The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has launched a new initiative to help video game developers make their games accessible for people with sight loss.
The initiative, known as Design for Every Gamer, will include a player testing panel. The panel is made up of gamers with sight loss. They have a wide range of experience and interests, and the charity hopes they can help developers and academia to make their games and studies more inclusive to those with sight loss.
As part of the initiative, the RNIB has also developed a Devkit, which includes details of how developers can include accessible features such as menu narration and high contrast modes within their games. They are also working with AI specialists T&PM and HEX to develop a new adventure game that demonstrates these accessibility features, and RNIB volunteers run VI Gaming peer-support groups across Microsoft Teams and Discord.
Design for Every Gamer comes following the RNIB’s 2022 Accessible Gaming Research Report, which found that 76% of gamers with sight loss said that their sight loss greatly impacted their ability to play video games. Furthermore, only 15% of the game developers who responded to their study said they understood their needs.
Due to the broad spectrum that the term sight loss encompasses, there are multiple strategies that can benefit gamers with sight loss. These can include high contrast mode, allowing important objects and characters to stand out, increased text sizes, or menu and user interface narration.
The best practice for accessibility in games is for developers to implement accessibility within the early stages of the game. However, games such as Sea of Thieves and God of War have received updates after the game was released which has allowed people with sight loss to play. Some games, including Slay The Spire and Hearthstone, have separate mods that contain accessible features that players can download separately.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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