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Turn off the graphics: designing non-visual interfaces for mobile phone games

Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society volume 15, pages 45–58 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Mobile phones are a widespread platform for ICT applications because they are highly pervasive in contemporary society. Hence, we can think of mobile gaming as a serious candidate to being a prominent form of entertainment in the near future. However, most games (for computers, console and mobile devices) make extensive use of the visual medium, which tends to exclude visually-impaired users from the play. While mobile gaming could potentially reach many visually-impaired users, who are very familiar with this technology, currently there seems to be only very few alternatives for this community. In an attempt to explore new interactive possibilities for such users, this work presents an initial study on non-visual interfaces for mobile phone games. It is based on Semiotic Engineering principles, emphasizing communication through aural, tactile and gestural signs, and deliberately excluding visual information. Results include a number of issues that can be incorporated to a wider research agenda on mobile gaming accessibility, both for the visually-impaired and sighted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. VisionLab, Department of Informatics, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro - PUC-Rio, 22453-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Luis Valente & Bruno Feijó

  2. Semiotic Engineering Research Group - SERG, Department of Informatics, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro - PUC-Rio, 22453-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Clarisse Sieckenius de Souza

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  1. Luis Valente
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  3. Bruno Feijó
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Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Valente, L., de Souza, C.S. & Feijó, B. Turn off the graphics: designing non-visual interfaces for mobile phone games. J Braz Comp Soc 15, 45–58 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192576

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192576

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