Keywords

1 Introduction

A person’s quality of life is defined as that person’s perception of the equivalence of aspirations and achievements, and a variety of types of measures have been developed to assess quality of life [1]. One of the many factors influencing this perception is social participation. Technology now affords the participation in countless types of activities virtually, eliminating the need to physically travel to be social.

Videogames seem especially conducive to encouraging active participation for all types of people. Unfortunately, few videogames are designed to be playable by people with paralysis. Some games have been adapted and/or created specifically for members of this community, and there have been calls to make games more accessible [2], it is still not common to mainstream gaming. Current internet technology allows people with paralysis to engage with online communities and participate virtually in different ways, but there remains a stark difference between the number of videogames that are accessible and the number that are not.

1.1 Participatory Design

Participatory design developed from the fields of ethnography and human-computer interaction [3]. Within the field of human-computer interaction, the main goals for utilizing participatory design methods include sharing control and expertise as well as inspiring change [4]. The inclusion of stakeholders such as potential customers, players, and end-users in the design process is thought to improve the quality of the digital product (game, website, etc.) being developed.

Research suggests that participatory game design is beneficial to everyone involved, such as eliminating the subjectivity of the designers and aligning technology to user needs [5]. Past research suggests a need for using participatory design structures to develop wheelchair-controlled motion-based videogames and speculates that the inclusion of potential players of alternatively-controlled videogames can ensure the suitability of the games while also increasing the confidence of the game designers who do not typically use alternative controllers [6].

Interestingly, this study design kept two expert groups separate as they attempted, over several weeks, to design videogames that could be controlled by players who used wheelchairs [6]. The results suggested that the group of professional game designers lacked important knowledge about the life experiences of people who use wheelchairs. Strikingly, when confronted with this fact, the game designers in the study admitted they did not personally know anyone who used a wheelchair and were staunchly unwilling to even attempt to gather such vital game design information from strangers in person. Similarly, though the study participants who used wheelchairs were certainly knowledgeable about the wheelchair use, they lacked the game design knowledge to make truly compelling games [6]. It seems obvious, then, that by combining the two groups into a participatory game design structure, the difficulties the study groups faced can be eliminated. The game designer participants will be required to collaborate with the participants in wheelchairs, thus removing the social awkwardness of attempting to contact a stranger and interview her about her physical differences. So, too, will the novice game designs of the participants using wheelchairs benefit from the expertise of the game designer participants.

The collaborative nature of participatory game design can harness the knowledge and expertise of members of these two different groups, leveraging the personal experiences of people who use wheelchairs as well as the game design expertise of skilled game designers. This partnership of game designers and experts in a specific field has been employed at past game jams with much success.

1.2 Game Jams for Content Creation

Game jams are usually 48 h events where participants develop games around a common theme, challenge, or hardware configuration. Participants approach these events as fun and educational experiences. Some participants are veteran game developers while others are making games for the first time. They are usually considered intense experience where skills are often tested. Other game jams have explored utilizing unique hardware.

Game jams attract the game design community and expand their knowledge and interest in a wide variety of topics. For example, the Indie Galactic Space Jam, an annual game jam organized by co-author Dr. Smith to develop games that increase awareness and knowledge of space travel, space exploration and the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, is actually sponsored in part by the Space Industry (Space Florida, the Kennedy Space Center, etc.) [7]. Game jams have proven themselves to be great ways to generate usable content for many projects. This jam has resulting in nearly 100 space games that explore a wide range of topics, such as mining asteroids, colonizing planets, and working with robots. Game jams have also become popular worldwide. In 2016, the Global Game Jam was a coordination of over 600 locations in 93 countries, producing 6,866 new games in a single weekend [8].

Game Jams are not limited in scope to just regular PC., often game jams are a way to experiment with new hardware. They can be used to prototype new uses for old technologies or be a conduit to explore new technologies and gain new skills. When the focus is only about hardware use and not about learning and experimenting the events are usually called Hackathons. Hackathons can be further distinguished from jams by the inclusions of IP agreements with the hardware holders, cash prizes and a generally more extrinsic motivation to improve a product over learning new skills.

2 SuperJam

The mission of SuperJam is to build a more inclusive community through gaming. To improve the quality of life of those with paralysis, we propose a game jam to increase the number of games that are playable for this community. Game jams are high-energy, short-term events with long-term results, where participants form spontaneous teams to design games around a specific theme or challenge. Each game is then judged, and winning teams are awarded prizes. Winning games, and often all completed games, are then made available for download via the internet—a benefit for budding game developers who wish to display their work as well as for players who enjoy playing new, innovative games. Making the games available online furthers the scope of building a broader reaching community.

