Accessibility

This is NOT a list of promises!

Anything you see here is NOT a promise or guarantee. Features mentioned on this page WILL BE ADDED, REMOVED, OR CHANGED WITHOUT ANY SORT OF NOTICE. With respect to accessibility, certain options are more feasible than others, and the game is changing. Things that were once possible in the past may no longer work, and things that didn't work might suddenly be possible! This list is not final; it will be updated on occasion as development continues.

This is a public facing copy of my checklist for accessibility features. This list is derived from https://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/excel-checklist-download/.

Key

✅️ indicates the feature is done and implemented.
❌️ indicates the feature will not be implemented (it is either not applicable to the game, or is not possible with the design of the game)
❓️ indicates that the feature is of interest, but I'm not sure how well it will work.
🔜️ indicates the feature is planned but not yet done.

Motor Function

State	Guideline
✅️	Allow controls to be remapped / reconfigured
❓️	Ensure controls are as simple as possible, or provide a simpler alternative
✅️	Ensure that all areas of the user interface can be accessed using the same input method as the gameplay
✅️	Include an option to adjust the sensitivity of controls
✅️	Ensure interactive elements / virtual controls are large and well spaced, particularly on small or touch screens
✅️	Support more than one input device
✅️	Make interactive elements that require accuracy (eg. cursor/touch controlled menu options) stationary
✅️	Ensure that multiple simultaneous actions (eg. click/drag or swipe) are not required, and included only as a supplementary / alternative input method
✅️	Ensure that all key actions can be carried out by digital controls (pad / keys / presses), with more complex input (eg. analogue, speech, gesture) not required, and included only as supplementary / alternative input methods
❓️	Include an option to adjust the game speed
✅️	Avoid repeated inputs (button-mashing/quick time events)
✅️	If producing a PC game, support windowed mode for compatibility with overlaid virtual keyboards
🔜️	Avoid / provide alternatives to requiring buttons to be held down
🔜️	Allow interfaces to be rearranged
✅️	Allow interfaces to be resized
❌️	Provide a macro system
❌️	Allow for varied body types in VR
❌️	Allow play in both portrait and landscape
❓️	Do not make precise timing essential to gameplay – offer alternatives, actions that can be carried out while paused, or a skip mechanism
❓️	Include a cool-down period (post acceptance delay) of 0.5 seconds between inputs
❌️	Provide very simple control schemes that are compatible with assistive technology devices, such as switch or eye tracking

Cognitive

State	Guideline
❌️	Allow the game to be started without the need to navigate through multiple levels of menus
✅️	Use an easily readable default font size
🔜️	Use simple clear language
✅️	Use simple clear text formatting
🔜️	Include tutorials
✅️	Allow players to progress through text prompts at their own pace
✅️	Avoid flickering images and repetitive patterns
✅️	Include contextual in-game help/guidance/tips
✅️	Indicate / allow reminder of current objectives during gameplay
✅️	Indicate / allow reminder of controls during gameplay
✅️	Include a means of practicing without failure, such as a practice level or sandbox mode
🔜️	Employ a simple, clear narrative structure
🔜️	If using a long overarching narrative, provide summaries of progress
🔜️	Ensure no essential information (especially instructions) is conveyed by text alone, reinforce with visuals and/or speech
🔜️	Give a clear indication that interactive elements are interactive
✅️	Provide an option to turn off / hide background movement
❌️	Support voice chat as well as text for multiplayer games
❓️	Provide gameplay thumbnails with game saves
✅️	Provide separate volume controls or mutes for effects, speech and background/music
✅️	Ensure sound / music choices for each key objects / events are distinct from each other
❓️	Provide a choice of text colour, low/high contrast choice as a minimum
✅️	Highlight important words
✅️	Provide an option to disable blood and gore
❌️	Provide pre-recorded voiceovers for all text, including menus and installers
❓️	Avoid any sudden unexpected movement or events
✅️	Allow all narrative and instructions to be replayed
❓️	Use symbol-based chat (smileys etc)
❌️	Provide an option to turn off / hide all non interactive elements

Vision

State	Guideline
✅️	Ensure no essential information is conveyed by a colour alone
✅️	If the game uses field of view (3D engine only), set an appropriate default for expected viewing environment
❌️	Avoid VR simulation sickness triggers
✅️	Provide high contrast between text/UI and background
✅️	If the game uses field of view (3D engine only), allow a means for it to be adjusted
✅️	Avoid (or provide option to disable) any difference between controller movement and camera movement, such as weapon/walk bobbing or mouse smoothing
✅️	Use surround sound
❌️	Ensure screenreader support for mobile devices
🔜️	Provide an option to adjust contrast
🔜️	Provide a choice of cursor / crosshair colours / designs
✅️	Ensure manual / website are provided in a screenreader friendly format
❌️	Avoid placing essential temporary information outside the player’s eye-line
✅️	Allow the font size to be adjusted
❌️	Provide a pingable sonar-style audio map
❌️	Provide a voiced GPS
❓️	Allow easy orientation to / movement along compass points
✅️	Ensure screenreader support, including menus & installers
✅️	Simulate binaural recording
🔜️	Provide an audio description track

Hearing

State	Guideline
✅️	Provide subtitles for all important speech
❓️	Ensure no essential information is conveyed by sounds alone
✅️	If any subtitles / captions are used, present them in a clear, easy to read way
❓️	Keep background noise to minimum during speech
✅️	Provide subtitles for supplementary speech
✅️	Ensure subtitles/captions are or can be turned on before any sound is played
🔜️	Provide captions or visuals for significant background sounds
🔜️	Provide a visual indication of who is currently speaking
❌️	Allow subtitle/caption presentation to be customised
❓️	Provide visual means of communicating in multiplayer
❌️	Allow a preference to be set for playing online multiplayer with players who will only play with / are willing to play without voice chat
✅️	Ensure that all important supplementary information (eg. the direction you are being shot from) conveyed by audio is replicated in text / visuals
🔜️	Provide a stereo/mono toggle
✅️	Ensure that subtitles/captions are cut down to and presented at an appropriate words-per-minute for the target age-group
❌️	Provide signing

Speech

State	Guideline
❌️	Ensure that speech input is not required, and included only as a supplementary / alternative input method
❓️	Base speech recognition on individual words from a small vocabulary (eg. ‘yes’ ‘no’ ‘open’) instead of long phrases or multi-syllable words
❓️	Base speech recognition on hitting a volume threshold (eg. 50%) instead of words

Other

State	Guideline
✅️	Provide details of accessibility features on packaging and/or website
✅️	Provide details of accessibility features in-game
✅️	Offer a wide choice of difficulty levels
✅️	Ensure that all settings are saved/remembered
❓️	Solicit accessibility feedback
✅️	Allow difficulty level to be altered during gameplay, either through settings or adaptive difficulty
❓️	Include some people with impairments amongst play-testing participants
❓️	Offer a means to bypass gameplay elements that aren’t part of the core mechanic, via settings or in-game skip option
❓️	Include assist modes such as auto-aim and assisted steering
✅️	Provide a manual save feature
✅️	Provide an autosave feature
❌️	Allow a preference to be set for playing online multiplayer with/without others who are using accessibility features that could give a competitive advantage
✅️	Allow gameplay to be fine-tuned by exposing as many variables as possible
❓️	Include every relevant category of impairment (motor, cognitive etc) amongst play-testing participants, in representative numbers based on age / demographic of target audience
🔜️	Allow settings to be saved to different profiles, at either game or platform level
❌️	Realtime text <-> speech transcription