All About Accessibilty

GAconf Accessibility Conference Line-Up Announced

9Oct

By CharlotteNo Comments

GAconf Accessibility Conference Line-Up Announced

The line-up has been announced for accessibility conference GAconf. GAconf is a professional conference for the games industry, founded to advance the field of accessibility in game development. Suitable for all disciplines of the games industry, the hybrid event will take place on October 28th-29th. With both a free to attend online event held through Zoom and Discord, as well as an in-person gathering in Redmond. Accessibility Matters Awareness of the importance of game accessibility has increased hugely in recent years, with ever growing numbers of developers seeing the benefits. GAconf offers two days of talks and networking exploring recent and future advancements in the field of game accessibility. Event attendees can expect a wide range of topics from all sectors of the industry...

Arachnophobia Accessibility is good, now let’s design better

8Oct

By Finch2 Comments

Features

Arachnophobia Accessibility is good, now let’s design better

Content Warning: If you have severe arachnophobia, be aware that while there are no images of spiders in this article, there may be descriptive language about them or their environment in games (eg. thick webbing, movement), please skip this article at your discretion. All spiders were virtually harmed in the making of this article. Posting Opinions on the World-Wide Web With Halloween drawing near, many people with arachnophobia - like myself - are dreading the month of October. I don't know which of the divine powers came up with the idea that spiders should exist, but our fascination with fear can make even a simple supermarket shopping trip, or MMO fetch quest, unbearable. Though they are kind of one in the same. Games have come a long way in helping mitigate that. The recent intr...

24Mar

By Mike DifferNo Comments

Accessibility In Gaming

Visual Impairment And Accessible Gaming

I am embarrassed but readily admit that I know very little about the struggle that exists. And I don’t always consider how difficult it can be for people not able sighted. Growing up playing video games, the name says it all, as to how prevalent the visuals are when playing. For nearsighted people, it is relatively easy to play games. For those who have low vision or are blind, I found that different ways have been found to still be able to play such as responding to audio cues. However, this is still far from ideal for visual impairment gaming and people within the visual impaired (VI) community. Listen out for how games can work for you I listened recently to The Tale of the Winter Sun, an audio play from Fowk Productions. I have included the YouTube link below. The team at Fowk h...

Colourblind Watch: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

27Nov

By Stu NNo Comments

Accessibility In Gaming

Colourblind Watch: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

After my Colourblind and Gaming article a few weeks ago, I've decided to keep an eye on games that have or add Colourblind options to games. As part of a new series focusing on accessibility in gaming, I'm introducing you all to Colourblind Watch! Today, the topic is Colourblind Watch: Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Colourblind Watch: Assassin's Creed Valhalla - What's New? Recently I purchased Assassin's Creed Valhalla on PC and it's the first game on the Colourblind Watch list. As usual, the first thing I do it check for any colourblind options. As usual, when it comes to the majority of games, they change the way icons and health bars etc. are displayed. Before the latest patch of 1.0.4, you can see here, This is what you used to get: With Patch 1.0.4 they have now added: (A11y) ...

17Nov

By Stu N1 Comment

Accessibility In Gaming

Colourblind and Gaming

I first discovered I was colourblind at the age of 7 while in class at primary school, looking at a chalkboard and struggling to read the yellow writing. After this incident, I went to have my eyes checked and sure enough, I was diagnosed as colourblind. In this post, I'm going to be looking at what it's like being colourblind and being a gamer. What is ColourBlindness? Colourblindness affects 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women. Until recently, I had believed that colourblindness only affected men. This was the common belief when I was growing up. But we now know that even though it is a lot less common for women, they can also suffer from this type of visual impairment. The classic colourblindness test can be carried out using Ishihara plates. If you can’t see the number 3, then you’re pro...

The Cost Of Playing Video Games – An Arm Or A Leg?

17Jul

By Mike DifferNo Comments

Features

The Cost Of Playing Video Games – An Arm Or A Leg?

With the approach of the new console generation, video game players eagerly await any news about the prices of the upcoming PS5 and X-box series X. Arguably of equal importance to the consoles themselves is the price of their games and following the news that NBA 2K21 will increase from $59.99 to $69.99 USD. 2K games who develop the NBA series are the first to take this step and it seems like other developers are ready to follow on the next console generation. At first hearing video games now cost just under $70 may be cause for frustration for gamers. As an entertainment medium have typically cost more than others such as film & TV but have not had the same inflation over the years. Film/TV where the technology used in production, from Blu-ray to 3D has always come with an inc...

15Jul

By DanNo Comments

Accessibility In Gaming, Gaming, Gaming For All

Gaming and Epilepsy

More and more people are getting diagnosed with Epilepsy, yet there isn’t much awareness surrounding it – Especially when it comes to gaming! The Facts: In the UK alone there are circa 600,000 living with Epilepsy Around 87 people are diagnosed on a daily basis. Approximately 1,000 people die every year with around half of these been related to a sudden unexpected death in Epilepsy (also known as SUDEP) Photosensitive Epilepsy affects roughly 3% which is seizures triggered by flashing and/or flickering lights What is shocking is the fact that not many people are even remotely aware of the above or how serious Epilepsy can be. The effects it has on life alone, never mind the seizures can be extremely difficult to live with. For many people with Epilepsy gaming is a ...