A few questions for fluent signers

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A.Tvid

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Hello.

I am working on a social card game targeting children with deafness, and was hoping that the users of this forum might be so kind as to answer a couple general questions about sign language. I have had very little exposure to deaf culture and know practically nothing about sign language, so I really apologize in case my ignorance causes my questions to read unreasonable or inappropriate. That being said, here is what I'm trying to find out:

1. How does the players' (shared) knowledge of a sign language affect the experience of a game like charades, where miming is allowed but not signing or speaking? Is it more difficult for someone fluent in a sign language to avoid "accidentally" signing when miming a character/situation?

2. To what extent would it remain possible to sign, if the game requires that one's hands are clenched into fists throughout the game round? Could this type of a challenge, in theory, work as a fun game mechanic?

3. What might be a reasonable time limit in which to require a player that knows sign language to "explain" through miming (without signing) a situation consisting of a random place, character and an action, like, for example "a cat is dancing in a spaceship"?

Thank you for your time, and, once again, my apologies if the questions seem ridiculous...
 
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if I understand you right are you asking about miming and signing..game like charades would be miming..playing something with fists closed is that to prevent signing.a cat is dancing in a space ship take few seconds to sign
i read and re-read your question but not sure i understand..i don't see why it should be difficult to avoid using signs if playing a game like this are you thinking it natural reflex to sign and not mime
 
Thank you for the reply!
I think, you understood my question correctly. Not knowing enough about sign language, I don't know how difficult it would be to avoid signing while miming (I am assuming that a certain subset of sign language words might be similar to the types of gestures people might naturally want to use when miming - this might be an idiotic assumption on my part). As for the dancing cat - I should have specified - I meant to ask how long it might take for a native signer to "explain" through miming and not signing. I expect that the answer is "the same as anyone else" - but, in light of the first question, wanted to check.
As for the fists - this question pertains to a scenario where one is actually allowed to use sign language: could it be fun/funny for a fluent signer to have to sign without the use of fingers in a game?

Thanks again!
 
it would take longer miming bc you got think about it..sign with out the fingers it would be difficult but not impossible deaf people always find away communicate to other deaf...I personally would not advocate doing that because be construdes as demeaning if I put clamp on your tongue you still be able to talk but not be comfortable and you would look silly use that as analogy.i trying to think of any signs that would look like mime I no think of any maybe late in the day I not able to think...but mime and sign very different
 
I do BSL not ASL and they different even though we speak same language English.
 
Actually, the clamp on tongue analogy is exactly what I was thinking. But, unless it's painful, I don't think I'd find it demeaning to have to talk like this in a game. I mean, these kinds of limitations that party games impose on players are supposed to be silly and uncomfortable (like hopping everywhere on one leg or picking apples out of a bowl of water using just your teeth) - are you sure there would be anything offensive about it within the context of a game for kids, where all the players are signers?
 
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I think she doing it as and aid to signing.. mime and sign different as you say at kids party mime meant be there as aid to signing not good for kids party good..op thinks signer have reflex action of signing therefor game over..this is not so
 
Would you be able to share what your goals are for the game?

You'd likely get much more helpful answers if we knew why you were creating the game.
 
A.Tvid said:
Hello.

I am working on a social card game targeting children with deafness, and was hoping that the users of this forum might be so kind as to answer a couple general questions about sign language. I have had very little exposure to deaf culture and know practically nothing about sign language, so I really apologize in case my ignorance causes my questions to read unreasonable or inappropriate. That being said, here is what I'm trying to find out:

1. How does the players' (shared) knowledge of a sign language affect the experience of a game like charades, where miming is allowed but not signing or speaking? Is it more difficult for someone fluent in a sign language to avoid "accidentally" signing when miming a character/situation?

2. To what extent would it remain possible to sign, if the game requires that one's hands are clenched into fists throughout the game round? Could this type of a challenge, in theory, work as a fun game mechanic?

3. What might be a reasonable time limit in which to require a player that knows sign language to "explain" through miming (without signing) a situation consisting of a random place, character and an action, like, for example "a cat is dancing in a spaceship"?

Thank you for your time, and, once again, my apologies if the questions seem ridiculous...
Click to expand...

Why would you develop a social card game "targeting children with deafness, when I have had very little exposure to deaf culture and know practically nothing about sign language" ? This is like me asking to design a race car when I have very little exposure to engines and know practically nothing about race car temperatures, tires, and the like.

You need to do your school homework on your own.
 
I am a graduate student, transferring to an MSc program in Game Studies. My assignment is to develop the game conceptually (i.e. descriptions of game mechanics and, possibly, a prototype). I am doing my school work on my own. Namely, I am trying to figure out whether the game mechanics that I have in mind would be considered fun by the game's target audience. I don't see, how my asking a question on this forum suggests a questionable work ethic. I need to develop a game for an audience that is fluent in sign language; not knowing nearly enough about sign language, I have posted to this forum looking for people with more insight to consult.
 
Anij said:
Would you be able to share what your goals are for the game?

You'd likely get much more helpful answers if we knew why you were creating the game.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response!

