Towards universal game development in education: Automatic and semiautomatic methodologies

Abstract

Serious games are increasingly being used in education to support the development of skills that future professionals and citizens require. However, the inclusion of games in the curricula can threaten the universal right to education for students with disabilities if they are not designed to be accessible. In this paper we discuss the need for tools that assist educators and educational content providers in producing games that are equally accessible for all. The goal is to minimize the cost and effort needed for introducing accessibility in serious games. We discuss to what extent the process of making a serious game accessible can be automated and supported by software tools that minimize human intervention. We conclude that there is a set of common accessibility barriers, especially those related to interaction and physical disabilities, that can be addressed systematically in a high proportion and therefore could be dealt with by software. Other problems, especially those more close to structure, storyboard and design, still need direct intervention from the game authors, but could be facilitated with appropriate methodologies and auditing tools. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.