Marking Bar – Addons for Accessibility

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Marking Bar Accessibility Spotlight

Hello, Ability Powered gamers! This week we are looking at a World of Warcraft addon for those times when you have to party with other people. It’s called Marking Bar. It adds a bar on your screen, so you can quickly mark targets without the need for keybinds. You can also quickly access world markers to place or remove them. Marking Bar can also be placed anywhere on your screen. This means you can put it anywhere you need to reduce mouse movement.

 

Marking Bar Features

Another key feature is called “Marker Announcements”. With these you can pre-type a crowd control assignment for each marker. For example, the Blue Square means for a hunter to place a trap. These can be saved so when you’re in a group you can hit a button on the addon and it will list the assignments to your group. This is a huge time saver for any person with a disability who needs to use on-screen keyboard! Not only will this save you from needing to type the assignments repeatedly, but also let’s you get them posted quickly to your party or raid who might not plan to wait for assignments.

 

Marking Bar Marks the Way!

Short sittin' in her custom drawn World of Warcraft wheelchair as she discusses the accessibility addon known as Marking Bar.The bar is also scaleable and has options to not be shown when not in a party. All these things make Marking Bar a great addon for accessibility. But don’t take my word for it, check it out on CurseForge! If you have a addon you would like to see on Addons for Accessibility leave a comment and let me know what it is! I would love to check it out and share it with other Ability Powered gamers!

 

 

 

 

 

SexyMap – Addons for Accessibility

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SexyMap Accessibility Spotlight

Hello, Ability Powered gamers and welcome back to another edition of Addons for Accessibility! This week we are going to look at another World of Warcraft addon that I like to use for User Interface (UI) changes for many different reasons. It’s called SexyMap. This addon does exactly what you would expect. It changes the default map, but the reason I think it makes a great accessibility addon is because of the other features it has built in.

 

SexyMap Features

First off, you can put the map anywhere on the screen you need it. You can also scale it to any size which could be a great addition for anyone with a visual impairment. It comes with a variety of different skins to customize the look of the map too! You can control which buttons are around the edge of the map and if they’re always visible or sometimes hidden. You can even change the font size and fontface for information around the map such as the time or player’s location. You can also add coordinate information. A lot of different options can be resized, moved, or recolored.

 

SexyMap: Mapping out the Accessibile Future

Short in her custom World of Warcraft wheelchair going over the World of Warcraft CurseForge addon known as SexyMap on Addons for Accessibility.All of these options are great for Ability Powered gamers, but they aren’t all. Another option called is “Movers”. Movers lets you move UI sections around the screen. These include the quest list, damaged gear indicator, and vehicle interface. This is important for reducing mouse movement. But don’t take my word for it, check it out on CurseForge!

 

If you have a addon you would like to see on Addons for Accessibility leave a comment and let me know what it is!

 

 

Switches & Switch Interfaces – Accessibility Hardware

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Short discusses her newly learn knowledge of accessibility switch interfaces

 

Hello, Switch Technology!

Hello, Ability Powered gamers! I wanted to talk to you today about something that was a huge mystery to me before this year: switches & switch interfaces. I had seen switches on assistive technology sites and I knew what they did. However, beyond knowing that they were a complete mystery. With my disability progressing and certain computer tasks becoming more difficult, I decided it was time to learn. Thanks to help from Barry Ellis and his website oneswitch.org.uk, I started trying to figure out switches. All it took was a quick Tweet to Mr. Ellis and he was happy to point me in the right direction and verify my questions.

 

Short talks about her new information regarding switches and switch interfaces

 

How Do I Do It?

So, what do you need and how does it all work? I will do my best to explain. A switch is basically an input device you can assign to do various computer functions when you can no longer do them in the traditional way. A switch may be a button or a device you can put to your lips and sip or puff, click with just a finger, tap with a foot, etc to activate. The beautiful thing about switches is there is a large selection to meet a wide variety of needs. If you need a large button you can bump with your head, they have that. If you need a very sensitive button you can press with your finger, there’s that too! They even have a proximity switch you only have to place your finger near to activate. It’s almost like using the force! A switch is just a trigger for the brains of the whole operation: the switch interface.

 

Short explains how to use and setup switches and switch interfaces. Here's an example of an adapter: X-keys USB.

 

What Are Switch Interfaces?

Switch interfaces are what take the switch you picked and basically tells your computer (or even cellphone, although I haven’t totally figured that one out yet!) to play nice with it. The switch interface I now have, the Xkeys USB 3, came with software to assign commands to that switch. Expect a full report on it and the switch I am using soon. In my case, I needed a switch to use that I could press to right click my mouse. The switch interfaces plugged into my computer and the software identified the switch connected to it. I could tell the software what action to do when I pressed the switch. It’s really that simple!

 

That’s All!

