Disability and Video Games: Practices of En-/Disabling Modes of Digital Gaming

Acknowledgment
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Dis-/Ability, Accessibility and Video Games: Chapters in the Context of a Research Overview
	Digital Games as En-/Disabling Media: A Research Desideratum
	En-/Disabling Interfaces: History and Present
	Problematic Aprioris and Ableist Ideologies
	Accessibility: Guidelines, Practice and Legal Issues
	Prospect
	Bibliography
		Games
Part I: En-/Disabling Interfaces: History and Present
	Chapter 2: Game Interfaces as Disabling Infrastructures
		Introduction
		The Biopolitics of Game Interfacing
		Contesting the Interface
		The Game-Maker’s Duty?
		Bibliography
			Games
	Chapter 3: Who Can Play? Rethinking Video Game Controllers and Accessibility
		Introduction
		The Video Game Interface
		Affordances
		The Evolution of Video Game Controllers
			Paddle
			Joystick
			D-pad
			Analogue Stick
			Gestural and Motion Control
			Control Dimensionality over Time
			Precarity of Access
			Existing Approaches to Disability and Gaming
				Remapping Controls
				Modified Controllers
				Alternate Controllers
				Modular Controllers
				Collaborative Systems and Asymmetric Roles
			Discussion and Conclusions
			Future Developments
		References
			Games
	Chapter 4: A History of Disability and Voice-Enabled Gaming from the 1970s to Intelligent Personal Assistants
		Introduction
		What Is Voice-Enabled Gaming: Interface Technologies and Gameplay Mechanisms
		1970s–1980: Accidentally Accessible Voice-Enacted Gaming
		1990s–2000: Boosts in Technology: From Accidents to Adaptivity
		2010 and Beyond: The Rise of Smart Technologies and the Ubiquity of Voice Interaction
		Conclusion: Voice Interaction Games—A Game Changer for Accessible Gaming?
		Bibliography
			Games
	Chapter 5: Playing with the Eyes. A Media History of Eye Tracking
		Introduction
		A Media History of Eye Tracking
		AAC: From Eye Tracking to Gaze Control
		Eye Tracking and Gaming
		Conclusion
		Bibliography
			Games
	Chapter 6: Interview with Mark Barlet (AbleGamers)
		“The Failure of AbleGamers 1.0”
		“They Didn’t Need Hardware Fixes, It Was Software”
		Accessibility as a Market Differentiator
		“Includification”—The Becoming of AbleGamers
		APX—Accessible Player Experience
		Accessibility Guidelines
		“Now We Are Performing Services”
		“Standardize the First 80% and Customize the Last 20%”
		“Accessibility Is Not a Disability Problem”
		“Accessibility Is Not Binary”
		“Our Mission Is to Enable Play to Combat Social Isolation”
		“Games Are Here to Stay”
		“I Dare Microsoft to Sue Us”
		“Doing More”
		Games
Part II: Problematic Aprioris and Ableist Ideologies: (De)Constructing Dis/Ability
	Chapter 7: Dis/Enabled Playing: Ableist Ideologies and Abledness Consolidation in Video Games’ Mechanics and Infrastructures
		Introduction
		Resident Evil 4
			Control(s) and Disability
			Autonomy and Ableism
			Efficiency and (Dis)Ability
			Assessment and Reaffirmation of Abledness
			Classification, Ambiguity and Threats to the Dis/Abled Constitutional Divide
			Test of Compatibility and Exclusion from Enabling Experiences
		Super Mario World and Other Mainstream Games
			Level Design and Performances of (Over)Abledness
			Difficulty and Dis/Ability
			Meritocracy and Access to Game Content
			Consistency and Certainty of Controls and Actions
			Difficulty in Representing Injustices in Game Mechanics
			Ableism, the Gaming Industry and Capitalist Exploitation
		Conclusion
		Bibliography
			Games
	Chapter 8: The Mediality of Dis/Ability: Producing ‘Disability’ and ‘Ability’ in the Realm of Digital Games
		Introduction
		The Discursive Construction of Dis/Ability
		The Mediality of Dis/Ability
		The Production of Digital Games
		The Content of Digital Games
		The Usage of Digital Games
		The Form of Digital Games
		Conclusion
		References
			Games
	Chapter 9: Intersections Between Gaming and Dis/Abilities (Roundtable)
		Introduction
		‘Logic of Fixing’: Between Fixing and Empowering…
		Serious Gaming
		Universal Access
		Presentation Round
		Socially or Technologically Driven?
		Internal and External Motivation
		Cooperation Versus Competitivity
		Choosing the Right Character
		References
			Games
Part III: Accessibility: Guidelines, Practice and Legal Issues
	Chapter 10: Accessibility by Numbers: A Critical Review of Game Accessibility Guidelines
		Introduction
			MediaLT Guidelines (2004)
			WCAG 2.0 Guidelines (2008)
			GameAccessibilityGuidelines.com (2017)
			Xbox Accessibility Guidelines (2020)
			Case Study Evaluation
			Method and Titles for Evaluation
			Results
				Total and Per Platform
				Per Title
				Per Game Accessibility Guideline Document
				Per GAG Guidelines Difficulty
				Per Xbox Accessibility Guidelines Persona
				Significant Sections
				Significant Guidelines
				Inapplicable Guidelines
			Discussion
				Which Accessibility Guideline Document Uncovers the Most Issues with Existing Games from a Player Perspective?
				Which Areas of Accessibility (e.g. Sound, Input) Fail Most to Satisfy the Accessibility Guideline Documents?
				Do the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced GAG Document Guidelines Correlate to the Frequency That the Evaluated Games Implement These Guidelines? Or: As the “Difficulty” of the GAG Document Guidelines Increase, Are These Guidelines Satisfied Less Frequ
				Do the Personas That Feature Most Frequently in the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines Overlap with the Evaluation’s Least Accessible Results?
				Do Xbox Titles Satisfy the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines Document Better Than They Satisfy Microsoft Windows or Nintendo Switch Titles?
				Are the Game Accessibility Guideline Documents Efficient in Their Evaluation of Platforms and Titles? Or: Do the Game Accessibility Guideline Documents Avoid Wasting Evaluators’ Time by Returning a Low Percentage of Inapplicable Guidelines (Guideline
				Are Any Areas of Accessibility or Specific Recommendations “Solved”, in That They Are Successfully Executed Universally? In Contrast, Are Any Areas of Accessibility Universally Unaddressed by Game Developers? Evaluation of the Former Will Return a Sco
		Conclusion
		References
			Games
	Chapter 11: Providing Access
		Introduction
		Adaptive Infrastructures of Gaming
		Accessibility: Legal Issues
		Workaround or the ‘Technological Self’
		Conclusion
		References
			Games
	Chapter 12: Interview with Sandra Uhling: “Against Homogenization and on Becoming Aware and More Sensitive Towards Human Diversity”
		Diversity of Games and Players
		Lacking Representation
		Competing with Dis/Abilities
		Accessibility and Usability
		Funding Policy
		Diverse Gaming Preferences
		Forms of Cooperation
		Standardization
		Social Aspects of Serious Games
		Against Homogenization
		Future Development
		Games
Index