Inclusive gaming
We frame the act of playing games with others as a way to reinforce social bonds, reduce stigma, enhance social support and inclusion.
Addressing a gap in understanding nuanced variations of asymmetry of information, in this paper we propose a framework to analyse, ideate, design, and discuss asymmetry of information in gaming. We developed a digital cooperative game, exploring some of its dimensions, where players engage with information-based challenge puzzles. Through a user study involving ten pairs of players, we examined how various types of asymmetry of information influenced social interaction and player perspectives. Participants perceived asymmetry, influencing cooperation and progression. Asymmetry drove social interaction, shaping communication patterns and player engagement. Different configurations of asymmetry elicited distinct reactions, highlighting its impact on communication effectiveness and gameplay dynamics. Our study underscores the importance of understanding and leveraging dynamics such as these for crafting engaging and socially enriching gaming experiences.
Daniel Reis, Pedro Pais, David Gonçalves, Kathrin Gerling, André Rodrigues
VIDEOJOGOS 2024 ‑ International Conference on Videogame Sciences and Arts, December, 2024
Competitive games assume stereotypical players with equal abilities face mostly symmetric gameplay. For mixed-ability groups, equal challenges limit the design space and can be unappealing. Conversely, introducing asymmetric play raises concerns about fairness and balance. This work first explores competitive mixed-visual-ability games, focusing on understanding players' perspectives of competition, fairness, transparency, and asymmetric play. Our results reveal how disability disclosure can affect the experience, how design choices of asymmetry affect the perceived fairness, that asymmetric competition can be engaging, and the nuances between the perspectives of sighted and blind players.
Pedro Trindade, David Gonçalves, Pedro Pais, João Guerreiro, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues
VIDEOJOGOS 2024 ‑ International Conference on Videogame Sciences and Arts, December, 2024
For families, where abilities, motivations, and availability vary widely, opportunities for intergenerational play are limited. Designing games that cater to these differences remains an open challenge. In this paper, we first identify barriers related with time and expertise. Next, we propose asymmetric game design and asynchronous play to reconcile children's and adults' requirements; and interdependent gameplay mechanics to foster real-world interactions. Following this approach, we designed a testbed game and conducted a mixed-methods remote study with six pairs of adult-child family members. Our results showcase how asymmetric, asynchronous experiences can be leveraged to create novel gaming experiences that meet the requirements of family play. We discuss how interdependent progress can be designed to promote real-world interactions, creating pervasive conversational topics that permeate the family routine.
Pedro Pais, David Gonçalves, Kathrin Gerling, Teresa Romão, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues
CSCW 2024 ‑ ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing, October, 2024
In this work, we introduce the Living Framework for Cooperative Games (LFCG), a framework derived from a multi-step systematic analysis of 129 cooperative games with contributions of eleven researchers. We describe how LFCG can be used as a tool for analyses and ideation, and as a shared language for describing a game’s design. LFCG is published as a web application to facilitate use and appropriation. It supports the creation, dissemination and aggregation of game reports and specifications; and enables stakeholders to extend and publish custom versions. Lastly, we discuss using a research-driven approach for formalising game structures and the advantages of community contributions for consolidation and reach.
Pedro Pais, David Gonçalves, Daniel Reis, João Godinho, João Morais, Manuel Piçarra, Pedro Trindade, Dmitry Alexandrovsky, Kathrin Gerling, João Guerreiro, André Rodrigues
CHI 2024 ‑ ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May, 2024
Disparate skill levels or expertise may result in unbalanced multiplayer experiences, where players feel frustrated, unchallenged, or left out. Some games employ player balancing mechanisms, such as matchmaking to group players according to their rank or, in racing games, players who lag behind receiving powerful boosts to catch up. We add to the understanding of player balancing in multiplayer gaming. First with a theoretical model that captures seven high-level design categories. Second, with a study where participant pairs experienced and gave their perspectives on seven different balancing mechanics in a racing game. Our results outline the importance of preserving a sense of merit and agency, while avoiding an obtrusive effect on the gameplay.
David Gonçalves, Daniel Barros, Pedro Pais, João Guerreiro, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues
CHI 2024 ‑ ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May, 2024
In this work, we analyze over 70 hours of YouTube videos, where blind content-creators play visual-centric games. We point out the various strategies employed by players to overcome barriers that permeate mainstream games. We reflect on ways to enable and improve blind players’ experience with these games, shedding light on the positive and negative consequences of apparently benign design choices. Our observations underline how game elements are appropriated for accessibility, the incidental consequences of audio design, and the trade-offs between accessibility, agency, and engagement.
