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Frustration Olympics:

An Accessibility Workshop

Frustration Olympics:

An Accessibility Workshop

Frustration Olympics:

An Accessibility Workshop

Using gamification to simulate accessibility issues for an exercise in empathy, and a refresher on WCAG.

Training

Prototype

For the longest time, I wanted to conduct a workshop on Accessibility principles. After weeks of tinkering, ‘Frustration Olympics’ was born.

As a part of the workshop, I devised a gamified simulation that would serve as both a WCAG refresher and an exercise in empathy.

It all started with a simple question:

For the longest time, I wanted to conduct a workshop on Accessibility principles. After weeks of tinkering, ‘Frustration Olympics’ was born.

As a part of the workshop, I devised a gamified simulation that would serve as both a WCAG refresher and an exercise in empathy.

It all started with a simple question:

For the longest time, I wanted to conduct a workshop on Accessibility principles. After weeks of tinkering, ‘Frustration Olympics’ was born.

As a part of the workshop, I devised a gamified simulation that would serve as both a WCAG refresher and an exercise in empathy.

It all started with a simple question:

What if we could simulate the everyday experiences of more vulnerable user groups?

Though the original concept was more about physical conditions, it soon grew to accomodate more universal obstacles.

The Rules.

Every “player” has to go through 5 different stages that I've prototyped, each posing a unique challenge.

Getting an answer wrong would result in a lost life.

Three lost lives will disqualify the player, thus passing the phone on to the next player.

Fig 1: The rules

Fig 2: Try again

The Challenges.

(play along at home)

Fig 3: Color-blindness Simulation

Real life afflictions

For example, I asked them to count the number of pending tasks on a screen. (Fig 1)

But the catch?

The tasks were color-coded, and the simulation was based on the color blind experience where green appears strikingly similar to orange (a type of color-blindness called Deuteranopia).

For example, I asked them to count the number of pending tasks on a screen.

(Fig 1)

But the catch?

The tasks were color-coded, and the simulation was based on the color blind experience where green appears strikingly similar to orange (a type of color-blindness called Deuteranopia).

For example, I asked them to count the number of pending tasks on a screen. (Fig 1)

But the catch?

The tasks were color-coded, and the simulation was based on the color blind experience where green appears strikingly similar to orange (a type of color-blindness called Deuteranopia).

In the tester level challenge meant to simulate Macular Degeneration, I asked my team to count the number of stripes on a light house while their "vision" is obscured by a thick, blurriness.

Fig 4: Macular Degeneration Simulation

Answer key: Fig 3 - Four tasks, Fig 4: Three stripes.

Fig 5: Glitching screen Simulation

Universality of WCAG

To drive home the point everyone benefits from accessibilty, not just people afflicted with conditions, I even took the case of a glitching phone screen that can prevent people from completing their tasks. (Fig 2)

I also prototyped a screen that looked the way phone glare feels and asked them to find click on a 6-point star.

Fig 6: Phone glare Simulation

The Result.

I watched as my team fully immersed themselves into the simulation. It was not easy - they racked up a few broken hearts along the way. That did not stop them however, from pushing forward and figuring out the answers to my cryptic puzzles.

We closed the session by going over the answer key aka the principles required to navigate these struggles, and exploring cool tools that can be put into action for this purpose.