The theme for SuperJam is alternatively controlled games. We have already designed an alternative controller that is manipulated by electromyography (EMG) sensors, which detect electric impulses from the player’s muscles. This specific controller has been utilized in the past by amputees to play simple prosthetic training games, and the same technology is utilized to operate hands-free wheelchairs via muscles on the face or jaw. The challenge that SuperJam will pose to participants is to create enjoyable games that can be played using this hands-free controller. Having worked with other hardware-specific game jam themes in the past, we are aware that these themes like alternatively-controlled games often come with additional challenges, as few game designers have worked with the specific type of alternative controller for which they will be asked to design games. This can, at times, slow the game development and result in fewer games being designed overall.

Fortunately, the lessons learned from participating in such prior experiences also help inform the planning of such an event. There are several steps that can be taken in the initial stages of the planning of SuperJam that can mitigate these obstacles. First, we can post information about the controllers on the registration website. This will allow participants to arrive at SuperJam with an understanding of how the controllers function, what types of motions the controller can read and respond to, example commands the input can map to, etc. This working knowledge of the hardware that SuperJam requires games to utilize will give each team a head start toward the creation of enjoyable games that can be played by people with many types of paralysis.

SuperJam will begin with speakers who have volunteered to share their experiences with paralysis. This will inform developers as to what requirements their game must have while also encouraging creativity. Day One concludes with team formation, which will each include members of the paralysis community. Day Two and most of Day Three will consist of teams working together to create unique interactive experiences using the alternative controllers (Table 1). Through this collaborative group effort, each team will produce an interactive game. At the conclusion of Day Three, the games will be presented by the teams and judged for a variety of awards. This event will not only create games, but build partnerships, empower creative thinking, and, most importantly, be a fun, engaging experience for all participants.

Table 1. Schedule of events at SuperJam.
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Additionally, though the SuperJam website, we seek to continue to foster the community building that begins at this event. Through this site, all games completed at SuperJam will be available for free, and the site will also support a community discussion board in addition to blog-style posts featuring interviews with SuperJam participants, new alternative controllers being developed, and other topics that may interest this newly formed community of people with paralysis and gamers. This website will be the hub for maintaining the community-building work being initiated by this exciting event.

2.1 Multifaceted Goals

SuperJam’s mission is to foster a more inclusive community through gaming. This event’s participatory design will support increased integration of people living with paralysis into the general public by achieving its four goals:

  • Increase the number of games that can be played by members of the paralysis community using an alternative controller.

  • Increase awareness and understanding of the paralysis community.

  • Increase comradery between members of the paralysis and gaming communities.

  • Create and sustain an online alternative-controller community through a website designed for participants of SuperJam, the paralysis community, the gaming community, and anyone with an interest in alternatively controlled games.

A high-energy, collaborative community event like SuperJam is capable of meeting a number of goals. The obvious and primary goal is to create videogames that can be played using alternative controllers. This challenge should be enticing to the game design community, as it imposes unique constraints on game design that require creativity and innovation. The type of alternative controller SuperJam focuses on utilizes EMG technology to receive player input. This same technology is also harnessed by the hands-free wheelchair developed by Limbitless Solutions, Inc. The EMG device used is the MyoWare Muscle Sensor and can be seen in Fig. 1 below.

Fig. 1.
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The MyoWare Muscle Sensor

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Previous collaboration with Limbitless Solutions, Inc. has resulted in the creation of five short games played using these sensors; the beta versions of these games won the Best Serious Game Innovation Award at the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge during I/ITSEC (Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference) 2016. This explicit goal in and of itself is a very worthwhile endeavor. SuperJam, however, is also designed to accomplish other, more implicit goals that will further improve the quality of life for those with paralysis.

SuperJam is also designed to be a community-building event. By holding an event to address the need for additional games tailored for use with these alternative controllers, we hope to achieve SuperJam’s second goal, an increase in awareness and understanding of the paralysis community. This event will underscore for many game designers the need to continue developing games that can be played in non-traditional ways.

The third goal of SuperJam is to increase comradery between and among the paralysis and gaming communities. The tightly-knit gaming community has a pervasive online presence [9]. The paralysis community is often ignored or forgotten by the public, prompting blogs [10] and forums [11] for people living with paralysis and their caregivers. We believe that introducing these communities to one another by facilitating collaborative work toward a common goal will strengthen and expand the presence of the paralysis community. Game jams generally begin with a series of inspirational lectures, where experts on the game jam’s theme share information about the theme, the requirements of the games’ intended players, ideal features of the games, and so forth.

SuperJam will follow this format as well, and will ask for volunteers from the paralysis community, which includes family members and caregivers, to share information about different types of paralysis, provide insight as to their frustrations with commercial games and controllers, suggest types of games they would like the game jam to create, etc. Additionally, each team at SuperJam will include at least one member of the paralysis community, referred to here as an Alternative-Controller Expert, or ACE, who will lead the game design and ensure that it is playable and appropriate for members of the paralysis community. Finally, the SuperJam judging team will be comprised primarily of ACEs.