David Gonçalves, Manuel Piçarra, Pedro Pais, João Guerreiro, André Rodrigues
CHI 2023 ‑ ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, April, 2023
Best Paper Award
We explore a set of techniques that augment or are even embedded in the game design to facilitate navigation and spatial awareness of virtual environments. We conducted a user study where seven blind participants faced a number of navigational tasks in a virtual environment with these techniques and shared their perspectives on the experience. We contribute with an exploration of a catalog of techniques used to facilitate the navigation of virtual spaces and a reflection of their impact on players' experience, highlighting avenues for future work in the field.
Manuel Piçarra, André Rodrigues, João Guerreiro
CHI EA 2023 ‑ Extended Abstracts of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, April, 2023
Social virtual environments are becoming more prevalent, replicating and sometimes replacing real-world interactions. Nowadays, such environments are not accessible and end up excluding blind people, due to their strong visual components. In this study, we designed and explored multiple navigation and feedback techniques assessing social acceptability, ease of use, and efficiency. We developed a virtual environment composed of six scenarios to analyze different navigation methods (Free Exploration, Teleport, Auto-Walk, and Co-Pilot) and awareness cues in group conversations (Audio Cues While In-Group Footsteps and In-Group Teleport), and conducted a user study with 8 blind and 8 sighted participants. Our results indicate that participants tend to privilege autonomy and room awareness over efficiency and navigation ease and disapprove of intrusive actions that may jeopardize privacy.
Inês Gonçalves, André Rodrigues, Tiago Guerreiro, João Guerreiro
CHI EA 2023 ‑ Extended Abstracts of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, April, 2023
We explore the use of games to inconspicuously train gestures. We designed and developed a set of accessible games, enabling users to practice smartphone gestures. We evaluated the games with 8 blind users and conducted remote interviews. Our results show how purposeful accessible games could be important in the process of training and discovering smartphone gestures, as they offer a playful method of learning. This, in turn, increases autonomy and inclusion, as this process becomes easier and more engaging.
Gonçalo Lobo, David Gonçalves, Pedro Pais, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues
ASSETS 2021 ‑ ACM Conference on Computers and Accessibility
We explore ability-based asymmetric roles as a design approach to create engaging and challenging mixed-ability play. Our team designed and developed two collaborative testbed games exploring asymmetric interdependent roles. In a remote study with 13 mixed-visual-ability pairs we assessed how roles affected perceptions of engagement, competence, and autonomy, using a mixed-methods approach. The games provided an engaging and challenging experience, in which differences in visual ability were not limiting. Our results underline how experiences unequal by design can give rise to an equitable joint experience.
David Gonçalves, André Rodrigues, Mike Richardson, Alexandra de Sousa, Michael Proulx, Tiago Guerreiro
CHI 2021 ‑ ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May, 2021
We share multiplayer gaming experiences of people with visual impairments collected from interviews with 10 adults and 10 minors, and 140 responses to an online survey. We include the perspectives of 17 sighted people who play with someone who has a visual impairment, collected in a second online survey. Our focus is on group play, particularly on the problems and opportunities that arise from mixed-visual-ability scenarios. These show that people with visual impairments are playing diverse games, but face limitations in playing with others who have different visual abilities.
David Gonçalves, André Rodrigues, Tiago Guerreiro
ASSETS 2020 ‑ ACM Conference on Computers and Accessibility
Best Paper Nominee
Inspired by charitable donations, Data Donors, is a conceptual framework proposing the enablement of users with the capacity to help others to do so by donating their mobile interaction data and knowledge.
André Rodrigues, Kyle Montague, Tiago Guerreiro
CHI 2018 ‑ Late Breaking Work - Extended Abstracts of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Montreal, Canada, May, 2018
We present audio puzzle games, an interactive way of playing with music by rebuilding a song, just like the original image jigsaw puzzle, broken into pieces which are by turn randomly shuffled. The audio mode design followed a participatory approach starting from a version similar to the visual one, but around music instead of images. We report on an evaluation with 13 blind people using the proposed game application with three different songs randomly distributed.
Jaime Carvalho, Luís Duarte, Tiago Guerreiro, Luís Carriço
MOBACC 2012 ‑ Mobile Accessibility Workshop at MobileHCI 2012
Your shop in the Koala Kingdom is at the brink of bankruptcy. Cooperate with your partner to save its future! As the Adventurer, you will explore the dungeons, collecting items and materials. As the Trader, you will manage the loot the Adventurer brings, selling and processing it to unlock more and more content! You will need to work as a team in order to maximize your profit and unlock new powers and abilities.
