Gaming Accessibility: How implementing inclusive design brings in more players
Gaming is a hobby enjoyed by millions of people globally. Players from around the world play on their home computers, special consoles on their TVs and even on the go on their mobile devices. Game genres range from arcade style racing to open world exploration role playing games.
Games by design often are exclusionary however, making it difficult to play in terms of accessibility for people with disabilities. Features in games such as subtitles, 3rd party controller support and button remapping are becoming more commonplace but still there are issues with these at times.
I recently spoke to two accessibility specialists, Ian Hamilton and Morgan Baker, about how the industry has progressed, what can game designers do for accessibility, and what the future of gaming has in store.
Input Design
Hamilton’s background in Design for Interactive Media led him to see the direct impact that designing has on players while working with the British Broadcasting Company’s (BBC) children websites and games. He saw playtesting footage of preschool games that were built for compatibility with accessibility switches, which allowed the children who were unable to use traditional controllers play alongside their classmates.
“…to see the impact that design can have, a relatively small tweak and I was watching these kids playing happily, doing the same things as all their classmates, equal participants in that small culture and society… it was pretty mind blowing.” — Hamilton
His accessibility work became ingrained with his role with BBC until the point that the company relocated and he was unable to move to work at the new location. His passion for accessibility led him to look for positions similar at other companies that had a similar role for game accessibility. Unfortunately there was no such positions at the time, so he independently worked for accessibility advocacy on the side until eventually there was enough paid work to have that as full time occupation.
“Accessibility became a calling rather than an aspect of my job I was passionate about. So I took up speaking and writing and all the rest, joining the people already fighting to change the industry for the better.” — Hamilton
In terms of strictly hardware for accessibility, Hamilton mentions that “any new technological advance has the potential to be a blocker or an enabler”, that the hardware provide accessibility for some but not all. He continues that as long as “you offer it as an extra option rather than make it a sole fixed requirement, it can be an enabler for those who need it without blocking those who can’t use it”. Devices like the Xbox Adaptive Controller may be great for some players but it’s important to keep in mind that they are not a blanket solve-all solution in terms of what an individual may need.
Game and Software Design
Baker’s background as an Accessibility Specialist in education led to her transitioning a full time Accessibility Specialist for game development such as working with the studio Naughty Dog on the game The Last of Us Part II. The game has won awards for the accessibility features that it implemented.
Both Baker and Hamilton note that generally it’s through lack of awareness from companies that disabled gamers get left out. However there is a growing interest from companies to expand the features provided for accessibility. Baker’s independent studies have received positive feedback and use from many studios that are not just from the specific studios that the games were developed by.
Both mention Fortnite, a heavily auditorily based game (hearing which direction enemy gun fire is coming from for example), has d/Deaf accessibility features that visualize audio cues. A lot of developers add accessibility features in patches and updates post game release, but it is something that Baker says that “[it] is something you bake into the product, not a topic to bring up during the final stages”. With accessibility being integrated in the beginning, more players can readily enjoy the game.
“Generally, developers need to understand that accessibility is something you bake into the product, not a topic to bring up during the final stages. You can’t just expect it to happen overnight.” — Baker
The Gaming Community Moving Forward
In terms of representation and inclusion there are characters like Quill, an anthropomorphic mouse who uses ASL as a form of communication. Hamilton mentioned that there has been governmental research in the UK highlighting that disability representation as “the top issue facing young disabled people”. Having the people from that demographic provide input is also important for representation as it helps to avoid developing caricatures and stereotypes.
“Representation is very easy to do badly, and in the few times it currently exists it usually is done badly… The way to do it well is to not make any assumptions, speak to the people you want to represent, involve them throughout the process.” — Hamilton
Baker points to sites like Can I Play That? and Game Accessibility Nexus as sites with reviews by disabled gamers for disabled gamers, also being involved in research studies and reaching out to the developer support. Hamilton also provided a list of links and information for developers and researchers.
“The battle for awareness is now won, we now have to deliver on the intent.” — Hamilton
“…Everyone deserves to game, even if they might game a little differently.” — Baker
Reference Links
Below are lists of links categorized by topics with an explanation of the link
Interviewees:
Game Accessibility Review Sites:
- Can I Play That? — From interview with Baker.
- Game Accessibility Nexus — From interview with Baker.
- DAGERSystem — From interview with Baker.
Communal References:
- Game Accessibility Conference — An annual conference centered on Accessible gaming. The conference archives can be found here on Youtube.
- IGDA-GASIG List of Resources for Developers and Researchers — From interview with Hamilton. A list of websites with accessibility guidelines, articles, academic papers, developer tools, and more
- Spreadsheet of Gaming Accessibility History — From interview with Hamilton. Excel sheet of Gaming Accessibility History from 1950–2020
- Be Player One — A French startup aiming at accessible game device design, game accessibility optimization, and accessibility features information. Currently this version of the website is under construction, the French version can be accessed here.
