Cool article at New World Notes on nine severely disabled people in a care center who play the character Wilde Cunningham in the online game Second Life. Individually, the residents didn't have the ability to interface with the game effectively, but coordinated their abilities in order to participate online as a collaboratively constructed player, with the help of a lilone (a caregiver at the center who runs the keyboard, entering decisions made by the group).
"Micah and Charlene could use the mouse," lilone replies, when I ask her if it's possible for each member of wilde to enter Second Life directly, perhaps with their own individual accounts. "John and Nichole could, but wouldn't alone. Micah can't read. Charlene has one hand, but can read." She shrugs. "None of them, really."
Their solution, for now at least, is lilone effectively acting as their interface: she sits at the keyboard, with the wilde group gathered in a semi-circle in a cramped care center room, peering over her shoulder and into the monitor, at the world inside.
[via Boing Boing]
Posted by johndan at December 27, 2004 11:02 PM | TrackBackhi i'm the person who drives wilde for them when they play second life. i wanted to share that this experience has revolutionized their lives in many many ways! feel free to check out our blog for the latest on whats happening with them and in relationship to second life. on the left side is a catagory called wilde's writings. you'll find many touching poems and essays they've composed!
Posted by: lilone at January 27, 2005 05:26 PM