Game over

This paper presents the design and evaluation of Game Over!, which is the world's first universally inaccessible game (i.e., a game that can be played by no one). The game is meant to be used as an educational tool for disseminating and teaching game accessibility guidelines. This is achieved by providing game developers a first-hand (frustrating) experience of how it feels interacting with a game that is not accessible, due to the fact that important design rules were not considered or applied during its design. Both the overall concept and the approach followed were evaluated and validated through: (a) an on-line survey; (b) live feedback from players and developers; and (c) public opinions and critique collected from numerous Web sites and blogs where Game Over! was presented and discussed. The evaluation outcomes strongly suggest that computer games and humor constitute a perfect match for reaching out, motivating and educating the game developers' community in the subject of game accessibility.