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 part of the Global Accessibility Awareness Day #GAAD, this is a list of #gamedev resources to design more accessible games.
👇🧵👇
1⃣ 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.
Games that are heavily relying on colour-coding to convey information are particularly affected!
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.
Back in 2015, I talked extensively about the subject of colour blindness. 📖
Below you can download a free @unity3d package to simulate different types of colour blindness. 📦
This might help you designing more accessible interfaces!
alanzucconi.com/2015/12/16/col…
2⃣ 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.
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.
3⃣ 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 improve the accessibility for cognitive impaired players are:
🔹 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!
tombraider.square-enix-games.com/en-us/news/sha…
4⃣ 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.
Accessibility often means creating custom game controllers. While this can sound like a daunting task, it might easier than you think! 🕹️
@ShakeThatButton has one of the most comprehensive list of alternative controllers created by gaming enthusiasts.
shakethatbutton.com
And companies like @arduino, @Raspberry_Pi and @makeymakey 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!
alanzucconi.com/2015/10/28/fro…
🟦 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.
gameaccessibilityguidelines.com
The one and only @gamemakerstk has made an entire playlist dedicated to designing games for disabled players.
It is definitely worth a look!
youtube.com/playlist?list=…
And no thread about accessibility in games would be complete without mentioning @specialeffect!
Over the years they have helped severely physically disabled and vulnerable people with their gaming and technology access needs.
🟦 CONCLUSION
There is so much more that could be covered. From motion sickness to anxiety, and even PTSD!
Accessibility should play a bigger role in every aspect of a game design.
Just remember that accessibility is not just for disabled players! Make a game that you can still play when you are 90!
After all, we are all doomed to eventually become disabled, or to die before that happens.
So if you have found this thread helpful feel, free to share it! ✨
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.