OneSwitch.org.uk blog

iOS Switch Mess

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:21:00 +0000

The popularity of the Apple iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad has led to a range of switch interfaces. But for as elegant as the likes of the it-iClick above may appear, things are a bit of a mess.

Kate Aherne has posted a break-down of much of what is currently available at the TLWMSN blog and a plea for greater access, echoed below:

"A Request to App Developers:

Please make your apps switch accessible.

Please demand that the makers of switch interfaces add non-proprietary switch settings to their interfaces (i.e. make all iOS switches/interfaces compatiable with all accessible apps and let customers choose your switch or interface based on the quality of construction and the design of the product not which one gets more bang for the buck in terms of which apps it controls).

When choosing non-proprietary switch setting to run your app consider using standard keystrokes that can be sent via a bluetooth keyboard (i.e. arrow keys, tab/enter), switch interface makers will eventually have to add these if you insist on them in your apps.

Please be sure to make your apps auditory scanning as well as visual scanning."

TouchToKey? My hope is that Apple or some clever App developer, create a JoyToKey type facility as soon as possible. Something that allows users to assign keypresses to emulate an array of touches and gestures.

The Year of the Dragon

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Happy Chinese New Year and enjoy "Oriental Slur" by the talented Andy Blundell.

2012 New Excitim Switch Toys

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:24:00 +0000

Great to see Excitim adding more to their switch accessible toys and gadgets range for 2012. Lots more to come I've no doubt from this well respected firm.

Switch Toy Laser Gun

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:55:00 +0000

All pretty quiet on the blog front whilst I try to clear a back-log of jobs. Meanwhile, the lovely simple switch adaptation of a toy laser-gun above follows some other interesting work on the WimpleWinch1966 YouTube channel that usually grabs my switch-head interest.

2nd Thought (1980)

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:26:00 +0000

Good Bye 2011 - Happy New Year 2012

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:59:00 +0000

Happy new year, world! Hope 2012 is a more peaceful and less destructive one.

D.I.Y. Muscle Control Sensors

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:04:00 +0000

"Advancer Technologies' USB Biofeedback Game Controller harnesses the power of electromyography to allow players to directly control video games with their muscles."

"At the core of this plug-in-play controller is the powerful yet low-cost Arduino UNO microcontroller, a favorite among hobbyist and students, acting as a HID keyboard interface. Integrated with the Arduino UNO are four of Advancer Technologies' new Platinum Series Muscle Sensors, allowing four muscles to act independently or in combination with each other to control over four buttons. In their setup, Advancer Technologies elected to use a six button setup with the left forearm controlling the B button (RUN/ATTACK), the right forearm controlling the A button (JUMP), the left bicep controlling the LEFT button, the right bicep controlling the RIGHT button, and combinations for UP and DOWN.

During gameplay, the Arduino UNO program constantly senses the muscle activity of each muscle via the muscle sensors. When the player flexes a muscle, the Arduino registers a spike in muscle activity, triggering a button press, and sends this information to the computer via USB connection, all in real-time.

You can learn how to build your own controller by reading Advancer Technologies' easy to follow tutorial posted on Instructables.com and their website. These illustrated instructions go through each step in detail to reproduce and program this remarkable controller."

Cribbed directly from Advancer Technologies' YouTube channel, discovered with thanks to Thomas Westin of the IGDA GASIG. Other muscle control in games can be found at Control Bionics and the OneSwitch Blog.

Drivey

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:45:00 +0000

Drivey is a proof of concept demo, but it is gorgeous and a pleasure. It reflects a stylised version of driving, and aims to replicate the ease of driving when you get into a comfortable head-space and environment.

It achieves this with auto-steering and cruise-control, which I think is a unique and brilliant accessibility design feature. If you let go of your controls, the car will drive itself. You can choose when to overtake, speed up or slow down or go off-road. You can switch off the traffic if you wish and even the colision detection. You can drive using two switches alone for LEFT and RIGHT.

The most recent demo (0.15) has no sound, but 0.13 has. For more accessible design ideas for the ultimate in accessible driving see the IGDA GASIG Top 3 and the SpecialEffect Wish List for Accessible Game Design.

Hollis Brown Thornton artwork top found thanks to Rob Fearon.

