Accessibility in Games—How to Get Started

(by Faustine)

It is essential for game designers to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to enjoy your game! Try to plan accessibility in your game early-on in the design process. 

Start by having Options & Clarity

Options

Controls

(especially helpful for individuals with motor or cognitive disabilities)

• Have Flexible Controls
  • Controls need to be customizable (support control remapping), or at least have alternative control presets that are more accessible
  • Support external devices (allow players to use their own hardware)

• Easy to pause
  • Pause menu needs to be easily accessible, so settings are easily accessible and players can take time to rest
• Toggle control complexity
  • Complex actions, such as button-mashing (rapidly tapping), button-holding, quick-time events (QTEs), need to be toggleable (meaning they are not mandatory, and can be switched off)
  • Sensitivity controls (how much movement input affects on-screen movement)
• Simplify interactions for input
  • Allow players to reduce the input types needed, such as supporting analog-stick-only, mouse-only, or keyboard-only gameplay
  • Option to have fewer buttons representing a variety of actions (Bayonetta 2’s fighting combos can be executed with one button)

Visuals & Audio

(especially helpful for individuals with visual or hearing impairment)

• Colorblind options
  • Adjustable colors or colorblind color palettes for players to maximize color contrast (generally, blue and orange are accessible colors)
  • Shapes, icons, symbols supplement color information (ChromaGun's symbol system)

• Subtitle and UI options
  • Customizable: allow players to change the size/font/contrast of the text and buttons
  • Identifies speaker, shows ambient noise
• Separate volume controls
  • Adjust speaker voice, sound effects, music, separately to allow players to prioritize different auditory information

Assistance

• Gameplay assistance
  • Game-specific, some examples: allow the camera to be controlled automatically, assist mode in Celeste
  • Difficulty levels (consider making different difficulties separate, like combat difficulty, puzzle difficulty, platforming difficulty)
• Option to toggle certain effects
  • Motion sickness: turn off head bob, screen shake, motion blur
  • Epilepsy: flashing, certain visual patterns (like the snow in Stardew Valley)
  • Other effects that may create barriers or even be harmful to certain populations, such as rumble (may make controllers difficult to hold)

Clarity

Multisensory feedback

• Info conveyed through multiple forms (Especially key information)
  • Feedback: Sound effects + Visual feedback (+ Haptics)
    • Screen reader support, varied soundscape for different information
    • Caveat: as mentioned above, if effects may cause negative responses in certain audiences, it should be optional
  • Key info should not rely on colors or a single sense (visual/auditory/rumble) alone
  • Subtitles for ambient noise/convos (as in Minecraft)
    • Ambient noise or conversations that convey key information about the surroundings or game rules need to be subtitled

Clear UI/Subtitles

• Large, well-spaced, easy-to-read font, high contrast
  • Special in-game fonts should also have more readable option

Clear instructions

• Use simple language and instructions for key info or tutorials
  • Tutorials need to be easily understood
  • Tutorials need to be replayable to be relearned

Extra Notes

Playtesting/Feedback

• Playtest without audio, from afar, with colorblind filters
• Listen to feedback from players with disabilities!

Both options and clarity need to work together

• Have OPTIONS for more CLARITY
• OPTIONS need to be CLEAR (presets)

Accessibility is a broad subject, but even just making an attempt to make your game accessible will go a long way. This guide is in no way comprehensive of all possible accessible designs, but we hope that it provides a good place to start. Consider checking out the resources linked below for more information!

Bottom line: keep all audiences in mind. Design accessibility!

References and Resources

Quick Info

• Video Game Accessibility - YouTube (Game Maker’s Toolkit )
• The Last of Us Part II: Accessibility Features Detailed || Naughty Dog (Case study)
• 5 Big Ideas for Designing Accessible Video Games (Very condensed tips)

Tools

• Testing for colorblindness
  • Color Oracle
• Testing for flashes & patterns (paid service)
  • Harding FPA
• Xbox Adaptive Controller

Guides

• A Practical Guide to Game Accessibility (Guideline Checklist on Page 6)
• Game accessibility guidelines (Differing levels of complexity)
  • Game accessibility guidelines | Why and how (How to approach)
  • Excel checklist download (Highly detailed checklist)

Organizations/Websites

• AbleGamers
• Accessible Player Experiences (APX) (by AbleGamers)
• SpecialEffect (hardware)
• DAGER System (consultancy + reviews) 

Deeper Dive

• Gaming accessibility fundamentals - Learn | Microsoft Docs (Free course)
  • Course outline: Gaming Accessibility Fundamentals Learning Path - Game Stack | Microsoft Docs
• Video Gaming Accessibility - National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) (Large list of gaming accessibility resources)

Discussion

What are some good (or bad) examples of accessibility design in games you have come across?

Comment them down below!! :D