SpecialEffect's accessible GameBase

Hi everyone!

Introducing Alt Controller... a free program I've developed for mapping computer inputs, such as pointer movements and button presses, to actions, such as key presses.

The video below shows how you can play a racing game that only supports keyboard input just by moving the mouse pointer around the screen.

Bill and I gave it a quick test with the eye gaze system, and it worked with that too :)

Here's how it works... I used Alt Controller to define some invisible rectangles for steering left and right, and for accelerating and braking:

Space Ball Cosmo Dude is an addictive sports simulation style basketball game. Your objective is to achieve the highest score possible by shooting the ball into the basket which awards points. You have 2 min in which to do this in. Each "round" increases the minimum score required in order to move on to the next round.

Really colourful and exciting graphics make it a lot more engaging and intense. The little weird aliens also give you strange comments whenever you make a basket.

Gameplay is very simple: simply point and click where you wish to shoot the ball and the rest is taken care of. It's all about getting the correct angles. Play the game long enough and you will find yourself making shots on "autopilot" as your brain istinctively learns how to shoot. No dragging or double-click is needed; only a single left click.

Challenge your friends to beat your high score! There is no head-to-head multiplayer mode, but perhaps they may add this feature in future releases.

Link to the game: http://www.funny-games.biz/space-ball-cosmo-dude.html (www.bored.com)

This game could be good for training very young children on eye-gaze. Just "look" (or put the arrow on) the bugs and they start to move! So funny! 

(Of course, also works with mouse, head-mouse, joystick and/or touchscreens).

Play Moving Bugs here.

PC Windows - Graeme's Free Games (freeware)

JazzBall was written after a suggestion was made to us by Sandra Robertson. She wondered if the old Microsoft game JezzBall might suit a more accessible interface and could perhaps become a fun game that both her children could play. Thanks to Graeme Singh taking up the challenge, they now can. Nice.

The aim of the game is to draw horizontal or vertical blocks across any available gaps, avoiding being hit by balls whilst you do so. If you manage to reach both sides of the gap without being hit, a section of a hidden picture will be revealed. Manage to reveal the majority of the screen and you'll progress to the next level. You can use your own pictures too, which can be immense fun.

PC - Q & D Multimedia
These brilliantly fun and engaging programs from Q&D Multimedia offer inventive and exciting ways to create music and make pictures. Aimed at different ages and abilities the programs offer a way to learn creative and IT skills, whilst not realising that you are doing so.

PC (opens in a separate window) - Lasse Farnung Laursen
This game is, as the title suggests, designed for eye-gaze control. The aim is to help the train to get to its destination by laying the track. The destination is initially a resource such as timber, oil or goods. Once a resource is collected the destination becomes the city. If successful with your delivery you will earn money.

 

PC (opens in a separate window) and PS3  - JenovaChen

A relaxing Flash game which can be a great way to try out or practice a new pointer control method such as head/ eye control due to it’s lack of restrictions or time elements. The aim is to swim around (at quite a leisurely pace) and eat various other water living life forms to help you evolve and develop as a sea creature.

PC - Ubisoft/Frogwares
Delve back into the depths of Victorian London, working through more than 40 locations and multiple suspects to solve, construction tycoon, Sir Melvyn Bromsby’s unexpected murder. It is a traditional point and click game in third person. It can be played with any pointer control method including head and eye control.

PC - The Adventure Company
Three games based on Agatha Christie novels are available in this package And Then there Were None, Murder On The Orient Express and Evil Under The Sun. They are all point and click mystery adventure games in which the player must find and solve the clues to discover the murderers. You control the cursor around the screen and it will then indicate when something or someone can be interacted with i.e. picked up, used, talked to etc you then left click or equivalent if you want to interact.

PC (can be opened in a separate window) - Sports Interactive/Sega
Either start a the top or the bottom of your profession i.e. as the tag line states ‘THE GREATEST JOB ON EARTH!’ Whether you choose to manage Oxford United or Manchester United the challenges are many and varied, whether it’s managing to claim your first away victory or simply staving off injury from your star striker.