102 Switch Swearing Machine (18)

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:10:00 +0000

Above is the Clay Interactive built "Periodic Table of Swearing" made for Modern Toss. It's been a bad month for good taste on the OneSwitch blog. My apologies. But who wouldn't love giving that a go at the Science Museum? A one-switch version would be a doddle with Switch Mixer Lite and bundles of recording patience. I won't be doing that though.

Never Be Normal

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:50:00 +0000

Good advice via adski-kafeteri.

Christmas at Specialbites

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:30:00 +0000

I don't know quite what to make of Specialbites's collection of eight switch accessible Christmas activities. They're a little bit odd. One is of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer getting scared by a possessed Christmas tree, then poo-ing in a toilet. Another is of a magic tree firing cannon balls at a cloud of brussel sprouts. Another is Rudolph starting a fire, melting a snowman whilst staring and grinning. Often there's a mad echoing laugh, or funeral march version of Away in a Manger.

Some older kids will certainly find these amusing, but personally I had flash backs to seeing Frosty the Snowman melting down to a puddle when he popped into a green-house to get warm, and crying my eyes out. I was five I might add. This wasn't recently.

Aside from this(!) Specialbites have an excellent range of switch accessible activities aimed at developing an understanding of cause and effect and beyond. I highly recommend giving them a good look through as there are some gems inside.

Away from Specialbites, you can find more traditional Christmas fare at Help Kidz Learn's advent calendar. Is it sad that I miss the teletext advent calendar? (yes it is).

When the Wind Blows

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:41:00 +0000

New Wave Virtual Reality

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Apparently all filmed in one take using various projectors, object mapping tech and a PS3 move controller linked to camera movement. I've seen this kind of thing before on a much smaller scale from Johnny Chung Lee. This though looks like the second coming of Virtual Reality. Can't wait! Hope it doesn't make me motion sick.

Badlands

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 06:43:00 +0000

After playing it for the first time at Replay Expo 2011 I decided to have another go at getting Konami's one-switch laser-disk game Badlands working on my laptop. Using the latest version of the Daphne emulator (v1.0), it worked!

It turns out that Daphne now helps you download everything you need to play without too much hassle at all. So, what's the game like?

Well, beyond needing a separate start button, the entire game is designed to be played with a single button to shoot. That includes entering your initials on the high-score table. Playing in a real cartoon is amazing for a while, but this game requires lightening fast reactions. It also requires a fair bit of patience in learning at what often obscure point you should actually fire.

If you do stick at it, and you have the reaction speed, it's an enjoyable and unique one-switch game. I definitely recommend setting your lives to the maximum level and using this help guide.

Run! You [Rude Word]!

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 06:21:00 +0000

I'm getting prudish. RYF! is an exceptionally sweary one-switch side-scrolling game for PCs. Definitely one for parental guidance, and the guidance should be "no, you're not playing it. It's too rude."

I won't be cross-posting this at SpecialEffect, put it that way. But if you must play...

...you can find it here via: Glorious Trainwrecks. Made me grin.

El Duelo

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:18:00 +0000

It's been a pleasure learning about Jose A Silva Ruiz's switch accessible work at C1ic.mx and his C1ic.mx blog. Jose is based in Mexico and seems to have a bit of thing for skeletons. Here's a little on his work...

C1ic.mx is hoped to offer a switch accessible web-interface to some of his new games, YouTube and more. It's a laudable project, and one I've seen promised before but not quite realised. Let's hope this one goes all the way.

El Duelo is a high-noon gun-fight set in a haunted Mexico. As soon as your opponent draws, fire using the space bar. All dialogue and text is in Spanish which really adds to the Spaghetti Western feel. Requires fast reactions.

Penales is a penalty shoot out game. This one requires mouse use at the menu stage unfortunately, but game play is fun for those with good or lucky timing. Press the space bar when the spinning indicator is in the green to score. There's also a duck in goal version.

Playstation 2 One-Switch Generation

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 08:57:00 +0000

This post is cribbed from the SpecialEffect Accessible GameBase: Last week we were approached asking if we would recommend a Wii or a Playstation for a young lad with Cerebral Palsy. He uses an Able-Net Big-Red type switch to play some Help Kidz Learn games and has also shown interest in web-cam activities.

That tipped me into thinking a Playstation 2 would likely be the best bet. Ideally one of the old fat ones that will work with the majority of accessible controllers.

