Video Game Is Known As One Of The Most Popular Entertainments In The World Today. A Great Way To Fill Your Free Time, Connect With Friends, Have Fun With Family And Even Earn Money As A Full-Time Job. 

People With Disabilities, This popularity is such that it is estimated that we will have about 3.24 billion gamers worldwide this year.

This figure increasingly includes those who play on various platforms, from mobile, console, and computer to the cloud. And this is while many people cannot experience this wonderful world due to limited and disproportionate facilities. Disabled and physically disabled are among these users.

Disability and gaming

Unfortunately, there are no accurate statistics on how many gamers with physical disabilities we have in 2021. However, based on old statistics published in the American media, it can estimate that about 20% of American gamers have some form of disability (color blindness also falls into this category).

This population is likely to be smaller on a global scale. Lack of facilities, lack of flexible game design, lack of access to proper controllers, and the high cost of equipment have led to this part of society being less able to update in this area.

Picture of Michael Luckett, a streamer with a spinal cord injury

This issue is less common in first-world countries with high facilities. Because the government and society have thought of many measures to improve the quality of life of the disabled. So that more or less even disabled streamers can be seen in these countries. One of these streamers is MikeTheQuad, who has been streaming professionally since 2011.

Unfortunately, these conditions are not available to Iranian disabled people at all. Regardless of the facilities, awareness, culture, and knowledge of this issue do not exist. As a result, the disabled and the disabled in our country are facing more limitations and difficulties.

Developers and the disabled

Disabilities can cause visual, auditory, physical, or even cognitive systems, depending on their type and extent. But this can not prevent the gaming experience for this group of gamers. However, it is a bit difficult to develop games in a suitable way for all these users.

Over the years, large developers and game studios have been trying to improve the gaming experience for this group of users by adding features. However, we still have a long way to go before we can transfer a near-perfect experience to people with disabilities.

Deaf and hard of hearing gamers

Deaf and hard-of-hearing people are among those who can easily provide a quality experience by installing legible subtitles with large fonts. However, we still see in many games that fine and illegible fonts and incomplete dialogues are used to avoid the visual experience.

Suitable subtitles in terms of readability in Life Is Strange: Before the Storm.

The Life Is Strange franchise games show a good example of a suitable subtitle for the disabled. Large, simple, legible white font with a black border with the background box can adjust.

In addition, subtitles should not cross the usual two-line line so that the audience has the opportunity to read it. Quick and long dialogues will be a barrier to the deaf gamer experience. Therefore, according to the standard introduced by the BBC, each subtitle with the usual number of words is displayed for at least 0.3 seconds.

When the gameplay is crowded, and we have many characters in the scene, it becomes difficult for the deaf gamer to recognize which dialogue is related to which character. Hence, games like Rising of the Tomb Raider, which highlights this difference by coloring and mentioning the character’s name at the beginning of the dialogue, are well-designed examples for people with disabilities.

Suitable subtitles for sound effects in Half-Life 2

Another issue is the sound effects of games. For example, in the Overwatch game, when the ultimatum is executed, due to the lack of a replacement for sound effects, the deaf user is not able to detect it and can not perform properly. In contrast, games such as Half-Life 2, by placing all the sounds in the form of subtitles and Fortnite Mobile, by replacing the audio ring in the form of visuals, allow the gamer to be aware of what is happening around him, regardless of the visual space.

 

Color-blind, combo, and blind gamers

Disabled people with color blindness and low vision are also among the gamblers who are less discussed. Despite the visual focus of the games, it is a bit more difficult to develop the games to fit the broad needs of this group.

Color blindness is an inherited disorder that, as its name implies, makes it difficult for a person to distinguish and distinguish colors. The disease, which occurs in different dimensions, is more common in men. This disability, which has different types, causes not recognizing some of the whole color spectra. As a result, gamers with this problem will not be able to experience the color-based puzzles of the game.

We saw an example of this in one of the popular and wireless games, puzzles Among Us. If you remember, to solve this puzzle, we had to connect wires of the same color. But it was difficult for this group of users to recognize these colors. As a result of this game, each color was distinguished from the other during the next update by a simple shape.

So a simple method for developers can distinguish colored objects by symbol, design, or shape. Successful examples of this can be seen in games like ChromaGun, which are completely color-based. For the convenience of color gamers, this game showed each color spectrum by a series of vertical, horizontal, or case lines so that the gamer could notice their distinction.

The appropriate color scheme suggested by a Reddit user for Among Us.

Also, in shooter games such as Overwatch or the Call of Duty franchise, where enemies are shown in red and teammates in green, there are options for color-blind people to switch from green and red to orange and blue to experience this category. Provide users. In color-centric games such as Splatoon, it is also possible to lock team colors to recognizable spectrums for color-blind people.

