Expert Accessibility Styling Tips: November 29, 2006

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Expert Accessibility Styling Tips: November 22, 2006

Coming Soon...

So What *IS* Accessibility Idol?

What's that you say? You want more information as we start down the road toward naming the GDC's First Accessibility Idol? This just in!

Accessibility Idol: Season Finale!

Hosts: Michelle Hinn & Richard Van Tol

Judges: Thomas Westin, + more to be announced, including information about the mystery guest judge!!

Final Contestants: Ernest Adams, + more to be announced in the next update!

Press Release:
That’s right...the reality show that’s taken the world by storm is now about to name THE FIRST ACCESSIBILITY IDOL! Game industry veterans have long been bemoaning the fact that they’ve already seen it all, done it all – what is possibly left to be done in gaming that they didn’t already do in 1970...er...1980...make that 1990. Then IGDA TV came to them with the challenge that they could not ignore – the next chapter in total global gaming dominance...making sure their games could be played by the 10-20% of the population with disabilities.

It’s been a big year (ok, last few months) for our famous game designers who have made it to the finale of Accessibility Idol. Haven’t seen the other episodes of the season yet? Not to worry! We’ll share the tears, the jeers, and the controversy that has followed our brave finalists to the end and then, for the first time, YOU can witness the CARNAGE...LIVE.

Amongst the finalists is Ernest Adams who won immunity in the last challenge. But who will the other finalists be? You must wait for the decision of the tribal council (we’ve got ratings to worry about, man, we can’t tell you EVERYTHING). Why should you care? Why should you NOT care? This isn’t fashion, people – it’s games and glamour and grit and gore and about making games for the REAL heroes of the gaming world – gamers with disabilities. Come and steal tips from the IGDA Game Accessibility SIG and our finalists so you can create designs that will help ensure you can start tapping into this significant market share. This is about making games for those gamers with nothing but pure determination to play your inaccessible games despite all the barriers you’ve put into your games. So come early and grab your seat, bring your cameras (it makes the contestants nervous, which is great for ratings) and maybe, just maybe, YOU’LL have the chance to participate in the NEXT season of ACCESSIBILITY IDOL!!

Idea Takeaway:
The pressure of the road to becoming the First Accessibility Idol, including the tears, the psychotic breakdowns, and touching moments that will tug at your heart…only to be topped by the drama and shocking conclusions of the live finale where nothing, at all, has been scripted. Oh -- and, also, tips on making your next game titles accessible for gamers with disabilities.

Intended Audience:
Designers, programmers, and publishers interested in learning about how they’ve been ignoring 10-20% of the population. Those who need/want to be schooled by catty game accessibility experts and witness the carnage that results.

Expert Accessibility Styling Tips: November 15, 2006

This week's expert tip is what to do with all those damn buttons and sticks?

Judge Robert Florio had this to say: "Games should eliminate having to use different movements with the controllers-- for example, on console controllers there's one set of buttons (D-Pad, for example) in order to scroll through options, another stick for moving the character and a third stick for shooting and aiming. When I flip through the options with my Quad Controller, I have to constantly switch to other modes for the d-Pad, the left and right thumb sticks. Then there's aiming, shooting, looking around, selecting something from a menu...it never ends. Why don't we just have an option to do everything with the same damn thumb stick -- we could have some other way to switch the purpose of the stick as needed."

On the opposing side of things...we spoke with Tod Jones, of Peoria, Illinois who made the news recently because he had elective surgery to add extra robotic thumbs in order to game better. Jones has this to say: "Man...if we could only attach robotic thumbs with velcro or something...then we could move them around to different parts of our body so we could use the new Sony controller..."

Tod is currently undergoing psychiatric evaluation. The surgeon who performed the robotic extra thumb surgery is being investigated for malpractice. Chief spokesperson from Sony only had this to say: "What controller is he talking about???"

Expert Accessibility Style Tips: November 8, 2006

The question so many people ask when word leaks out that someone is designing an accessible game is..."Is the game fun to play for non disabled gamers as well?? What about multiplayer options -- can a physically disabled gamer and a non disabled gamer play the game TOGETHER (coop, comp -- doesn't matter) and both have fun?"

Take for example this single player, one button/switch game: http://www.mykodo.com/ -- it's extremely suitable to play for physically disabled gamers but also incredibly fun for non disabled gamers. AI Judge Reid Kimball says this game is even more fun as a one button game than if it used more buttons.

But that doesn't say anything about multiplayer...will our contestants risk it all by picking up the torch and going that extra mile of including a multiplayer game option that is not only accessible but also dares to be fun for everyone?

News from the Road: November 4, 2006

You know...it's going to be a long road ahead for your weary jetsetting reporter for the AI fan blog. Already our lines have been clogged up with publicists asking "who will so-and-so be wearing?" And, frankly, we just don't have the answers yet. Knowing our host, Michelle, as well as we do (and who didn't catch her in Us Weekly this week?) she'll probably wear some freaky outfit that will scare us all. But we miss those days of fashion insanity -- what ever happened to Cher and her crazy Academy Awards outfits? Ooh. Maybe Michelle's been channelling Cher...or maybe is the vitamin X (yes, xanax everyone) that she "needs" according to her to deal with all these Dutch prima donna judges.

Sigh...will these celebs ever learn?

Expert Accessibility Styling Tips: November 1, 2006

This season accessible video games for gamers who are quadriplegic are all the rage and all indication from the runway insiders suggest that this trend will not be going ANYWHERE for spring! Check out these "first look" photos and videos of this year's collection!

• Photos
  
• Psychonauts for PS2 Played with a Quad Controller
  
• 
  Matrix: Path of Neo for PS2 Played with a Quad Controller
  

[As modelled by Robert Florio, Accessibility Idol Judge}

Welcome to Accessibility Idol 2007!

Testing...testing...

Watch this blog for information on the first season of Accessibility Idol with the finale at GDC 2007.