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I wouldn’t usually think of something like this but it occurred to me after I had taken a visit to my friend’s house.
We had both agreed that when we got back to the house we would have a go at Pro Evolution Soccer on the Playstation 2. After playing it for a long time before England’s last match we thought we would have another go. If you haven’t got this game I strongly recommend it. So we walked in and found that there were visitors. The visitors were his aunt and another relative who was about our age but was less able then us. This person was disabled. He was playing on the Playstation 2 so we sat down and watched for a time.
It really was quite a weird experience watching this person play on the games console. Having trouble co-ordinating and other things (as I hardly understand disability) this person was still having fun. He wasn’t really doing well on the game, he was playing much more like a three year old. But just like a three year old was, or maybe more, this person was having fun laughing etc.
Now I found this all ok and quite understandable but I really started thinking when I looked down on to the controller the person was using. As you may well know controllers these days are becoming more and more advance, in this case let’s take the Playstation 2 for example. We have four shoulder buttons, four main control buttons, two sticks and a directional pad. For most of us the Playstation 2 controller is well built and very simple to use. But is it that way for the disabled gamer?
The person I was watching play may have been in a different mentality to many other gamers which are disabled out there. Some of them may not be an expert in the eye to hand co-ordination field but may have good enough sense into know what is going on within the actual game, well enough to play it like you and me.
I sat just thinking how much some people must struggle with the new age of controllers which are coming out. Now we don’t just have four buttons and a directional pad instead we have so many different controls with so many different functions. And this is all to suit current gamer’s needs in creating a better game.
I really do feel for those who struggle to play something which may be their hobby and it just may be getting worse. With the next bunch of consoles coming in a few years I expect the controls to be even more advanced and even harder for some people to use.
So what may be the answer to this? Well even though many of you may see disabled people not in the majority they still need to be thought of. In some cases it’s not just disabled people who find it hard to control a game, its ordinary people like you and I. Today we see many third-party controllers on the market many trying to make something different to the official controller. Things like an action replay feature which hardly works for example. And that’s another thing, wouldn’t that vibration on so many controllers these days trouble a disabled user? So why can’t these third-party controller designers design a controller which is more suited to people who find it hard to control these more advanced games? I know one thing, they sure do make a lot of different controllers so why should this kind be out of range?
Maybe it’s because people who do find it hard have different troubles and so it would be very difficult to suit one controller to them all? I think that is the main reason, if it had been thought about before…which I sadly doubt very much.
You know, maybe it’s not the third-party control designers job to sort this out, maybe it’s the actual games creators themselves?
I’d love for some solution to be found for this as it is very sad to see someone struggle and so much more when you see the expression on their face when you’re doing so well.
We had both agreed that when we got back to the house we would have a go at Pro Evolution Soccer on the Playstation 2. After playing it for a long time before England’s last match we thought we would have another go. If you haven’t got this game I strongly recommend it. So we walked in and found that there were visitors. The visitors were his aunt and another relative who was about our age but was less able then us. This person was disabled. He was playing on the Playstation 2 so we sat down and watched for a time.
It really was quite a weird experience watching this person play on the games console. Having trouble co-ordinating and other things (as I hardly understand disability) this person was still having fun. He wasn’t really doing well on the game, he was playing much more like a three year old. But just like a three year old was, or maybe more, this person was having fun laughing etc.
Now I found this all ok and quite understandable but I really started thinking when I looked down on to the controller the person was using. As you may well know controllers these days are becoming more and more advance, in this case let’s take the Playstation 2 for example. We have four shoulder buttons, four main control buttons, two sticks and a directional pad. For most of us the Playstation 2 controller is well built and very simple to use. But is it that way for the disabled gamer?
The person I was watching play may have been in a different mentality to many other gamers which are disabled out there. Some of them may not be an expert in the eye to hand co-ordination field but may have good enough sense into know what is going on within the actual game, well enough to play it like you and me.
I sat just thinking how much some people must struggle with the new age of controllers which are coming out. Now we don’t just have four buttons and a directional pad instead we have so many different controls with so many different functions. And this is all to suit current gamer’s needs in creating a better game.
