3 ms·

I love the push for more accessibility in games. Game Maker's Toolkit made a series of very good videos on the subject that illustrate what's actually possible:

I love the push for more accessibility in games. Game Maker's Toolkit made a series of very good videos on the subject that illustrate what's actually possible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NGe4dzlukc&list=PLc38fcMFcV_vvWOhMDriBlVocTZ8mKQzR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NGe4dzlukc&list=PLc38fcMFcV... I am toying with ideas of games that put particular focus on certain senses as a key part of their gameplay. But these discussions of game accessibility always make me feel a bit like a bad person for wanting to make games that are exclusive by their very nature. So where is the line between cool ideas that don't translate well for people with disabilities and gratuitous exclusion that could be avoided?

hn8788 6y ago
I think you'd need to decide whether the game is the equivalent of art, or if it's a product designed to reach as many people as possible. That's the one thing I really disagree with GMTK about; not having a ton of accessibility features doesn't necessarily mean the developer doesn't care about disabled people, it could just be that the game wants to elicit a specific emotion that doesn't translate well if the game is made more accessible. He said in one of his videos that Doom Eternal being difficult makes it innaccessible to people who aren't good at video games or have other disabilities, and implied that it isn't fair that people with accessibility issues don't get to experience the same power fantasy that everyone else does. For example, FromSoft games (Dark Souls, Sekiro, etc.) don't have difficulty options because the developers want you to struggle and feel triumphant when you eventually succeed. People have complained for a long time about how the game is inaccessible, but FromSoft hasn't budged because that feeling of mastering the combat and beating overwhelming odds is the point of the game. If they had an easy mode where you could just run through without a care in the world, it would just be another crappy open world game.
- RootReducer 6y ago
  To be far to GMTK, he has an entire video about whether Dark Souls should have an "easy" mode that discusses this exact point in great detail, and overall he makes the same concession you do for art and experience.
- msla 6y ago
  > I think you'd need to decide whether the game is the equivalent of art, or if it's a product designed to reach as many people as possible. Is Citizen Kane with subtitles not art?
  - emsy 6y ago
    That's not a good comparison in the context of games. It would be more akin to have a subtitle or commentator that explains the meaning of the movie or the purpose of certain shots. If you lack the intellectual acumen or knowledge to grasp these things you will miss out on them.

hn8788 6y ago

I think you'd need to decide whether the game is the equivalent of art, or if it's a product designed to reach as many people as possible. That's the one thing I really disagree with GMTK about; not having a ton of accessibility features doesn't necessarily mean the developer doesn't care about disabled people, it could just be that the game wants to elicit a specific emotion that doesn't translate well if the game is made more accessible. He said in one of his videos that Doom Eternal being difficult makes it innaccessible to people who aren't good at video games or have other disabilities, and implied that it isn't fair that people with accessibility issues don't get to experience the same power fantasy that everyone else does. For example, FromSoft games (Dark Souls, Sekiro, etc.) don't have difficulty options because the developers want you to struggle and feel triumphant when you eventually succeed. People have complained for a long time about how the game is inaccessible, but FromSoft hasn't budged because that feeling of mastering the combat and beating overwhelming odds is the point of the game. If they had an easy mode where you could just run through without a care in the world, it would just be another crappy open world game.

RootReducer 6y ago
To be far to GMTK, he has an entire video about whether Dark Souls should have an "easy" mode that discusses this exact point in great detail, and overall he makes the same concession you do for art and experience.
msla 6y ago
> I think you'd need to decide whether the game is the equivalent of art, or if it's a product designed to reach as many people as possible. Is Citizen Kane with subtitles not art?
- emsy 6y ago
  That's not a good comparison in the context of games. It would be more akin to have a subtitle or commentator that explains the meaning of the movie or the purpose of certain shots. If you lack the intellectual acumen or knowledge to grasp these things you will miss out on them.