AbleGamers promotes the many benefits of developing highly accessible gaming software, whereby disabled gamers have brand new outlets for everything from esteem-building escapism to social experiences. Gaming as an entertainment medium and culturally vital art form has seen a vast increase in the diversity of players in recent years, however many gamers with special needs can have a difficult time enjoying it. In this talk, I discussed how we reach out to developers about making their games more accessible. I also detailed some of the best examples of accessible games, explained how engineering options for disabled gamers can be very simple, and got into the business advantages of reaching a wide gamer audience.

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