Finally, it is not enough to simply hold a three-day event and hope that it creates lasting community impact. The fourth goal of SuperJam is to sustain this community online long after the event. The website where participants will register for SuperJam will also showcase the winning games, provide free access to all game completed at SuperJam, and house the links for the anonymous post-event survey and the delayed survey. In addition, this website will include a community issues discussion board and feature blog-style posts of interviews with SuperJam participants, game design students living with paralysis, and other topics of interest to this emerging community, such as articles about new alternative controllers in development. We will maintain this website through the Games Research Lab for a minimum of one year after SuperJam is held. The culminating goal of this event is to bring communities together through gaming. Events like SuperJam promote a diverse, inclusive society. Gaming should be able to be enjoyed by all, no exceptions.

3 Methods

As with any event, the success of SuperJam will require different types of efficacy metrics. Increased awareness can be inferred from event participation and website traffic. The increased accessibility of games for the paralysis community can also be quantified in the number of games created from SuperJam teams, as well as by the number of times each new game is downloaded from the website. Additionally, all SuperJam participants will be asked to participate in a standard, Institutional Review Board-approved post-event survey that will include questions asking participants to reflect on their experience at SuperJam, rate the overall event, provide feedback about specific aspects of SuperJam, and suggest improvements for any similar, future events that may be held.

The success of this event’s building of a sense of community between the gaming community and the paralysis community can be assessed through the number and types of posts to the community forum page of the SuperJam website. Finally, to assess the longer-term effects of the event, participants will be asked to respond to an electronic delayed survey 3–6 weeks after SuperJam to gain insight on any changes in perspective or attitude resulting from their participation.

3.1 Measurements

Quantifiable results.

Certain outputs of SuperJam can be quantified (Table 2). These numbers can help to paint a picture of participation and success. Speculations about increased awareness and knowledge can be extrapolated by examining the participation totals, website hits, and the number of comments and posts on the blog and forum sections of the website.

Table 2. Quantifiable results of SuperJam.
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Qualitative outcomes.

While quantifiable results will inform the team of the success of SuperJam’s primary goal, to increase the number of games that are playable with the EMG controller, more holistic measures are required for determining achievement of the other three goals: increase awareness of the paralysis community, increase comradery between the paralysis and gaming communities, and to sustain a community of players and designers of alternatively controlled games online. The quantifiable results can be interpreted as representing an increase in such qualitative entities as awareness, knowledge, and comradery, but to more thoroughly assess the outcomes of SuperJam, the team turns to more qualitative measures.

At the conclusion of SuperJam, participants will be asked to self-report any perceived increase of awareness of the paralysis community as well as any increase in knowledge of specific information about the kinds of experiences common to people with paralysis (in gaming and daily life). This exit survey will also ask participants to reflect on their participation in SuperJam, which will provide valuable insight to the team about the event. These outcomes in conjunction with the quantifiable results will help the team better understand the impact of SuperJam.

Additionally, participants will be asked to complete an online survey 3–6 weeks after participating in SuperJam. This delayed survey will ask participants to self-report their levels of awareness and understanding of the paralysis community as well as their amount of involvement in the online communities (blog and forum) and for any additional experiences or lasting effects that they believe resulted from their involvement in SuperJam.

4 Impact of Virtual Reality on Paralysis

In the paralysis community there has been great strides made through the use of Virtual Reality (VR) tools. With some even leading to the ability to move limbs that have been paralyzed for years. According to an article published in Scientific Reports, a 32-year-old man regained partial mobility in his legs after VR therapy [12]. There is great interest in this area by both the paralysis community and the game community, and VR solutions will be highly encouraged at the event. The system used utilizes an Oculus Rift and an EEG device. An example of what this looks like can be seen in Previous VR game jams conducted in the local area have generated some surprising games. Through the use of Google Cardboard, HTC Vives, and of course Oculus Rifts, there will be an emphasis on creating VR applications and games as well. In the case of SuperJam the VR experiences will further enhance the training to control the user’s wheelchair (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2.
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An EEG controlled VR experience

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5 Conclusions and Implications

This paper describes a participatory game design event, SuperJam, and the specific metrics being planned to evaluate the game jam’s accomplishment of its four goals: to increase the number of games that are playable using an EMG sensing controller, to increase the awareness of the paralysis community, to increase knowledge about the experiences of people with paralysis, and to create a sense of comradery between the paralysis and gaming communities.

Though SuperJam itself has yet to formally take place, the design considerations we have already undertaken are substantial. By plotting out the four specific goals, measurable results, and methods to sustain the beneficial results that will be realized in achieving our intended goals, we have clarified the purpose and the structure of this event. We work to ensure we will reach our lofty, multifaceted goals by utilizing the work of prior scholars and following the suggestions laid out by their research. Here, we have shared our approach and methods that they may be critiqued and improved as well as replicated for the benefit of other populations and games.

Through this carefully planned game jam, it is the team’s intent to help build community through gaming. SuperJam’s participatory design framework will present an engaging challenge for participants to solve collaboratively. Game designers and people with paralysis will work together to create innovative games, providing members of two generally separated communities to come together to learn from and with one another at an exciting, fun event.