I don't know how familiar KI employees are with autism, but my wife and I most definitely are with our son, who is an enthusiastic player.
One of the great things about W101 is that it is a great tool to help children with communication issues (such as those with autism) learn and practice communication skills within a safe gaming context. W101 is, in many ways, like an interactive and immersive Social Story complete with cue cards (i.e., menu chat). This is actually quite similar to what occupational/speech therapists do in group settings when they play various board games and encourage their patients to interact appropriately.
Unfortunately, while one would expect menu chat to be limited in *some* ways (as that is the whole point), the options seem to be missing some incredibly obvious functionality.
When you first start learning ASL, among the first signs you learn are "please", "thank you" and "sorry". This is incredibly sensible and practical for reasons that I don't have to explain. However, while W101 wisely includes "thank you", the it seems that you missed the other two for the most part.
I am especially concerned about the lack of apologies available. It is completely expected to make mistakes, and players should be expected to *acknowledge* that. Within BattleChat, when someone tells a wizard to stop using their traps, for example, the person who did so should have the option to acknowledge the error in a polite way. "OK" just doesn't cut it.
Menu chat needs a few "Sorry" options such as "Oops, sorry about that" when a mistake is made and "Sorry, maybe next time" when a battle is lost. I'm sure there are examples that others can add here.
As for "Please", simply put, most of the menu chat options that include a request should have "please" or some other form of deference.
I hope such a change can be put in place along with the awesome features currently being tested.
Seth DeathBreath 58 and his son, Chris BattleHeart 36