"Participation on par with everyone else": A rethink of accessibility in games

gamedeveloper.com:

Accessibility is a key factor that game developers need to consider while working on their projects, but when should it become part of the conversation? At the 2023 Game Developers Conference, Ubisoft accessibility design lead and strategist Aderyn Thompson remarked on the number of event panels that revolve around video games that have already launched. In the accessibility field, they argued, that kind of delay can be catastrophic.

"Waiting to have an open dialogue about accessibility will be too late," they said. "We need to consciously work toward maturing the discipline."

As one of many GDC speakers focused on accessibility in video games, Thompson explored a disambiguation that they feel has been lacking across the industry. Current solutions, particularly in-game "accessibility" menus, are in Thompson's view often better described as accommodations: "a concession or assistance when there isn't equitable access," used in games "when existing systems are least malleable."

To drive this point home, Thompson presented two examples of wheelchair-friendly access to a real-world building, pictured above. The first included a ramp seamlessly attached to a business's front door; the second showed a crowded, snow-lined alleyway past a trash bin, which leads to a back door that requires ringing a bell to get special assistance.

"Accessibility," Thompson said as a point of differentiation, "is participation on par with everyone else. It's not a separate experience: no inconvenience, embarrassment, or pity, and it doesn't make someone stand out."

When a video game's core systems and mechanics don't take accessibility into account, Thompson argued, an affected player's experience can be similar. As one example, Thompson cited