Improving the Accessibility of Digital Games Using Partial Automation

Abstract

Partial automation is a games accessibility technique that can improve the accessibility of digital games to novices and players with disabilities. Under partial automation, the player shares control of the game with an AI copilot that performs gameplay actions that the player has difficulty controlling. Through a series of studies, we found that this technique can extend a game's accessibility to players who might be unable to play otherwise. This thesis contributes an exploration of the design space of partial automation, including many examples of partial automation created for use in our studies, as well as empirical evidence that partial automation can improve a game's accessibility.