When I'm gaming, I can do anything
Alf is 12 years old and has a body that often seems to have a mind of its own. He knows all too well what it’s like to be physically limited, but when he plays video games – with the right eye-tracking technology – he can do anything.
Alf has been gaming since he was seven. His mother, Camilla, who is present during the interview, says that he started playing Minecraft in kindergarten. While Alf is an avid gamer, he has also been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
For him, this means that his muscles tense and contract involuntarily, resulting in constant twitching in various parts of his body. Among other things, he uses a speech-generating device and a wheelchair because his tongue and vocal cords are also muscles he cannot fully control.
It’s not hard to imagine how challenging it is to press a button on a controller with precision:
“It turns into these big, sweeping movements when he presses buttons. It’s not very precise. He’d need help to play, but Alf just wants to be independent when it comes to IT,” explains Camilla.
When Alf tries to press a button, it’s not just his finger that moves – his left arm might swing out, his head might turn to the side, and his right leg might shoot forward. The solution, therefore, lies in using the muscles that Alf can, after all, control: his eyes.
The Boy Who Can Shoot with his Eyes
Alf can “shoot” with his eyes. This has become possible thanks to eye-tracking technology and a special keyboard overlay that lets him play the popular shooter game CS:GO.
Eye tracking may sound complex, but it works relatively simply: A small camera detects how long and where Alf is looking at the screen. A digital overlay with buttons appears on the screen, which Alf “clicks” by looking at them. This way, he can make his character move, shoot, and perform many other actions.
It’s not just guns that Alf has mastered—he’s also impressively skilled at his favorite game, Farming Simulator. Camilla explains with a smile that Alf can parallel park a tractor with his eyes in the game. Alf bursts into a proud grin.
Alf’s father is a farmer on the farm where they live, and father and son often play Farming Simulator together. At the dinner table, they discuss which crops to grow and whether to buy or rent the equipment. In the game, they’re fellow farmers on equal footing.
If you ask Alf what the best thing about gaming is, he replies:
– I can do anything.
That’s why Alf really hopes that one day all games will be available with built-in eye-tracking technology.
FACT BOX: The eye-tracking program Adaptable Layer Functionality
The eye-tracking program Adaptable Layer Functionality (ALF) was developed in collaboration between the Elsass Foundation and Alf Jacobsen with the aim of promoting opportunities for participation among people who are unable to use commercial controllers and keyboards.
The program works by creating boxes that represent a button on the keyboard, which are activated by focusing one’s gaze on them. The program can be configured for the game you want to play and can be customized to meet user-specific needs in terms of size, placement, background contrast, activation time, and more.