Hmmm, I can think of several ways rumble features could be used as another indicator of what was happening in a game environment, for example instead of sfx for your character taking damage, use vibration instead. But as Cx2 said, not many people have invested the money in these sorts of controlers (I certainly haven't), so Devs aren't using them.

there was one game entitled In the Pit, Also i think part of a university project, I believe that took advantage of rumble features, and required a Xbox 360 wired controler to play, found at http://www.studiohunty.com/itp

hth.

top speed 2, indeed, does support force feedback. my friend showed me the controller (a steering wheel) rumbling on the desk. it was kind of funny. top speed 2 can be found at http://www.playinginthedark.net. note: i believe there may be popups on the website though i could be wrong. also, alien outback, found at www.dracoent.com, supports rumble, as far as i know. i've never tried it myself, since i don't have a rumble-supported gamepad.

Is the Logitech profiling software accessible? I could imagine some of the software I saw while I was sighted for the purpose being awkward with screen readers.

Personally, I am, and always will be, much more a fan of good old fashioned arcade style joysticks than game pads. I own a multisystem monstrosity called an X arcade stick, which you can buy adapters for various systems for, though at the moment I only own the gamecube adapter.

It's a great joystick, it's huge, apparently bullit proof, and really amazing for games, ---- particularly beat em ups. If you imagine slicing the top off a streetfighter 2 arcade machine you'll have a general idea of what it is like.

I've been considdering buying the Pc adapter for it for a wile now, but I'm firstly not sure on how accessible the software would be, and secondly, the only shop in the Uk which sold them seems to have closed down, so I'd have to order from the states. Stil, if I could get it to work, it'd be great for some of the really fast paced action games such as alien outback or dynaman, not to mention Tank commander or Lw.

On the down side though, it doesn't have a rumble feature.

I'm afraid for me, I don't find joy pads any easier than curser keys, ---- in fact I actually find them slightly harder to use, because of there stupid habbit of putting buttons on the back and expecting you to use your thumb for most things.

If a lot of games started heavily supporting rumble though, I might considder getting one, just for the experience.

But it'd have to be more than just one or two games.

Well as mentioned a time or two the software used to configure gamepads or other controllers is also a concern, since they might not necessarily be accessible with screen readers. Personally I would very much like to swap my old MS Sidewinder Precision Pro stick (the original version no less) for something newer, and also be able to control the deadzone setting. I find it a little twitchy in the centre area, something I had no trouble with when I could play mainstream games because they always seemed to have options to account for this. As it is though it is very touchy in Rail Racer, and so delicate as to be nearly unusable in Lone Wolf. Also for some reason Lone Wolf seems very unresponsive to buttons, so being able to profile them would be nice.

I could imagine force feedback actually working well in Lone Wolf as it happens. Something like using it for when depth charges hit nearby or so on. Guess I'm more of a joystick person than a gamepad person from my own past experiences too.

I'm sure people are like me very glad to have helped at all.

It would certainly make for an interesting read if it wouldn't be unduly problematic, and might even be of use in accessibility projects like the Game Accessibility Project or for developers. I know the people looking at Second Life for the blind were considering haptick feedback too.

Thanks for the suggestion! I will definitely look into publishing my paper on sites like that Game Accessibility program. I think it's important for developers to know about issues like this, and if I can contribute to that in any way, I'll be happy to!

Hmmm, seems that haptic technology is chasing me at the moment, i had a long chat with one chap about it reguarding his research into an accessible interface for second life and uis in general, ---- and in fact right now i'm in the  middle of a conference on qualea and sense experience.

I personally love the sound of some of the devices you mention in the artical, ---- though perhaps not the pain station ;D. but as an immercian and exploration nut, the couch or the vest would deffinately appeal to me assuming I could find playable games which would support them.

I'm interested that you didn't mention the wiimote in the artical, sinse that uses both force feedback and semi-realistic movement to increase a player's immercian in the game.