Mods: A Study into Adaptive Gaming
Jose "Achi" Martin's thesis, Mods, studies the benefits of adaptive gaming for people with motor skill disabilities and explores industry-changing ideas that combat ableism in today's gaming landscape. Jose was inspired by his beloved older brother, who suffered a prenatal ischemic stroke resulting in semi-paralysis on the right side of his body. Since childhood, the two have shared a passion for playing video games together, and Jose watched in awe as his brother played using just one hand. Twenty years later, this is still the case.
Jose’s thesis work investigates the somatic and psychological hardships the disabled community encounters while gaming and aims to improve the gaming experience's digital and physical aspects.
HACKS
For people with motor skill disabilities, a main-line or generic gaming controller can be a hassle—and in some cases even impossible to use. HACKS is an online web service that offers free downloadable CAD files meant to transform market products into inexpensive, adaptable devices. Users can become part of this community by uploading and downloading files for free—they simply need to create an account, and they are ready to go!
After downloading the desired file, the users can 3D print and assemble the files at home. If, for some reason, the user can't print or assemble the pieces, HACKS offers an in-house print and assembly service that delivers straight to the user's home. HACKS's vision is to become a service for and by people with disabilities to create an online community focused on helping one another.
HACKS Interactive Workshop
The HACKS Workshop is an interactive exhibition serving as an educational opportunity and a social commentary. Jose’s aim was to increase awareness about the realities of living with a motor disability in the gaming world and to identify solutions for what the gaming industry could do to fix these problems.
The workshop included three stations designed to guide the participants through a creative learning experience. The stations included a 3D-printed adaptive controller modification exhibition, a testing station, and an ideation station, where participants could modify their own controllers.
Disrupt Mode
Disrupt Mode is a video game plugin for Call of Duty Warzone and Fortnite that allows users to experience a leveled playing field by reducing some of the player's abilities, such as reaction time, movement, and visuals, as well as boosting other aspects at any given point of the game.
“People with motor skill disabilities are likelier to avoid Multiplayer Shooter games because of hardships in keeping up with other players,” Jose explains. “These games are often intimidating because of their high skill level and competition.” The Disrupt Mode plugin aims to eliminate the threatening factors of first-person shooter games by increasing the chances of winning through randomization and reducing the competitiveness around the game itself.
Playmaker
The Playmaker is an adaptive gaming controller designed for people with motor skill disabilities. It features an 8-button panel, a thumb joystick meant to be used with the hand resting, and a mouse-like clickable right joystick meant for the user's non-dextrous hand. The controller's concave bottom is designed to rest on the person's lap in a hand's free fashion without needing a desk or any other external fixing to hold it in place.
Jose shares that the Playmaker is a particularly personal project, being “an adaptive gaming controller designed to sit on my brother’s lap without having to use his hands or a desk to support it.”
To learn more about Jose "Achi" Martins work, take a look at his projects in more detail at josemartindesigns.com.