Virtual Reality (VR) holds the promise of providing engaging embodied experiences, but little is known about how people with disabilities engage with it. We explore challenges and opportunities of VR gaming for wheelchair users. First, we present findings from a survey that received 25 responses and gives insights into wheelchair users' motives to (non-) engage with VR and their experiences. Drawing from this survey, we derive design implications which we tested through implementation and qualitative evaluation of three full-body VR game prototypes with 18 participants. Our results show that VR gaming engages wheelchair users, though nuanced consideration is required for the design of embodied immersive experiences for minority bodies, and we illustrate how designers can create meaningful, positive experiences.

Young people using powered wheelchairs have limited access to engaging leisure activities. We address this issue through a two-stage project; 1) the participatory development of a set of wheelchair-controlled, movementbased games (with 9 participants at a school that provides education for young people who have special needs) and 2) three case studies (4 participants) exploring player perspectives on a set of three wheelchair-controlled casual games. Our results show that movement-based playful experiences are engaging for young people using powered wheelchairs. However, the participatory design process and case studies also reveal challenges for game accessibility regarding the integration of movement in games, diversity of abilities among young people using powered wheelchairs, and the representation of disability in games. In our paper, we explore how to address those challenges in the development of accessible, empowering movementbased games, which is crucial to the wider participation of young people using powered wheelchairs in play.

Agent-based crowd simulations are used for modelling building and space usage, allowing designers to explore hypothetical real-world scenarios, including extraordinary events such as evacuations. Existing work which engages virtual reality (VR) as a platform for crowd simulations has been primarily focussed on the validation of simulation models through observation; the use of interactions such as gaze to enhance a sense of immersion; or studies of proxemics. In this work, we extend previous studies of proxemics and examine the effects of varying crowd density on user experience and behaviour. We have created a simulation in which participants walk freely and perform a routine manual task, whilst interacting with agents controlled by a typical social force simulation model. We examine and report the effects of crowd density on both affective state and behaviour. Our results show a significant increase in negative affect with density, measured using a self-report scale. We further show significant differences in some aspects of user behaviours, using video analysis, and discuss how our results relate to VR simulation design for mixed human-agent scenarios.

Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription. However, these strategies are repetitive, monotonous and unsuitable for use with children and young adults. This project explores the design of a game-based therapy programme that aims to support participant engagement and adherence. We first outline requirements for this software, before reporting on the iterative design process undertaken in collaboration with young people, therapists and teachers at a centre for vision impairment. Our work provides insights into the participatory design of games in collaboration with young people with special needs, and reflects upon the tension of balancing game challenge, therapy goals, and accessibility. Furthermore, it highlights the potential of games to empower special populations by providing a medium through which to communicate the subjective experience of specific impairments. Rights

Although participatory design (PD) is currently the most acceptable and respectful process we have for designing technology, recent discussions suggest that there may be two barriers to the successful application of PD to the design of digital games: First, the involvement of audiences with special needs can introduce new practical and ethical challenges to the design process. Second, the use of non-experts in game design roles has been criticised in that participants lack skills necessary to create games of appropriate quality. To explore how domain knowledge and user involvement influence game design, we present results from two projects that addressed the creation of movement-based wheelchair-controlled video games from different perspectives. The first project was carried out together with a local school that provides education for young people with special needs, where we invited students who use wheelchairs to take part in design sessions. The second project involved university students on a game development course, who do not use wheelchairs, taking on the role of expert designers. They were asked to design concepts for wheelchair-controlled games as part of a final-year course on game design. Our results show that concepts developed by both groups were generally suitable examples of wheelchair-controlled motion-based video games, but we observed differences regarding level of detail of game concepts, and ideas of disability. Additionally, our results show that the design exercise exposed vulnerabilities in both groups, outlining that the risk of practical and emotional vulnerability needs to be considered when working with the target audience as well as expert designers. Highlights  First participatory study designing games for young people using wheelchairs.  Reflection on relative contribution of game design expertise and experience.  Explores representation of mobility disability by participants in design process.  Reflection on how vulnerability of participants exposed through design process.