Date: 2020
Platform: Windows (Adventurer role), Android (Trader role)
Devices: Keyboard, Mouse (no key remapping options), Touchscreen
Language: English, Portuguese
Players: Online two-player only
Accessibility: The Adventurer role implies a challenge depending on dexterity and reflex, where various enemies have to be dodged and defeated to progress. The Trader role implies a challenge with no time restrictions, where the player have to manage various menus (playing on the smartphone) to utilize and craft resources. The game does not include accessibility options.
Bring a friend and explore the bottom of the ocean together! Can you find the lost treasure? Be the brave Pilot and drive the submarine through the frightening underwater caves. Play as the crafty Engineer and man the sonar with care.
Date: 2020
Platform: Windows, Mac
Devices: Keyboard, Mouse (no key remapping options)
Language: English, Portuguese
Players: Online two-player only
Accessibility: One role (the Engineer) implies an entirely auditory challenge (blind accessible) and the other (the Pilot) implies a visual challenge. The game was designed as an inclusive game experience for players with mixed visual abilities.
Bring a friend and venture through the skies together! Will you be the hero of the day? Be the brave Pilot and lead the aircraft through the menacing stormy skies. Play as the crafty Engineer and pay close attention to the surroundings.
Date: 2020
Platform: Windows, Mac
Devices: Keyboard, Mouse (no key remapping options)
Language: English
Players: Online two-player only
Accessibility: One role (the Pilot) implies an entirely auditory challenge (blind accessible) and the other (the Engineer) implies a visual challenge. The game was designed as an inclusive game experience for players with mixed visual abilities.
Compete with a friend in a cooking race! Brew potions, craft staves, master minigames, and complete orders in this high-speed culinary showdown. Who will earn the title of the ultimate culinary speedster?
Date: 2023
Platform: Windows
Devices: Keyboard, Mouse (no key remapping options)
Language: English, Portuguese
Players: Online two-player only
Accessibility: One version implies an entirely auditory challenge (blind accessible) and the other implies a visual challenge. The game was designed as an inclusive game experience for players with mixed visual abilities.
Sled Racing is a simple racing game, where each player controls a penguin sitting on a floater going down an ice track. Based on an existing open-source game, this prototype adds options to enable player balancing mechanics (also known as catch-up mechanics) which seek to bring players closer in performance. These mechanics include speed boosts, new obstacles, and other changes to the gameplay.
Date: 2023
Platform: Windows
Devices: Keyboard (no key remapping options)
Language: English
Players: Local two-player only (split-screen)
Accessibility: The gameplay demands quick reflexes and dexterity skills from players, in order to avoid the obstacles at high speed. The game does not include accessibility options.
The Living Framework for Cooperative Games (LFCG) is a framework derived from a multi-step systematic analysis of 129 cooperative games with contributions of eleven researchers. It serves as a tool for analysis and ideation, and as a shared language for describing a game’s design. LFCG is published as a web application to facilitate use and appropriation. It supports the creation, dissemination and aggregation of game reports and specifications; and enables stakeholders to extend and publish custom versions.
Date: 2024
Platform: Published at CHI '24: Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
The Design Space for Player Balancing Mechanics captures design aspects to consider when designing mechanics to balance competition or collaboration between two or more players in a game. It can serve as a tool to ideate, fine-tune, and report future designs of player balancing, as well as to deconstruct and analyze existing ones. It can be particularly important to better understand how specific implementations shape player experience and other perceptions (e.g., fairness). The design space comprises aspects that characterize balancing mechanics in terms of their 1) Determination (i.e. who and what determines its Existence, Activation, and Configuration), 2) Timing (i.e. when and for how long it happens), 3) Targeting (i.e. which players it affects), 4) Effect (i.e. how intense it is and how much it depends on variable factors), 5) Feedback (i.e. how visible it is), and 6) type of Information used for system decision.
Date: 2024
Platform: Published at CHI '24: Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Social gaming: A systematic review
This work contributes with a systematized view of social aspects that permeate gaming experiences, while outlining directions and implications for future work. It presents a systematic review, covering 263 publications, with a particular focus on previous definitions and approaches, determinants that shape the experience, methodologies, and measurable outcomes.
David Gonçalves, Pedro Pais, Kathrin Gerling, Tiago Guerreiro, André Rodrigues
CHB 2023 ‑ Computers in Human Behavior, July, 2023