Improving the Player Experience of Collaborative Multiplayer Games for Visually Impaired Children

Abstract

Visually Impaired (VI) children face barriers when it comes to social engagement and integration, and engage in less cooperative play compared to sighted children. Collaborative multiplayer computer games can be used as a tool to encourage children to develop their social skills. However, there is a lack of research on developing collaborative multiplayer games for the VI. This thesis provides a deeper insight into developing such games by building on the work done in a previous study which developed the game Bongo Beats: Tap With Me. The game was improved by implementing an algorithm to easily add more songs to the game using beat tracking techniques, improving the quantity and quality of the feedback given to the players, and implementing an adaptive difficulty algorithm to ensure the game is engaging for players of any skill level. Pilot studies were conducted to verify the quality of the implemented features, and the final experiment was done at Bartimeus school for VI children where insights were gathered on how the VI children perform, collaborate, and experience the new version of the game. The results of the experiments have shown that the children enjoyed the game and collaborated well in their teams. The insights provided in this thesis further show that it is possible to create collaborative multiplayer games with accessibility features for the VI that are also enjoyed by a sighted audience.