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Updates on Video Game Test
Hi everyone! I thought I’d let y’all know how the video game test went, in case any of you are interested in volunteering as a tester. This was my first time doing something of this magnitude—I’ve volunteered before, but have never actually tested a game—so I was a little nervous.
The company sent me some equipment in the mail, including a webcam and an eye-tracker, so they could record my game session and analyze the video. It was a bit of a pain to set up, just because there were so many programs to download and install, but the company representative was patient and more than willing to work me through whatever issues cropped up. There were some technology-related glitches, which we fixed with a simple uninstall-reinstall, but unfortunately, the game didn’t work for me.
I don’t have enough arm strength to use a physical keyboard and a mouse at the same time, so I usually just use an on-screen keyboard. The issue with most video games is that I can’t use my on-screen keyboard in the actual game—which turned out to be the issue with this one as well. I barely made it past character creation. I felt bad, but the company representative assured me that was exactly the kind of accessibility feedback they were looking for. All in all, it took about 3 hours of my time, but I made $200. Plus it’s nice to know that my feedback might help other disabled gamers enjoy this particular video game someday, so I’m counting it as a win!
Is there anything you like to do to give back to the disability community and help others like you?
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1 Reply
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You can use speech recognition software to press keys. I’ve set my computer up so I just say “alpha” to tap A, et cetera. It’s not too difficult to get a basic setup.
Also, I’ve written some software so when I hum, it simulates holding a key as long as I sustain the humming. That way, you can “steer” with a mouse/touchpad and move forward by humming.
I don’t know whether others would find it useful, but it’s worked well for me.
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