Cripping the Controller: Changing the Game and Reimagining Access

Game controller design systematically excludes the bodies, epistemologies, and creative practices of disabled people. This paper investigates what emerges when disabled designers lead the creation of controllers and games alongside developers of Alt Ctrl games, interactive experiences built with bespoke custom hardware. We conducted an asynchronous participatory action workshop in which three disabled designers were paired with three Alt Ctrl developers. Each pair worked at their own pace, generating their own methods and producing a functional prototype: a modular tube-based controller for sound-driven spatial gameplay, a plush cat sound toy fostering bonding between a parent and their unborn child, and networked kitchen kettles visualising collective tea-making across households. Reflexive thematic analysis produced four themes: designers’ practices are rooted in embodied positionality and shaped by assistive technology limitations; existing co-design frameworks constrain crip designers by imposing normative pacing and methods; material exploration and tactile prototyping serve as epistemologically productive starting points; and care, interdependence, and community function as generative design forces rather than accommodations. From these findings, we propose guidelines for crip game design that support group dynamics and care, customisation and explicit personalisation, and crip games as a worldmaking opportunity.