Shared Control for Game Accessibility: Understanding Current Human Cooperation Practices to Inform the Design of Partial Automation Solutions

Paper Title

Shared Control for Game Accessibility: Understanding Current Human Cooperation Practices to Inform the Design of Partial Automation Solutions

Publication Info

• Topic area: Video game accessibility for players with disabilities, focusing on shared control and partial automation.
• Keywords: Shared control, video game accessibility, human cooperation, partial automation, assistive technology, player autonomy, inclusion, gaming setups, accessibility challenges, design guidelines.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Current shared control systems rely heavily on human copilots, which limits player autonomy, availability, and engagement. Partial automation solutions are underexplored as alternatives.
• Significance: Addressing these limitations could enable players with disabilities to access games independently, reducing logistical barriers and enhancing inclusion.
• Motivation and related work: Prior research has explored assistive technologies and partial automation in gaming but has not investigated how shared control is used in practice or how human cooperation dynamics can inform automated solutions.

Solution

• Proposed approach: Investigating shared control practices through interviews and focus groups to inform the design of partial automation systems for video game accessibility.
• Novelty:
  1. Formative interviews and focus groups with 14 participants, including players with disabilities, copilots, and accessibility experts.
  2. Reflexive thematic analysis identifying key themes in shared control usage and automation potential.
  3. Design guidelines for developing partial automation systems while preserving player agency and sociality.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with participants experienced in shared control.
  • Reflexive thematic analysis of transcripts to extract themes and sub-themes.
  • Presentation of a speculative partial automation concept to participants for feedback.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Shared control enables access to games otherwise unplayable but depends on human copilots, limiting autonomy and availability.
  • Participants welcomed partial automation to reduce reliance on human copilots, especially for multiplayer games and complex tasks.
  • Ethical concerns include potential misuse in competitive multiplayer contexts and maintaining player agency.
• Advantage over baselines: Partial automation systems could eliminate logistical barriers, increase independence, and provide consistent support across games.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Interviews and focus groups with 14 participants (7 pilots, 5 copilots, 6 experts).
  • Analysis of participants’ experiences with shared control and hypothetical partial automation systems.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Limited participant diversity (mostly mobility impairments, Western countries, no underage or elderly participants).
  • Findings based on self-reported experiences; observational studies and experimental prototypes are needed.
  • Future work should explore broader populations, real-world gaming sessions, and comparative evaluations of human and automated copilots.

Summary

This study investigates shared control practices in video game accessibility to inform the design of partial automation systems. Findings show that shared control is essential for enabling access to games but relies on human copilots, limiting autonomy and availability. Participants expressed interest in partial automation to address these limitations while raising concerns about preserving agency and sociality. The study contributes design guidelines for developing automated copilots and highlights the need for further research with diverse populations, observational studies, and experimental prototypes.