This indie FPS is using raytracing to let hearing-impaired players see sounds

gamesradar.com:

The developer behind a free-to-play FPS game is working on a new accessibility feature that will allow hearing-impaired players to see sounds using raytracing. 

Australian indie developer Vercidium is currently working on a new accessibility feature for its FPS game Sector's Edge. The feature utilizes raytracing and various colors to add sound visualization to the game so that hearing-impaired players can anticipate other players on the map. 

Rather than having to rely on footsteps, players can instead look out for the various hues that decorate the walls and floors of the map. For instance, when another player is close by but not close enough to be a threat just yet, the area surrounding the player is green, however, as they get closer it changes to amber, before then switching to bright red when the player is close enough to attack. 

I'm working on visualising sounds for deaf players using raytracingThere's still a bit of work remaining but I was able to play normally with the sound muted#gamedev #indiegamedev #indiegames pic.twitter.com/laeIRVbfJSJanuary 26, 2023

According to the replies to the tweet above, this is just one way that Vercidium is trying to make Sector's Edge more accessible. As explained in one reply (opens in new tab) to the tweet, feedback has prompted the developer to add customizable colors to this feature making it easier for color-blind players to use too. 

Before you rush to the Sector's Edge Steam page (opens in new tab) to try this feature out for yourself, you should know it hasn't been rolled out in the live game yet. From the looks of the replies to the tweet though, it seems to at least be at the playtesting stage - so we shouldn't have to wait too much longer for it to roll out to all