The Transit Space, Take One

The first playspace I want to take a look at is the transit space. This is the back seat of the car, or the bus seat, or, for the more adventurous, the plane seat. I'm not, for now, going to look at the value of gaming in this space, but rather going to attempt to catalogue the considerations.

1) Confined space for a predetermined period of time
Your gamer will be required to sit still for a period of time ranging from 15 minutes to 12 hours. What is your gamer's attention span like? Will you be able to monitor gameplay directly or assist? Will your gamer be able to stop playing when required?

2) Close proximity to the gamer
You will be sitting very close to your gamer. Is your gamer likely to become violent when frustrated? Will your gamer be compelled to show you the game?

3) The Shakes
Not the shakes your gamer may have, but rather the inherent shakes that a moving vehicle implies. Does your gamer have the fine motor skills to handle the game in an ideal situation? In a shaky situation? Is your gamer prone to motion sickness? Can your gamer keep hold of the portable console?

These are just the first factors in this playspace that come to my mind. I will continue as more strike me.

Where do we play?

This is my first consideration. Even before I get to what we are playing the games on, and long before I consider what games to play. What is the play space? Is the gamer playing in the living room, or another shared space at home? Is the gamer playing in her bedroom or similarly private space? Is the gamer playing in the car or another mode of transport where he will be confined for a predetermined period of time? Is the gamer playing on a bench or another place where she has to wait? Is the gamer playing at a rec centre or other community space where there will be more peers than at home? In coming posts I hope to find ways to describe these play spaces and what effect they have on what makes for an appropriate game.

A Question and a Bit of an MO (not an MMO, yet)

So, video games have gone mainstream. No question, no doubt, video games are part of our culture. What, then, do those with developmental disabilities need to participate in this part of our culture?

Here is where I stand: I have spend the last few years or so of my life supporting people with developmental disabilities. Most recently, I have come into fostering young people with varying disabilities. Turns out we all like video games. A number of questions are immediately raised, most of which boiling down to: How do I choose an appropriate game? This is, for most parents, simply a content question. But in my position I must also consider the digital dexterity of the gamer, how text-dependent the game is in relation to the literacy of the gamer, how plot-driven the game is and how much of that the gamer will understand or need to understand, how visual the puzzles are, how much these puzzles depend on spatial ability, what the consequences for failure are, what brand impressions does the game hold and how that will affect the gamer's interest in the game and hundreds of other considerations. Here I hope to explore this world of considerations in specific relation to young gamers with developmental disabilities. I will draw on my pool of knowledge and experience as well as the experience of anyone involved who wishes to help me with insight.

I will not, however, forget that games are meant to be fun. Or, at least, good games are. And that's what I'm looking for: good games for my gamers.