Gazey Golf | Eye Control Options

The games on SpecialEffect’s Eye Gaze Games website have been designed to be enable you to choose how to play depending on your eye gaze camera and the software you use for controlling Windows.

If you can use your eye gaze camera and compatible software to control the mouse cursor position and make a left click, then it should be compatible to play games on the site with, when configured correctly. The site doesn’t include eye gaze software itself but has the options and settings to accommodate its use within the site and games.

In this video we will look at the options for eye gaze players to play ‘Gazey Golf’. Please note, some of the options we show may not apply to all other games on the site currently.

The game has two ways to play. Either using ‘Classic’ controls, which gives you onscreen buttons to adjust the angle of your shot, or a ‘Precise’ mode which allows you to adjust the angle directly, just by moving the mouse cursor position. Once you have chosen your angle with either method, both control modes use the same onscreen buttons to adjust the power of your shot and to take the swing.

 ‘Precise’ Control Mode – using constant control of the mouse cursor position

The ‘Precise’ mode works with eye gaze cameras which have software that allows you to have constant control of the mouse cursor position. With this eye gaze method you can move your eyes to constantly move the mouse cursor icon around your screen. Left click is then often done using either a dwell, a blink, or a switch, depending on your eye gaze camera and your preferences.

The site itself includes its own in-built dwell. Using this, you just need to use your eye gaze camera’s software to control the mouse cursor position and the website’s in-built dwell to select. To dwell you hover over an onscreen button for a chosen amount of time. This is one second by default, but can be adjusted in the Eye Gaze Games website’s settings menu. Please note, this menu currently requires a left click and accurate mouse cursor control to change settings.

As an example, here we are using a Tobii PCEye camera with its ‘Control’ software. With this software, to be able to constantly move the mouse cursor around the screen, we will go to the Tobii ‘Settings’, then ‘Mode’ and select ‘Simplified’ under the ‘Continuous Mode’ options. I will turn on ‘Show Trace’ in the Tobii control software so I can see the position of the mouse cursor. This software uses a small transparent circular icon, rather than the standard Windows mouse cursor icon.

We can either use the Tobii Control software for left click to select onscreen buttons, or turn that off and use Eye Gaze Games’ in-built dwell option within the game. This will give you a centralised dwell on each button.

‘Classic’ Control Mode – using constant control of the mouse cursor position

This eye gaze method, where you have constant control of the mouse cursor position, can also be used with Gazey Golf’s ‘Classic’ controls mode. Again, using either the website’s in-built dwell option or your own choice of left click option which is compatible with your eye gaze camera software. This control mode, uses onscreen buttons to adjust the angle of your shot. The top two buttons move the angle with a large increment in each direction and the lower two move it a smaller increment. Again, you chose the power of your shot by using the onscreen buttons.

Here I am using the Left Click dwell option in the Tobii ‘Control’ software to select buttons,…

…and here I am using the in-built dwell option from the Eye Gaze Games website. When using Tobii’s ‘Simplified’ mode, other games on the site may not work with the websites in-built dwell currently, so the Tobii Control dwell or an alternative option for left click may be required.

There is an option to ‘Allow’ Repeating so you don’t need to look away and back to the button to select it repeatedly.

‘Classic’ Control Mode – not using constant control of the mouse cursor position

With ‘Classic’ mode, you also have the option to use other methods of eye gaze control in Windows, which don’t use constant control of the mouse cursor position. Other methods often involve selecting a location on the screen by looking and then selecting this area to move the mouse cursor icon there. For instance, here we are again using the Tobii PCEye camera with Tobii’s ‘Control’ software. I will go back to using the default mode called ‘Advanced’, found on the ‘Mode’ page under the ‘Continuous Mode’ options in the Tobii Control Settings and choose to use the continuous left click option. This method is not suitable for using with the website’s own in-built dwell option Using the ‘continuous’ mode option by selecting this button allows me to have immediate access to left click between each movement of the mouse cursor position.

Here I look at the button I want to select, pause on it, then the option to left click will appear which I look at to use it [show clip using Tobii ‘Advanced’ mode.

As I don’t have constant control of the mouse cursor position, this method of eye gaze is not compatible with the ‘Precise’ option in the game. Therefore, I am using it here with the ‘Classic’ controls’ mode.

To play the games for free with your eye gaze camera, visit eyegazegames.com