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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsReader UI of the Week: Crafting a UI for a disabled player
by Mathew McCurley 
Mar 1st 2011 at 4:00PM
I'm a sucker for doing things differently, and this week's Reader UI is no exception. Emails usually inspire me with topics to cover, and this particular email made me think long and hard about the software and hardware that I use. Combined with the fact that I'm fairly fresh off of the Razer Naga Epic review, I've got some opinions on alternative ways of controlling WoW.
World of Warcraft and Blizzard in general have been responsive to disabled gamers' concerns in many ways, from giving fights and encounters text emotes instead of just sounds to a large amount of UI customization in scale and effect. A largely customizable user interface, in fact, is something not to be taken for granted, as it can help help with a good number of motor disabilities, visual impairments, and issues dealing with the loss of a limb. In addition to the UI itself, World of Warcraft and the MMO genre have spawned a huge market for peripherals that help disabled gamers achieve a level of interaction that might never have been possible at the start of the genre.
The email that inspired this column:
Thank you very much for the email, Jon. Building a user interface for someone with disabilities is an incredibly important topic to cover. There are three main issues that we can discuss as far as the user interface is concerned and what it can help with in making a disabled gamers' experience more fulfilling. With such a customizable user interface and the added potential of addons, we can try to help some people overcome a handicap or two. The three issues are software UI, addons, and hardware.Mat,
Had an unusual situation with a guildie last night that I thought you might be able to help out with. I was trying to help a guildie with PvP and I learned that she has a physical disability (cerebral paulsey affecting her left side) that forces her into an unconventional keyset (she uses the arrow keys to move and can only hit shift and ctrl modifiers) with limited movement.
Anyway, I suggested that she grab the addon Clique to help with her situation and upgrade to at least a 5 button mouse if not a straight gaming mouse, but was otherwise totally stuck for how to help her. It got me thinking though, are there other addons or modifications that might enhance her interaction with the game world in spite of the limitations she is faced with?
Jon
Default user interface options
The standard included user interface has a few options for disabled gamers to make use of. First and foremost is the UI Scale option under the video configuration menu. UI Scale allows the player to scale up or down the entirety of the user interface with one option. You can make the user interface absolutely tiny or as big as the screen if need be. Using UI Scale to help a player with some type of visual impairment or affliction could make the game easier to see.
Spell alerts are another great option presented in the default interface options. Checking this box tells WoW to put text spell warnings in the middle of the screen when a creature or boss is going to use a big special ability of some kind. These warnings were not always announced by the game, but for accessibility purposes, Blizzard added in this option to make it easier for players to see incoming danger and damage, making raid encounters rely less on addons. To find this option, select the Interface menu option, and find the checkbox under "Combat."
Click-to-move is an excellent option for gamers with limited mobility, as the game allows for single-click character movement. Click where you want your character to go, and he'll go.
Everyone knows that green item quality is common, blue is uncommon, and purple is epic. Most people can easily see that a red mob is hostile and a green mob is friendly. What happens when you're colorblind, however? These colors might now mean anything. Blizzard has included a colorblind option in the default UI, giving players a tooltip text readout for mob status (hostile, neutral, friendly) and item quality. Now you'll be able to see item quality and mob status even without the ability to discern the colors.
These are just three of the options in the default UI that can potentially help with certain ailments or disabilities. As WoW continues, new options and accesibility features are being added. Most recently, people afflicted by epileptic seizures were having issues with the crackling lightning effects that accompany many new elemental death animations in Cataclysm, and Blizzard has already proposed a fix that will be coming in a new patch.
Addons add to accessibility
The customizable nature of the WoW interface allows addon developers and authors to add functionality to everything in WoW, including new accessibility options. Many different addons that you might not think were accessibility addons could very well become one for you.
Dominos and Bartender, the two leading action bar mods, are able to change and customize ability layouts on your screen. The default "long bar" approach might make it difficult for someone with limited hand mobility to move the mouse across the bar to reach new abilities. Instead, you could use an action bar addon to change the action bars into blocks of 4x3 abilities, lowering the distance between abilities.
Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs can help a disabled gamer with larger boss and ability warnings in dungeons and raids. Player and unit frame mods like Shadowed Unit Frames or Pitbull turn health bars with graphics into simple bars that might take out some of the clutter and allow for customizable colors as opposed to the default red.
For players with limited mobility or limited use of one limb, much like the reader from the original email that sparked all of this, addons designed to enhance what mouse clicks can accomplish are particularly important. My addons for clickers Addon Spotlight is a great place to start, especially with an addon called Clique, allowing a player to bind skills and abilities to mouse clicks. Combined with a mouse with a decent amount of buttons, you could get most, if not all, of the functionality needed to play on just your mouse.
Hardware helps
There are tons of hardware manufacturers out there making great peripherals for WoW and the MMO genre in general that could greatly help with accessibility for players with disabilities. Hardware is more expensive than free addons, but the right hardware could help a disabled gamer overcome even the most dire physical limitations.
For gamers with limited mobility in one hand, I would strongly consider checking out the Razer Naga or Naga Epic, which I recently reviewed. Essentially, the Razer Naga's array of mouse buttons replace the top number row of keys or the numpad on the keyboard, making WoW controllable with just the mouse. One-handed control is a great option to have, especially when pairing the mouse with addons that also increase accessibility.
One of the more creative and absolutely brilliant ideas that I've heard people use for modifier keys and push-to-talk Mumble or Ventrilo is using a USB foot pedal. Doing a quick search on Amazon for USB foot pedal will present many options outright. I've never used one personally, but using a foot pedal as a push-to-talk button or as a modifier key could replace a lot of what a second hand would be responsible for in an MMO, transfering that functionality to the foot instead of the hand.
Adapting to individual needs
I was born with bilateral strabismus and, like many men, I am colorblind. I deal with very mild afflictions and couldn't possibly comprehend how difficult it is for someone with much more severe disabilities to play WoW, much less any MMO. Hopefully we as a community can put together our collective knowledge and imagination to help those who can use it. These suggestions are just some of the ways WoW's interface, addons, and hardware peripherals can help out a gamer with visual impairments, limited mobility or other disabilities.
I know there is no specific reader UI this week (there are plenty in the queue to write about, I assure you), so this week, go back and check out some of our past spotlights and get some ideas. We'll return next week with a more traditional column.
Interested in getting the most out of your user interface? Come back once a week for more examples of reader UIs. For more details on individual addons, check out Addon Spotlight, or visit Addons 101 for help getting started.
Filed under: Add-Ons, Reader UI of the Week
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Brit Mar 1st 2011 6:45PM
I couldn't help but notice in the Clique screenshot some of the character names...
Do you know or speak Irish/Scottish Gaelic, Mr. McCurley?
If so, I may be your newest fan!
;)
Ametrine Mar 1st 2011 7:11PM
While I do not have a disability which hinders my gaming ability (I am blind in one eye and nearsighted in the other, but still capable of seeing normally otherwise aside from needing a slight increase in font-size), I greatly appreciate this article and what it covers. Too many people think only of wheelchairs and such when considering alternative options for disabled people - it's nice to see Blizzard, both by itself and through third-party addons, manages to keep their game accessible for those whose phycial ability lies outside the normal range.
Ian Mar 1st 2011 7:40PM
There are also means of replacing the in-game fonts with the likes of NiceDamage doing so for the scrolling combat text.
As a replacement for scrolling combat text, something such as Mik's Scrolling Battle Text is more customisable with font, sizing, and what information being displayed being far more selective.
PowerAuras or more recently WeakAuras can create graphical, text, sound or a mixture of those alerts to draw the attention of the user to pre-set conditions such as a buff/debuff or status such as low health.
Dominos/Bartender could have a smaller number but larger buttons to aid visibility, hiding the likes of the bags/micromenu.