Here's a list of the PS2 compatible software we recommend anyone with similar needs takes a look at (listed in degree of accessibility for the player, once a helper has set things up):

1. EyeToy (PS2)

Webcam games for the PS2. The EyeToy Play and EyeToy Play 2 games both have a "Play Room" area which are zero pressure experimental areas. Position the camera to a part of the body that moves and then play freely. Hugely accessible.

2. Destruction Derby (PSone, PS2 and PS3 via PSN).

Banger racing and huge fun. At its easiest in the time-trials on an oval track. "X" is the accelerator and is all you need to get around the track. More advanced players can jam the accelerator on and use a single button to steer in the most useful direction. Use the !DAMAGE! name cheat to become invincible.

3. Fruit Machine Mania (PS2)

Parental guidance advised on gambling games. The "Sea Treasures" machine is a good point to play from, and can be played infinitely depending on how many of your allocated turns you risk. "X" to spin.

4. Pool Paradise International Edition (PS2*)

If you choose "Practice" and then "Trickshot" (or play any choice of table, quit, then select "convert to Trickshot") you can play in a non-pressurised and no-rules/make up your own rules style. Brilliant for games of Killer which is more fun and less violent than it sounds! A helper will need to help with aiming, perhaps by constantly varying left to right by small degrees on a chosen ball. You can buy a laser-aiming guide straight away from the shop, which helps quite a lot. Requires one-switch patched into "X" and Left-Analogue-Stick "UP".

5. KickBoxing KnockOut (PSone and PS2)

In two-player mode you can set a switch up as kick or punch (one of the shape buttons) to play against another opponent of similar ability. Each time you punch/kick you move a bit closer to your opponent to keep the action going.

6. Pinball: Ultimate Pro Pinball (PS2*)

Three modern pinball tables. Great fun for switch users who can tap fairly rapidly. We recommend choosing the "Big Race USA" or "Fantastic Journey" tables as you can adjust the slope and quality of the tables to slow the game down a bit. Ensure the easiest setting is chosen too if helpful. Requires one-switch patched into the flippers "L1" and "L2" and "X" for the plunger.

7. Dancing Stage (PSone and PS2*)

Most Konami Dancing Stage games (avoid DisneyMix) can be played with one-switch if all four shape buttons are patched together. The background graphics can be dimmed on many of these games, and on the easiest settings you are simply playing against your own best score or another player, as they will let you play the entire way through, no matter how many arrows you miss.

8. Everybody's Golf (PS2 and PS3)

Cute Japanese Golf game. Requires two accurately timed taps of the "O" button to play well. Ensure that the "Everybody's" golf club is selected and "Easy Mode" is selected.

9. Super Bust-A-Move 2 (PS2)

Colour matching game which will need a helper to deal with aiming duties, whilst the player uses "X" to launch different coloured bubbles when ready or when their timer runs out.

10. Um Jammer Lammy (PSone and PS2)

Loveable quirky cartoon rhythm based game. Select the "EASY" level from the options screen. "X" to play your guitar (or any other shape button for team play which may make things easier). Very tough for a single player.

There may be more one-switch playable games out there, but we've yet to discover them for the PSone or PS2. There are a couple of wonderful music making titles, being Fluid and Music 2000 (for its "Music Jam" section) for the PSone/PS2 worth a look too.

We'd recommend local game stores that sell second hand games and eBay to track most of these games down (or we can help). As for the hardware needed to play them, please get in touch and we can give you some up to date advice.

* These games require patching connectors, which are normally supplied separately from a game controller. Only tested on a C-SID in this way for compatibility.

One-switch Accessible Dance Dance Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:04:00 +0000

The rough video above demonstrates an off-the-shelf solution for C-SID owners for one-switch dance gaming. The video would have been a lot more fun if you'd seen someone pogo-ing on a single pressure mat to play, but I wasn't going to put myself up for public ridicule. I don't dance if I can possibly help it. It's not a good thing to witness...

Anyway, the solution is to use 3x Stereo headphones splitters/2-into-1 adapters and 3x 3.5mm patch leads (stereo or mono both work) available from the likes of Maplin.

