Computer Entertainment Technologies for the Visually Impaired: An Overview

Over the last years, works related to accessible technologies have increased both in number and in quality. This work presents a series of articles which explore different trends in the field of accessible video games for the blind or visually impaired. Reviewed articles are distributed in four categories covering the following subjects: (1) video game design and architecture, (2) video game adaptations, (3) accessible games as learning tools or treatments and (4) navigation and interaction in virtual environments. Current trends in accessible game design are also analysed, and data is presented regarding keyword use and thematic evolution over time. As a conclusion, a relative stagnation in the field of human-computer interaction for the blind is detected. However, as the video game industry is becoming increasingly interested in accessibility, new research opportunities are starting to appear

Emerging issues and current trends in assistive technology use 2007-1010: practising, assisting and enabling learning for all

Following an earlier review in 2007, a further review of the academic literature relating to the uses of assistive technology (AT) by children and young people was completed, covering the period 2007-2011. As in the earlier review, a tripartite taxonomy: technology uses to train or practise, technology uses to assist learning and technology uses to enable learning, was used in order to structure the findings. The key markers for research in this field and during these three years were user involvement, AT on mobile mainstream devices, the visibility of AT, technology for interaction and collaboration, new and developing interfaces and inclusive design principles. The paper concludes by locating these developments within the broader framework of the Digital Divide

Visualization and Interaction Technologies in Serious and Exergames for Cognitive Assessment and Training: A Survey on Available Solutions and Their Validation

Exergames and serious games, based on standard personal computers, mobile devices and gaming consoles or on novel immersive Virtual and Augmented Reality techniques, have become popular in the last few years and are now applied in various research fields, among which cognitive assessment and training of heterogeneous target populations. Moreover, the adoption of Web based solutions together with the integration of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms could bring countless advantages, both for the patients and the clinical personnel, as allowing the early detection of some pathological conditions, improving the efficacy and adherence to rehabilitation processes, through the personalisation of training sessions, and optimizing the allocation of resources by the healthcare system. The current work proposes a systematic survey of existing solutions in the field of cognitive assessment and training. We evaluate the visualization and interaction technologies commonly adopted and the measures taken to fulfil the need of the pathological target populations. Moreover, we analyze how implemented solutions are validated, i.e. The chosen experimental designs, data collection and analysis. Finally, we consider the availability of the applications and raw data to the large community of researchers and medical professionals and the actual application of proposed solutions in the standard clinical practice. Despite the potential of these technologies, research is still at an early stage. Although the recent release of accessible immersive virtual reality headsets and the increasing interest on vision-based techniques for tracking body and hands movements, many studies still rely on non-immersive virtual reality (67.2%), mainly mobile and personal computers, and standard gaming tools for interactions (41.5%). Finally, we highlight that although the interest of research community in this field is increasingly higher, the sharing of dataset (10.6%) and implemented applications (3.8%) should be promoted and the number of healthcare structures which have successfully introduced the new technological approaches in the treatment of their host patients is limited (10.2%)

Academic methods for usability evaluation of serious games: a systematic review

In the last years, there has been an increasing interest in the design of video games as a tool for education, training, health promotion, socialization, etc. Usability, which is a key factor in any video game, becomes even more important in these so-called Bserious games^, where the users’ special characteristics should be considered, and the game efficacy depends on the users’ adherence and engagement. However, evaluation of the usability of this kind of games requires a redefinition of techniques, methods and even terminology. In this paper, we elicit six research questions and conduct a systematic review of the scientific literature, which resulted in the selection of 187 papers that contained the most relevant responses. The conclusions of this systematic review illustrate the general status of current academic usability evaluations of these games and the main trends in the selection of methodologies and how are they applied. This view may be a very valuable foundation for future researchMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación PROCUR@-IPT-2011-1038-90000

Towards a conceptualization of videogames as electronic multimodal discourses

Los videojuegos son prácticas culturales instaladas en nuestras sociedades que requieren de una mirada crítica y especializada; las líneas de investigación que han abordado este fenómeno transitan entre los estudios culturales, la ludología, los estudios narratológicos, la teoría de diseño de juegos y la semiótica del videojuego. Todas estas perspectivas han entregado conceptualizaciones diferentes respecto de este objeto de estudio, yendo desde visiones que van desde considerarlos como medios de expresión contemporáneos hasta promotores de la violencia, el aislamiento y el fracaso escolar.El presente trabajo considera que los videojuegos implican nuevas formas de discursos que no solo se restringen al canal verbal, sino que también contemplan otros recursos semióticos. En concordancia con lo anteriormente expuesto, el objetivo de este escrito es exponer una conceptualización teórica del videojuego desde una perspectiva multimodal y lingüística. Para esto se revisan distintas definiciones sobre videojuego, el concepto de discurso y discurso electrónico-digital y, finalmente, se abordan los recursos semióticos presentes en estos. Esta revisión permite configurar una definición de videojuego como un discurso multimodal electrónico.Videogames are cultural practices installed in our societies that require a specialized and critical view. Lines of research which aboard this phenomenon range from cultural studies, ludology, narratological studies, game design theory and videogame semiotics. All these perspectives have provided different conceptualisations in relation to this object of study, ranging from views that consider it as contemporary ways of expression to promoters of violence, isolation and school failure.The present study considers that videogames imply new forms of discourse which are not only restricted to the verbal channel, but also take into account other semiotic resources. According to what was previously exposed, the objective of this paper is to present theoretical conceptualisation about the videogame from a multimodal and linguistic perspective. For this reason, different definitions of videogame are revised as well as the concept of discourse and digital-electronic discourse, and finally, semiotic resources present on these aspects are aboarded. This review allows to set up a definition of videogame as a multimodal electronic discourse

Proceedings of the 8th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2010)

The proceedings of the conferenc

Proceedings of the 9th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2012)

The proceedings of the conferenc