Life Since Alexa – Accessibility Hardware

Posted on June 3, 2019 by short

A little over a year ago there was something pretty special for me under the Christmas Tree. I received one of Amazon’s newest devices: an Amazon Echo Dot. The thing was amazing!

For the first time in years I called my best friend without needing help getting the phone or someone dialing the numbers. I just said a phrase to Alexa and the phone started ringing through my Dot. That was the beginning of regaining some of my freedom that Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) had whittled away over the years.

But Wait, There’s More to Alexa!

There are so many things that Alexa can do though. I started looking at other things that it was compatible with. Soon, I was changing channels in the living room via the Dish TV app. Again it was something I hadn’t been able to do on my own in years. Normally, I would ask someone for help, but not anymore!

Alexa quickly turned into a hero. I could use her as an intercom when we added another Dot to another room. No more panic attacks when I needed help, but couldn’t yell loud enough for someone to hear me. With Alexa I can just “drop in” on another room. The more rooms we added an Alexa to, the less anxiety I had about being out of earshot of my family. I knew I could still contact them within seconds.

Getting the House Smart

Over the past year I have been trying to get more of my house accessible via Amazon Echo. I received a care package from Cure SMA that included an Echo with a built in bridge for some products that my original Dot wasn’t compatible with. With the new Echo I was able to add Hue lights in my room! I had never been able to operate my over head light on, but there I was turning them on and off. I also added plug-ins that were compatible, so I could turn on my electric blanket, lamps and television.

Improving on Perfection

There are still a lot of things that I can’t wait to try, and I will definitely be adding to the setup as my budget allows. So far though, my experience with the Amazon Alexa products has been nothing but positive, and honestly, I don’t know how I ever lived without it. I certainly hope it is supported and continues to grow for years to come.

What about you? Do you have a smart home device you love? Tell me all about it in the comments below! If you have questions, be sure to leave those too! Find more about accessible hardware on our Accessibility Hardware section!

Minecraft 1.14 Accessibility Changes

Posted on May 1, 2019 by short

Short talks about the recent Minecraft patch 1.14 that improves on its accessibility features. Image shows Minecraft's intro texts "Minecraft Java Edition 'Hotter than the Sun!'"

Minecraft 1.14!

Hello Ability Powered, gamers! Have you played Mojang’s Minecraft lately? If not, you should definitely check out the latest build of 1.14. This build adds tons of new things to the game. There are new plants, blocks, and animals to make the game even better! There is also a new button for us on the main menu…

New Accessibility Button!

We now have a dedicated accessibility button right on the loading page! I know there is some debate in the disabled gaming community about separating options generally used for accessibility since the options are useful for anyone. I totally see and understand their point of view, but, personally, I really like to have all the options that I do actually need for accessibility in one place. I just find it faster to go to one menu where I can enable everything at once without navigating through many different screens. So I was excited to see it.

If you are like me and had no idea that the little man icon on the main menu was for accessibility (seriously though, I have no idea who would), don’t worry you can navigate to the accessibility settings by clicking “Options…” too.

Image shows Minecraft 1.14 and its new accessibility settings options including narration, subtitles, and more!

The Search for Accessibility

Now everything is organized and (again just my opinion) so much easier to find. I didn’t know Minecraft even had subtitles for months when I started playing. I never had to go to the “Music & Sounds” menu to adjust volume and didn’t know it existed. Now that it is with accessibility options, it’s so much easier to find. They are also immensely useful for mobility reasons since it tells you the direction of the sounds. I no longer have to spin my camera all directions to see if I heard something.

Image shows an example of how the subtitles work in Mojang's Minecraft 1.14

I am glad to see accessibility is on the mind of developers after this many years. I am equally intrigued by the icon choice for the main menu button that sends you straight to accessibility!

Short seen sitting in her custom hand drawn World of Warcraft wheelchair updating us about the recent updates to Mojang's Minecraft 1.14

Are you excited for the new accessibility menu? What additions to Minecraft 1.14 are you enjoying most? Let me know in the comments below!

Find more Ability Powered News articles here!

Rise of the Tomb Raider – Options for Accessibility

Posted on April 25, 2019 by short

Rise of the Tomb Raider is an action adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics where you raid tombs and take names. What accessibility options does it have though?

Before Game Launch

In Game Options

Notes

- You can set window mode before game launch.
- Works with VoiceAttack voice commands.
- Works with and has options for Tobii Eye Tracker 4C.
- Has different difficulty settings.
- Keyboard and mouse options are remappable.
- Has subtitle options.

All in all, Rise of the Tomb Raider brings much accessibility to its players. If you’re someone seeking similar game option menus to see then you can find many other accessibility options for other games on our Options for Accessibility column!

