24 hour exclusive - How Accessible Were This Year's Games?

This is such an important aspect of game design and interactive design, in general, to raise awareness for. Increasing accessibility doesn't just help those with disabilities either. There's spillover for all players. Top videos these!

Goukigod

Idea for a new video, since I'm not sure where to put it: How to create Out Smarting as a mechanic. That is, in a strategy game like MTG you have to think about how much untapped land your opponent has, how to make a blue deck use their counter spells through baiting and maintain enough of your own mana to play the card you really want to hit the field. Its this proactive and reactive type of gameplay I'm really interested in where choices (abilities, cards in this example) can be both proactive and reactive. An important part of this, I think, is where to draw the information horizon. It's a really tough concept to full grasp. For me, at least. Love your work! Can't wait to see what's next.

Jacob Brown

Your accessibility series has been invaluable in helping me with the game I’m currently developing. It’s given me things to consider and research that wouldn’t have otherwise crossed my mind. I was really looking forward to this video in particular and it definitely didn’t disappoint. My games tutor shows a lot of your stuff in class as well, you’ve got such an amazing way of breaking stuff down and describing it.

Hey! One of the main things I'd say is that "challenge" is subjective. What's challenging to me might be impossible to someone else or extremely easy to a third person. If the artistic vision of the game is to be challenging, then options allow everyone to find something that is challenging for them! Helping people find the right mode is tough, but hey, game design ain't easy ;)

Game Maker's Toolkit

Hello Mark Brown. A few days ago I was discussing accessibility features with my team of hobby game devs. I believe that games are commodities with the sole purpose of entertaining their customers. I was met with heavy criticism, them saying that games should be hard and changing that would go against the vision of the developers. They see challenge as synonymous with inaccessibility. But I'm all for challenge, it's one of the main values games can provide. I started to think, maybe it's too early for these ideas, and the industry just isn't ready for it yet, but seeing triple A games adopt accessibility I realize it's the other way around: some developers are stuck in an outdated elitist mind-set. Do you have any suggestions on how I could change the opinion in my team?

relgukxilef

Love these videos. Keep'em up! I had no idea you could use an xbox one controller on a series x,or that the switch had system button remapping. That's awesome!

Nick Grugin

I always get excited when a video about accessibility comes out. <3 But it's wrong; it should be so normal that it should be given for granted (one can dream, can't they?)

Paolo Torelli

It is a conundrum - but verily, wording and approach to accessibility features makes all the difference in perception and use. A player might not be disabled and not even try a feature that might improve their ability to play (a game speed multiplier being an example). Or their ego be too big for their ability. Personally I find what was done back in Darkest Dungeon (and others) good: the developer's recommended settings clearly marked, change as you like. And hey, if someone is fed up after 10 boss losses and wants to just move ahead, why not?

Paolo Torelli

It seems like accessibility has improved a lot in the last year in general, which is great news. I'm still not too sure about how I feel about difficulty levels on games that just aren't designed around them or are just designed for a higher difficulty level. I guess the developer should make very clear that this isn't the way the game is meant to be played, but rather an accessibility option for those who are unable to beat it the normal way and not for somebody who's fed up after losing for the 10th time to a boss.

drixkarasu

*Glares at hard-bound F key in Cyberpunk*

Zeragamba

Excellent video as always! Slightly concerned about your wording around the Japanese game industry? Could be misconstrued. Might be worth rewording it a bit to make it sound specific to the AAA game industry,

Aadit Doshi

Also, for subtitles: stetting screen texts/subtitles and voices to different language is needed too!

ZoidbergForPresident

And geez, so many console games allow for control rebinds, this is now an utter outrage to not have that feature in PC Games/keyboard! Good work showing it there! <3

ZoidbergForPresident

So, does the ps5 finally allows for the reading of graphical subtitles in mkvs and the like?

ZoidbergForPresident