Introduction
Accessibility is a very important element in game design. First of all, it guarantees the creation of an inclusive environment for players with disabilities as they consist of the 20% of the game community according to AbleGamers.org and Accessibility.com and, in addition, making games accessible for a wide range of people ensures that the developers reach a higher level of revenues. Moreover, we should keep in mind that developers and big companies are constantly looking for innovation and positive reputation, so what lies behind the growing offer of accessible games is also an ethical responsibility.
In this article we will focus on the game design of digital games.
Nowadays, most of the game companies/industries prefer to create their games using this concept as the foundation of their products. This approach not only amplifies the usability and accessibility of such products and services but also underlines an ethical commitment towards promoting a more accessible and barrier-free society. In addition, the adoption of accessible game design methods is not only an ethical choice but also turns out to be a very strategic choice from an economic point of view because, in this way, companies can increase their profits, if the audience they are trying to reach is wider. Furthermore, there are international regulations and accessibility guidelines, such as the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), that create a regulatory framework to incentivize organizations to commit in this direction.
Accessibility in Digital Game Design
What does it mean and what does it entail when it’s about designing?
Generally, “Accessibility” refers to making something easier to use.
It ensures that all the players can modify options and improve their experiences while playing. Moreover, when we are referring to this concept linked to games, the idea behind is to be sure that every player can enjoy and engage with games without relying on other players for help, even though they experience some physical or cognitive challenges in their daily life.
Guidelines
From 2004 to 2019 many advocacy organizations have proposed accessibility guidelines to raise awareness about game design accessibility.
For instance, in 2004, The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) proposed 19 accessibility guidelines which were derived from a survey of 20 accessible games, while The Norwegian Medialt organization published a set of 34 game accessibility guidelines on their website, based on the 19 IGDA game accessibility SIG guidelines as well as their own set of guidelines.
In the same way, in 2019, AbleGamers launched Accessible Player Experience (APX) to increase the number of accessibility experts in AAA studios, as part of their new website accessible.games.
Regarding AAA, generally the acronym refers to the video game industry. More specifically, the term was born in the late 90s and it is linked to the classification of video games produced or distributed by a mid-sized or major publisher. On the other hand, around 2010, this term referred to games that generated additional revenue over time.
Moreover, APX focuses on providing an equal play experience, without making designers feel restricted, and then adding people in the role of ‘Accessibility Champions’ to design teams in large studios, essentially people who are responsible to make sure that accessibility is regarded as the main priority throughout the whole game design process, thanks to the promotion of equality, accessibility and inclusion.
Basically, these guidelines are focused on these game characteristics/tools:
- Subtitles – Subtitles offer a text alternative to speech and should be included for all dialogue. The game designers should focus on using an easy-to-read font, making the text large enough and in high contrast compared to background objects.
- Remappable Controls – Remappable controls give players the freedom to assign the game’s controls to buttons and/or inputs they choose (ex: remapping buttons or keys, adjusting sensitivity, Y/X axis inversion, and/or allowing for more than one input device).
- Colorblind-friendly – Designers should avoid conveying info via color alone; instead, include icons, patterns, red-green and blue-yellow for colorblind people and shapes.
- High Contrast – The use of high contrast helps players distinguish text, objects, and other visuals in a game (Check out the Color Oracle tool).
- Include Non-Visual Cues – Examples of Non-visual cues can be sound and haptic feedback to help direct players and navigate gameplay.
- Tutorials/Training Mode – The tutorials or Training Mode can help players understand gameplay, navigate the user interface, and more.
- Provide a Range of Difficulty – When providing a range of difficulty, let players choose a difficulty setting to match their abilities. Consider allowing players to turn off timers.
- Zoom – The zoom can be helpful to increase the size of all objects on the screen and it can help people with sight disabilities to be more engaged while playing.
Solutions to Overcome Game Barriers
Concerning accessibility, here are some game accessibilities categories that can impair players’ experience while playing. They can be divided into:
- Cognitive Accessibility
Cognitive impairments (such as an individual’s memory or processing speed, limited attention span, problem solving skills, etc) can affect the interaction, how the user perceives or thinks about the game and manage the information.
Adjustable difficulty levels can be one of the solutions to overcome this game barrier. Basically, this can help a player to adjust the game to their skill and cognitive abilities level.
Furthermore, a simplified user interface can be a good strategy to reduce the cognitive overload and help the player to navigate into the game easily.
- Motor or Physical Accessibility
Motor or Physical disabilities can interfere with the comfortable engagement of the player because they will impact on how physical elements of the game are used. For instance, in this case, one-switch games are the solutions because they can be played using switch-access.
- Sensory Accessibility (Vision, Sight, Hearing and Speech):
Sensory impairments can be overwhelming for players. Some players may be affected by total or partial eye blindness or by total or partial hearing loss. Because of this, they may find it difficult to receive feedback or have a good level of interaction with the game.
Concerning visual impairments, some games already offer modalities to help players with color vision deficiencies by offering modalities through which you can change and adjust your color palette.
On the other hand, regarding hearing loss, the best solution is to provide users with subtitles or captions.
- Economical Accessibility:
Since accessibility in game design is a continuously changing topic and since it involves a lot of different workers (designers, graphic artists, publishers, players), the last but not the least problem is the price of the games.
Price can turn itself into a discriminating element for players and it can affect the availability and, as a natural consequence, the accessibility for a wider public.
Conclusion
While the game industries are slowly starting to grow, accessibility features in digital game design do the same.
In the end, digital game developers are now slowly creating an inclusive world, where barriers to access are collapsing and players with different kinds of impairments can enjoy comfortable and personalized situations.
Even if accessibility in game design is still a challenge, the future seems to be brighter than the past, thanks to the collaboration between designers, producers and people with disabilities.
REFERENCES
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/what-does-accessibility-mean-in-game-design
https://blog.it.playstation.com/2023/05/11/accessibilita-migliorare-il-gioco-per-tutti/
https://medium.com/@davengdesign/accessibility-in-games-241ee0171c21
https://www.konvoy.vc/newsletters/accessibility-in-gaming-we-all-win
https://www.levelaccess.com/blog/simple-ways-to-make-video-games-more-accessible/
https://equalentry.com/qa-with-ian-hamilton-game-accessibility-specialist/
https://www.thefinalarc.com/accessibility-and-inclusive-game-design/
https://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/
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