I really do feel for those who struggle to play something which may be their hobby and it just may be getting worse. With the next bunch of consoles coming in a few years I expect the controls to be even more advanced and even harder for some people to use.
So what may be the answer to this? Well even though many of you may see disabled people not in the majority they still need to be thought of. In some cases it’s not just disabled people who find it hard to control a game, its ordinary people like you and I. Today we see many third-party controllers on the market many trying to make something different to the official controller. Things like an action replay feature which hardly works for example. And that’s another thing, wouldn’t that vibration on so many controllers these days trouble a disabled user? So why can’t these third-party controller designers design a controller which is more suited to people who find it hard to control these more advanced games? I know one thing, they sure do make a lot of different controllers so why should this kind be out of range?
Maybe it’s because people who do find it hard have different troubles and so it would be very difficult to suit one controller to them all? I think that is the main reason, if it had been thought about before…which I sadly doubt very much.
You know, maybe it’s not the third-party control designers job to sort this out, maybe it’s the actual games creators themselves?
I’d love for some solution to be found for this as it is very sad to see someone struggle and so much more when you see the expression on their face when you’re doing so well.
Just thought of Solider Of Fortune and realised that some games just wouldn't suit some people that are disabled for example. If they had lost a part of their body they woudln't want to play a game like this, I can imagine how they would feel though I never realised it before.
The thing is, there are more disabled people in this world then we think, we just don't see it them as often as we do more able people.
Before I originally posted this topic I was thinking about how it would be for a blind person to be playing a game. Watch the disabled person play the game made me think of other kinds of disabilitys as blindness for example. You see many blind people using touch to communicate as it is the most effective sense to them. I have seen on numerous occasions the blind using those touch panels which have like parts sticking out so they can make out a letter etc when reading a book. This surely wouldn't be able to be put into games. Maybe on to controllers to give an idea of what the button is about or what it may do but for not much else as seeing what is on screen is vital in games. It would be so hard to create something like that as on-screen a game is changing all the time, the person just wouldn't have a clue whats going on.
Gaming is not suited to some forms of disablity like blindness but for the less worse cases it can be. In hospitals and in other areas where they are cared for consoles are bought for them to play on. I remember Special Reserve a little while ago giving us users the chance to donate our Gameaday prizes to Great Ormand Street Hospital for the children to play on.
The sad thing is that, like you said, the makers of the controllers just wouldn't be able to make enough money for the company as there wouldn't be much demand for them. That is a sad thing to see happening as I know, out there, there are people who can't play games properly who would like to. I'm sure many games companys have had letters of complaints about it before.
As you said fun is all it is about and thats why they play games. I feel they need games more then us, it gives them something to enjoy and something to look forward to. We having no problems can do many other things they would love to do. opefully as time goes by, if it's possible, something can be done.
Before I originally posted this topic I was thinking about how it would be for a blind person to be playing a game. Watch the disabled person play the game made me think of other kinds of disabilitys as blindness for example. You see many blind people using touch to communicate as it is the most effective sense to them. I have seen on numerous occasions the blind using those touch panels which have like parts sticking out so they can make out a letter etc when reading a book. This surely wouldn't be able to be put into games. Maybe on to controllers to give an idea of what the button is about or what it may do but for not much else as seeing what is on screen is vital in games. It would be so hard to create something like that as on-screen a game is changing all the time, the person just wouldn't have a clue whats going on.
Gaming is not suited to some forms of disablity like blindness but for the less worse cases it can be. In hospitals and in other areas where they are cared for consoles are bought for them to play on. I remember Special Reserve a little while ago giving us users the chance to donate our Gameaday prizes to Great Ormand Street Hospital for the children to play on.
The sad thing is that, like you said, the makers of the controllers just wouldn't be able to make enough money for the company as there wouldn't be much demand for them. That is a sad thing to see happening as I know, out there, there are people who can't play games properly who would like to. I'm sure many games companys have had letters of complaints about it before.
As you said fun is all it is about and thats why they play games. I feel they need games more then us, it gives them something to enjoy and something to look forward to. We having no problems can do many other things they would love to do. opefully as time goes by, if it's possible, something can be done.
