The document discusses Johnny Richardson and his work as the Director of Industry Outreach for AbleGamers, a foundation dedicated to making games and entertainment software more accessible. AbleGamers provides various services and resources to support disabled gamers and developers, such as player support, consulting for developers, and hosting accessibility events. Richardson advocates that accessibility features do not significantly increase development costs and outlines best practices developers can implement, such as remappable keys and camera options. He argues that the disabled community represents a large untapped market and that accessibility is an important ethical issue.

1. Johnny Richardson

2.  Games, Web Developer and Consultant
 @ Jack Morton Worldwide
 Disabled Gamer
 Accessibility Evangelist
 Director of Industry Outreach, AbleGamers
Mission and specialty: to make games
and entertainment software more
accessible

3. The AbleGamers Foundation is dedicated to bringing greater
accessibility in the digital entertainment space so that people with
disabilities can gain a greater quality of life, and develop the rich social
life that gaming can bring.
 Player and caregiver support
 Developers
 Events and community
 Editorial
 Grants
 Accessible hardware

4.  For disabled players…
 Empowerment
 Self-efficacy
 Escapism
 Social experiences
 Aids in rehabilitation
 Audience diversification

5.  Events such as
 PAX and GDC
 AbilitiesExpo
 World Congress on Disabilities
 Day-to-day support and consulting
 Sponsors: Microsoft, Rockstar, PopCap,
Harmonix, IndieGala

6.  Includification
 First-ever permanent accessibility arcade in
D.C.
 New advisor and Board of Directors member
 Paul Barnett (EA)
 Larry Goldberg (WGBH)
 Weeklong of coverage on G4TV.com
 AAPD Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award and
documentary

7.  Located at the MLK Memorial
Library in D.C.
 Several gaming stations featuring
a variety of games and hardware
 Kinect/Xbox, PC, Adroit, Quasimoto Axis
 Fruit Ninja, Forza
 First-ever arcade of its kind open to
public
 Generated a lot of attention
“When properly used, video games can be an important learning tool for
literacy, spatial reasoning and curriculum support as well as a wonderful
social experience.”
- Venetia Demson, Chief of D.C. Public Library’s Adaptive Services Division

9.  The “How”
 Comprehensive Best Practices
 Good, Better, Best
 Case Studies
 Developer Exercises
 Testimonials
 Will be updated annually in print and often
online
 Has gotten excellent feedback

10. “There should be
no barriers to fun”
 Solutions for Developers
 Hardware
 Business
 Ethical Imperative

11.  Don’t add lots of time (for the most part)
 Are not technically infeasible
 Do not violate platform requirements
 Will not alienate your player base
 …or ruin your gameplay
Accessibility is accessible to everyone
 Realistic

12. Never say
someone wouldn't
want to play your
game a certain way

13.  Remappable Keys, Camera Options
 Dragon Age, Rift, Resistance
 Third party access
 Moveable UI, Macros
 WoW, Dark Age of Camelot
 Save Points
 Speed

14.  Font colors
 Colorblind options
 Target marking
 Change fonts
 Customizable interface
 Speed
 Text-to-speech

15.  Closed Captioning
 Needs to account for
dialogue and events
 Fonts/colors
 Alternative
indicators
 Call of Duty
 Hard to come by

16.  Tutorials/training
 “Starter” areas
 Sandboxes/freedom
 Open-world games
 Difficulty adjustment
 Good menu systems
 Camera options
 Auto-pass

17.  Still evolving very rapidly
 Most of these practices apply
 Modified multi-touch
 Alternative input
 iOS/Android both have their
strengths
 Accessibility not heavily enforced
Can be more accessible than other platforms
…or far less, depending on need.

18.  Adroit
 Quasimoto Axis, etc.
 Motion controllers
 Wii/Wii U, Kinect, Move
 Coming along…
 Brain enabled

19.  42 million disabled people in US
alone
 Average household has some
kind of gaming device
 Audience represents major
untapped revenue
 Money is an excellent
motivator

20.  We’re getting through
 Developers who act see happier players
 Changes design process
 Medicine is major proponent
 Increasing awareness

21. Gaming as an accessible activity
is inevitable, in the long run
 Market demand
 Maturation of the art form
 Industry changes constantly
 New gen of developers
 Obsolescence of AbleGamers would be
welcomed

22.  It’s about playing
 Not rewards, points, etc.
 Innumerable benefits for player
 Social options
 Ethical and cultural imperative

23. johnny@ablegamers.org
585 944 4841
ablegamers.com
includification.com
/ablegamers
/ablegamers
@ablegamers
@johnnycrich