And that is it! To get started using a switch all you need is a switch that best meets your needs and switch interfaces. It all looks overwhelmingly complicated at first, but it’s actually super simple! Since installing mine, computing has became less frustrating and gameplay much easier. Now I have a better understanding of switches, and I can’t wait to try to add more for gaming purposes such as movement in certain keyboard reliant games. I’m looking at you, Minecraft!

 

Switch Interfaces: a New Age in Accessibility

Short sits in her hand drawn World of Warcraft wheelchair as she enlightens you to the existence of switch and switch interface technology.I can definitely see switches being a real game changer for many Ability Powered gamers! Their accessibility potential is more than enough to remotely consider them (pun intended). But don’t take my word for it, check out OneSwitch and look at all the different switch options that are available! Do you use a switch and switch interfaces? If so, leave a comment below and share your experience! Find more things on our Accessibility Hardware section!

 

 

 

 

MoveAnything – Addons for Accessibility

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Addon for Accessibility Spotlight

Hello, Ability Powered gamers! This week we checked out a World of Warcraft  accessibility addon that helps with your User Interface (UI). It’s called MoveAnything. This addon does exactly what it’s name suggests. It allows the user to move any part of World of Warcraft UI which is a huge help if you are trying to reduce mouse movement. But that’s not all! This addon also allows the resizing of all aspects of the UI which can help anyone who is having problems reading certain parts of the interface due to visual impairments.

 

Moving for MoveAnything

Hand drawn Short sits in her custom World of Warcraft wheelchair talking about the accessibility addon known as MoveAnything.The ability to fully customize the UI to meet the gamer’s needs is a blessing for any disabled gamer. By both moving and scaling any part  of one’s UI makes MoveAnything a perfect addon for accessibility. But don’t take my word for it, check it out on CurseForge!  Find more Addons for Accessibility here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fallout 4 – Backseat Gaming

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Short begins her backseat gaming series with Fallout 4 on Playstation 4

 

Fallout 4 Time!

Hello, Ability Powered gamers! I have been Backseat Gaming. What’s that you ask? You know when you are that second person watching that single player game giving the actual person playing suggestions? That’s been me. I do this for console games since controllers just aren’t doable anymore. This time it’s been a little game called Fallout 4.

 

Tough Times, Fun Times

Bethesda’s Fallout has always been a game we enjoyed, but wasn’t usually a game we would buy on opening day. This time that changed when we saw the addition of building settlements. Finally a reason to be a hoarder! We picked it up soon after release and dove in.

 

Short talks about her Fallout 4 Backseat Gaming! Dogmeat seen here in his googles and handkerchief.

 

Fun, Friends, & Dogmeat

At first it was amazing. The humor, the settlements, and Dogmeat were all something that made me want to play and play a lot! The more we played the more I noticed there was something ugly about Fallout 4 that was becoming more and more annoying. Bugs! And I don’t mean rad roaches. There were Non Player Characters bugging out, quests we couldn’t complete, and glitches happening everywhere. At one point we were running around shooting bullets out of an invisible gun. The thing about Fallout 4 is there are tons of bugs, but as they are happening they are only momentarily annoying.  You are generally too busy to think much about them for more than a second. As a matter of fact, I didn’t really realize how many bugs we had experienced until I started adding everything up.

 

Short rides shotgun as she talks about Fallout 4 in today's Backseat Gaming! User interface shown as the main character holds an invisible gun.

 

Bugs, Shmugs

I think the fact that so many bugs are overlooked attests to just how much of a distraction this game really is. There is so much to do that you are constantly busy. Four different factions all have loads of work and missions for you to do. Of course that’s if you can fit them in between building and fortifying your settlements, or helping out random people of the commonwealth. From serial killers to super heroes you will have your time booked without even getting into the story. What were we supposed to be doing again? Oh yeah, desperately searching for our son. Well, maybe after we save this settlement.

 

Short tells of Fallout 4 in her Backseat Gaming! Preston meme seen regarding saving settlements.

 

Boredom, Meet Your Match

From a Backseat Gaming point of view I enjoyed watching the commonwealth be explored and the story be developed. There is an ending for each faction, so seeing each one’s different points of view was really interesting. I stayed interested even while scavenging through building after building because you really never knew what you would find. Would it be a Fatboy? Maybe a Deathclaw? I also loved the hacking of terminals. It’s a perfect job for a backseat gamer.

 

Fallout 4 Final Thoughts

Short seen hand drawn while talking about her experience while Backseat Gaming during Fallout 4!All and all Fallout 4 was enjoyable to watch. While the bugs are plentiful, you will be too distracted to really realize it. Is it replayable? Story-wise, once was enough for me, but there’s so much to do that has nothing to do with the story. I can see us venturing back to finish up side quests or trophies eventually. I would definitely recommend everyone watch or play through it once! Check out my other Backseat Gaming articles for more assistive gameplays.