Why Should It Take Two Hands To Play Video Games?
Mike Reed, — co-host of a talk-show — loves playing video games, lost the
use of his right hand after a shooting accident in 1993. He has learned to play
many of the games using a controller with only one hand, but he says many games
are impossible to play one-handed.
“They’re mostly fantasy and adventure games that require many
rapid motions using both hands,†Reed said. “It excludes people
with temporary arm injuries or limb deficiencies.â€
But Reed intends to change that.
Reed, 28, has designed a dual-motion game controller that consolidates all
movement, button response and directional function into a one-handed video game
controller. The controller would work with all video game systems. Reed hopes
to market his design with a U.S. game controller manufacturer. “We have
a technical design in mind but haven’t built a prototype yet,†Reed
said. “I’m excited about the possibility.â€
Reed believes the controller would not only be capable of bringing video games
to people unable to play them but would revolutionize gaming by radically simplifying
the controls.
Reed, who works at 1240-AM, KODY radio, noted that there are 13.6 million
Americans who have limited use of their hands or arms. “And there are
39,000 people who are born one-armed or one-handed or lose the use of a limb
every year,†Reed said. “It happens through repetitive stress injury,
carpal tunnel syndrome, fractures, dislocations, strokes, arthritis or birth
defects.â€
It’s been 10 years this month since Reed lost the use of his right arm.
He was 18 years old, getting ready to join the Navy and hanging out with some
buddies. They had been drinking. The tragedy happened after an acquaintance
at the party pointed a loaded .410-caliber shotgun at Reed. Reed was shot point
blank. “I felt my arm go limp,†Reed said. He staggered from the
house and collapsed on the front sidewalk, losing consciousness. Luckily, a
friend at the house had emergency medical training and stopped Reed’s
bleeding with a tourniquet. Reed was left with very limited use of his right
arm and almost no use of his hand.
Making it even tougher, Reed was right-handed and had to learn how to write,
get dressed, tie his shoes and live normally using only his left hand. Today,
Reed doesn’t let his disability slow him in the least. “I love the
challenge of trying to figure out how to do things that are hard with only one
hand,†Reed said. “I don’t think of myself as disabledâ€.
Reed doesn’t let the things he can’t do get in the way of the things
he can. He said his boxing career ended after the shooting, but his bowling
career is just taking off.
But one thing he doesn’t do is feel sorry for himself.
“I really hope the game controller idea works out,†Reed said.
“It would be proud knowing that I could contribute to gamers single-handedly.â€
Source: Original article at Nebraska.StatePaper.com
Filed under: Hardware
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Dear Mr Reed,
I agree with you, my nephew recently was a victim of gun violence he was shot randomly while driving in a car. Both passengers were shot, he was riding in a car with his brother, both are alive. My nephew was nonresponsive on the scene, after they got shot, the car crashed into a tree. A good samaritan driving by saw the crash stopped and preformed CPR on my nephew who was shot in the neck, my other nephew was shot in the ankle.My nephew with the severest injury is now paralyzed from the neck down. He was a video game player before this happened he’s a seventeen year old teenager. Why doesn’t the industry think of the disabled. He wants a playstation 3, I will purchase it but I don’t want him to feel frustrated, if his condition doesn’t change. I do believe in miracles until we receive a miracle he’s paralyzed, from the neck down. How can he play video games?