But game developers can do even better by allowing the user to change the color spectrum to find the right color spectrum according to their color blindness (protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia, etc.). A successful example of this function can be seen in DICE games, which allow the user to customize colors based on the color palette fully.

In visually impaired gamers, simple, large, and legible fonts will be constructive in recognizing the text. There will also be options for adjusting the contrast and brightness that are embedded in many games today.

Black background in Street Fighter

In an example of scene contrast, Street Fighter with crowded scenes also allows the user to experience a simple black background so that the visually impaired gamer can experience the game without any particular problem. Also, the possibility of increasing the size of the health bar or character and map equipment, as we saw in Borderlands 3, can be beneficial.

Proper and intelligent use of sound effects and physical triggers of the controller can also be a great help for visually impaired and blind users. This can be especially evident for this group of users, especially in shooter and combat games.

A blind gamer with the right equipment to experience the game

For blind users, unfortunately, due to the visual focus of the video game, the gaming experience will be much more difficult. However, using joysticks with a trigger for the disabled, proper, and directional sound will help make the experience. We even have Steve Saylor blind gamers today who can be very inspiring

Physically and physically disabled gamers

Many of today’s games involve physical interactions. We have to press a button constantly or release another button at the right moment. Mastering and controlling these activities can be impossible for the physically and physically disabled. However, the range of physical disabilities is such that it makes it a little difficult to cover all the needs of this group of gamers.

Therefore, many groups of people with disabilities use special joysticks or hardware appropriate to their abilities. One of the things a developer can do to meet the needs of this group of users is to allow connectivity and sometimes support devices—something we rarely see in consoles.

Also, if games like Overwatch or NieR: Automata are fully allowed to ramp game buttons and keys, it will have a huge impact on the user experience. This is extremely rare in gaming consoles, even though it is common on computers.

This is even worse for handheld consoles. Because many in-game movements depend on the console’s movements, if you cannot move the handheld console in the right direction, you will not experience the game properly.

Another feature that developers can provide to this group of users is to reduce the complexity of the game input. This means that less physical interaction is required to experience the game. An example of this can be seen in the latest Uncharted version, which provides automatic markup for this group of users and the ability to combine the navigation buttons and the camera.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider game menu with full customization of the game level

The easy combat mode in the new games has made it easier for the physically and physically disabled to experience their favorite titles. Overall, with the development of new games, the customizable features in the control system are improving day by day. As a result, more people will be able to experience quality games.

Equipment for disabled gamers

Fortunately, with the development of the gaming industry and awareness about the disabled, the development of devices and tools attributed to gaming has become more and more important for the disabled. So Microsoft is also looking to improve the quality of the experience of Xbox gamers with disabilities. The output of this effort is the release of the Xbox Adaptive Controller.

$ 150 device with a different design that allows the user to experience the game with arms, hands, and feet in a controllable way for himself. This device allows a gaming experience for many gamers with large and sensitive buttons, pedals, and touchpads. The device also has the ability to connect and sync with Xbox consoles and computers.

But this is only one of the devices that can be used by the disabled. Letters such as Blue Tip Gaming Axis 4 Pro, SubPac M2X, and Optima Joystick are other devices that this group of disabled users can use. However, unfortunately, access to these tools is complicated in Iran.

On the other hand, many companies today are trying to produce touch triggers, visual simulators, smart hearing aids, etc. Improve the lives of this group of society. For example, eSight3 smart glasses are one of the tools that can change the lives of people with visual impairments. But there is still a long way to go before this equipment can use.

 

The future is bright.

Despite all the limitations, today, the future of the gaming world looks bright for people with disabilities. Awareness of manufacturers and consideration of the needs of ordinary users has led to more people with disabilities today having a quality gaming experience with friends and family.

On the other hand, developing tools related to the disabled and improving their quality of life can improve the gaming experience for this group of people. With the increasing advancement of technology and the increasing awareness of people about this social group, a better future for the disabled is predicted.

What is our duty?

Ultimately, our job as members of society is first to accept these people and then help make their voices heard. Many of the needs of ordinary people will meet with simple measures. Therefore, we have a duty as citizens to meet the needs and improve the lives of this disabled group of society and help if possible.

If we are in the game and video game development industry, consider the needs of these disabled gamers in their game development. If we have voice and media, we will be the voice of these people and their shortcomings. And if we can take even a small step to improve their quality of life, do not hesitate.

Conclusion

Fortunately, with the growing awareness of the global community, game developers and studios are increasingly considering the capabilities needed for gamers with disabilities. And today’s great games are offered with a significant range of customizable features so that these users can also experience high quality and complete game experience.

The availability of assistive devices and devices for the disabled has greatly enhanced this experience. But despite the high price and high restrictions, it still can not solve a wide range of people with disabilities. However, it is hoped that with the increasing development of technology and public awareness, the sweet experience of video games will become available and of high quality for all disabled gamers, including disabled Iranians.