I am developing this game for an assignment in my graduate program. It is supposed to be a card game that is "predictably more suited" for an audience of children with deafness. The direction I am currently trying to work in is as follows:
The game features a deck of "situation" cards, divided into categories like "WHERE", "WHO", and "DID WHAT", featuring locations, characters and action types respectively. Two teams play in turns. During a turn, the current team puts together a funny situation by combining three cards of different categories and presents the situation to an opposing team's player of their choice. The latter must then "explain" the situation to his own team without actually signing, but through pantomime alone. If his team figures out all three components of the situation he is miming, then they receive a certain amount of points. After this, a new turn begins, and so on until one of the teams reaches the threshold amount of points necessary to win the game. From my own experimenting with the game, I know that it can be very much fun for an English speaker. Unfortunately, however, I do not know any fluent signers to test this on. The reason, why I thought the game might be particularly relevant for children with deafness is that, because most hearing people unfortunately do not understand any sign language, I expect, it might be difficult for children with deafness to communicate urgent information to non-signers when actually writing a message is not an option (e.g. in emergencies, when the kid has not yet learned to write or is communicating with foreigners). Under circumstances like these, I thought it might be beneficial for a child to be able to communicate the gist of a situation or event without the use of signing or writing; and the game could help practice that skill. I hope that the questions above make more sense now. And was also meaning to ask one more:
At what age do deaf children usually learn to write?

Once again, thank you for taking the time to respond!
 
I am not sure of what you are talking about the game for deaf children.

Either the children can do the mimes or home signs which is easier to get across on understanding what one said. There are some ASL signs that are similar to home signs or mime signs. If you have never know ASL, then just use mime signs to make the games for the d/Deaf children. Hearing children can do the mimes. You just have to experiment yourself on what kind of mime game you want to produce.

I don't know why you came here not knowing about Deaf Culture and ASL which both of them you need to study in the ASL class. That way you could have an idea how to do that. But if you are not getting the idea, then there is no point not making the game if you don't understand the mime. It should not be hard to mime, though.

As for the d/Deaf children on learning to write would be about 8 to 10 years old. I learned how to write at 10 years old. I don't know about the others who learned how to write at an earlier age, but if they can read and write, even if they can write down the words or sentences for the game mimes. It would be better for the d/Deaf to write them instead of spoken words. I would prefer that.
 
Honestly for a ASL (or any Sign Language) audience ... something that was a "Hand Shape" type game (123/abc stories, or seeing how many signs one could come up with from a single handshape etc) would be far more fun and educational.

Miming stuff ... "meh", for us that isn't really a "game", it's a daily survival skill:roll:
 
I was about to say, i don't know many Deaf people who do not know how to mime to hearing people, and that starts young.

I'm really curious why your teacher gave out such an assignment without anyone having an understanding of deaf culture and sign language, and expect to come up with something that is going to work. It's like you being assigned a game for kids in another country with a different language and a different culture, and you expecting to know that it will be fun or useful without knowing anything about the culture and the kids you're creating the game for. If you can tell me right now the games that kids from a subsistence nomadic religious culture are going to find useful and fun without knowing anything about them, you have a rare skill.

It's really ableist for your teacher and everyone else to make these assumptions. It's ableist to presume that deaf kids need a game to teach them how to communicate with the hearing and it's ableist to presume that these skills are not already being taught or learned. There's a lot of work going into a game like you're proposing that you just don't have the knowledge to do. You need to know how ASL is taught and learned to understand what gaps there might be in needing to mime to someone. You need to know how these kids function in a hearing situation to even see if the game is necessary, and to identify gaps that need to be filled. I'm sure there's other issues I'm missing. You just don't have the knowledge to do anything other than maybe create a fun game. It is extremely telling in that you have no idea how mime and gesture is used in Deaf communication and culture.

I'm in no way saying that you're stupid. I'm saying that in order to create what you want to create, you just don't have enough knowledge of the situation to do it. That is also why I questioned the teacher's assignment.

I do not find a game fun if my hands have to be tied (physically or not). It creates panic in me, similar to that TV show game where people have to identify what they feel in the dark with no sound and they are terrified. I don't see how someone could mime with their hands in fists, because people who mime things still use handshapes.
 
:D Eater!

<outward thinking, directed at anyone> if the O.P. has has very little exposure to sign languages and ASL - why try to come up with a game??? Makes no sense....THINK about this....very ethnocentric too.

what is this also with the "children with deafness" thing? maybe O.P. is from another country where terms are different, but in the States - based on audist or hearing perspective.

I wonder if this is a Special Ed assignment:hmm:
 
dogmom said:
:D Eater!

<outward thinking, directed at anyone> if the O.P. has has very little exposure to sign languages and ASL - why try to come up with a game??? Makes no sense....THINK about this....very ethnocentric too.

what is this also with the "children with deafness" thing? maybe O.P. is from another country where terms are different, but in the States - based on audist or hearing perspective.

I wonder if this is a Special Ed assignment:hmm:
Click to expand...

It's worse than that. He's (she's?) getting a master's in Game Studies.
 
:lol:<i think>

is it just me or does it seem like the world is getting more ridiculous as time goes on?
 
she asking if deaf child fluent signer but was asked to mime would it be reflex to sign..my answer would be explain the game to the child
 
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