CS547 Human-Computer Interaction Seminar   (Seminar on People, Computers, and Design)

Fridays 11:30am-12:30pm PT · Gates B3 · Open to the public
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Patrick LeMieux / Stephanie Boluk
University of California, Davis
Hands Free: A History of Accessible Alt Ctrls
May 1, 2026

VR headsets, dual thumbsticks, mice and keyboards, smartphone screens -- standard interfaces structure the way we design games and the way we play games, from the earliest project pitches to a product's advertising platforms. But what if instead of "universal" designs targeting generic technologies and normative players, games were made for specific people with specific bodies and specific ways of playing? This presentation begins with a brisk survey of the history of hands-free videogame interfaces -- from Reg Maling's POSSUM in 1961 to Ken Yankelevitz's QuadStick in 1981 to Microsoft's Adaptive Controller in 2018 -- before comparing and contrasting two devices that articulate two different design philosophies: the NES Hands Free and the Octopad. Rather than thinking about accessibility as a single-player problem, these controllers engage the social, political, and environmental aspects of videogames to change the way we play.


Patrick LeMieux is a media artist, game designer, and associate professor in the Cinema and Digital Media Department at the University of California, Davis. His research and teaching engage game studies, media theory, and art practice to explore the material practices and community histories of play, from speedrunning and esports to installation art and alternative control. For more information visit http://patrick-lemieux.com.

Stephanie Boluk is an associate professor who plays, makes, and writes about games in the English Department and Cinema and Digital Media Department at University of California, Davis. She is the co-author of Metagaming: Playing, Competing, Spectating, Trading, Making, and Breaking Videogames (2017) with Patrick LeMieux. For more information see http://stephanieboluk.com.