Hoard – Accessibility First Look

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Hoard and Accessibility

Hello, Ability Powered Gamers! This week we started checking out the independent game: Hoard. So far, Hoard can somewhat be played with only a mouse. Why somewhat you ask? While there is an option to play that is labeled as “Mouse Only” sadly it requires spacebar usage. Yeah, I can’t figure that one out either. If you are a gamer with a disability who uses Windows‘ on-screen keyboard, I did discover keeping your keyboard over the edge of the Hoard window gives you spacebar access. Check it out for yourself below!

 

Hoard and Viewing Options

The game starts out in “Fullscreen” mode, but can be easily changed to “Windowed” mode. “Windowed” mode does keep you locked into the game window, but overall gameplay can mainly be completed with minimal mouse movement and mostly left clicking. Since the window isn’t borderless make sure your on-screen keyboard is over the edge of the window. There are also options to move with “arrow” keys or “WASD” keys, but no options are remappable however.

 

The Hoard menu screen seen to aid in visualizing of Hoard accessibility options.

 

The game is fun once you discover the on-screen keyboard trick. However, there are no options for colorblind users and no subtitle settings. It’s a pretty cute little game. Who doesn’t want to be a dragon? Don’t take my word for it! Check it out on Steam!

 

Have you played this game? If so please share your experience and how our Accessibility First Look helped you in the comments below! Need accessibilty aid in other games? Check out our other First Looks and more here!

 

Tragedy & Gaming – Short Notes

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Short seen reading from her Short Notes this time regarding tragedy and gaming.

 

Tragedy & Gaming

Hello, Ability Powered Gamers. I wanted to take a second to write a short note to update you guys on a few things. First off, let me get some tragedy out of the way so I can end with the good. You may have noticed my absence. Two weeks ago my grandmother was rushed to the Emergency Room. Long story short, while she had been triumphing against a non-aggressive form of cancer a more evil type was creeping in… undetected.

 

Comfort Through Tragedy

She is now living at our house and in Hospice’s care. While the doctor couldn’t tell us how long we have with her, they don’t expect us to have as long as we’d like. My videos in particular will be coming slower. I will be posting a full schedule again when life changes and will be slowly adding videos as I can although recording audio is proving to be problematic. Right now she is still strong and in good spirits. Please understand while I take a bit of time to spend with the lady who instilled a deep love for all types of games within me.

 

Charity Through Gaming

As I said earlier I wanted to start off with the sad and end with the good. Thanks to friends and fans of Ability Powered and Gaming In Sherwood our first ever Extra-Life Ability Powered Team raised $300 for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals! Huge thanks to everyone who supported us. We can’t wait to join again next year and try to top this years donations. It was a long, but amazing 25 hours!

 

Podcast Power

Also, I wanted to thank the LowPopWow podcast for inviting me on the show October 26th. Spreading awareness about gamers’ with disabilities is so important, and sharing tips and tricks to keep gamers in-game is something I love. LowPopWow is an advocate like myself, and it was an honor to be her guest. Follow her on twitter for her broadcast schedule and updates!

 

Did you enjoy this edition of Short’s Short Notes? Find tons more of them here!

 

Why I Love Digital Board Games

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A picture of one of Short's many World of Warcraft Monoploy matches. Of which she now partakes more so on digital board games.

 

Why Digital Board Games?

I know there are people out there who see digital board games and are kind of put off by the whole concept. I totally see their argument. Board games were meant to be a social and fun experience letting families and friends spend time together while battling for bragging rights. Today, more than ever, this type of bonding seems to be increasingly interrupted be overly active schedules, and the constant barrage of ringtones or text messages which draws people away. So, why is this board game junkie all about digital board games? From where I sit… digital board games mean freedom.

 

Board Game Memories

In the 80s, long before iPods, I spent many weekends with my grandmother… a fellow board game junkie. My days were filled with Clue, Sorry, Uno, Checkers, Go Fish, Boggle, Dominoes, and many more. I loved the thrill of competition, I loved strategizing, and mostly just hanging out with my grandmother. There was one thing I didn’t like however, especially as my muscles became weaker. This was the spotlighting board games shined on me due to my dependence on others. I couldn’t spread out hands of cards. My grandmother always fanned my cards out, then put them in my hand. On my turn I would say “3rd card from my left” and my grandmother would gently remove that card and play it. For Dominoes, she would help stand up the ones I chose then I would knock over the ones I wanted to play using a pencil.