Anno 1800 – Accessibility First Look

Posted on April 24, 2019 by short

Image shows Ubisoft's Anno 1800 at its main screen in today's Accessibility First Look.

Hello Ability Powered, gamers! Today we are looking at Ubisoft’s latest addition to the Anno franchise: Anno 1800. This is a city building strategy game where you are trying to explore, survive, and expand your cities while keeping your citizens happy. But, what about accessibility of the game? Let’s take a look.

Settings

If you read the Options for Accessibility you already have some idea of how the game runs. It starts in full screen mode, but can be easily changed to window mode before the game starts by only clicking a setting with your mouse. The game works with on-screen keyboard and VoiceAttack for any keybinds you wish to use. Subtitles are on by default and show most text.

Image shows Ubisoft's Anno 1800 at gameplay including Edvard the Saviour in a newspaper reading in today's Accessibility First Look.

I say “most” because I did notice a few times when I heard a character say things, but the text wasn’t on the screen. For example, when the first newspaper comes out our sister is angry because of the bad press. The journalist apologized and said that he was forced to write it. You never see text for the apology though, and to me, it added depth to the story. Seeing subtitles for it would be really nice.

Difficulty

Image shows Ubisoft's Anno 1800 at the difficulty options screen in today's Accessibility First Look.

Anno 1800 has different settings for difficulty, but the easiest is normal. However, you can play the campaign using the custom game setting to tweak the difficulty a bit more. For example, you can turn off pirates completely to have less you have to worry about while you are trying to get through the game’s story.

During the game, you can also adjust the game speed which includes pausing the game if you need to take a break for a minute. The downside is that you can’t actually build anything while the game is paused. It would have been nice to be able to pause the game and place roads and buildings for those of us that need a little extra time to click things.

Gameplay

The game is mostly mouse only friendly, but the use of on-screen keyboard is helpful for some parts of the game. Sometimes you need to zoom in or out, rotate buildings, and more. It’s also amazing to rename your cities or ships to really personalize the game. So far, I haven’t run into anything that was difficult to do just playing with the mouse.

Another nice option is the right click command menu. With the option enabled you can right click your mouse and a menu opens at the mouse pointer with actions you can quickly access such as “Demolish” or “Upgrade”. Having this open at the mouse pointer reduces mouse movement since you don’t have to move to the toolbar before changing tools.

Gameplay has been pretty relaxing. The only real sense of urgency I have felt was when pirates started attacking in a multiplayer game. I disabled the pirates in my single player campaign and so far I haven’t felt rushed. There is also a sandbox mode if you just feel like a solo adventure without playing through story objectives. Expect a more in-depth look at the multiplayer experience soon here on Ability Powered!

Early Thoughts

While there are a few things I noticed which could be added to the game to aid accessibility, like playing while paused, so far playing has been a ton of fun. As a matter of fact, as soon as I wrap this up I will definitely be heading to my settlement to build more! Before I head off to play though, let’s look at the Anno 1800 notes one more time.

Anno 1800 Notes

Has window mode.
Works with on-screen keyboard and VoiceAttack voice commands.
Most* voice overs are shown as subtitles.
Mostly mouse only friendly.
Totally awesome quick access menu.

Short seen in her hand drawn World of Warcraft wheelchair as she discusses the Accessibility First Look for Ubisoft's latest installment in the Anno series known as Anno 1800 Have you tried Anno 1800? If so, leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

You can find many other accessibility options for other games on our Accessibility First Looks column!

Anno 1800 – Options for Accessibility

Posted on April 18, 2019 by short

Image shows Ubisoft's Anno 1800 at its main screen in today's Options for Accessibility.

Anno 1800 is a city building strategy game developed by Ubisoft studios. It starts in full screen, but you can change it to windowed at the main menu. I’ll post an Accessibility First Look soon for it, but for now here are the available options.

Graphics

Image shows Ubisoft's Anno 1800's graphics options in today's Options for Accessibility.

Audio

Image shows Ubisoft's Anno 1800 's audio options in today's Options for Accessibility.

Controls

Image shows Ubisoft's Anno 1800 at its control options in today's Options for Accessibility.

Gameplay

Image shows Ubisoft's Anno 1800 at its gameplay options in today's Options for Accessibility.

Anno 1800 Notes

Anno 1800 starts in full screen mode, but can easily be changed to window mode before gameplay begins.
Controls are remappable.
Mouse only friendly.

Short seen in her custom, handdrawn wheelchair as she talks about the Options for Accessibility for Ubisoft's recent title Anno 1800 Just need to see the options menu to see if it has a setting you need? You can find many other accessibility options for other games on our Options for Accessibility column!