Blind hero

Abstract

Very few video games have been designed or adapted to allow people with vision impairment to play. Music/rhythm games however are particularly suitable for such people as they are perfectly capable of perceiving audio signals. Guitar Hero is a popular rhythm game yet it is not accessible to the visually impaired as it relies on visual stimuli. This paper explores replacing visual stimuli with haptic stimuli as a viable strategy to make games accessible. We developed a glove that transforms visual information into haptic feedback using small pager motors attached to the tip of each finger. This allows a blind player to play Guitar Hero. Several tests have been conducted and despite minor changes to the gameplay, visually impaired players are able to play the game successfully and enjoy the challenge the game provides. The results of the study also give valuable insights on how to make mainstream games blind-accessible.

Robots for Inclusive Play: Co-designing an Educational Game With Visually Impaired and sighted Children

“…Previous research has addressed the need to make games accessible for visually impaired players, either by adapting existing games [4,54,48] or by creating new dedicated games [10,38]. Research has particularly focused on adopting appropriate interaction modalities such as haptic or auditory feedback.…”

“…Research has particularly focused on adopting appropriate interaction modalities such as haptic or auditory feedback. For example, Blind Hero [54] replaces visual with haptic stimuli, in this case a glove with vibratory feedback, so that players know which buttons to press. RAD [48] is an accessible racing game that relies on sonification to represent the speed of the car and cues on the racetrack.…”

Exploring Asymmetric Roles in Mixed-Ability Gaming

“…color and contrast options) and depend on audio feedback. Past research has explored diferent strategies to adapt games that require vision to an accessible audio-based gameplay [4,33,39,40,48,58,61]. In most cases a substantial redesign is needed to ensure that the player is able to perceive the information, determine the correct action, and provide input.…”

“…In contrast to narrative and exploration focused games, action audio games are typically demanding in terms of dexterity, implying coordination and reaction challenges. Yuan and Folmer [61] explored the adaptation of a popular rhythm game, Guitar Hero which, despite being a game about musical performance, depends on visual interaction. Adaptation leveraged the use of a glove with small pager motors attached to the tip of each fnger, which transmit the information of the notes that must be played.…”

Tactile Maps and New Technologies for Blind and People with Visual Impairments

“…Music / rhythm games are especially suitable for this group of people, as they are perfectly capable of perceiving sound signals. Based on the popular Guitar Hero, a custom glove was made that players must use in order to be able to play the game [24].…”