Shocking Realities: VR Horror Games as a Tool for Raising Wheelchair Accessibility Awareness

Wheelchair users face numerous challenges in their daily lives, such as narrow hallways, stairs, or misplaced elevator buttons. While accessible design is important for addressing these issues in the long term, societal understanding and sensitization remain crucial for overcoming these daily obstacles. Our research aims to foster such awareness through virtual reality game design. In contrast to prior works, we intentionally avoid the didactic style typical of serious or persuasive games. Instead, we embed common wheelchair challenges within naturally fitting horror game mechanics. Insights from our playtest (N = 11) highlight the synergy between horror elements (e.g., loss of control, slowdown) and manual wheelchair locomotion challenges. Most importantly, this approach helped participants recognize the daily struggles faced by wheelchair users, demonstrating the potential of our method in promoting a more inclusive and understanding society.