Opinion: Why The iPad Isn’t For Me
A revolutionary device with an incredible amount of potential but a step backward in (...)
June 14 2010
The iPad has been out for a few months now and so far it looks like it has been a huge success for Apple. I’ve read a lot about the iPad, watched a lot of YouTube demonstrations of various apps on the iPad, and actually tried one out in person at the local Apple store on a few occasions. It’s an incredible device. And because of the excellent App Store the iPad is incredibly versatile. So much that I believe the iPad is the most useful device one can buy right now. Gaming, of course, is a popular use of the iPad, but that is only one of thousands of ways in which you can use this amazing device. With all that said you probably won’t see me ever getting one.
All this touchscreen and accelerometer goodness is great and all but in many ways it’s making things less accessible for some of the physically disabled, such as myself, then what we’ve grown use to over the last twenty years or so. I’ve been using an iPod Touch for almost two years and love it. Ironically that has given me a good understanding of why the iPad is so versatile and useful but also why the iPad is far too inaccessible for me.
The biggest problem with the iPad for me is its size. It’s just too big. So big that (...)
Second Life: Five-Years of the Matrix/Virtual World
July 28 2008
Do you ever wish you could fly, travel place to place without transportation, or meet other people from different countries?
There is a 3D, multiplayer, virtual world out there where you can do just that and it’s called Second Life. Second Life was created by Linden Lab and recently celebrated its fifth birthday.
Linden Lab was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create a revolutionary new form of shared experience which became known as Second Life. Second Life is a 3D virtual world (...)
Interactive Fiction Games
April 11 2008
An interactive fiction (IF) game is almost like a fancy computerised version of a “choose your own adventure” book with more choices available.
An interactive fiction game occurs all in text input and output, making it accessible to those using VoiceOver’s spoken or braille interfaces. IF games are also turn-based rather than time-based, so if it takes the user several minutes or more to enter their portion of the text this won’t affect the game. This makes IF games ideal for those who have (...)
Say It, Play It. The Method 101
March 31 2008
Having introduced, the concept of gaming by voice control in the article: Say It, Play It! Voice Control, the following is a more detailed look at how this is done.
To fully test the principles in this tutorial, it would be desirable for you to have:
1. The Voice Commander application. It’s available to download here. Voice Commander costs $15 for the full version. The free demo version is limited in how long it will run before quitting and how many voice commands you can use per (...)
LayoutKitchen Laboratory: Return to Dark Castle Demo
March 20 2008
In this edition of LayoutKitchen Laboratory I’m tackling the Return to Dark Castle Demo from Super Happy Fun Fun. The idea behind LayoutKitchen Laboratory is to attempt to make previously unplayable or difficult-to-play games playable by creating custom keyboards for them using AssistiveWare’s excellent LayoutKitchen 2.0 software.
One of the first Mac games I ever got was Dark Castle in 1986. It was a huge hit back then and spawned the sequel Beyond Dark Castle in 1987. The big problem with (...)
Say It, Play It! Voice Control.
March 18 2008
Greetings to all from New Zealand!
This article, is more of an introduction to what will hopefully be a number of much more detailed articles on my particular approach to gaming. As a high-level quadriplegic, I have the use of my head and shoulders.
Like many others with my particular disability, my control device is a Headmaster Plus, this gives me excellent mouse control. A puff switch gives me a standard one button mouse click.
Most of the sections on this website deal with gaming from (...)
LayoutKitchen Laboratory: Commandos 3 Demo
February 29 2008
In the first of what I hope to be a continual series called "LayoutKitchen Laboratory" I’m tackling the Commandos 3 Demo from Feral Interactive. The idea behind LayoutKitchen Laboratory is to attempt to make previously unplayable or difficult-to-play games playable by creating custom keyboards for them using AssistiveWare’s excellent LayoutKitchen 2.0 software.
The Commandos 3 Demo (or C3) is a small portion of Commandos 3: Destination Berlin, which is part of the Commandos Battle Pack. (...)
PC Gaming, we got it too!
February 19 2008
Not only does SwitchXS give single switch gamers access to Macintosh games, it allows switch users access to PC based gaming using virtualisation software on Intel Macs...
I first bought Parallels virtualisation software to chat with friends using Windows using the same messengers they were due to incompatibility problems between the Mac version. Not only did I find SwitchXS the perfect partner for Parallels for chatting but, being a fan of Texas Holdem (Poker) I found that many of these (...)
Let the Games Begin
January 21 2008
For many new switch users, playing games with SwitchXS might seem like a daunting task, however, with a little practice and the right games even a novice can be up and clicking in no time.
When I began using a single switch and scanning software to access my first PowerBook, I had no idea where to begin in terms of gaming. All I knew for sure was that I had to play something; gaming was in my blood.
To begin, it’s best to start with games that don’t require a great deal of quick action from (...)
Tools of the Trade
January 20 2008
These days those that are physically-challenged have plenty of options when it comes to making games playable for them. I’ve been a Quadriplegic for over twenty years and I’ve been playing games on Macs for nearly that long. Here’s some of the more recent tools I’ve used to accomplish this, plus a few I haven’t but think might be useful.
For me it all starts with AssistiveWare’s KeyStrokes. No single piece of software has been more useful to me than KeyStrokes. As long as KeyStrokes is (...)
RSS 2.0