The Xbox Adaptive Controller and Accessibility

Originally posted on devintea.wordpress.com July 25th, 2018.

How many times are "accessible" supports for people with disabilities less than accessible? Lack of a curb cut by the ADA parking spots in lots, impossibly steep wheelchair ramps, or accessibility tools that someone has to ask for (if there's a wheelchair ramp for it to be brought out, assistance for a wheelchair friendly lift, etc).

So, when Microsoft released their packaging for the Xbox adaptive controller, it was a refreshing to see packaging that made the controller easier to, you know, access. The packaging opens easily with just one tab, and features oval loops that make removing the controller easier. Why is this packaging so successful for people with difficulties opening traditional packaging? The designers utilized the easiest and most obvious strategy that seems to evade so many others; they actually asked those people for help in creating the packaging for the adaptive controller.

Designer Mark Weiser and design researcher Scott Wang worked with gamers with limited mobility, testing hundreds of designs before arriving at the final product.

“I don’t think you realize, until you’re required to think differently, what you take for granted. As a designer, when you see things through a completely different lens, it’s paradigm-shifting.” says Kevin Marshall, creative director of Microsoft’s Packaging Design Studio.

Hopefully other major studios are soon to follow Microsoft's example with not only adaptive controllers, but with a full experience that benefits people with limited mobility and the public as a whole.

The Professional Development of being a Dungeon Master

My thoughts after my first session back in January? “This is freaking awesome.”

Okay, I’ve given it a little more time and I’m ready to use words better than “freaking awesome.” I went into today terrified. That isn’t too strong of a word, either. I felt like I had a reputation of sorts to uphold- being super into DND is kind of a big part of my identity, even having never played. I felt like I had a lot to prove, and there is so much to DND that I just don’t know about. I mean, you’ve seen how many rules there are. I’m not gonna have that all memorized.

Embracing “Awkward”

But it went smoother than I would have expected. Sure, there were things I didn’t know and I had to look up. And sure, my players inevitably did not do what they were “supposed” to. That’s the charm, though, isn’t it? The best laid plans of Dungeon Masters will instantly just be shattered, and that’s okay.

My biggest fear about the process of DMing, more than having to look up rules every 10 seconds, was the improv part of the role. I am, in a word, awkward. In two words, SUPER awkward. I have hated that long enough to where I can now embrace this awkwardness as a part of me. Additionally, starting anti anxiety medication over a year ago helped that a lot. Regardless, I am still awkward. I did not know how I would react to creating new NPCs on the fly, or changing things around, without making it obvious that I was doing so.

A Learning Opportunity

6 months in (WOW!), I’ve grown more confident in my improv and DM abilities. I pride myself on being able to (and being forced to by my players) adapt on the fly. “Here’s a spooky zombie horse for you to fight or track!” I say. “Let’s use some rope to lasso it,” they reply. It’s perfect.

Now, in my career I don’t find myself having to talk off the top of my head about zombies. But there are many other times where I have to think on my feet, and switch gears at the drop of a hat. Being a Dungeon Master has, without a doubt, made me better at it. The other beautiful thing though is that it also taught me that it’s okay to say “I don’t have an answer to this,” or “I’m not sure what to say,” and take a beat to think of what comes next.

Makings of a Dungeon Master - Session 0

It’s here. Today’s the day. Today, I go from Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast to official Dungeon Master.

This is my record scratch, “now you might be wondering how I got here” post.

It all started when my boyfriend kept telling me “I’m gonna kick your ass at Christmas this year.” (He did clarify this meant in quality of gift, not a threat of violence, don’t worry). That’s how this chapter of the story got started, but the whole thing actually started long, long ago. My entire life I’ve grown up with a (very cool) mom with more books than some small libraries. Sitting atop a shelf, just eye level, in the house I grew up in, were a stack of brightly colored books.

My mother, a child of the 70s and 80s, has a collection of first edition DND books. They are incredible. The art is great, and the detail? I mean it just blows me away. You can calculate the effects of a chronic urinary tract disorder on a character with the tables in those books. Gary Gygax what even were you doing?

The interest in DND exploded when I discovered the McElroys and how they brought their special brand of humor to DND with The Adventure Zone.

That brings us to the ass kicking of Christmas- my significant other got me the entire Dungeon Master starting “kit.” The starter kit, the essentials kit, the Dungeon Master’s Handbook, the Monster Manual, AND a few sets of dice. He was right- he kicked my ass at Christmas.

