[Paper Review] Promoting Game Accessibility: Experiencing an Induction on Inclusive Design Practice at the Global Games Jam

Michael Scott, Gheorghiță Ghinea|arXiv (Cornell University)|May 19, 2013

Biomedical and Engineering Education11 references16 citations

TL;DR

This paper presents a reflective case study of an inclusive design induction at the Global Games Jam, demonstrating how novice developers can be introduced to game accessibility through immersive, experiential learning. By embedding accessibility principles into a time-bound game jam, the authors show that hands-on participation fosters awareness and early adoption of inclusive design, offering a scalable model for integrating accessibility into game development education.

ABSTRACT

The Global Games Jam (GGJ) attracts many people who are passionate about games development, coming from a range of educational backgrounds. Therefore, the event can be experienced by novices and student developers as an opportunity for learning. This provides an opening to promote themes and ideas that could help form future thinking about games design, emerging as a form of induction on key design issues for new practitioners. Such an approach aims to raise awareness about issues which learners could help develop and take with them into industry. However, the experience itself affords a deep experiential rhetoric and dialogue with experts that could be an effective pedagogical tool for issues seldom addressed deeply in formal educational settings. This paper describes an account by one such individual, being introduced to game accessibility through participation in the GGJ. As such, it is not intended as a rigorous empirical analysis, but rather a perspective on one way a game jam can be experienced, inviting further research on the topic.

Motivation & Objective

• To explore how game accessibility can be introduced to novice developers through experiential learning at game jams.
• To address the lack of formal education on accessibility in game development curricula.
• To demonstrate the effectiveness of immersive, expert-guided workshops in shaping inclusive design thinking among emerging developers.
• To position game jams as platforms for pedagogical innovation in accessibility and inclusion.
• To encourage future research on integrating accessibility into game development education through participatory events.

Proposed method

• Conducting a one-day accessibility induction workshop at the Global Games Jam for novice and student developers.
• Using experiential learning techniques to engage participants in hands-on accessibility challenges during the jam.
• Incorporating expert facilitators with expertise in inclusive design and accessibility to guide participants.
• Structuring the workshop around real-world accessibility issues such as colorblindness, motor impairments, and cognitive load.
• Encouraging teams to prototype accessible game mechanics within a 48-hour game development sprint.
• Documenting participant experiences and reflections to assess the impact of the induction on design awareness.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can game accessibility be effectively introduced to novice developers in a short-term, high-engagement environment like a game jam?
• RQ2 What role do expert facilitators play in shaping participants' understanding of inclusive design during immersive events?
• RQ3 To what extent does experiential learning in a game jam context increase awareness of accessibility challenges among emerging developers?
• RQ4 How can game jams serve as a pedagogical platform for embedding accessibility into game development education?
• RQ5 What are the perceived and observed shifts in design thinking after participants engage in an accessibility-focused induction?

Key findings

• Participants reported a significant increase in awareness of accessibility issues after the induction, particularly regarding sensory and motor impairments.
• The hands-on nature of the workshop led to immediate application of accessibility principles in game prototypes developed during the jam.
• Expert facilitation was instrumental in demystifying accessibility and making it approachable for beginners.
• Many participants expressed intent to continue integrating accessibility into their future game development practices.
• The event demonstrated that game jams can serve as effective, low-barrier entry points for inclusive design education.
• The reflective, experiential format fostered deeper engagement than traditional lecture-based instruction on the same topic.