Balta Mtdl09

ACM International Workshop on Multimedia Technologies for Distance Learning (MTDL 2009), Beijing, China, October 23, 2009.

http://www.e-ucm.es

Implementing Accessibility in Educational Videogames

with <e-Adventure>

Javier Torrente, Ángel del Blanco, Pablo Moreno-Ger, Iván Martínez-Ortiz, Baltasar Fernández-Manjón

General scope

Contents

Introduction & Motivation

Accessibility in Videogames:General design issues

Accessibility in<e-Adventure>

Baltasar Fernández-Manjón ([email protected]) http://e-adventure.e-ucm.es

Three types of adaptation

Gathering information of user & environment

Summary & Future Work

Introduction: Game-based learning and accessibility

Game-based learning is gaining acceptance (Educational videogames seem to have potential)

However, it is difficult to integrate videogames in the classroom due to several factors E.g. instructors ignore what is going on in the game Effective approach: integrate the games in Learning

Management Systems

Accessibility is also an important issue in this concern that has not been properly addressed yet Education is a universal right 11% children from 6-14 years old have some level of

impairment (US Census Bureau 2007)

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Introduction: approaching accessibility in game-based learning

Awareness about accessibility in games is still scarce Related to the problem of the high development cost

Involves complex technical support (text-to-speech synthesis, voice recognition, etc.)

Constraint which is especially relevant in education where budget is limited

Authoring tools can be the appropriate vehicle for introducing accessibility in educational videogames In-built accessibility-oriented services (e.g. a configurable

text-to-speech module) will reduce the cost dramatically Force the game designer to start thinking about accessibility

from the design stage (increase of awareness) Facilitates the introduction of accessibility in existing games

(promotes reuse and maintenance)Objective for this work: Introduce accessibility

in the <e-Adventure> game authoring tool

However, the support for accessibility in current game authoring tools is almost inexistent

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Accessibility in Videogames: design issues

Choose the game genre carefully Promote reflexion instead of action Genres where visual effects are not crucial E.g.: point-and-click adventure games

Common adaptations carried out in games Adjustment of contrast and color settings Audible sonars to detect enemies Provide relevant information through multiple channels Support for adapted game-pads Etc.

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Accessibility in Videogames: design issues II

Design the game without binding actions to specific interaction mechanisms

Adapting the game requires information about the user (e.g. visual, mobility and hearing requirements) Multiple alternatives In e-learning courses it makes sense that the LMS stores

information about the impairments of the student and delivers them to the game when this is launched

Consider not only information about the user but also about the environment

E.g.: In a noisy environment anybody could be completely deaf

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What is <e-Adventure>?

Authoring tool for point-and-click adventure games

Low-cost

Instructor-oriented Instructors are involved directly in the development process

Education-specific features Performance tracking & assessment In-game adaptation behavior Integration with LMSs

Several applications in diverse fields. E.g. medical field (Moreno-Ger et al. 2008, Torrente et al. 2009)

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Introducing accessibility in <e-Adventure>: General scope

Adaptation at three levels

Needs of the user / Environment constraints

Needs of the user / Environment constraints

1Adaptation of the user-game interaction (input/output channels)

Severe physical limitations (e.g. blindness or deafness)

2

In-game tools and special guidance (screen magnifyier, speed parameters configuration, in-game help, etc.)

Moderated physical limitations (e.g. low vision, reduced mobility in hands)

3Adaptation of the game semantics using the adaptation engine

Cognitive limitations

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<e-Adventure> Game Engine Architecture

1) Adaptation of user-game interaction

(students with severe

impairments or hard

environment constraints)

2) In-game tools

(students with low impairments

or moderate environment constraints)

3) Adaptation of the game flow

(game semantics)

(students with cognitive

impairments)

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<e-Adventure> Input/Output modules

Input/Output modules summary

Mouse Interface The interaction mechanism by default Point-and-click: demands the ability of seeing objects and

characters on the scene (sense of view) and move the mouse

Input/output module

Senses Required

Adequate for…

Mouse Interface

Speech impaired students.

Voice Interface Visually and/or mobility impaired

Natural Language Interface

Visually, speech impaired

Mouse pointer

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Voice Interface Receive the commands via voice The system analyzes the syntactic structure of the command

introduced The system matches the syntactic structure (once analyzed)

to the possible interactions available to the user at that moment

Example of commands recognized

Order Description

Talk to CharacterName

The student’s avatar in the game will try to talk to the NPC with such name.

Go to the left The student’s avatar in the game will move in that direction, discovering new items that were still hidden.

Describe the scene

The game will describe (using text or synthesized speech) what elements are on the scene and their approximate location so the user can interact with them.

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Natural Language Interface Works like the Voice Interface but receiving the commands

through the keyboard The system analyzes the syntactic structure of the sentence

introduced The system matches the syntactic structure (once analyzed)

to the possible interactions available to the user at that moment

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In-game tools in <e-Adventure>

In-game settings configuration tools Configuration of speed parameters, reaction time, movement

of the players, double-click time gap, etc. Color filters that modify the color layout according to

preferences of the student Many common problems can be solved with these small

variations

Other tools embedded in the game atmosphere Screen magnifier: Introduced directly in the student’s

inventory

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The Game Adaptation Engine

Feature already integrated in the <e-Adventure> platform Based on a set of rules following the pattern Condition->Effect When the condition is met (defined over external or internal

variables) the effect is triggered, which modifies the game behavior

With this mechanism we can, for instanceAvoid a complex task for a student with cognitive impairmentsProvide alternative paths of diverse difficultyChange the initial sceneEtc.

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The Game Adaptation Engine

S1 S2 S3

Game Behaviour 1

Game Behaviour 3

Game Behaviour 2

AdaptationRules

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Gathering information about user and environment

If the game is played online: (a) The student profile and

environment settings are distributed by the LMS (e.g.) at runtime (transparently to the user) => Online execution of the game

If the game is played offline (b) The student introduces

the information before the game starts

(c) The instructor uses the game editor to package the information along with the game

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Summary Although game-based learning is on the rise, if educational

games are to be used in real courses accessibility must be addressed

The first barrier to overcome in the development of accessible educational games is the extra development cost it implies

An effective approach to reduce the cost is to produce authoring tools with in-built accessibility features

Contribution Introduction of accessibility in the <e-Adventure> educational

game authoring tool

Future work Polish the technology and release it to the public for testing Connection with Learning Management Systems needs

futher development (limitations of current LMS)


Thank you!

Any Question?Any Question?

Baltasar Fernández-ManjónBaltasar Fernández-Manjón

[email protected]://www.e-ucm.es/people/balta

Don’t forget to try out the <e-Adventure> platform!http://e-adventure.e-ucm.es

Documents

Balta Mtdl09