Session Zero

Well, today isn’t session zero. We did that on New Year’s Eve, and it was a delight. Before we even got to do that, I was reading up. Reading through the first adventure (The Lost Mines of Phandelver), the player’s handbook, everything my SO had gotten for me and the prize gem- my mother’s DND books. She is kindly letting me “borrow” them indefinitely. As I gently flipped through the pages, I felt like I was truly becoming part of something. Does that sound ridiculous? Maybe. But thinking of the many kids and adults who, throughout the years, had read those same pages and let their imaginations run wild? It’s something special.

I also spent the 7 hour drive to and from home listening to Dungeon Master’s Block, a very cool podcast that has been running for over 5 years and is full of fascinating and thought provoking ideas and help for Dungeon Masters.

In Session Zero, we talked easy stuff. We rolled up the stats for the characters (hilarious, especially when our sorcerer ended up with 5 hit points), and talked basics. It also served to get me so hyped up for the session!

It Begins

So that brings me to today. I’m not going to lie, I’m totally freaking out. The main thing you learn when reading up on how to be a good DM is that the players will always do something that takes you off guard. They say not to prepare too much- that’s not really my typical modus operandi.

On my drive home, I practiced my intro speech, and tried to just get myself feeling light and breezy. Yeah, not going to happen. But the important part is I am so excited. This is going to be such a fun adventure for them and for me. I’m looking forward to seeing how my creativity grows with having to really get improv into my skill set.

So I’m going to write about it! Pop in here for my thoughts before or after each session and what I’ve learned.

Why Does Everyone Gotta Do Slytherin so Dirty?

Originally published on devineteawriting.wordpress.com

I have loved Harry Potter ever since I first read about the boy under the stairs. Hermione taught me being a bookworm was cool, and gave me my first introduction to social justice (leaving SPEW out of the movies was a travesty). Harry turned me into the sarcastic adult I am now (It’s a tie between ‘There’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ professor’ and ‘That’s my nickname’ [re: Roonil Wazlib] for what will be written on my tombstone), and Ron showed me how to be an individual, and how to feel like a king (or queen!). So, when Pottermore came out, I was so excited to be sorted. Buzzfeed quizzes are amazing, but to have a canon house… well, it was the most exciting thing since “Not my daughter, you bitch!”

I went through every chapter until I could finally get to the Sorting Hat, took the quiz and got… Slytherin. I was heartbroken. I thought I would be a Hufflepuff, for sure, but the hat had spoken. I was the bad house. I was a Malfoy, a Pansy Parkinson, a person who was away during the Battle of Hogwarts. Fortunately, not that much of my identity was tied up in this, and it simply became a fun topic of conversation, when friends compared houses and I was a Slytherin.

Years passed, and in grad school I was inspired to try the Pottermore test again, due mostly to procrastination and boredom. I searched deep in my soul for the answers to the questions the Sorting Hat presented me, and again- I was a Slytherin. Something had changed, though, since 2011 when I took the test for the first time. I had grown as a person, stopped being a Snape apologist (a dark time in my life, to be sure), and grown a more critical view of media, including my beloved Harry Potter. Now, I am proud to be a Slytherin. I am an ambitious and cunning person, and just because J.K. wrote the house in such a one dimensional way, doesn’t mean that’s how we have to interpret it.

Recently, I’ve been playing a lot of the app “Hogwarts Mystery,” and I of course told the Sorting Hat I wanted to be in Slytherin. While the game itself is lackluster, it’s fun to see the areas of Hogwarts I’d only ever imagined, and the Slytherin common room was a nice design, with the lake outside and crackling fire. Your character can even get a line about thinking it’s sad that people view Slytherin as all bad news! And then, the weirdest thing happens. If you don’t have a high enough courage level for a particular mission, a conversation with your prefect goes quite wrong. You’re plotting against Gryffindor, and your previously very supportive prefect snaps at you, saying that he can’t believe you’d been put into Slytherin, you’re a shame to your house, and that he would do anything for the house, unlike you.
I was actually a little disappointed (before remembering that this wasn’t real life). Why is it, so many years later and after so much criticism of this lackluster writing, that Slytherin is still just the big meanies? This gets at an issue of characterization that not just Harry Potter falls victim to; it’s a trope in many a novel. When you create a group that your antagonist hails from, they shouldn’t be a faceless and mono-trait group. Even having one exception from the rule isn’t enough. It isn’t realistic, and isn’t a particularly interesting plot device. Your antagonists should be varied and diverse, and there shouldn’t be a a Bad Guy Central™ without some serious world building that makes it a unique and interesting setting.