This project was created to address the issue of the lack of accessibility in rhythm video games for people with physical disabilities. There are many rhythm games that already exist like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, which have controllers that would require two hands and arm movement. Other rhythm game controllers, like the standard Xbox controller or a tablet, require fine motor skills. These controllers allow for an immersive experience for people with these abilities, but not everyone has this luxury. I would like to address this discrepancy by creating a rhythm game that allows for a variety of controllers. These controllers will be created with differently-abled people in mind so that they can choose whichever controller they think would be best for their abilities.
The entirety of my thesis can be viewed here: Rockability Thesis
While there are many different types of controllers for rhythm games, most of these are inaccessible to people with motor control function
issues or people missing a hand or arm. The standard controller for many other video games is either a console controller or a mouse and keyboard,
both of which are not accessible controllers for this demographic. Rhythm games have a wide variety of controllers that make the interactions and
resulting gameplay completely different. Some examples are the full-size guitar shaped controllers for Guitar Hero and Rock Band, the dancing mats
for Dance Dance Revolution, and the Oculus Touch controllers for Beat Saber. These controllers are all very different from each other and are part
of the appeal of their respective games, proving that controllers are an important part of the rhythm game experience. Therefore, there needs to
be a way to bring this experience of rhythm games with interactive and fun controllers to people that cannot use other controllers for accessibility
reasons.
My methodology paper: Rockability Methodology
Linked is my list of sources with a description of each source: Sources
Here is my thesis presentation: Capstone Presentation
I was successful in reaching my initial goal, to create a project that allowed people with limited movement be able to play an interactive rhythm game. Along the way I found many more avenues that I was interested in pursuing, but had to shelve due to the time constraints of my capstone. The actual project is now not functional due to updates to one of the libraries that I used, but creating this project has inspired me to delve deeper into the field of accessibility.