e’re back with part two of our feature on accessibility. Make sure to check out part one to learn the invaluable fundamentals about video-game accessibility and usability before continuing on. We now move on to the specifics: How do particular disabilities affect the gameplay experience? What is the accessibility community looking for in modern video games? Most importantly, how can the information in this feature be implemented into better industry practices?
“The Disabled Gamer”: How Do Disabilities Affect Gameplay?
With an audience as diverse as the accessibility community, where do game developers start making these changes? As always, the best place to start is by understanding your audience. The phrase “disabled gamer” may seem to be an all-encompassing term, but in reality it fails to be helpfully descriptive on even a basic level. According to Cornell University’s Online Resource for U.S. Disability Statistics, in 2005 more than 12 percent of U.S. citizens reported having some form of disability. The variety and degree of these disabilities makes it admittedly almost impossible to design a game accessible to everyone. However, it helps to break the term “disability” into manageable chunks.
On a superficial level, disabilities are broken down into five categories: visual, auditory, speech, mobility and cognitive impairments. Some disabilities can be compounded on top of each other – another factor that makes it difficult to design games accessible for all individuals. A feature by Brannon Zahand, “Making Video Games Accessible: Business Justifications and Design Considerations,” provides a great foundation for understanding the wide spectrum of disabilities as they relate to video games.
Visual impairments: According to Zahand’s article, one out of every 10 potential gamers may have an issue with their eyesight that affects the way they play games. Visual impairments can range from the simple need for corrective lenses to being fully blind. Impairments can also manifest in the form of low-vision capabilities, colorblindness or deterioration of vision associated with age.
How it affects gameplay: At one point or another all of us have had our environment affect the way we see – and therefore play – video games. The sun breaking through the blinds in just the right spot leaves the TV screen nearly impossible to see. We all have had to sit on the floor in order to read text too small to accurately interpret from the couch. Visual disabilities can affect gamers in a similar, but more permanent, way. Text may be too small to read or scroll excessively fast making it difficult to catch for a low-vision gamer. Visual cues may not be supported by audio or force-feedback features, making it hard to experience the nuances of the game. Prompting a colorblind gamer to press a specifically colored button might prove futile depending on the severity of their condition. Similarly, a colorblind gamer could have problems telling teammates from enemies online if armor color is the only indicator. On the more severe side, non-sighted gamers may not be able to participate at all without the addition of voice commands or other non-visual feedback in a game.
Colorblind gamers may have problems telling friends from foes when armor color is the only indication
Auditory impairments: Similar to most impairments, auditory impairments have many degrees of severity. A gamer could be hard of hearing, require a hearing aid to understand speech, or be completely unable to hear. Once more citing Zahand’s feature, auditory disabilities are the second most prevalent category of the lot. Auditory capacity also diminishes with age – another reason to try and balance audio and visual cues in a game.
How it affects gameplay: Again, most of us have experienced some form of hearing impairment by our environment while playing a game. The roommate might be blasting music upstairs, and no matter how loud you turn up the sound, you can’t hear vocal instructions during a game. Or you may have just attended a rock concert and the ringing in your ears makes it nearly impossible to hear your teammates strategizing over Live. The most obvious affect on gameplay for those with permanent hearing loss is lacking the ability to participate if all commands and dialogue are audio. For pure strategy or action games – where storyline takes a backseat to quick repetitive matches – not being able to hear an enemy running up behind you or the ricochet of bullets over your head can prove deadly. In addition, if text communication options are not available, a gamer with an auditory impairment won’t be able to chat it up with teammates and friends online.
Speech impairments: Speech impairments represent a small portion of disabilities, but are often linked to other impairments and are more complex as a result. Speech impairments can range from having a slight lisp to lacking the ability to speak entirely.
How it affects gameplay: Games are becoming interactive on more levels every year. Voice commands are one of the newly popular features integrated into modern gameplay. For non-disabled gamers, this can become a problem if the player does not have a microphone or if they are trying to avoid embarrassing themselves by yelling out commands while on public transportation. However, if you are unable to speak at all, or have a strong accent or lisp, games requiring voice commands to progress are very restrictive. Similar to auditory impairments, if you don't have the option to enter text commands during online gameplay, strategizing with teammates becomes nearly impossible for a gamer with a speech impairment.
Tom Clancy’s EndWar can be played almost entirely by voice command – but will feature standard control meathods for those who opt-out