Contact
An Insight into Designing for Disabilities
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During the testing of this game, two users were to play at the same time taking turns moving the rings. The sighted user was given only the graphical game with no sounds and the blind user was to rely on only sound. Thus, there was no overlap in the way the user interacted with the game. The two user sat 90 degrees apart from each other with the blind user wearing headphones. It should also be noted that both of the users mouse controlled the same pointer. Thus, if they both moved the mouse at the same time the pointer would move in an unattended way. To gather results three pairs of users were tested and all had some previous knowledge of the game.
From the testing it was discovered that the users would talk aloud to each other to describe their moves and what they were experiencing. By doing this they were communicating to the other user person their understanding of their move and the game. In doing this the actions of one party seemed to be consequential to the other user's next move. During conversation the sited person referred to the towers as 1, 2 and 3 while the blind person referred to them as left, center and right. Even though both persons were playing the same game they communicated about it differently based on how they were experiencing it.
Problems did occur with the blind user when too much time was taken between moves. When this occurred the blind users became disoriented with his position in the game. As a result it would take more time for the blind user to become oriented again. Problems also occurred when both users would move the mouse at the same time. When this occurred it would either result in the sighted user confirming the blind users move and then making the blind users move. Or cause the blind person to be extremely confused as to what was happening. During the testing every group successfully completed the game and three principles were confirmed. All things that can be done by a sighted user should also be able to be accomplished by a blind user. For effective collaboration the interfaces should also be consistent between each user and each user should be able to manipulate the interface in the same way. According to Mynatt and Weber "If mutually coherent visual and non-visual interfaces are made available, cooperation is thus ensured." This can be accomplished through the use of sound, tactile and other multi modal displays.
Focusing on the user's strengths and sonic cues allowed the designers to build a complex game that delivered a consistent experience to both the disabled and able bodied. The U.S. Census Bureau, states that there are currently 21.3 million people that have a condition that affects their ability to work at a job or business. This group of people accounts for 11.9 percent of the people working between the ages of 16 and 64.