Let's talk about ACCESSIBILITY in VIDEOGAMES. ♿ 🎮
There are over 2 BILLION people in the world living with a disability.
And a significant percentage of them are struggling to play games. 🚫🎮
As game developers, we have not just the POWER but the RESPONSIBILITY to help reducing the barriers that are stopping so many from being able to effectively play games.
Let's see what we can do in this thread!
👇🧵👇
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #inclusivity
The first thing to understand is that disability is a SPECTRUM, and that every disable person is unique. 🌈
For instance, not all people with colour blindness are equally colour blind, and not all people living with motion impairment are affected in the same way.
This means that accessibility has no easy solution. So the key is CUSTOMISATION. 🎮
Give options to players, so that they can select the ones that works best for them!
1️⃣ COLOUR BLINDNESS 👁️
There are approximately 300 million people in the word who are colour blind.
There are also many different types of colour blindness: DEUTERANOPIA is the most common, affecting the perception of red 🔴 and green 🟢 tones.
This video shows how players with Deuteranopia might see your game.
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #inclusivity
Games that are heavily relying on colour-coding to convey information can be particularly challenging for colour blind players!
Good compromises between aesthetics and accessibility can be seen in "FTL" & "Hue". Both games have the option to add patterns to colour-coding, which are generally easier to read.
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #inclusivity
Back in 2015, I talked extensively about the subject of colour blindness. 📖
Below you can download a free
Unity package to simulate different types of colour blindness. 📦
This might help you designing more accessible interfaces!
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #inclusivity #colorblindless #colorblind
2️⃣ EAR IMPAIRMENT 🦻
Audio can play a huge role in a game. Not just to set its tone and atmosphere, but also to convey information. 🎵
As a bare minimum, all games which feature dialogues should include subtitles.
This has the extra benefit of helping non-native speakers.
This is another important lesson to learn: making accessible games will often help players that have no strong accessibility needs. ✨
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #inclusivity
Many games, especially FPS, are heavily relying on audio clues as part of their gameplay.
For instance, to indicate where enemies and threats are coming from.
Games like "Minecraft" allows to show the direction sounds are coming from.
Other games, such as "Fortnite" are going as far as showing directional waveforms on the UI, helping players knowing where and what type of sound is being played around them.
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #inclusivity #audio #sound #sfx
3️⃣ COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT 🧠
This category includes a vast range of disabilities, which can affect thoughts, memory or even how information is processed.
Games that require to solve puzzles, complete long tasks or do a lot of backtracking are at risk of being inaccessible.
Some tips to support players:
🔹 Remind about current objectives & inputs
🔹 Separate volume controls for effects, speech & music
🔹 Highlight important words and objects
🔹 Provide the option to remove combat, puzzles & enemies
"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" has a very comprehensive set of accessibility options.
They not only make the game easier for players who prefer a more casual experience: they also make the experience much more accessible!
This, incidentally, also helps with older and mature players, who might be unfamiliar with the implicit language used in video games to telegraph clues. 👴
https://tombraiderblog.square-enix-games.com/en-us/motp/
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #tombraider
4️⃣ MOTOR IMPAIRMENT ♿️
A significant percentage of players are suffering with some kind of motor impairment.
One of the simples change you can make to improve the accessibility of your game is to make the controls fully remappable.
One of the best examples of accessibility for motor impairment is "Celeste" Assist Mode. 🧗♀️
It allows to change several gameplay parameters such as how many times you can jump in mid-air, and even to turn invincibility and endless stamina on/off. 🎮
I also appreciate how "Celeste" calls this ASSIST MODE, which highlights how those features benefit ALL players. Not just the ones living with a disability. ✨
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #celeste #assist
Accessibility often means creating custom game controllers. While this can sound like a daunting task, it might easier than you think! 🕹️
"Shake That Button" has one of the most comprehensive list of alternative controllers created by gaming enthusiasts.
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #altctrl
And companies like Arduino, Raspberry Pi and makey makey made custom electronics approachable and affordable. 🕹️
If you want to create your own alternative controller (but have not idea where to start!), I'd suggest having a look at this guide! 👇
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #altctrl
If you have already built your own custom game controller, I highly suggest you to have a loot at alt.ctrl.GDC! 🕹️
This is the most popular exhibition of custom game controllers, and they are accepting submissions right now! This year this is particularly relevant as alt.ctrl.GDC is putting a spotlight on devs making controllers that have accessibility in mind. ♿️🎮
https://gdconf.com/alt-ctrl-gdc
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #altctrl
🟦 EXTRA RESOURCES
One of the best resources you can find on accessibility is "Game Accessibility Guidelines".
It includes tips and examples for motor, cognitive, visual, hearing and speech impairments.
http://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com
#gamedev #accessibility #disability #games #gamedevtip #altctrl
And that's it! ✨
Thank you for sticking with me through this long thread!
If you like content like this, feel free to have a look at my Patreon! 👇 😎
@AlanZucconi When someone that's colorblind watches this video, does it just look like the slider goes across the screen and nothing happens otherwise?
Genuinely very curious, I would imagine there would be some difference there as well, since now the tones are darker?
Alan Zucconi
Rose Ⓐ 🏳️⚧️ (it/its)
Chris McCole