One Switch Gaming!

Since I have been writing the report alongside the blog and development of the game, formatting it and gathering it together took a lot less time than I expected. I have spent the extra time on making the 'One Switch' control option functional.

The game now has three methods of play:

• Default (Mouse movement and clicking)
• Gaze Controlled (Same as default, except no clicking is required to turn in game)
• One Switch (Single button play)

For anyone not in the know One Switch is a method of control that relies on a single button, usually the left click or spacebar. There are no pointers, no analogue devices and the button has no analogue properties itself, it is a single, binary switch. One Switch is designed to be used by players with the most severe disabilities and usually requires a large change in the way games are played, automating a lot of the game play elements.

Fortunately for a game like Sugar Mine, the game play aspect is simple enough that it can merely be modified to be controlled through a single switch.

The big problem in this implementation was in the menus; without mouse pointers, joystick or arrow keys, it is impossible to manually select a menu option. This is an example of the aforementioned modification and automation required.

To make the menu accessible with One Switch, it has to scroll automatically through the options available and provide feedback about which option is selected.

This seemed simple and was until I got around to making the accessibility menu accessible: with drop down menus and sliders to be used, it was a little more awkward.

Nonetheless it has been implemented completely and functions: The entire game that is open and available to someone using mouse pointer and click controls can be accessed, customized and played using only a single button. I take great pride in that.