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Summary
Video games constitute an entertainment with a fast increasing audience. However, the
concept of games based on visual perception excludes a whole category of players: visually
impaired players. We have assessed a state of the art of the different kinds of audio games in
the first part of this thesis. Audio games are difficult to take control of. Language-based
explanation of the rules is not efficient enough and disturbs the interaction rhythm. We want
to investigate whether it is possible to include a non-verbal system allowing a quick start of
blind-accessible audio games. The second part of this thesis constitutes a theoretical analysis
of the features those games must present in order to allow a quick start. We explain how a
person progressively becomes a player when following an interaction-based learning process.
It is not necessary for the player to be given explicit information about the rules of the game
but it is required that each step offers a challenge which can be overcome. We develop our
theoretical analysis by considering non-verbal ways of communication such as “earcones” or
“auditory icons”. Finally, we consider the works of researchers who recommend to give a
more musical orientation to this form of non-verbal communication. In the third part, we try
to answer our core problem with the help of three experimental protocols. First, we want to
investigate whether two groups of gamers playing with two different versions of the same
game (one version excluding explicit help) progress differently. The results of this protocol
show that differences exist, which leads us to consider that our non-verbal system hardly
works in this state but two players manage to progress without explicit help. Secondly, we
study the differences between two groups of visually impaired gamers playing another game
without explicit help on an improved system, one group aged between fifteen and seventeen
and the other between seventeen and twenty-two. The results do not allow us to draw
conclusions on this question but lead us to consider that our system could be better handled by
an audience of young adults. The improved non verbal system works correctly for most of the
players. Thirdly, we want to know if sighted players are more easily interested in an audio
game if it offers a visual payoff system. This seems to be true if the visual rendering is
sufficiently evocative. Otherwise, the visual rendering can disturb the progression of some
players during the first steps of the game. In conclusion, we offer a non-verbal learning
system allowing a quick start within the context of a blind-accessible maze game. However,
this game’s efficiency is perfectible. We consider to include this system in other types of
games and to reduce the complexity of the interface in order to enhance the accessibility for
other audiences of players.
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