How Indie Studios Are Pioneering Accessible Game Design
How Indie Studios Are Pioneering Accessible Game Design
How Indie Studios Are Pioneering Accessible Game Design
By Grant Stoner
December 28, 2022
Summary
Player feedback is crucial when developing accessibility features and inclusive design practices.
"Being a small team working on a huge game, we first focused on getting the game out there for people to try as a demo," they say.
Regardless of your preferred platform, players can activate features that reduce flashes and use colorblind modes to make their experience more accessible.
"We wanted our game to be playable with touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, or controller, or a combination of those. This way players always have an alternative way of playing if they have difficulty with a certain type of control. The reason why this is so difficult is because all of the menus have to be usable and feel fluent with any one of the control methods. We had a ton of iterations & brainstorms on each screen to make them perfect."
Even at larger indie studios, like Rebellion Developments Limited, understanding the importance of accessible design is an ongoing process.
Without official resources or disabled users guiding teams, indie studios may feel overwhelmed when asked to make their games accessible.
As Watterton and others state, accessible features as well as design practices create brand-new experiences for disabled audiences-and it's everyone's goal to let as many people play as possible.
Reference
Stoner, G. (2022, December 28). How indie studios are pioneering accessible game design. Wired. Retrieved January 24, 2023, from https://www.wired.com/story/indie-studios-accessible-game-design-tunic-coromon/