A story about Schuyler’s class trip caught my attention.

This story happened to be posted the day after I went to a place similar to the one described* (skee ball, laser tag, mini-golf, etc.) so  I could really visualize it. I spent most of the evening considering how such places could be accessed. It strikes me that the games themselves are highly structured, but the environment as a whole was open and chaotic.

No matter how much communication we give kids, it seems like these environments are not easy nuts to crack. Part of me is thinking of ways to structure to force more interaction (maybe teams see who gets the most tickets or something, then the problem of assigning teams…). The other part of me wonders if forcing it is ultimately counterproductive—that the self-directedness is the mission here and to reduce that

Questions: Can you create a meta-game structure in a free-play environment that encourages more interaction for kids who don’t do well in unstructured social environments without the neurotypical kids pushing back against it or squashing the developmental benefits of the chaos?

* It is really weird that this was posted the day after my friend suggested impulsively, “Let’s go play skee ball.”

It’s called Tiny Wings

I love the metaphor of having a little, sort-of impaired bird overcoming its limitations and flying with the assistance of the environment and the player.

Some other one-button games:

I really like One-Button Bob. It’s a bit of a cognitive challenge, because each level is different. But there is no penalty for messing up, so just keep trying until you win the level.

Click for a list of games.

No discussion of one-button games is complete without Canabalt, the finest in one-button games… maybe ever. This isn’t a game designed for people with disabilities, this is a game designed for everyone that just happens to be played with only one button.

(Gameplay hint: don’t try to avoid all the obstacles; use them to slow yourself down.)

Every player is dealt cards with story elements (see also, Burke’s Dramatistic Pentad for an arrangement of these cards by story function), as well as an ending card. Players narrate a story that is constrained by the cards that were randomly dealt to their hand, and win the game by playing their ending (which has to make sense in the context of what has come before).

It would be easy, except that players take turns constructing the story and everyone has different endings they are trying to achieve.

I love this game for a number of reasons. It’s great for teaching story grammar (obviously), but there is also a strong executive function element to it in that you have to plan your moves ahead if your ending is going to make sense. Lately, one of my students has been using it to elicit connected speech from a young client who is working on generalizing speech artic. therapy into conversation. You have to talk a lot to play this game.

Here are some other game-based therapy activities:

Rory’s Story Cubes

Rory’s Story Cubes is next-level Once Upon a Time. The meaning of the pictures on each die face is open to interpretation.

The ambiguity makes for more of a challenge, as is the lack of narrative theme (Once Upon a Time follows faerie tale tropes very heavily, helping to constrain and structure the story somewhat).

There is a “verbs” expansion pack available now.

These are distributed by Gamewright in the U.S.

Sounds Like a Plan

I haven’t tried this game yet, but I plan to.

The premise is that you have a hand of cards that have some sort of advice on them. Then, you draw a card that describes some sort of goal. Players then match the advice to the goal. (If you’ve played Apples-to-Apples, the rules sound similar)

And just as with Apples-to-Apples, the advice you have available might not be applicable or just barely relevant, so you’re sometimes forced to give bad advice, or to choose the least-worst option from a bunch of suboptimal choices. Hmmm. Who do we know who might find that challenging?

Pictionary Card Game

No-draw Pictionary

The interesting thing about Pictionary is that most people tend to draw the same things over and over in difference combinations. This game is Pictionary… without drawing. They’ve provided the commonly-drawn images already and you combine them to form meanings.

The concept really reminded me of Minspeak. Combining higly iconic, semantically powerful components combined into other meaningful things. Very cool. Next time I teach an AAC course to college students, I’m using these.

I’m mulling over some ideas of how to use them with kids who use AAC. Although their best use might be to teach peers without disabilities how to communicate with symbols so they can better empathize with a classmate who uses Minspeak.

The sad thing is that this game is being pitched by Mattel as “You can’t draw? So play this.” I’m not a fan of that, since almost everyone without serious motor impairment can draw well enough to play Pictionary. This is a very different game, and shouldn’t really be compared to the drawing version of Pictionary.

Hardcore gamers also frequently ask for customizable controls (hardcore gamers are a notoriously difficult demographic to please). You can accommodate disabled gamers by doing the very thing that the most abled gamers want anyway! It’s a win across the board.

What makes the games in this post exceptional is that they are both console games, not PC games. Video game consoles are traditionally very limited in their flexibility, and unlike a PC, cannot run the user’s custom software to assist with accessibility.

Two examples listed below.

MLB 11 The Show

Screencap from MLB 11 "The Show"

“The Show” series is widely regarded as the best baseball video game series. This year’s version includes a one-button mode that they are calling the “Association for Disabled Virtual Athletes mode.”

It was added specifically for one baseball superfan with cerebral palsy.

I need to start making a list of amazing design ideas that have resulted because someone knew (or was related to) someone else with a disability.

Forza Motorsports 3

Named by AbleGamers the Accessible Mainstream Game of the Year.

The best racing games have customizable controls anyway, but Forza takes it to a new level. It can be configured to be playable with only three switches.

Their web site. (Note that this and all websites of the Disability Resources and Educational Services for the University are screen-reader compliant for those using alternative access.)

This is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about. This is really beyond just “accommodation” and taking it to the next level of full inclusion into society.

Sorry, time constraints limit me from talking much about this. Thinking of applications will have to be an exercise left to the reader.

http://www.hizook.com/blog/2010/08/11/electrotactile-arrays-texture-and-pressure-feedback-during-robotic-teleoperation