fraction of the cost of the real thing. As a primarily visual medium, however, what do you do if you're blind or significantly visually impaired yet still want to use Second Life? Well, one option is TextSL, but then there's Max. Max is a virtual guide-dog to allow the visually impaired to interact more readily in what is primarily a visual environment.
AbleGamer talks to Blizz about 3.1 accessibility
AbleGamers has a conversation with Jeff Kaplan about the upcoming accessibility changes to the game in patch 3.1. We saw in the patch notes already that there would be a new colorblind mode added to the game, but Kaplan goes into more detail here -- Blizzard is making sure that even when the interface depends on color to get information across (as in, how difficult your quests are or whether you'll get a skill point from making a crafting recipe or not), there will be other text and symbols in there that relay that information without color.Unfortunately, while the changes that are going in the game will be helpful. AbleGamers points out that the game isn't perfect for those with colorblindness yet -- mob levels are often shown to the player in a certain color, and there's no option yet for players to see that information in any other format. Additionally, Rogue combo points are shown by filing those little circles in with colors, and colorblind players who aren't able to see that color will have difficulty with that mechanic as well.The good news is that, while Blizzard does want to make sure their core game is as accessible as possible, there's lots of room for addon authors to do more. Colorblindness is surprisingly prevalent, and everything coders can do to make the game easier to play will be welcomed by those who need it.
