Accessible hardware is on the rise, so why are so many disabled players being left behind? We investigate the state of …
This is quite the in-depth article on the topic, I might have to read through it a few times to digest it all.
One thing I was going to point out was I definitely see benefit to working on software changes where possible to save the cost of needing specialized equipment. The article does cover this
Holden cites Sea of Thieves’ addition of ‘single stick’ controls, where any swashbuckling and/or plundering can be performed using a single thumbstick
I was going to mention PSO2: NGS which has a single button to cast any spells based on what might be best for that situation (maybe one of the few things I liked about that game…). Definitely would like to see more of that. I also play FF14 and read a theory that the devs there consider button bloat a game feature, so whenever they simplify one skill (by making it a single button) they have to split another skill by making it multiple instead, which I find really unfortunate, I have a disabled friend who has trouble playing much due to the mass amount of skills.
And yea, definitely a good idea to donate to charity. SpecialEffect is listed which has been in the Yogscast Jingle Jam charity event at the end of the year. Assuming they have one this year and are taking part, might be a good idea to send some money their way or to other relevant charities for people who can do so
Some games don’t even have fucking KEYBINDS, which the most basic of accessibility features.
This will only change when stores (like Steam) start cataloguing these types of features and letting people setup default filters to hide all games without them.
The users have to make them hear that releasing any game without basic accessibility options is unacceptable. This will only happen when the majority is pushing for it, not just those that need the options.
Until then, make sure you leave a negative review and get a refund when you see this kind of thing, even if the game is otherwise good. Pirate the game instead if you still want to play it anyway. They have to be told that this is unacceptable.
As someone whose been waiting for a filter to exclude games with 3rd party drm… Good luck waiting for that.
some jrpgs still suffer from tiny text (looking at you Switch)
I mean most games can’t even bother to give colorblind people a slider or a palette of colors to change the red outlines and tints they put on things. That’s a way easier problem to solve than variable sized text in a UI.