I like Startip as a tooltip replacement offering the ability to really customise what appears on it, and where. Though It is not what I would call user friendly in that respect, with maybe TipTac being an alternative.
Ian Mar 1st 2011 7:42PM
Also Unitframe replacments which allow not only moving, but the ability to change the fonts and background.
I personally find more blocky unitframes to be easier to read in a hurry with maybe Shadowed Unitframes catering well to this.
MW Mar 1st 2011 7:52PM
Please add my thanks to your thoughtful treatment of disabilities. I have always lauded Blizzard for making a game that I can play. I'm a wee bit older, 61, so my eyesight is losing acuity. I flunked the eye test in first grade, so you can imagine how bad it has gotten now, lol. Even wearing trifocals, with normal computer use, I'm leaning forward to see the screen to be able to read most text, but I can sit back to play WoW and the clean graphics lets me see just what I need. I do tend to get lost in dungeons, it has become a guild running joke.
I also have an Essential Tremor, which makes my hands shake rapidly. Unwanted mouse clicks have me casting spells when I wanted to be fishing, at times. Still, I find I can heal with ease, and look forward to getting my Holy Priest geared up for heroics at least. I healed ICC in the past, but I think things have progressed to the state that I may not raid again. Even so, I'll be happy to run heroics. Deathwing, count yourself lucky...
My son has dyslexia and dysgraphia. His reading has gotten a lot better, so now he can read the quest text in a reasonable time, but typing into chat windows sometimes becomes a session of me spelling every third word for him. Has anyone tried using Dragon Naturally Speaking with WoW? It advertises that it will dictate into the chat window, but my experiences with earlier versions was that it was not accurate enough and you had to speak in an uncomfortable style. Anyone tried the latest version? I would appreciate some feedback on it, thanks.
Bouncing Gnome Mar 2nd 2011 10:13AM
For spelling I use an addon called Misspelled. It highlights incorrect words in mage-blue and lets you right-click on the word to select the correct spelling. The dictionary it has isn't always great though, and it's still no help with muddling up letters. Example: I'm always having to double-check if I've just typed "definitely" or "defiantly"!
MistaDuMa Mar 2nd 2011 3:02AM
Though not quiet on par with other disabilities, I am left handed which makes gaming a pain for certain games. All of my binds are on the left side of the YHN on the keyboard so it gets cramped at times.
Does anyone know if there's a left handed version of the Razer Naga? I know there's a left handed version of the DeathAdder but it only has two button on the side.
poilbrun Mar 2nd 2011 3:17AM
What's the addon used to reskin the in-game windows like shown in the first screenshot with the Clique options?
Reala Mar 2nd 2011 6:32AM
Many addons offer wonderful flexibility for unusual circumstances. However, speaking in terms of Jon's guildie, a different look at hardware could be just as useful. I suggest she consider a Razer Naga mouse or similar, she would be able to move and use abilities easily with one hand and use the hand she would normally use for movement on modifier keys instead, allowing easy access to 36 different abilities.
Ominous Mar 2nd 2011 8:41AM
Kudos to the disabled folks. While their physical disabilities might be obvious, I reckon that it's important to remember that their characters tend to have none and are quite likely to be at least as competent as others. I'd like to play with a disabled person, as I doubt I'd even realise.
Ominous Mar 2nd 2011 8:43AM
One more thing to add: Why not make the disability gamer idea a constant section, somewhere on the site? I'm able-bodied but reckon that such a thing could be a very useful resource and further distinguish Wow Insider from its peers.
Whonut Mar 2nd 2011 10:41AM
I must say I'm surprised and elated you've written this article. I have cerebral palsy and my right hand, along with both legs, is pretty useless (at least when it comes to fine motor control, and especially when I'm under pressure). I may investigate a mouse with more buttons like the Nagas. I may just be ranting but it does feel good to be noticed when a lot of sites like this seem to fear veering from the 'norm'. Once again major 'props' :P and sorry if I've ranted, I'm just so happy you've done this!
