Gamers with a disability often lack support in popular video games. If you’re a gamer designer you may not be able to address every potential user, but if you know how to make things easier or more playable then you may be able to implement features in a way that expands the number of people who can use your game.
A great set of guidelines has now been brought together here: Game Accessibility Guidelines. For reference, here are the basic guidelines – they are covered in detail on the site.
- General
- Provide details of accessibility features on packaging and/or website
- Offer a choice of difficulty level
- Ensure that all settings are saved/remembered
- Motor (Control / mobility)
- Allow controls to be remapped / reconfigured
- Ensure that all areas of the user interface can be accessed using the same input method as the gameplay
- Include an option to adjust the sensitivity of controls
- Ensure controls are as simple as possible, or provide a simpler alternative
- Cognitive (Thought / memory / processing information)
- Allow the game to be started without the need to navigate through multiple levels of menus
- Use an easily readable default font size
- Use simple clear language
- Use simple clear text formatting
- Include tutorials
- Visual
- Ensure no essential information is conveyed by a colour alone, reinforce with a symbol or offer a choice of alternative colours
- If the game uses field of view (3D engine only), set an appropriate default for expected viewing environment (eg. 60 degrees for TV, 90 degrees for monitor)
- Use an easily readable default font size
- Use simple clear text formatting
- Provide high contrast between text and background
- Hearing
- Provide separate volume controls or mutes for effects, speech and background / music
- Ensure no essential information is conveyed by audio alone, reinforce with text / visuals
- If any subtitles / captions are used, use an easily readable default font size, simple clear text formatting and provide high contrast between text and background
- Speech
- Ensure that speech input is not required, and included only as a supplementary / alternative input method