Performing Locomotion Tasks in Immersive Computer Games with an Adapted Eye-Tracking Interface

Young people with severe physical disabilities may benefit greatly from participating in immersive computer games. In-game tasks can be fun, engaging, educational, and socially interactive. But for those who are unable to use traditional methods of computer input such as a mouse and keyboard, there is a barrier to interaction that they must first overcome. Eye-gaze interaction is one method of input that can potentially achieve the levels of interaction required for these games. How we use eye-gaze or the gaze interaction technique depends upon the task being performed, the individual performing it, and the equipment available. To fully realize the impact of participation in these environments, techniques need to be adapted to the person’s abilities. We describe an approach to designing and adapting a gaze interaction technique to support locomotion, a task central to immersive game playing. This is evaluated by a group of young people with cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. The results show that by adapting the interaction technique, participants are able to significantly improve their in-game character control.