MARC SCHMALZ

The objective of the GAME! project is to improve our understanding of the situated real-world accessibility needs of gamers with disabilities. We seek to learn how different impairments interact with specific mechanics and interactions found in games to create both enabling and disabling experiences. From these findings, we plan to create descriptive standards to support more meaningful labeling and organization of commercial games according to their accessibility to users with all levels of ability. Through these descriptive standards, we hope to empower gamers to better navigate the landscape of inconsistent accessibility in mainstream gaming. By giving them greater insight into games' mechanics and interaction expectations, they can make informed decisions about what they want to play, and in turn avoid unnecessarily disabling situations. We are conducting research that will 1) describe and represent accessibility requirements of gamers with motor impairments, and 2) identify and..