Disabled gamers, when I first thought on this I thought there can’t be that many as depending on how disabled some are it would be very hard for a lot of them to be able to fully interact with a game. Or is it?
The number of people who have a disability of some kind has risen and no doubt will continue. So should developers maybe use a percentage of their time and abilities to cater for their needs. If you think about it, it’s a part of the market that isn’t really used and could bring in extra money so surely that’s good business for the developers.
The majority of us will have no disability and most of us probably take the whole gaming experience for granted. We come on here and discuss how great one game is or how poor a game and how it could be improved. Now imagine that you were deaf, would this spoil the game for you? Would the whole experience have changed and would you still play games in the same way that you normally do? Or imagine you have only one arm or lost a lot of the movement in some parts of your body. Would this make you stop playing games or make it harder for you to do?
When I first think of being disabled I think off being blind or deaf. The first of these is probably the hardest to make games for. If you can’t see what is going on then most of the experience is gone. To me gaming for blind people just doesn’t work and I don’t see it working for some time, if ever.
As for deaf people, gaming is possible, the only difference is not having the ability to hear the sound. Many games these days have subtitles when someone talks and there are a great number of games that use very little sound. I didn’t realise just how popular games were to disabled people until the other day when I watched a friends brother (who suffers from downes syndrome) and a few of his friends who all have some kind of disability, play on his playstation 2 and they all enjoyed it although they may not be able to enjoy it as much as the rest of us. I decided to try find out more and discovered a lot of sites that review games that they see suitable for deaf people.
More options could be included to cater for deaf people, like when someone talks the text is outputted on the screen (like in Red Faction) but these take more time and cost more to do so many are overlooked. But I think that the money would be made up with the extra sales.
I know how much gaming means and has meant in the past to me, and I hope that others have enjoyed it as much maybe more. That’s why I would like to see more done by developers to offer the same kind of service to those who have extra needs. A lot is being done to make life better for disabled people but gaming hasn’t done a lot to help. Everywhere you look there is some kind of assistance given to those who need it yet gaming hasn’t really offered much help, certainly not as much as it could. Is it just something that we have to accept? Is gaming just not suited to disabled people?
But there are a lot more disabilities, some people have restricted movement, either by loss of limbs, damaged limbs or through another disability. Surely special controls could be developed and extra peripherals that make gaming possible to lots more could be produced. New technology is produced everyday and some of the things that are possible to do are quite mind-blowing. There are more peripherals being developed for people with disabilities, which in my view is a good thing. One day motion sensors may be at a standard where people don’t need to use a mouse or analogue stick to control certain things in games. Hopefully in time there will be a lot more options to make gaming available to all who want to be able to do it, no matter what problems they may have.
We all play games for many different reasons, for fun mostly but also to relieve boredom, entertain us, but games can also improve certain skills which are essential in life. For example, co-ordination, hand-eye co-ordination, reaction times and keyboard and mouse skills. These improvements for disabled people can be very beneficial and something that most of us take for granted. I know that a few day care centres that help disabled people see gaming and using computers as part of learning and helping those with special needs.
There are many people who are classified as being disabled, some in my view worse than others although I would imagine them all to be hard to live with. Surely there is a part of the market here that could be quite a profit maker as it has yet to be fully catered for. I’m not saying that developers should make games only for disabled people and continue to make others for the rest of us. What I would like to see is more options included (subtitles for example) and more peripherals that make it easier for disabled people to use. This is quite a touchy subject, sorry if anyone is offended by it. It is hard as a lot want to be treated normally yet so many don’t want to be left out and made to different. One thing that is known is that there are a lot of disabled people out there who play games to the best they can that would love extra’s that could improve the whole experience for them.
I agree with the comments made, but it is a tricky and touchy subject. Is there enough disabled people who would buy such controllers? Is there a whole market there for games? Peripherals? etc? I would love to see disabled people who want to play games given the chances that we all have but money is the important factor in this industry, whether you like it or not people aren't just going to do things for the kindness value, unless it will sell and make them money then chances are we may never see such things which is a sad sad thing.
