Skip to main content

"With great accessibility comes great inclusivity"

The community shaping the future of accessibility in games.

I was really moved this week to see how a small number of people have powered a profound change in games. I'm a bit embarrassed to say I often overlook accessibility in games, which isn't to say I don't benefit from it. And I assumed the range of accessibility options in modern games was simply improving because someone somewhere decided it should. But of course that's not what happened. Behind the celebrated and ground-breaking accessibility tools in a game like The Last of Us Part 2, for example, is the tireless work of a community campaigning for the opportunity to play and enjoy games too.

It's that community I watched in action this week at the accessibility in games conference, or GAConf for short, and I've rarely been around a more engaged or supportive group of people. The conference is having something of a moment, because, wonderfully, the tide of accessibility in games seems to be turning. The Last of Us Part 2 - the sparkling diamond of accessibility and deservedly so - as well as Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Gears of War 5, Watch Dogs: Legion, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, and Remedy's Control, are all setting industry-leading examples of what good accessibility in games can look like. There is a long way to go, but this is progress.

Good accessibility can look like high-contrast modes for low visibility, and automatic navigation and clever, spatial audio cues. It can look like assistance for aiming and movement, and the removal of time-pressured button presses and quick-reaction challenges. It can look like invulnerability, because some people like setting their own challenges. It looks like a whole suite of options you can tailor your gameplay experience with if you want to. Accessibility looks like choice.

Watch on YouTube

What surprised me was that much of this didn't exist even as recently as a couple of years ago. Naughty Dog didn't actually know what it was doing with accessibility in The Last of Us Part 2, only that it wanted to do something more after Uncharted 4. So it was to this community it looked for inspiration. And I mean directly. Naughty Dog's Emilia Schatz was at the GAConf a couple of years ago and was asked what the studio was doing about blind support in their then upcoming game, The Last of Us Part 2. And the answer at the time was "nothing" - they hadn't really thought about it.

So, Naughty Dog talked to the person who asked the question, a champion for blind gaming called Brandon Cole - and watched his GAConf talk on an accidentally helpful feature in Resident Evil 6, the auto-orientating PDA/map device - and from it came a plan for the rich support in The Last of Us Part 2. Cole would even be brought in to test and advise on the game, along with others from the GAConf community. The result? Genuine tears from other pillars of the blind-gaming community, and - and this is very important - an acclaimed and best-selling game others will want to follow.

Or take a game like Remedy's Control. It shipped without much in the way of accessibility in 2019, but the company would go back and spend a year adding a suite of accessibility options to the game because of feedback it got from its community. And the upshot: everyone benefited. Because that's the other thing I'm beginning to learn: accessibility is beneficial for everyone. I know I increasingly lean on motion sickness-reducing options, particularly when watching other people play, and I've seen first-hand the benefits of people switching on various assists to help them along. Something like a third of all people who completed Control apparently used some kind of Assist Mode help.

It's a similar story for Insomniac's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. When the original Spider-Man came out on PS4 in 2018, there wasn't much in the way of accessibility, but when Miles Morales launched with PS5, there was. It was actually about this game one of my favourite quotes of GAConf came. It was by Vivek Gohil, someone we're lucky to have write for Eurogamer. He said, "With great accessibility comes great inclusivity," and the GAConf Discord went wild.

Watch on YouTube

Do you see how recent it all seems to be? I think that's why there's such an air of hope among the people at the conference, because things are beginning to demonstrably, significantly change. Sony's Worldwide Studios is enabling teams like Naughty Dog and Insomniac (and hopefully many more) to integrate accessibility design from the beginnings of their projects, and bring in collaborators to help iterate and test along the way. A message I kept hearing was that good inclusivity takes an entire team, and many years, and Sony seems to understand that. Microsoft is active too. There's the acclaimed Xbox Adaptive Controller, the advertising of which, during the Superbowl in 2019, may be the widest-reaching accessibility-related gaming advert ever (this was a quiz question on the GAConf holding screen).

Microsoft has also just refreshed and expanded its encyclopaedic, and public, Xbox Accessibility Guidelines for developers and publishers, and anyone else who wants to know more. And it recently launched its own Microsoft Game Accessibility Testing Service (MGATS), to test games against these guidelines, for a price, though it's scalable so indies can benefit as well as bigger teams. In its first month, it tested five games and raised 177 concerns, said program manager Brannon Zahand during a talk.

"At Microsoft," Zahand added, in his closing remarks, "we believe accessibility is a journey, one we're still in the early phases of." I thought I'd highlight it because it's a salient point. Although progress is being made in game accessibility, there's still a long way to go. Many things are still being flagged for consideration by developers when making games, and even though there are examples of games with good accessibility now, they remain the exception rather than the norm. The overriding message from the GAConf community, however, is that it is there. It's there to help, there to guide, there to advise. People only need to ask.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com