Additive Manufacturing for Inclusive Games: How can Additive Manufacturing technology assist in the learning of the Visually Impaired

Game-based learning is an important aspect of education. However, when it comes to games, visually impaired children suffer. There are very few games developed for the visually impaired, and lesser so, to serve for educational purposes. In this paper, we discuss the role of additive manufacturing technology in creating inclusive games. Specifically, we focus on the design and development of a digitally-fabricated board game for the visually impaired. At the start of our study, we conducted a semi-structured interview with visually impaired children to understand our user group. Then, we developed a geography based educational game focused on teaching the physical and political features of India. One of the key focus areas while developing the game was the design of the tactile nature of the game artefacts — the board and the pegs. Finally, we conducted a user testing of the game with visually impaired children. We found that the game enhanced the children’s understanding about the map of India.