We at AbleGamers know just how important it is to keep the gears turning when it comes to accessibility in gaming. 2018 was a big year for our charity and accessibility in general — just look at the Xbox Adaptive Controller! But we want to do better and we want to go bigger.
Though we have lots of ideas and come up with some pretty amazing one-off idea for our grant recipients, we want to know what the community has in mind, so we asked! Keep reading for some clever ideas that came straight from the AbleGamers community!
Q: What Ideas Do You Have That Would Make Gaming More Accessible?
A: While my issue is minor compared to others, I have severe carpal tunnel and tendonitis. Games that require repetitive button tapping are unplayable for me, like how you have to mash X to run in GTA V? I wish games had an option that offered alternatives to that, whether that’s auto-sprint or clicking in a joystick to trigger running. Hurdles like that put enjoying some of the biggest titles out of reach.
Q: What Ideas Do You Have That Would Make Gaming More Accessible?
A: Video games need better-integrated CCs, online games that use voice need integrated VTT software or better visual systems during play to interact with other players, and tabletop games need to consult the Deaf/HoH community to create and provide companion books with appropriate signs and features of their games.
Q: What Ideas Do You Have That Would Make Gaming More Accessible?
A: If games were developed more eloquently (that is, in a way that allows the player to do as much as possible with as few keystrokes/mouse clicks as possible), more people would be able to play them. Gaming would also be more accessible if there were fewer console-only because many gamers with disabilities use the PC out of necessity.
Q: What Ideas Do You Have That Would Make Gaming More Accessible?
A: In my dream world, every game would have an option to disable screen shake and flashing (unless they are specifically designed around those concepts), and all games would have a visual cue for every audio cue (subtitles or otherwise), and an audio cue for every visual cue. Sensory processing disorder makes a lot of games unplayable for me, and it’s not something commonly accounted for.
Q: What Ideas Do You Have That Would Make Gaming More Accessible?
A: A controller for each hand ala Nintendo Switch, compatible for PlayStation & Xbox, for gamers like me who can’t hold their hands together to use regular controllers.
A BIG thank you to our community for taking the time to let us know what they think would make gaming even more accessible. We have come a long way, but have so much further to go!
A controller for each hand for all consoles…now that is an idea!