I would ask you all to put yourself in their shoes and try it yourself. Try play a game with the sound muted or play using only one arm. It certainly isn’t the same and in many cases hard to do. That’s why I think more should be done to help. Gaming isn't about high scores, beating friends or even being able to finish a game or play well. It is about having fun and just because someone is classed as disabled then they shouldn't be forced to miss out.
The number of people who have a disability of some kind has risen and no doubt will continue. So should developers maybe use a percentage of their time and abilities to cater for their needs. If you think about it, it’s a part of the market that isn’t really used and could bring in extra money so surely that’s good business for the developers.
The majority of us will have no disability and most of us probably take the whole gaming experience for granted. We come on here and discuss how great one game is or how poor a game and how it could be improved. Now imagine that you were deaf, would this spoil the game for you? Would the whole experience have changed and would you still play games in the same way that you normally do? Or imagine you have only one arm or lost a lot of the movement in some parts of your body. Would this make you stop playing games or make it harder for you to do?
When I first think of being disabled I think off being blind or deaf. The first of these is probably the hardest to make games for. If you can’t see what is going on then most of the experience is gone. To me gaming for blind people just doesn’t work and I don’t see it working for some time, if ever.
As for deaf people, gaming is possible, the only difference is not having the ability to hear the sound. Many games these days have subtitles when someone talks and there are a great number of games that use very little sound. I didn’t realise just how popular games were to disabled people until the other day when I watched a friends brother (who suffers from downes syndrome) and a few of his friends who all have some kind of disability, play on his playstation 2 and they all enjoyed it although they may not be able to enjoy it as much as the rest of us. I decided to try find out more and discovered a lot of sites that review games that they see suitable for deaf people.
More options could be included to cater for deaf people, like when someone talks the text is outputted on the screen (like in Red Faction) but these take more time and cost more to do so many are overlooked. But I think that the money would be made up with the extra sales.
I know how much gaming means and has meant in the past to me, and I hope that others have enjoyed it as much maybe more. That’s why I would like to see more done by developers to offer the same kind of service to those who have extra needs. A lot is being done to make life better for disabled people but gaming hasn’t done a lot to help. Everywhere you look there is some kind of assistance given to those who need it yet gaming hasn’t really offered much help, certainly not as much as it could. Is it just something that we have to accept? Is gaming just not suited to disabled people?
But there are a lot more disabilities, some people have restricted movement, either by loss of limbs, damaged limbs or through another disability. Surely special controls could be developed and extra peripherals that make gaming possible to lots more could be produced. New technology is produced everyday and some of the things that are possible to do are quite mind-blowing. There are more peripherals being developed for people with disabilities, which in my view is a good thing. One day motion sensors may be at a standard where people don’t need to use a mouse or analogue stick to control certain things in games. Hopefully in time there will be a lot more options to make gaming available to all who want to be able to do it, no matter what problems they may have.
We all play games for many different reasons, for fun mostly but also to relieve boredom, entertain us, but games can also improve certain skills which are essential in life. For example, co-ordination, hand-eye co-ordination, reaction times and keyboard and mouse skills. These improvements for disabled people can be very beneficial and something that most of us take for granted. I know that a few day care centres that help disabled people see gaming and using computers as part of learning and helping those with special needs.
There are many people who are classified as being disabled, some in my view worse than others although I would imagine them all to be hard to live with. Surely there is a part of the market here that could be quite a profit maker as it has yet to be fully catered for. I’m not saying that developers should make games only for disabled people and continue to make others for the rest of us. What I would like to see is more options included (subtitles for example) and more peripherals that make it easier for disabled people to use. This is quite a touchy subject, sorry if anyone is offended by it. It is hard as a lot want to be treated normally yet so many don’t want to be left out and made to different. One thing that is known is that there are a lot of disabled people out there who play games to the best they can that would love extra’s that could improve the whole experience for them.
I agree with the comments made, but it is a tricky and touchy subject. Is there enough disabled people who would buy such controllers? Is there a whole market there for games? Peripherals? etc? I would love to see disabled people who want to play games given the chances that we all have but money is the important factor in this industry, whether you like it or not people aren't just going to do things for the kindness value, unless it will sell and make them money then chances are we may never see such things which is a sad sad thing.
