Thesis Gameplan

There are two parts to this thesis: the project and the paper. Since the paper should support he project, the project must come first. I've been working on this thesis off and on for the past 3 years, and my previous progress is documented over at my old thesis journal. This post outlines the high-level milestones for my thesis from here on out.

1. Recruit Volunteers
   I plan on reaching out to AbleGamers.com looking for volunteers with physical disabilities to test a mainstream real-time strategy game for accessibility barriers.
   


2. Test Official Map
   Defense of the Ancients (DotA) is a custom map for Warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne. I would like the volunteer testers to evaluate and document any accessibility barriers they encounter.
   


3. Build Prototype
   Using this feedback, I intend to work directly with Blizzard in developing a small-scale custom map that makes specific accommodations to remove any accessibility barriers for physically disabled gamers.
   


4. Test Prototype
   Using the same volunteers from the first test, I would like to test the prototype for the same accessibility barriers in hopes they they will not exist anymore.
   


5. Analyze & Document Results
   This paper intends to analyze whether this process holds any water for producing measurable results that could be scaled up to provide guidance for practical applications in the game industry.
   

Thesis Abstract

This thesis explores the application of user-centered design methodologies to improving the intrinsic accessibility of a popular real-time strategy computer game for players with physical disabilities. Experimental computer game accessibility guidelines are engineered, in part, via cross-pollination with applicable web accessibility standards. The synthesized guidelines are then used to analyze a small-scale real-time strategy computer game prototype for keyboard accessibility. The resulting guidelines, specific methodologies, and custom map prototypes are packaged together as an innovative computer game accessibility toolkit. This thesis intends to illustrate the plausibility of pioneering a computer game accessibility toolkit process model to improve the independent accessibility of a mainstream real-time strategy computer game for players with physical disabilities.

Last Updated September 20, 2009