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A look at accessibility concerns we had on Stem Stumper, a blind accessible iOS game. We provide concrete things and we did to make the game accessible and resource for finding out more about game accessibility.
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Game Design and Accessibility
A case study using Stem Stumper
Who Am I?
• Born and Raised The Bronx, NY• CMU SCS 2008• Interned at EALA on MOH:Airborne• Demiurge Studios – Engineer• Founded Ananse Productions
November 2010
What I’m Playing
Portal 2, Mass Effect and Bejewled!
Stem Stumper
Sonar Mode
Accessibility versus Usability
• Accessibility: Taking into account physical and mental impairments
• Usability: Making interaction with the game as intuitive as possible
Accessibility leads to Usability
• A lot of overlap
Starts with Design• Needs to be a priority from the start
Overview
• Hearing• Touch and Mobility• Sight• Screen Readers• Resources
Hearing
• Approximately 36 million (17%) US adults report a form of hearing loss (NIDCD)
• Uncharted 2 sales = 3.8 million worldwide
• Includes unilateral hearing loss (loss of hearing in a single ear)
Hearing – Visual Cues
• Using multiple channels for information reinforces it
• Mobile players aren’t always listening to your game
Hearing – Stereo
• Papa Sangre uses binaural audio– Have to hear with both ears!
• Avoided stereo on Stem Stumper
Touch and Mobility
• 14.5 million (7.1%) of Americans report a severe motion impairing disability
• Modern Warfare 2 Sales = 10 million US
• Interesting repercussions for motion gaming
Touch and Motion – Time
• Allowing playing at own pace
Touch and Motion - Controls
• Chording: require multiple button presses at the same time– Virtual D-pads– Stem Stumper only requires one finger!
• Beware of time-sensitive controls!– Double tapping, not in Stem Stumper*
• Remapping wasn’t an issue for Stem Stumper
Sight
• 25 million Americans with serious vision loss (AFB)
• Gears of War 2 Sales = 2 million worldwide
• Only 10% are completely blind!
• Biggest concern on Stem Stumper
Sight - Symbols
• Helps children, those with reading disabilities, and can be more intuitive overall
• Still need text substitute for screen readers. Not a localization sliver bullet.
Sight – Legible Text
• Make sure font is always easily distinguishable from background
• In Stem Stumper we created a black outline around text to help it pop out.
Sight - Colorblind
• 10% of US men are red-green color blind (rare amongst women)
• Photoshop magic versus silhouettes and texturing
Screen Readers
• New to gaming
• Not supported on any console!
• Apple has VoiceOver built in to newer iOS models
VoiceOver
• Captures and preprocess input• Requires multiple taps with
multiple fingers• Handy API
UI With Screen Readers
• Don’t make items disappear
UI With Screen Readers
• Stick with conventions
UI With Screen Readers
• Information (like a meter) isn’t instantly visible!
Test, Test, Test!
• Find testers in your target group and test
• Also great for building buzz!
Resources
• www.blindcomputergames.com– 7-128 worked with audio gamers to
come up with clear guidelines to present developers
• IGDA GASIG– A lot of high level things to keep in
mind• WCAG 2.0– Web standard for accessibility that
covers more impairments