I would ask you all to put yourself in their shoes and try it yourself. Try play a game with the sound muted or play using only one arm. It certainly isn’t the same and in many cases hard to do. That’s why I think more should be done to help. Gaming isn't about high scores, beating friends or even being able to finish a game or play well. It is about having fun and just because someone is classed as disabled then they shouldn't be forced to miss out.
Posh Kid wrote:
> It would be great if gaming could be more suitable for the disabled,
> but they struggle with other things in life, not just games.
That's why I think suiting game's for them is so ideal. Many of us may play a game to escape the more realistic life we are living in and the troubles which we face in our ordinary daily lifes. The disabled have more problems then most of us and escaping that and having fun is something they need and probably yearn for.
The person I saw really looked like they were enjoying the games they were playing but could they enjoy it more if they could play it better? As I said in the main post, other people may be more able then the person I was with and probably will realise, mentally, that they want more.
Just to see how they person felt, by facial expressions, after they saw me and my friend doing so well though will stick with more for a long time yet.
> It would be great if gaming could be more suitable for the disabled,
> but they struggle with other things in life, not just games.
That's why I think suiting game's for them is so ideal. Many of us may play a game to escape the more realistic life we are living in and the troubles which we face in our ordinary daily lifes. The disabled have more problems then most of us and escaping that and having fun is something they need and probably yearn for.
The person I saw really looked like they were enjoying the games they were playing but could they enjoy it more if they could play it better? As I said in the main post, other people may be more able then the person I was with and probably will realise, mentally, that they want more.
Just to see how they person felt, by facial expressions, after they saw me and my friend doing so well though will stick with more for a long time yet.
That was one of the best 'serious' posts that ive ever read on here. Why? Because it kept me interested all the way through without wanting to wander off somewhere else.
I agree with everything you said and it would be great for developers to start thinking (at least) about designing some new ways to give disabled gamers the best things possible. Afterall, they are the same as everyone else and only want to have fun like everyone else, so I dont see why they shouldnt.
It was a very interesting post.
Well done my friend.
:)
I agree with everything you said and it would be great for developers to start thinking (at least) about designing some new ways to give disabled gamers the best things possible. Afterall, they are the same as everyone else and only want to have fun like everyone else, so I dont see why they shouldnt.
It was a very interesting post.
Well done my friend.
:)
Interesting post here. It is quite a weird experience watching a disabled person playing on a game because you're always left wondering what they're feeling at that point in time. It's the same thing with little children who don't have a clue what to do in the game, but enjoy it anyway.
The points about the controllers were very true. They have become very complicated and have proved harder to adapt to for the likes of even us gamers, so just imagine what it must feel like for the less privileged.
I think when developers create peripherals and stuff, they're aimed to all audiences, but some aren't made for kids.
It would be great if gaming could be more suitable for the disabled, but they struggle with other things in life, not just games.
The points about the controllers were very true. They have become very complicated and have proved harder to adapt to for the likes of even us gamers, so just imagine what it must feel like for the less privileged.
I think when developers create peripherals and stuff, they're aimed to all audiences, but some aren't made for kids.
It would be great if gaming could be more suitable for the disabled, but they struggle with other things in life, not just games.
I wouldn’t usually think of something like this but it occurred to me after I had taken a visit to my friend’s house.
We had both agreed that when we got back to the house we would have a go at Pro Evolution Soccer on the Playstation 2. After playing it for a long time before England’s last match we thought we would have another go. If you haven’t got this game I strongly recommend it. So we walked in and found that there were visitors. The visitors were his aunt and another relative who was about our age but was less able then us. This person was disabled. He was playing on the Playstation 2 so we sat down and watched for a time.
It really was quite a weird experience watching this person play on the games console. Having trouble co-ordinating and other things (as I hardly understand disability) this person was still having fun. He wasn’t really doing well on the game, he was playing much more like a three year old. But just like a three year old was, or maybe more, this person was having fun laughing etc.
Now I found this all ok and quite understandable but I really started thinking when I looked down on to the controller the person was using. As you may well know controllers these days are becoming more and more advance, in this case let’s take the Playstation 2 for example. We have four shoulder buttons, four main control buttons, two sticks and a directional pad. For most of us the Playstation 2 controller is well built and very simple to use. But is it that way for the disabled gamer?