 

Digital Board Game Transition

While my 8 year old self was okay with the setup, I grew into an early twenty year old adult who was more self conscious around friends. Casino trips I avoided table games.  I was an excellent poker player yes, but couldn’t reach to see what I was dealt. Same for pretty much any table game they had. So, I retreated to video poker. I dated a few (okay they were all) geeks who loved Magic: The Gathering. I knew it was all about cards and that meant I avoided it. I stuck with battling them on the digital front instead.

 

Greatest Board Game to Exist

Last year my loves collided when Blizzard announced my most favorite board game ever being themed to well, my digital life… World of Warcraft Monopoly! At this point in life, Monopoly is hard with so much muscle loss. You can’t say no or shy away from World of Warcraft Monopoly though. I had some guildies over, setup the game, and away we went. My brother sat by me and for a few hours it was a lot of him rolling for me, him moving for me, and me not knowing for sure if I wanted to buy property. Why? Because I wasn’t always sure if there was enough money in my stack to cover it. Even with all that the game was fun. Thankfully, at 34 years old I had outgrown the self consciousness and played with guildies even though I knew how much help I would need.

 

Hearthstone: the Board Game!

Now that you have a general idea of what a tabletop board game can be for me, maybe you can understand my overwhelming joy when I discover digital board games. This year I was accepted into the Hearthstone Beta. Welcome to the first Trading Card Game type game I ever played. I can click to build deck perfection. I can mouse over cards to see what they do. I can play with my friends. I alone! No “play second card on the left.” No not being able to reach a table or pickup cards. No having my brother sit by me and move things. It’s amazing how fun a game can be, and what a different experience it is when you are on your own.

 

Digital Board Game Developers

Game devs listen closely. The reason I play ANY board game is to play and bond with friends. Digital is no different. Hasbro I don’t want to see this:

 

“Note: Multi-player is hot-seat multi-player only. Online multi-player is not supported.”

 

I was soooooo happy when Monopoly, Scrabble, Life, ect. showed up on Steam. Before they arrived I saw digital board games have little to no multiplayer. Multiplayer is the REASON to play these games. You can’t bond with an opponent that’s not real. There’s no bragging rights there. There’s no memories made. Board games in a digital format can and should provide this. Our World of Warcraft guild is proof. During the Cataclysm expansion we raided on Saturday nights, then we headed to OMGPop (RIP) to play Pictionary…errr…Draw My Thing. We played for hours on Ventrilo, laughing and joking about our drawing skills. It wasn’t just guildies I bonded with there. They also had a cleverly renamed Connect 4 that my mother and I would play. Or Battleship with my brother… while in the same room talking and laughing just like it was on a tabletop.

 

Eternal Praise!

So kudos to Blizzard for getting me loving card games with friends. Thank you Days of Wonder for giving me freedom AND my friends by having REAL multiplayer in Ticket to Ride. Thank you OMGPop for giving me good memories of playing with friends and family completely independent. Digital games are freedom for me. Freedom to move my own tokens, draw my own cards, and roll my own dice. Actions that are done without thought by others are given to me for the first time. Do I lose the social experience by sitting with simply mouse in hand? Absolutely not!

 

Not only can tell me about your accessibility opinions in the comments below, but you can find more of mine at our Opinion column!

 

Steam Controller Demonstration Released

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Steam Controller Demonstration Is Here!

Valve has recently released a video demonstration on how their new Steam controller will respond to various types of games on the upcoming Steam Machine. This controller is something I’m very excited to see! It features two highly sensitive track pads in place of traditional thumbsticks and a touchscreen in the center. This new shiny also let’s you customize the button settings to meet your needs! This will potentially be enabling numerous disabled gamers to perform at their best ability! Valve is actually in support for Steam Machine controller modifications are encouraged by steam. As Valve states:

 

The Steam Controller was designed from the ground up to be hackable. Just as the Steam Community and Workshop contributors currently deliver tremendous value via additions to software products on Steam, we believe that they will meaningfully contribute to the design of the Steam Controller. We plan to make tools available that will enable users to participate in all aspects of the experience, from industrial design to electrical engineering. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

 

Is This the Next Big Thing?

Could this be the controller disabled gamers have needed for so long? Possibly, but only time will tell. The Steam Machine is coming in 2014, so until then check out the demonstration video as well as Steam’s Controller Announcement. Look for more disability headlines in our News column!

