In recent years, with the explosion of mobile games and the broadening of platforms such as Twitch and esports leagues, it’s become clearer than ever that gaming is a medium for everyone. Though some “hardcore” gamers might grumble about this, the fact remains that gaming is made richer and better the more inclusive it becomes. However, there’s still a way to go before that inclusion and representation reaches where it needs to be, especially at the level of everyone even being able to play and enjoy games.
Specifically, accessibility for the differently-abled remains a hurdle that needs to be cleared, though more and more developers are making strides to improve on this front. In her presentation “Accessibility in Games: Better Design for Everyone,” Amy Lambeth, a User Interface designer and researcher, discusses the issue of accessibility and how it’s developed in recent years. Joined by fellow designer Ruthie Edwards, Lambeth breaks down advances in game design that have allowed for greater accessibility while also describing what steps developers can take to make their games more inclusive.
First, Lambeth notes the ways that game design has naturally evolved to become more inclusive. With a greater push for immersion and realism in triple-A games, big studios have often provided methods for players with disabilities to still enjoy their titles. The sound design of Diablo III puts an emphasis on directionality and realistic acoustics, allowing blind gamers to play without sight and tell how far away enemies are, at what distance, and if they’re behind walls. Similarly, the sound design of Call of Duty, such as binaural sound and sound variation between different terrains and weapons, can allow usability.
However, Lambeth notes the importance of distinguishing between usability (general features that afford benefits to everyone) and accessibility (features deliberately designed for players with disabilities). While usability is important for any game, in that it inherently aims to avoid bad design elements, accessibility affords greater options and specific changes for the player. Lambeth used Ring Fit Adventure, an exercise game for Switch, to highlight the differences; a silent mode built for apartments is a general usability feature, while assist modes that allow different parts of the body to be used for button presses is an accessibility feature.
Lambeth believes it’s necessary for developers to continue to push forward in introducing new accessibility features, emphasizing the importance of considering how accessible a title is from the beginning of development. She offered five key points on how to best consider how accessible a game is. First, multisensory design can provide greater ease of access to information. For example, with measuring a character’s health, a health bar can be supplemented with additional features such as having an audio cue for low health, having the character react in some way, or including a rumble effect in the controller. For accessible controls, the ability to remap controls should be a standard in any game, or at least alternate control schemes. Even better is support for alternate controllers, such as foot pedals or eye trackers when possible. Third, Lambeth argued the importance of offering different degrees of difficulty in games, lambasting the sentiment some gamers have that easy difficulties dumb down games. She instead posits that easy modes only offer more ways to play for a wider audience, praising the increase of story-focused difficulty modes like Very Easy in Death Stranding and the ability to set different difficulties for combat, exploration, and puzzles in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Next on the list was clear visual design, with objects that stand out from the environments and a focus on providing consideration for colorblind individuals. Generally, importance was placed on considering the seven elements of design variation instead of just color, such as varied shapes, line thickness, or texture. Lastly, Lambeth discussed the importance of feedback, or “juice,” in games, elements such as sound effects, animations, screen shake, and game speed that can be used to communicate the ways a game is reacting to player input. Lambeth notes Dance Dance Revolution as a great example, highlighting the many ways the game reacts to input: the footpad lighting up, the flash of the arrows on-screen, the appearance of words on-screen as well as verbal confirmation from the narrator.
Beyond these tips, Lambeth stressed the importance of just doing as much as possible to be a good advocate and ally. If you’re not a designer, writing articles or reviews of games from the angle of accessibility or promoting sites like Can I Play That? can go a long way to help raise awareness. She also advocated for the inclusion of more characters with disabilities in games to increase representation, though not in villain roles.
Mainly, the goal is, like matters of representation and diversity across the board, to help increase the profile and importance of these issues in gaming. Lambeth knows every game can be made accessible, it’s just a matter of developers putting the effort into getting better at designing for it.
“The more granular you can get, the better,” Lambeth said, “and I don’t see an excuse not to do it now.”
Jordan Alsaqa is a writer based in Seattle, WA. Jordan has written on pop culture topics for numerous websites and was the co-host of the Joy of Gaming podcast from 2012 to 2018. Currently, he is a comic writer, and his most recent work includes Welderkin from Comicker Press and We Have to Go Back with artist Sally Cantirino. He can be found on Twitter at @EndigoMaster.
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