The game is Konami's Dancing Stage Fever on PS2, and demo'ed with old-fart music that I quite like on Easy first then Difficult second. Great features are contrast control options and the ability to play a song through no matter how many arrows you miss. This then enables the game to be played by anyone where you simply try to better your own best score, or that of a group.

Low Force / Pressure PS3 Joystick

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:39:00 +0000

The video above showcases a very light pressure joystick being used alongside some switches to play Gran Turismo 5. This uses a LEPMIS PS3-SAP interface with the Low Throw Low Force Analogue Joystick and switches. This set-up could work equally well with the Ultra Light switches from Marblesoft.

Something Special

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:07:00 +0000

Updated info on Something Special cribbed from the SpecialEffect Accessible GameBase: "To celebrate the 100th episode of children's Makaton based television show, Something Special, the BBC launched a fantastic accessible on-line area.

It includes UK signing, symbols, songs, art activities, stories and of course games.

Almost all of the games work nicely in a cause and effect manner. Some are switch accessible, some for the keyboard, some eye-toy like for using the web-cam and some point and click accessible. That covers all the main input devices so far as I can see.

The most accessible of these games are in the Something Special: Out and About section, being Balloon Pop, Spotty Bag, Dress Up Mr Tumble and Tumble Faces.

Hugely recommended for very young kids, and anyone with an interest in Makaton, which is a reduced version of British Sign Language created to support learning disabled people.

Update: For anyone interested in the creation of the Something Special games and their highly accessible nature take a look at the following links:

BBC Internet Blog overview and design principles plus senior designer Ian Hamilton's own page on this work."

Skoog Skores

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:54:00 +0000

The latest free upgrade (1.30) to the Skoog musical instrument brings "Skores" to life. Within this new feature, you can select a song from a drop down menu, then play guided by a flow of coloured shapes. It works really well in practice and will help a lot of musicians who find traditional music scores far too difficult.

Excitingly, I hear rumours of a one-side to play musical Skores in the works. Can't wait to see and try that out.

All I Want for Christmas...

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:03:00 +0000

...actually, I might pass on these for the moment, thanks. Via "this isn't happiness".

SpecialEffect at REPLAY 2011

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:35:00 +0000

Replay was an exhausting ear-blistering pleasure. It was a privilege to run the SpecialEffect stand populated mostly with games using simplified control methods mostly from my personal geek-a-tronic stash. So what did we have?

1. A dance mat game using alternative controllers. These included single-switch play and a "pogo-dance-mat". In the end, Dancing Stage Fever on a standard TV just couldn't compete with DDR:UK's real coin-op dance machines positioned opposite, so the slightly shoddy Gottlieb Pinball and very brilliant Destruction Derby took the slack.

2. A one-point or one-press to play game. Shenmue Duck races raised some grins. I guess not everyone was expecting bow-tie wearing ducks. We played so that if you got a top three place, you won a prize. Including 1989 Nintendo bubble-gum. Tasty. That got swapped at times with Tekken 6 that got bashed within an inch of its life. Amazing how tough those accessibility switches are. Thought the table would collapse at one stage.

3. Atari Ms.Pac-Man played against a single ghost (there's normally four coming after you) using a one-handed ASCII Grip controller. Other times I ran Cookie Monster Munch using the Kids Controller. Googly. Star Trigon got an outing here too.

4. Vectrex Minestorm. Quite a few people were left very confused by this. I had a single switch on a Flexi mount. Some people thought the Flexi was a joystick and were wiggling it about. Others thought the switch was a steering wheel. Later I put a switch on a Trabasack. Some people started to wiggle the Trabasack thinking it was some kind of motion sensitive controller. Nope. It's a one-switch game. Just play!

5. Pure one-switch games: Fotonica and Space Invaders. Both went down pretty well. People found Space Invaders very hard with just one-switch, so after a while I turned off the Space Invaders shooting at you. Wished I'd had the bass thump in effect, but it was loud enough there I guess. Ears took a few days to return to normal.

6. The un-game "Doodle-City" in Atari's I, Robot. This was to show off a free-play and no pressure area of a game. Atari did it first here with their art-toy. When this wasn't running, Uo Poko was up showing off a super-colourful multi-player one-switch playable game.