 

World of Warcraft Accessibility Raiding Tips

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World of Warcraft Accessibility Raiding Tips

For anyone with special abilities raiding can be a challenge. Fights are long with high mobility mechanics, colors are sometimes hard to distinguish, and many guilds ask for voice chat. Don’t let these things scare you off! Here are my World of Warcraft accessibility raiding tips for becoming a better raider:

 

Short's guild seen raiding with Short's user interface viewable in order to better detail her Warcraft Accessibility Raiding Tips.

Raiding Tip 1: Include Your Raid Leader

No matter what type of guild you are in, casual or hardcore, if you’re having any issues with a fight (or nervous about starting) then my first advice to you is to talk with you raid leader. Be open with them, and consistently let them know about your strengths and weaknesses per fight. This allows them to give you assignments that match your strengths or weaknesses. If you have mobility issues, the raid may stack on you for certain mechanics. If you’re colorblind, you may be assigned to areas where colors and hues are as big of an issue. Beth’tilac in Firelands… I’m talking about you! Tweaking mechanics can optimize your strengths, so talk it out!

 

Raiding Tip 2: Rest Between Pulls

Another reason to communicate with your raid leader is so you can rest between pulls! Boss fights can last over ten minutes, and that’s ten minutes with lots of chaos and movement going on. This can wear any mouse-only gamer’s arm out. Wait to be resurrected. I hear raid leader’s everywhere crying out and facepalming at me for suggesting “You don’t run back.” Not releasing and running back gives you a few minutes to let your mouse arm/hand rest which can make the next fight less tiring.

 

Raiding Tip 3: Have a “Raid Buddy”

I can’t stress enough how much this tip helped me. Have someone in the raid as a “raid buddy.” What do I mean? Become part of a dynamic duo with someone on your team that understands sometimes you need a little aid. If there’s a mechanic where moving quickly is necessary this person can lead you as you auto-follow. If there’s a jump to make, they can lead while you focus on making the jump. If there’s a lot of target switching, they can be your focused target. There are tons of reasons to have a raid buddy. Set this person as focus and they are always one easy click away.

 

Raiding Tip 4: Sidecar Siesta

Long road to travel between fights? Hop in a raid buddy’s two seater mount. Again, boss fights can be long, tiring events. Rest between fights any chance you get, and your mouse hand will thank you!

 

Raiding Tip 5: Know Your Class

I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but really know your class. Play the specialization that’s best for you. Is Affliction announced as the top warlock spec, but you have issues switching targets fast enough to curse everything quickly? Give Destruction warlock a try. Marksman hunter rotation a bit overbearing? Try Beastmaster hunter and their pet perference. Sometimes the “best spec” to play, isn’t the best for you.

I also point out the obvious because many times people forget to use minor abilities that can help them navigate sticky situations. Druids can Barkskin if they know they’re about to take a hit. Priests can talent and use Holy Word: Shield for a speed boost. Small things that are outside your normal rotation can really make a difference. Don’t be afraid to get creative!

 

Raiding Tip 6: Know Thy Enemy

Learn mechanics ahead of time. Every raider should be doing this, but it’s even more important for Ability Powered Gamers. Previewing a fight let’s you see which mechanics might be a problem for you, and let’s you prepare strategies for your needs. Sometimes the strategies most guilds use aren’t necessarily optimized for you. Stacking up where the rest of the raid does might get you Area of Effect healing, but it might be too far away from where you need perform raid mechanics. Remember, changing a strategy doesn’t make it wrong, it’s just different.

Another way to know your enemy is by watching its mechanic timers. An addon called Deadly Boss Mods (DBM) keep time of the cooldowns a boss has left on its mechanics. Why is this important? It allows you to start moving early. If you have mobility problems this makes a world of difference. If you move two seconds earlier you’ll never be left standing in bad things a boss leaves behind. Test it out sometime!

 

Raiding Tip 7: Prioritize Survival

All these things lead up to my final tip: prioritize survival. Yes, staying in a dangerous area to cast one more Chain Lightning might up your damage a little but if it’s going to cause you to be in a bad area when a boss ability hits there… it’s not worth it. Most raid teams can afford to lose a little damage, but not a member of the raid. Even if you have to position yourself in different areas from others, do what you must to fight on!

 

These seven raiding tips can aid in your future battles, but you can find more help with these other Short Guides!