Abstract
The European Union (EU) is funding the development of computer games for people with disabilities since 2004. Since 2014, the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) – as part of the EU – is responsible for the management of development and funding of European Video Games. In 2010 the European Disability Strategy has taken effect. Ever since, the integration of people with disabilities into cultural life as well as learning environments has become one of the main topics in the EU. As computer games are part of both – cultural life and learning environments – the link between people with disabilities and video games are being reflected and discussed in this paper. The results show, that on the one hand the responsibility of the EU and EACEA to include people with disabilities into the development of computer games is taken into account. On the other hand, there is a lack of current quantitative data on people with disabilities playing video games and it remains difficult to say how many people face exclusion. Moreover, assistive technologies are still a niche product. Due to their expensiveness as well as their non-plug-and-play usability, they frequently remain difficult to use. Nevertheless, possibilities to link inclusion and technology in educational environments do exist.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Hereinafter also referred to as video games and computer games.
- 2.
German newspaper sold by people without a permanent home. Issue of September 2019.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
Reference: European Disability Strategy 2010–2020.
- 6.
Reference: L 347/221.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
- 10.
Reference: C (2013) 8314 of 28 November 2013.
- 11.
References: EAC/S31/2013, EACEA/06/2015, EACEA/20/2015, EACEA/22/2016, EACEA/24/2017 and EACEA/24/2018.
- 12.
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Den- mark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
- 13.
Reference: PE/81/2018/REV/1.
References
Bosse, I., Hasebrink, U.: Mediennutzung von Menschen mit Behinderungen (2016). https://www.aktion-mensch.de/dam/jcr:8b186ca0-b0f1-46f8-acb1-a59f295b5bb4/aktion-mensch-studie-mediennutzung-langfassung-2017-03.pdf. 20 August 2019
Burdea, G.C., Coiffet, P.: Virtual Reality Technology. Wiley, New York (2003)
Carney, J., Dix, C.: Integrating assistive technology in the classroom and community. In: Church, G., Glennen, S. (eds.) The Handbook of Assistive Technology, pp. 207–240. Singular Publishing Group Inc., San Diego (1992)
Craddock, G.: Opportunity for change. Assistive technology: a national and European perspective (2005)
Girard, C., Ecalle, J., Magnan, A.: Serious games as new educational tools: how effective are they? A meta-analysis of recent studies. J. Comput. Assist. Learn. 29(3), 207–219 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2012.00489.x
Green, R.A., Blair, V.: Keep It Simple. A Guide to Assistive Technologies. Libraries Unlimited, Santa Barbara (2011)
Griffiths, M.D.: The therapeutic and health benefits of playing video games. In: Atrill-Smith, A., Fullwood, C., Keep, M., Kuss, D.J. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Cyberpsychology, pp. 484–505. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2019)
Hallewell Haslwanter, J.D., Fitzpatrick, G.: Why do few assistive technology systems make it to market? The case of the HandyHelper project. Univ. Access Inf. Soc. 16(3), 755–773 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-016-0499-3
Hersh, M.A., Johnson, M.A.: Assistive Technology for Visually Impaired and Blind People. Springer, London (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-867-8
Kirriemuir, J.: A history of digital games. In: Rutter, J., Bryce, J. (eds.) Understanding Digital Games, pp. 21–35. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks (2006)
Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest (1998–2018): JIM-Studie. https://www.mpfs.de/studien/?tab=tab-18-1. 20 August 2019
Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest (1999–2018): KIM-Studie. https://www.mpfs.de/studien/?tab=tab-18-2. 20 August 2019
Mildner, P., Mueller, F.: Design of serious games. In: Dörner, R., Göbel, S., Effelsberg, W., Wiemeyer, J. (eds.) Serious Games. Foundations, Concepts and Practice, pp. 57–82. Springer, Switzerland (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40612-1_3
Moore, C.J.: Making moral choices in video games. Christ. Reflect.: A Ser. Faith Ethics 38, 69–77 (2011)
Nikoltchev, S.: Enabling access to the media for all. Strasbourg: European Audiovisual Observatory (Iris plus, 2014-3) (2014). https://rm.coe.int/1680783db1. 20 August 2019
Powlik, J.J., Karshmer, A.I.: When accessibility meets usability. Univ. Access Inf. Soc. 1(3), 217–222 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-002-0020-z
Stack, J., et al.: Analysing and federating the European assistive technology ICT industry (2009). https://www.ifap.ru/pr/2009/n090430b.pdf. 20 August 2019
Tarakci, D., Ersoz Huseyinsinoglu, B., Tarakci, E., Razak Ozdincler, A.: Effects of Nintendo Wii-Fit® video games on balance in children with mild cerebral palsy. Pediatr. Int. 58(10), 1042–1050 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.12942
van Leeuwen, L., Power, A., Ellis, P.: Choosing methods for prototype testing of inclusive computer games. In: Miesenberger, K., Klaus, J., Zagler, W.L., Burger, D. (eds.) ICCHP 2004. LNCS, vol. 3118, pp. 264–271. Springer, Heidelberg (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-27817-7_40
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering
About this paper
Cite this paper
Pielenz, B. (2020). European Video Game Development and Disability: Reflections on Data, Rights, Decisions and Assistance. In: Sylla, C., Iurgel, I. (eds) Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Education. TIE 2019. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 307. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40180-1_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40180-1_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-40179-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-40180-1
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)