Gamasutra.com - Making Video Games Accessible: Business Justifications and Design Considerations


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By Brannon Zahand
[Author's Bio]
Gamasutra
September 20, 2006

Making Video Games Accessible: Business Justifications and Design Considerations

Introduction
Importance?
The Need
Visual Impairment
Auditory Impairment
Mobility Impairment
Vocal / Conclusion

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Making Video Games Accessible: Business Justifications and Design Considerations

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Mobility Impairments

"Videogames offer people with disabilities the opportunity to reconnect with their peers and abilities that have been lost or never had. My personal experience comes from being paralyzed at the age of 14 years old and visiting the recreational center in the hospital and the only interest I had to break out of my depression was to play the videogame system. I quickly lost interest when I learned I could not play them..."—Robert Florio

Mobility impairments are perhaps the hardest of the various impairments to get firm statistics on. This is primarily due to the fact that these impairments can be caused by disease, neurological disorders, loss of limbs/digits, paralysis, etc. which each can have a varying degree of impact on a video gamer's experience. These impairments may be congenital, or may occur later in life.

To help you understand mobility impairment issues, imagine that:

You Are A Gamer	And You Are In This Scenario
With no mobility impairment	The game controller has so many buttons, you (as a casual gamer) are intimidated and you don't want to learn how to use it.
With a temporary mobility impairment	You have a broken thumb so you can't use the thumbstick on your controller.
	You have a broken leg so you can't use the dance pad for a dancing title.
With a permanent and severe mobility impairment	You have lost an arm so you cannot use a two handed controller.
	You have Parkinson's disease, your hands shake, and that makes you accidentally trigger buttons on the controller.
	You are paralyzed from the neck down so you cannot use a standard game controller at all.

Mobility issues have typically been addressed through unique peripherals, such as the above.

Thinking about accommodating all these gamers is challenging, but there are some easy things you can keep in mind when developing your games.

Minimize button use and think more about menu interfaces for commands. This is particularly useful for individuals who may be missing digits or a hand. It is also useful for paralyzed individuals who use custom controllers.
Allow gamers to customize their controller configuration and button/thumbstick sensitivity. This will allow individuals who have fine motor skills problems customize the controller to minimize the impact their disability has on game play. It also allows for better support of custom controllers for the disabled.
If your game utilizes a specific type of peripheral (dance pad, light gun, etc.), allow other controllers to perform the same functions. For instance, a game such as Dance Dance Revolution(c) allows even wheelchair-restricted individuals to play along with their friends through the use of a regular hand- held controller.

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