Attractor

Published by: Bill (R&D, SpecialEffect) on 18th Feb 2011 | View all blogs by Bill (R&D, SpecialEffect)

PC (opens in a browser) - TheGameKitchen/AccessAble Games

AccessAble Games have teamed up with TheGameKitchen to advise on accessibilty features to create a game which offers a range of options to allow more people to play it.

The aim of the game is to use gravitational forces to move an orb like ball and guide it to black hole. The standard method of gameplay (when no options have been altered) uses a cursor combined with a left click to select between the hexagonal shapes which contain the invisible forces which you must utilise to complete each of the 27 levels.

There is a wealth of accessibilty options to open up the game to more players with a range of abilities. For starters there are no deaths and no time restrictions. The Game Speed option allows you to choose between five different speeds. High Contrast Mode allows you to play in high contrast black and white. Selecting No Click Mode means that during a level and in the menu you can play in the standard cursor mode, but without clicking. To select, simply place the cursor over an icon. Selecting the Use Any Button lets you play with just one key or mouse button during the level and when using the menu. To start scanning the available hexagons press once. To select the currently highlighted option, press it again. The Use Microphone option uses the same gameplay mechanics as Use Any Button mode but using sounds as the input via a microphone. You can manually or automatically adjust the sensitivity to allow you play at with any level of vocal input (even by just blowing into the mic).

Attractor shows how a game can be made playable to a larger number of people by applying a variety of smart accessibilty features, which all combine well with the gameplay to give the player a range of choices on how they want to interact with the game.

We will look forward to more collaborations between AccessAble Games and developers in the future. Showing how games can be improved with a few clever ideas.

Play online here: http://www.thegamekitchen.com/attractor/