The use of Tangible Interfaces has been suggested by Ishii as an
approach for human-computer-s interaction (Ullmer & Ishii, 2000).
He demonstrated the functional use of Grasp-able and Tangible User
Interfaces (TUIs) using physical objects as intuitive interfaces.
TUIs apply combined virtual and real-world physical concepts and
personal experiences that may be considered more “intuitive” since
they follow familiar metaphors. To the disabled people, TUIs thus
can be the solution to overcome hardware difficulties that they are
facing when playing computer or real-world games.
Most projects address graphical user interface accessibility issues
and use of assistive technologies specifically for nonsighted
people. However, available assistive technologies are sometimes
expensive and may not always fit all sorts of user interface re-quirements,
therefore, home-brewed tangible user interfaces (e.g. Jung et al.,
2005 ) can be a functional approach.
To develop a single holistic game that covers all sorts of
disabilities may not be possible. Some games attempt to solve this
problem by providing configuration functionalities such as levels
of parameterisation on the size of the objects, speed and distance
of the action, life and tolerance of the game, and sounds . The
majority of these accessible computer or video games support not
only audio or visual customisation but also other high level
assistive tech-nologies such as voice recognition or Global
Positioning System. Although these games provide accessibility
support, the question of how to aid physically impaired people
experience social rewards from non-computer based games (e.g. board
games) remains unanswered.