The person I was watching play may have been in a different mentality to many other gamers which are disabled out there. Some of them may not be an expert in the eye to hand co-ordination field but may have good enough sense into know what is going on within the actual game, well enough to play it like you and me.
I sat just thinking how much some people must struggle with the new age of controllers which are coming out. Now we don’t just have four buttons and a directional pad instead we have so many different controls with so many different functions. And this is all to suit current gamer’s needs in creating a better game.
I really do feel for those who struggle to play something which may be their hobby and it just may be getting worse. With the next bunch of consoles coming in a few years I expect the controls to be even more advanced and even harder for some people to use.
So what may be the answer to this? Well even though many of you may see disabled people not in the majority they still need to be thought of. In some cases it’s not just disabled people who find it hard to control a game, its ordinary people like you and I. Today we see many third-party controllers on the market many trying to make something different to the official controller. Things like an action replay feature which hardly works for example. And that’s another thing, wouldn’t that vibration on so many controllers these days trouble a disabled user? So why can’t these third-party controller designers design a controller which is more suited to people who find it hard to control these more advanced games? I know one thing, they sure do make a lot of different controllers so why should this kind be out of range?
Maybe it’s because people who do find it hard have different troubles and so it would be very difficult to suit one controller to them all? I think that is the main reason, if it had been thought about before…which I sadly doubt very much.
You know, maybe it’s not the third-party control designers job to sort this out, maybe it’s the actual games creators themselves?
I’d love for some solution to be found for this as it is very sad to see someone struggle and so much more when you see the expression on their face when you’re doing so well.
We had both agreed that when we got back to the house we would have a go at Pro Evolution Soccer on the Playstation 2. After playing it for a long time before England’s last match we thought we would have another go. If you haven’t got this game I strongly recommend it. So we walked in and found that there were visitors. The visitors were his aunt and another relative who was about our age but was less able then us. This person was disabled. He was playing on the Playstation 2 so we sat down and watched for a time.
It really was quite a weird experience watching this person play on the games console. Having trouble co-ordinating and other things (as I hardly understand disability) this person was still having fun. He wasn’t really doing well on the game, he was playing much more like a three year old. But just like a three year old was, or maybe more, this person was having fun laughing etc.
Now I found this all ok and quite understandable but I really started thinking when I looked down on to the controller the person was using. As you may well know controllers these days are becoming more and more advance, in this case let’s take the Playstation 2 for example. We have four shoulder buttons, four main control buttons, two sticks and a directional pad. For most of us the Playstation 2 controller is well built and very simple to use. But is it that way for the disabled gamer?
The person I was watching play may have been in a different mentality to many other gamers which are disabled out there. Some of them may not be an expert in the eye to hand co-ordination field but may have good enough sense into know what is going on within the actual game, well enough to play it like you and me.
I sat just thinking how much some people must struggle with the new age of controllers which are coming out. Now we don’t just have four buttons and a directional pad instead we have so many different controls with so many different functions. And this is all to suit current gamer’s needs in creating a better game.
I really do feel for those who struggle to play something which may be their hobby and it just may be getting worse. With the next bunch of consoles coming in a few years I expect the controls to be even more advanced and even harder for some people to use.
So what may be the answer to this? Well even though many of you may see disabled people not in the majority they still need to be thought of. In some cases it’s not just disabled people who find it hard to control a game, its ordinary people like you and I. Today we see many third-party controllers on the market many trying to make something different to the official controller. Things like an action replay feature which hardly works for example. And that’s another thing, wouldn’t that vibration on so many controllers these days trouble a disabled user? So why can’t these third-party controller designers design a controller which is more suited to people who find it hard to control these more advanced games? I know one thing, they sure do make a lot of different controllers so why should this kind be out of range?
Maybe it’s because people who do find it hard have different troubles and so it would be very difficult to suit one controller to them all? I think that is the main reason, if it had been thought about before…which I sadly doubt very much.
You know, maybe it’s not the third-party control designers job to sort this out, maybe it’s the actual games creators themselves?
I’d love for some solution to be found for this as it is very sad to see someone struggle and so much more when you see the expression on their face when you’re doing so well.