Most popular of our games was Tekken 6 for sure. And no red-ring of death for the Xbox nor melted Vectrex I was happy to see. On the stand I met some great people, such as the two Andy's from Ovine of Whacka Monty fame, Nintendisco and Mark of the inspirational Games Britannia. I was also chuffed to bits with the inclusion of "A Brief History of Accessible Gaming" in the Replay magazine available at the show.

Away from the SpecialEffect stand, tireless volunteer James Harkness beavered away getting a hugely enjoyable after-show party sorted with proceeds going to SpecialEffect and GamesAid.

And self-indulgently, I loved Blackpool's five miles of illuminations and was plenty impressed by the tower. Games I most enjoyed playing were mentalist Bishi Bashi Special, laser-disk Astron Belt and Badlands (one-switch), Pole Position whilst throwing bugs and glitches at me and the brilliant range of pinball machines. So huge thanks to the organisers Dave, Matt and Gordon and all others that supported us at Replay. Nice one.

50 Words for Snow

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Thanks to Michelle Hinn for pointing me to a place to listen to Kate Bush's absorbing and relaxing "50 Words For Snow" LP. Wonderful.

Guest Post: "Video Games: Time-Waster or Educational Tool?"

noreply@blogger.com (OneSwitch.org.uk) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:21:00 +0000

"The first thing you notice when you enter a typical college dorm room is the mess, but what's the second thing you notice? If you answered the game consoles on a pedestal above the mess, you're right. After all, college students spend an average of almost two hours per day playing video games, a pretty big commitment when you remember they have classes, clubs, reading online, jobs, and social lives to see to. Parents and profs have long scoffed at this hobby, seeing it as a time-waster of the highest order, but new research suggests gaming might actually help college students make the grade.

Higher-Level Thinking and Multitasking Skills

College students have always had to be multitaskers, switching their brains from math to English to chemistry in the time span of a few hours, but technology has made multitasking even more important for today's college student. Today, students take online classes for college, and even offline classes have digital components. Students are asked to do more outside of class, such as completing virtual labs, blogging, and participating in online discussions. When they encounter this environment, video game players are at an advantage. A 2009 report found video games can help students improve their critical thinking skills. Gamers are used to multitasking and using the same higher-order thinking they need to solve chemistry problems to figure out how to successfully meet games' challenges. Just like college students must balance their virtual discussions with in-person learning objectives, gamers must stay on top of their health points, weapons, mission objectives, and allies.

Subject Application

Not only do video games help college students cultivate the general skills they need for college success, they also help students gain subject-specific knowledge. While not every subject can work well as a game, video games' captivating story lines and role-playing scenarios help students get engaged in ways no lecture can. An obvious connection can be made between video games and the narratives of literature and history, math and science can also reap benefits from this engaging medium. In fact, NASA has encouraged video game developers to create educational games to teach math and science.

"Wait a minute," you may be saying. "We had video games when I was in school too, and they were boring with a capital 'B.'" You're probably right. However, today's educational game-makers know how to use the right ratio of fun, challenge, and education to engage and motivate students, all while teaching them about the subject at hand. Part of the reason today's educational video games are so successful is simply the fact they use better visual and auditory stimuli, elements today's students thrive on. They're also successful because students enjoy being challenged and competing to accomplish a goal. Consider Geology Explorer and Virtual Cell, both science games put out by North Dakota State University. While they may not let students blow up enemies or trade game items, they encourage students to get involved in science by making them an active part of learning tasks.

Learning Disabilities

While most of the literature still advises parents of very young children to keep them away from games and television that could impact their growth, on the flipside studies show older students can use video games to overcome learning disabilities. According to the International Society for Technology in Education, video games can help people with learning disabilities because they allow students to work at their own ability levels, challenging them just enough that they grow but not so much that they give up. Video games also don't get annoyed when a student doesn't get it. If a student gets it wrong 100 times, the computer will be persistent. Sometimes it's just that persistence and consistency that learning-disabled college students need.

While it's unlikely you'll find an educational video game in a college student's Xbox, it's not unlikely you'll find that student more engaged in history or English because he can experience it as a game rather than a lecture. While video games probably won't be replacing conventional college education any time soon, they will likely be augmenting it from here on. Current gamers might already be ahead of the crowd."

Guest post by Marina Salsbury. Marina planned on becoming a teacher since high school, but found her way instead into online writing after college. She writes around the Web about everything from education to exercise. Image by Ruberman Rodriguez.