PowerUp Game with Accessibility Options

PowerUp can be played with sound only, or with visuals only. It can be played without a mouse or other pointing device. It can also be played with only a mouse. The accessibility options provide control over how the game’s text will look, whether it is spoken aloud, and the level of sound effects.

More information:

Accessibility options can be set before logging in, by choosing the ‘Accessibility options’ button on the Login screen, or typing ‘Control-A’. This brings up a dialog box that displays the options.

After launching the game, type ‘Control-T’ to turn on the speech feedback. Open the accessibility options dialog box and select the ‘Extra sounds’option. All text that appears on the screen is spoken (see below for more details) and extra sound effects are provided for events in the world. There are also specialized commands for looking around, finding objects, and walking to them safely. Find out more by selecting the ‘Play by audio’ option on the accessibility options dialog box. Useful tips for playing by audio are also available.

If the ‘Speech output’ option is selected, all text that appears on the screen can be spoken aloud. When a dialog box is displayed, pressing ‘Alt-A’ will speak the whole contents of the dialog box. Pressing the ‘tab’ key to move around the dialog box will speak the name and contents of each individual control. Within the 3D world, pressing ‘Alt-A’ will speak all of the text in the heads-up displays. Text will also be spoken as it appears in these displays.

This image shows the three text sizes that are available. Select your preferred size on the accessibility options dialog box. Text in the 3D world is not affected by this option. It can be made larger by pressing ‘Z’ to zoom in.

These screenshots show the four text color options that are available: standard colors, black text on a white background, white text on a black background, and a low contrast option of brown text on a green background. Select your preferred color on the accessibility options dialog box. When a high or low contrast option is selected, all text is displayed with a solid background. With the standard colors, some text has a transparent background.

All dialog boxes and menus can be controlled by using the standard keyboard navigation keys: tab and shift-tab to move through the set of controls on the screen, and space or enter to select the current control. Each control will be highlighted as you tab on to it, to show where the focus is. If you have selected the ‘speech output’ option, the control’s name and status will also be spoken when you tab to it.

Any button that can be dragged with the mouse can also be dragged using keystrokes as follows:

press ‘space’ or ‘enter’ to pick up the object

use the arrow keys to move the object

press space or enter again to drop the object

Within the 3D world, use the arrow keys to control where you look. Use the ‘q’ key to ‘click’.

Select ‘Mouse-only mode’ on the accessibility options dialog box. All 2D screens can be controlled with a mouse. When in the 3D world, a special heads-up display will provide a set of buttons through which you can control your avatar, and access all the available commands.

Use an on-screen keyboard to enter text when creating and entering your password. No other typing is needed.

Download Instructions for the PowerUp Game with Accessibility Options

1) Check Your Computer

Before downloading the PowerUp game, you must check your computer. Your computer will need:

• DirectX drivers, available at Microsoft Download Center. You must have these drivers successfully installed for the game to work.
• A Pentium III or IV 2GHz processor or better (or AMD 2 GHz or better).
• An ATI or Nvidia Graphics card with DirectX 9.1 or better support, and at least 128 Mb of video RAM. If your computer doesn't have 128 Mb of video RAM, the game performance will be poor.
• At least 1 Gb of system RAM and at least 300 Mb of hard drive storage for the game.
• A broadband Internet connection.

3) Create your Profile and Login

• After you successfully launch the game, you will need to register and create a profile.
• Click the My Profile button and follow the screens to select a user name and password. This user name is the name of your avatar and the your login user name. Since PowerUp does not collect personal information from users (i.e., email), we have no way to contact you to automatically reset your password. Please document your password in case you forget it.
• The final registration screen asks for your gender. This is merely a selection of your avatar’s gender. You can select any avatar gender and this will be the physical model you will see during the avatar customization process.
• Depending on your answer to the gender question, a male or female model will appear in the avatar customization screens. Avatar customization is a five step process. After making your selection, click the next screen to see your next set of options. Your selections will be seen on the model to the right. Go back to previous screens to alter your selections. When you are done, click the Done button to start the game.
• When you return to the game, enter your user name and password and click the Login button. This bring you straight into the game.