Enhancing Affordance Through the Use of Sign Language in Virtual Reality

In this paper, we introduce the usage of sign language in a virtual reality game that can strengthen affordance by making important information, cues, or instructions perceptible to general players as well as those who rely on sign language as a primary means of communication. The use of sign language gestures in a game can be considered a way of strengthening affordance, particularly in the context of accessibility. Affordance refers to the perceived and potential actions that players can take with an entity or within an environment. Strengthening affordance involves making these potential actions more apparent and easily understood by players. In this study, we suggested various sign language gesture hints through the agent that can provide potential actions that are more apparent and easily understood by players to induce natural progression. We implemented sign language gestures that represent the nine actions and six emotional expressions that players need to solve puzzles and explore to progress through the game. These sign language gestures help players identify puzzle elements. Players can decide on a specific puzzle or task and understand and put into action the essential elements or steps needed to solve a puzzle. We suggest the broader concept of enhancing affordance through the use of sign language gestures, where games are designed to be playable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.