Virtual Reality Games for People Using Wheelchairs

Abstract

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.

A Critical Examination of Virtual Reality Technology in the Context of the Minority Body

“…We include testimony of disabled people to illustrate our points. The testimonies were collected in the context of a survey [28] in which we explored perspectives of disabled people on VR either based on their own hands-on experience or through engagement with reports about the technology. For example, this included the individually preferred setting in which the technology would be used as part of being asked to imagine or report how the technology would be approached, and implications for integration of movement-based interaction paradigms that may need to be more nuanced.…”

“…The results of a user study with 16 participants were refined into seven barriers to VR [42, p. 7] that predominantly relate to characteristics of VR hardware (e.g., system setup, adjusting the head-mounted display, and working with the controllers). Likewise, Gerling et al examined the design of VR games for wheelchair users with focus on adaptation of user input, highlighting that people using wheelchairs were concerned about accessibility barriers, but perceived VR as a futuristic and desirable technology, with results of an empirical study showing that VR can be made accessible through adjustment of interaction paradigms [28].…”

“…In their initial work on the Surrogate Body in play, Spiel and Gerling argue that the immersive and perhaps isolating nature of the current generation of consumer hardware predominantly supports VR as a single player experience [57, p. 403], something which is supported by previous work on VR games for wheelchair users [28].…”

“…for example, [16,27,36,44]). In the context of physical disability, previous work has explored accessibility issues experienced by people with limited mobility [28,42]. However, while effective at identifying basic barriers to VR use, we argue that these projects only scratch the surface of challenges and opportunities associated with physical disability and Virtual Reality: Mott et al's work strongly focuses on practical accessibility of the current generation of VR hardware [42] (e.g., putting on the headset and cable management, using controllers including hard-to-reach buttons), and Gerling et al narrowly focus on how wheelchair users engage with VR games [28].…”

“…In the context of physical disability, previous work has explored accessibility issues experienced by people with limited mobility [28,42]. However, while effective at identifying basic barriers to VR use, we argue that these projects only scratch the surface of challenges and opportunities associated with physical disability and Virtual Reality: Mott et al's work strongly focuses on practical accessibility of the current generation of VR hardware [42] (e.g., putting on the headset and cable management, using controllers including hard-to-reach buttons), and Gerling et al narrowly focus on how wheelchair users engage with VR games [28]. By prioritizing technical accessibility, these examples do not take into account the complexity of the relationship between a specific body and VR technology, the wider context in which disabled people experience VR, and the assumptions that VR technology makes about people's bodies.…”