Accessible Gaming Suggestions for Physically Disabled Gamers

Hi everyone,

 

I created a list of  options ALL video and computer game companies need to add to their PC/Console games to make them a lot more accessible to physically disabled gamers. 

 

• Fully remappable controls for the keyboard/mouse/gamepad or even a way to allow people to use either the mouse, keyboard, or gamepad exclusively to play the game 

 

• An option for windowed mode. Some disabled players need to be able to move the cursor to an on-screen keyboard or other assistive software on their desktop to play these games. They are NOT able to do that while the game is in full screen. 

 

• An option to turn on a visible mouse cursor. There is a great program called AltController that helps make PC games more accessible. It requires a cursor to function and some games do NOT have a cursor. 

 

• An option to unbind the camera movement from the mouse and re-map it to keyboard keys. Most first-person games have this issue where the player movement is controlled by the keyboard(W,S,A,D)or(the arrows) and the camera is moved by the mouse and there's no way around it. This is what ruins it for many handicapped players because again they cannot reach their on-screen keyboards or use their assistive software(i.e. AltController) and are just stuck moving the camera. 

 

• An option to free the cursor from the game window. I've run into this many times where the games has a cursor, fully mappable controls, and windowed mode but the cursor is trapped inside the game window. Again this a big problem because on-screen keyboards and assist software cannot be reached. 

 

• Ease up on the controls. Some of these games have way too many button presses even for able bodied players. Maybe include a simplified control scheme option.

 

This is a call to each and every video game software designer and publisher across the globe to make your games playable to everyone regardless of physical abilities or disabilities. Please incorporate all the accessibility options and features I described above into every future game title and if possible patch them into past game releases in an update. Handicapped people have a tough time in life as it is. I think gaming is a really important form of entertainment and a good escape from the real world that everyone should be able to fully enjoy. You will get an even wider player base too which means more money and sold copies.

 

Link to AltController

https://altcontroller.net/

 

Link to EyeMine for Minecraft

https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/news/eyemine-v2-is-here