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Things to do with just one arm
BenMCOB
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
In short the situation is like this. My girlfriend has what's known as Hereditary Spastica Parapaligia, an on-going condition which impairs her ability to walk without aid. Last week she went into hospital for what seemed scarily like a stroke, but thankfully shows no signs of actual being one, but it's left her with serious weakness in her arms in terms of gripping anything such as the crutches she uses to get around or even a computer mouse. She's ever-so-slowly improving, but until then she can't really walk very far and she's restricted just to using her left arm for basic things that don't involve gripping too long or hard, which is leaving her immensely bored. Currently that leaves her watching TV, not even being able to use DVDs that haven't already been put in the drive, and she's rapidly getting bored of that after a couple of days.
I'm trying to figure out some things she can actually do to help her out of her boredom while she recovers, but I'm struggling to come up with things. I've suggested ripping TV-shows, movies or the like and streaming them to the XBox, but she's had enough of just watching without doing. She's wanting to play games, but since most of those require non-simple controls for consoles and a mouse for PC games, they're not really feasible for the most part.
The obvious suggestion is for me to do things with her, like go out and about and see things around town, go to the cinema, etc. The only problem is my final year project is due end of next month, and I can only get a 2 week extension, 1 week of which would be taken by staying in hospital with her while we waited to find out what exactly was up. So ideally I need things which she can do without any assistance, aside from setting things up initially.
We have access to PCs running Windows XP, XBox 360 and a Wii, and I'm hoping I can find something there that can be done with just one hand. Ideally, she'd probably like some sort of program that will let her use her PC by her voice alone, but I'm struggling to find something. I hear Windows 7 has decent voice recognition software included in the box, so I'm working on getting a copy of that from our university.
I'm trying to figure out some things she can actually do to help her out of her boredom while she recovers, but I'm struggling to come up with things. I've suggested ripping TV-shows, movies or the like and streaming them to the XBox, but she's had enough of just watching without doing. She's wanting to play games, but since most of those require non-simple controls for consoles and a mouse for PC games, they're not really feasible for the most part.
The obvious suggestion is for me to do things with her, like go out and about and see things around town, go to the cinema, etc. The only problem is my final year project is due end of next month, and I can only get a 2 week extension, 1 week of which would be taken by staying in hospital with her while we waited to find out what exactly was up. So ideally I need things which she can do without any assistance, aside from setting things up initially.
We have access to PCs running Windows XP, XBox 360 and a Wii, and I'm hoping I can find something there that can be done with just one hand. Ideally, she'd probably like some sort of program that will let her use her PC by her voice alone, but I'm struggling to find something. I hear Windows 7 has decent voice recognition software included in the box, so I'm working on getting a copy of that from our university.
BenMCOB on
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Can any of them be played without a mouse? The only one I can think of offhand is maybe Peggle, but that's not exactly ideal.
This'll probably only amuse for a couple minutes, but it's something?
or if you're desperate... tony hawk:RIDE
though on a more serious note, how about ddr? or wii fit
Because it's in the same situation as her right arm, just less severe so she can use it for occasional tasks without too much pain. Using a mouse constantly would be a little much.
Games based on balance/fancy footwork are pretty much a no-go (HSP).
She could also try exercising her mind with learning a language or something else she can participate with.
ed: oh, this won't really work if the other hand can't comfortably use a mouse
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
Also, with some tinkering, you might use a program like Joy2Key to set up a wired 360 controller or something so that the left hand has access to meaningful inputs for some games, if playing on a PC.
Steam has a ton of fun, mindless puzzle games - Peggle, Zuma, Pizza Frenzy, Bookworm
Vandal Hearts on XBLA may be an option. Or Greed Corps.
I've tried suggesting podcasts/audiobooks, and while she's interested in them to a degree, she's wanting something more involving. Learning a language could be a possibility though since I believe I know someone with some Rosetta Stone CDs
Well I thought you could only use the keyboard in Peggle for fine-tuning your shots. Just discovered that's not the case after all
Hmm... Bookworm Adventures Deluxe might be a possibility. Vandal Hearts maybe if I can sell her on the RPG-ness and it's not too catered towards the hardcore strategy RPG crowd. Any Wii recommendations that don't need a nunchuck would be excellent.
Vandal Hearts is really easy as far as SRPGs go. There's not a lot of number crunching or thought. Buy the best weapons when you can, learn how to switch from melee weapons to ranged weapons, and be sure to make the geeky kid (Calvin?) a magic user. It really plays like a "My first tactics game." FFTA/FFTA2 had far more depth than it.
The Wii collection actually belongs to my Mom and sister-in-law, and consists of two games - Wii Sports, and Wii Sports Resort. The tennis games in both are one-handed, and fun. Bowling is one-handed, but due to the motion it requires, I can't play. Flying the plane in Resort is one-handed, and deceptively fun if you actually try to hunt for the floating 'i' information icons.
buy warhams
you could also get the buzz! or Scene-It series of games, between the two they're on like, every console made in the last 10 years and come with 5 button buzzer controllers. Essentially the controller has one big button for buzzing in to answer, then the other 4 are in a line and are used for selecting an answer from the list.
dunno how well she could grip the thing, but where it's only got face buttons I imagine you could just lie it down on the coffee table or something.
http://adamatomic.com/canabalt/
My Backloggery
I would heavily suggest you avoid trying to get a talk to type converter as often times, without proper training, people can develop serious vocal injuries by talking too much when they first get those devices.