A presentation at axe-con in March 2022 in by Carie Fisher
Where it all started
Early 2018 – Design concept created Spring 2018 – Web Accessibility Initiative group ($1622.33) Summer 2018 – LGBT ($450) Fall 2018 – Able Gamers ($521.82) Spring 2019 – National Federation of the Blind ($1287.84) Fall 2020 – Center for Accessible Technology ($446.77) Ongoing – Accessibility Talks (A11yTalks) Redbubble – https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/39136088
The Digital Accessibility Lab at Iowa State University
The design and development process
• Serious Game
• Remapping controls • Color contrast • Closed captioning (and subtitles)
• Playing typically Non-Playable Characters (NPCs) • Building awareness of disabilities and diversity • Using humor (SFW – Safe for Work) to broach difficult subject
Our research goals and methods
• First step was getting IRB approval • Exempt status: only using survey/interviews/observation; low risk of harm • Why do we need IRB approval? • We are a university – heavy emphasis on research • IRB is required when planning to publish research – we plan to test and publish our research/ the game • IRB is required when research deals with human subjects • IRB ensures our research is not harming anyone
• Inform game design and decisions • Find problems early and often • Understand users and their wants/needs • Research will contribute to knowledge about: • Gaming accessibility • Disability representation in games • How disability representation affects user experience • Gaming as a way to teach accessibility • Including people with disabilities in entire game design process
Research questions:
• Qualitative approach • Phase 1: online survey • Phase 2: semi-structured interviews • Who we are testing with: • ISU students 18 years of age or older • People with and without disabilities
• Mass email sent to Iowa State students • Survey questions focused on understanding: • Digital accessibility within games • Disability representation in the game • What is considered a successful outcome for the game • Feedback on the game concept/User Interface elements
• Likert-type scales: • accessibility preferences and needs • disability representation/respectfulness of portrayals in game • overall game concept • UI design/aesthetics • Semantic differentials scales: • adjective pairs relating to usability and aesthetics • Multiple choice, open-ended, and closed-ended questions: • participant experiences and gaming habits • feedback on the game concept
• Individual interviews - playtesting • Participants recruited from Phase 1 survey • Goals: • Identify problems in design • Pinpoint improvement opportunities • Determine user behavior and preferences • Learn opinions on features/aesthesis • Understand strengths/weaknesses • Evaluate UI elements • Establish overall playability
• Play tests will be in the Lab in Durham 116 with Level 1 • Remappable controls • Play in both portrait & landscape modes • HUD left & right hand mode • Assistive grid toggle for game map • Assistive paths for enemies • Zoom mode • High contrast mode • Toggle between pixel & vector display • Adjustable type sizes & widths
• We are currently focused on design, game development, and UX research/testing • Plan is for the game to be released early 2023 – hopefully in time for axe-con next year!
clwiley@iastate.edu wendling@iastate.edu cefisher@iastate.edu