Warren Bromfield Mar 2nd 2011 11:19AM
Great Post!! I started a thread on this topic a couple months back but got little reply. Did some google searching and came up with even less.
My buddy, who I have now introduced to WoW, has had to stop working and due to his motor neuron disease , he has lost most of the motor function in his hands. He has started using Dragon Naturally Speaking, with a gaming plugin, which he is really struggling with (if anyone has tips on how to use it better??).
I'll set up the click to walk feature as that is his biggest problem right now, but he is only level 15 atm...
Am going to follow this thread closely to see many more good ideas pop up :)
Again, great post, TYVM
Juzelle Mar 2nd 2011 1:03PM
This article wins! I have pretty severe dyslexia, to the extent where when there's alot going on on my screen, I will 'lose' keys. I have an difficult time playing with keybinds and the standard interface for this reason, and beyond the standard QEWASD and tilda + 1-5, I'm pretty much screwed.
To work around this, I built my own UI using a couple of simple addons, low memory addons that allow me to play the game around my weaknesses, and some extremely simple but flexible multi-function clicker-macros.
Nobody that I've shown my UI to can comprehend how I can play with it, but it's one of the only things that allows me to actually play the game with any level of efficiency.
Mòurningstar Mar 8th 2011 10:35AM
The amount of compassion in this post wall is AMAZING and proof positive that there are plenty of mature, caring players in this Game.
Good stuff and kudos for an taking the time to discuss an important topic and make it easier for those unfortunate enough to play with the same ease as some of us are.
Lilpwny/Teilani/Terinas
Stormreaver US.
staticnonsense Mar 11th 2011 5:50PM
some of the addons i use to play with my disabilities:
healbot: being able to configure skills to single clicks or clicks with modifiers instead of keybindings and targetting/mouseover has greatly reduced the impact of healing or buffing on my hands. and being able to bind auto-follow of mouseover target with the mousewheel scroll is so helpful.
omnicc: visual impairments make it so i can't see the built-in cd animation on icons. omnicc throws numerical cd durations on the icons in whatever color, size or font i need them to be in so i can see when things are actually on cd and for how long. otherwise i'd be squinting all the time. hard to play when you're squinting.
fontifier: i can only read certain fonts adequately. fontifier will change all of the fonts throughout the game for me to what i can read, even in menus and the likes. can configure font size too. and it can work with other addons that don't have font options.
omen: screen flashing borders when i get aggro or high threat. has audio for this too, though i can't always hear it well. the combination is what really helps me but it can be used for either or.
hardware i use:
sidewinderx6 keyboard for three sets of macro buttons, logitech g500 mouse for buttons and configurable weight so it doesn't aggravate my wrist. have modifiers, mount and autowalk bound to it to reduce impact on my hands.
this is only a small list of what i use, and while people marvel at the sheer number of addons i use, each and every one is vital to my ability to play.
this is with early onset arthritis that primarily effects my hands/wrists, fibromyalgia and visual/hearing impairments.
also throwing another thank you out there for covering this - so many folks forget that disabled folks can be gamers too. just because you can't see it or you don't know about it doesn't mean it's not there!
vincent penny May 15th 2011 10:46PM
hi all i play a hunter and suffer from parkinsons disease .Ihave found the hunter class the easiest of all to play so far as melee classes involve soo much movement,until cata came along even though i am pretty well geared and have made all the right moves with talent points it does not help me with being able to move and fire at the same time and finding it increasingly more difficult to achieve latest dungeons and raids .I am fortunate in that i have a understanding guild and they all help me out but i feel that as my PD get worse i am feeling more of a let down to them .How can i sort this my left hand is tremoring at 90 mph most of the time so can only use right hand but ubfortunately i am left handed i have trained myself to use right hand for most things for day to day stuff but playing wow is difficult .I reallly love the game and dont want to quit but somedays i just wanna say hey regonise i am disabled and quit any ideas would be awesome