the art of web accessibility

It’s been awhile since I’ve combed the Internet for video game accessibility information, so tonight I’ve been doing just that.

We’ve talked about the challenges many disabled people face when playing video games. I’ve mostly looked at it from the perspective of actual games.

Hardware is another issue. Think about how far controllers have come along in the past decades. Looking at just the systems I’ve owned — the Atari 2600 had one button and a joystick; the Nintendo Entertainment system had four buttons and a directional pad; the Sega Genesis, 5 buttons and a pad. Then came the PlayStations and Xboxes, which threw in trigger buttons, bumpers, more buttons, more thumbsticks…you get the picture.

Imagine the challenges people with physical disabilities face with such complex controllers.

I was just visiting the wonderful AbleGamers website (a site I talked about at length last year in a series of posts including an interview with Steve Spohn), and read some interesting news on the topic of accessible video game controllers.

Evil Controllers and the AbleGamers Foundation jointly unveiled the Adroit Switchblade, a remarkable assistive technology device that allows massive amounts of customization for Xbox gaming or, with an additional plugin, the Playstation or PC. It comes with a pair of thumbsticks, plus you can use its 19 ports to set up a slew of switches to perform whatever actions you need.

Being new to the subject, I was still a little bit unsure of how this all worked. Joystiq posted a video of AbleGamers’ Marc Bartlet explaining the Switchblade. It’s a little hard to hear the audio at times, but it’s worth a viewing.

It’s always great when there are accessibility strides in the world of video games. Hopefully the Switchblade makes it easier for more disabled people to enjoy the world of gaming.

Tags: ablegamers.com, adroit switchblade, assistive technology, evil controllers, playstation, Video Games, xbox

At this point it’s no secret that I’m a diehard Apple fan. My family bought the very first Macintosh in the mid 1980′s, and I’ve never been without one since.

I’ve blogged before about accessibility features that Apple has put into their products, from their operating systems to the iPhone. While it’ll forever be a debate if they’ve gone “far enough” with their considerations for those with disabilities, the point I continue to maintain is that they seem to take it seriously enough to continue adding enhancements.

We’re on the cusp of another Mac OS update, with Lion roaring in any day now. I for one can’t wait to get my paws on it, especially at its ridiculously reasonable price of $29.99. They’re touting that it’s littered with over 250 enhancements.

Here’s a rundown of some of the touted new accessibility features:

• Addition of picture-in-picture zoom – to enhance the zooming experience and providing greater overall context of how what you’re focusing on fits in with the overall page/screen.
• Support for 80+ Braille tables across multiple languages
• Greater control over how and how much information comes across via a refreshable Braille device
• Greater precision in the appearance of the pointer when viewed at larger zoom levels
• Greater customization of VoiceOver, enabling it to perform in different manners for different activities
• Screen sharing – enabling users to assist other users directly

You can find out about all the new features of Lion at Apple’s OS X Lion Features.

As always, we’ll have to see these features in action to gauge whether they truly make disabled Mac users’ lives easier. Hopefully by the end of this month, we’ll start finding out.

Further reference:

• Current Mac OS X accessibility features
• Apple’s accessibility statement

Tags: apple, braille, lion, mac os x, refreshable braille, VoiceOver, zoom

I was at a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game a few weeks ago, and was doing a little tailgating with a friend (to those unfamiliar, that is grilling out in the parking lot before the game).

At one point, a young man approached us and gestured to a small pamphlet he was holding. It had a message on the front that read, “I am selling this Deaf Education System card to make living. Will you kindly buy one? Pay any price you wish! Thank you.”

These sorts of things definitely tug at my heart strings, so I gave him a $5 (for both me and my friend). He gave me a complicated handshake that I feebly imitated, and went on his way. It looked like the next several people he approached similarly give him donations.

After mentally wishing him well in whatever struggles he was facing, I got to thinking about portable “deaf education systems” like the hand-drawn representations in the pamphlet.

I naturally wondered what sort of mobile applications are out there for this sort of thing. So I did a search in the app store.

I expected to see a handful of results, but was surprised to find several dozen when I typed in “sign language”.

Like any subject matter, I’m sure some of these apps are good, some are mediocre, and some are just plain bad. I can’t say as I want to check all of them out, but I think I’ll rummage through a few of them and post some thoughts later on.

Are there sign language or deaf-assisting applications that you’ve experienced that are worthwhile? Are you a deaf person who uses his or her iPhone or mobile device to make your life a little easier?

Tags: app, apple, deaf, iphone, sign language

I think I may have mentioned once or twice that it’s incredibly difficult staying committed to blogging. A couple weeks of being “too busy” between work and home life…followed by a couple more. Next thing you know, it’s been months.

Needless to say, this place has collected some dust.

But anyway…I’m back and hopefully to stay.

I was searching around the Web for interesting news in the world of video game accessibility, and found a fascinating video. It’s of a gamer who broke his neck and, as a result, is paralyzed from the neck down. He has limited usage of his arms and no movement in his fingers. Even so, he has found the means to effectively play video games.

Check it out:

If you head over to Brashant Entertainment – Video Game Experts, you can get a deeper explanation.

Watching this drives home a couple things. First and foremost, it’s absolutely amazing to see how people overcome disabilities. Before I got into this accessibility thing, I wouldn’t have imagined someone with this man’s degree of paralysis playing a shooter video game….and playing it very well!

It’s inspiring, to say the least.

Tags: disability, modern warfare 2, paralysis, Video Games

Last Monday, I had a great time presenting “Accessibility: An Even Playing Field” at mkeUX, at 5th Ward Pub in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

mkeUX is a laid back, anyone-welcome group dedicated to promoting user experience. They host presentations in casual settings. It’s light on the formal and stuffy, and heavy on the open sharing of ideas and having fun. My good friends and colleagues Michael Seidel and Mike Kornacki are responsible for it, and it’s been a huge success.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun yakking accessibility. We talked about the different types of disabilities, the laws as they exist today in the United States, and some of best-known lawsuits pertaining to accessibility. I covered some of the types of assistive technologies out there.

The second part of the presentation was sharing examples of some accessibility culprits – but by no means all of them! That included the often-villainous CAPTCHA, and some disturbing and downright offensive examples of it.

I’ve never been overly impressed with slideshows put up on SlideShare. More often than not, it’s out-of-context slides that don’t tell you much.

That being said, I do want to share my presentation. So here it is — but I will add some notes about what each slide means, very soon! This is more a reference for those who attended the event.

Thanks to everyone who did attend, and for everyone who expressed interest. I hope to do this presentation or some form of it again very soon!

Tags: accessibility, assistive technologies, CAPTCHA, milwaukee, mkeux, user experience, ux