Arcade Machine Handicapable Redesign

Phetishboy

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If you had the chance to redesign your favorite arcade machine to accommodate a child or young adult in a wheelchair, how would you do it? If you have access to a good sketch-up, AutoCAD or vector program, and you have some time, I'd love to see what you come up with using existing art but modifying it to fit your cabinet designs. I went out hiking a lot in the past week and my mind began to wander and I kept coming back to this same subject. Post your mock-ups here. I do plan on having one of these built someday, but for now I wanna see some inventive designs first. Our hobby may revolve around a dead art form, but there's no reason we can't still innovate and come up with new ways to keep it interesting. It also may benefit somebody some day.
 
Cut about 6 to 8" off the bottom... cut out the front panel where the coin door goes and re-design that area to flow back toward the back...keeping the sides intact...so a chair could fit under.
 
Cut about 6 to 8" off the bottom... cut out the front panel where the coin door goes and re-design that area to flow back toward the back...keeping the sides intact...so a chair could fit under.

Can someone please post that Ray Charles "I Can't See Shit" pic?
 
Can someone please post that Ray Charles "I Can't See Shit" pic?
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Everything would be a cocktail version...

Kids can pull a chair up to them and see the entire screen. A person in a chair could also pull up to it in some form of fashion and play. Likewise, the cocktail screen flip for P1 or P2 makes it very easy for two people to play at one machine.

Any machine that had mutilple buttons would have switches to make multiple things happen in one motion, rather then two.
 
This falls in the "peanut allergy at a ballgame" category to me. You want me not to eat peanuts because you have a sissy allergy? *couBULLSHITgh* Watch the game on TV, life is hard...
 
This would be tough to design. WC's come in all different sizes. You would need a lot of room underneith for their feet/knees. Getting the control panel at useable height would be hard also. Adj ht control panel?
 
One word, Hydraulics!

There is so much open space in most game cabinets, especially with the newer smaller cards (JROK's multi-Williams comes to mind). You could make the pedestal in two or three pieces pieces one or two inner and one outer so that the control panel and monitor can go up and down like Phet's low rider. Ok, not exactly like that [shudders and tries to get hte image out of his head]. But at least raise and lower slowly and safely to the appropriate height.

ken

Sorry: I don't have a paint program handy to try making a fool of myself with.
 
Seeing as how my wife is a Special Ed teacher, I'll ask this question. Are you referring to someone who simply can't stand/walk? or are you refering to someone with more severe physical disabilities like cerebral palsy or spina burfida? Or perhaps someone with developmental issues like Down's Syndrome or Autism?

There are computer games already designed for the latter. As for the former, perhaps something like the Beachhead 2002 game that has a drop down helmet/handles?

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By the way, Phet, I don't want to pry or get to personal, and I admit I haven't read every post here so if it's been mentioned before I apologize, but is there a personal reason for this? Understand if you'd rather not talk about it...
 
How about some games like Hydro Thunder or Cruisn' Exotica done with a rear-access setup similar to what is seen with an actual wheelchair-access motortrike? You could put some minor motion with it to give them the sensation of actually driving...

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well heres my thoughts.

Take a candy cabinet for example, make the base smaller in depth to accompany a wheelchair / more leg room, and then angle the monitor in down/outside instead of inside the cabinet so that from a lower perspective your able to see without strain.
 
One way to implement this idea would be to build a bartop machine and place it on an adjustable-height table.
 

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I remember a user here or on BYOAC quite awhile ago(like maybe 2 years ago even) posting pictures of his MAME he built for this very purpose as he IS in a wheelchair.

It was pretty well done given the design changes to your average cabinet layout.
 
I don't think there is a simple answer to this question. different disabilities would require different cabinet mods. something like one of the mame aircraft carrier cp's across the arms of a wheelchair connected to an lcd would work for playing the games, but would not necessarily give the feel of playing a cab
 
i would think cocktails would work. or, the bartop style, with a small crt or lcd screen would work (for maximum screen in a smaller space). especially with the size of present boards like the jrok. i shudder at the idea of an lcd in a game but i do think it would work well for someone with a disability that prevents them from standing and playing an UR...
 
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