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AbleGamers Reviews Games From a Disability Standpoint
eldavojohn writes "Early last month a visually impaired gamer sued Sony under the Americans with Disabilities Act (and if you think that people with disabilities don't play games, think again). The AbleGamers Foundation has decided to step forward and provide a rating system for games that blends together a number of factors to determine a score with regard to accessibility. Visual, hearing, motion, closed captioning, speed settings, difficulty settings and even colorblindness options are all taken into account when compiling these scores and reviewing these games."
The rating should also take into account how many of the NPCs are black Jewish vegetarian lesbian quadriplegic single mothers.
I know a game for people with a handicap: golfing
On a serious note: this is good news, gaming/entertainment could get really mature
...of forcing Hollywood to make all movies accessible to the blind.
I feel sorry for those with disabilities, but be realistic. Game producers don't need the extra delays and budgetary nonsense programming in these concessions to the disabled would bring.
Isn't sueing Sony because you can't play a game because you're visually impaired the same as, say, sueing Warner Brothers because you can't watch the Harry Potter movies? You can't expect people, and especially corporations, to cater to every type of handicap in a single product.
-- Cheers!
I have just started to look at their site and the first thing that I notice as the page was loading was that the pictures that you click on near the top to go to choose the platform all have the same alt text of "xbox reviews". That will be confusing for someone using a screen reader.
I thought the whole layout seemed a bit complicated and confusing, with javascript menus and a very busy interface. Gray text on a gray background seems an odd choice for the color blind people out there.
Still, at least they are raising public awareness. Even if you don't think that game makers should HAVE to provide support for all disabilities, this kind of site fills in the role that most game reviewers would not consider.
They don't seem to have a very accessible website. Quick glance of their code didn't show any css for the blind. And the big sliding image thing in the middle doesn't look very accessible either.
Offtopic. Your issue is relevant for that other topic about the sight-disabled suing Sony (which we already had a lengthy discussion about, and linked in the topic itself), but this is about giving ratings to games based on specific disabilities, which is a much better alternative.
Reviewing games from a disability "stand"point? That offends me, as I am wheelchair bound. At least they didn't offend my blindness by using the phrase "from a disability point of view". But seriously, I think the website is a pretty neat idea as yes, many disabled people do game. And even if you aren't disabled, it makes for a helpful guide if you have to buy a gift for someone that is. I think the really nifty aspect is how they assess it for colour-blindness. One of my best friends is strongly red-green colour-blind, and is a gamer, and often does have a bit of trouble (Such as with RTSes and team colours or with FPSes and red team players at a distance.)
At least these Handy-capable folks won't need Jack Thomson to protect them from violent video games... The visually impaired might have trouble effectively wielding a knife while trying to kill a school bully in a GTA impersonation.
Reminds me of this idea for an FPS I had whereby you're a soldier that get blinded in battle and gets given new eyes but instead of standard vision it's distance-vision.
Instead of suing and getting angry at the world, this guy should just have the serenity to accept the things that he can't change and move on with his life. This is the way the world works, and we can't do anything about it...
me play modern marfare 2 not so good because me have thinky trouble. me lawyer friend make activision give me special button i press make me win easy. now me win every time make me happy. everyone should have lawyer friend make everyone give you what you want then everyone be happy like me.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
It's to rate websites which review content for disabled people on criteria relating to how easily accessible their website is to the disabled. I apply the details and recommendations supplied by W3's Web Accessibility Initiative Evaluation Overview
So far, the games they review score significantly higher than the AbleGamers website.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
and there were there are millions and millions to be made, common sense does not apply. Only convoluted readings of the law which end the desired result of the plaintiff.
In other words, games became an issue after all those stories in the news about how much money they made in X days of release. The ADA was practically crafted as a gift to lawyers, the handicap might have actually ranked second, no probably third after special interest groups (defined as people who take offense for others provided their is profit involved)
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Instead of suing and getting angry at the world, this guy should just have the serenity to accept the things that he can't change and move on with his life.
But there can be change - and the law and the lawsuit often makes it happen.
Closed captioning and subtitles have become so much a part of home video that their absence - in a Netflix stream, for example - comes as a surprise.
I suffer from very strong red/green color blindness, which can be very problematic for me in some games. I was happy to see that L4D, and L4D2 include a 'color blindness' option that change some of the colors in the game so that they are easier for me to see.
Having a ratings system, even if it isn't an official one, is a nice idea.
The lawsuit though... Not so much. I don't see any legal basis for it. Someone with no legs shouldn't sue Ford because it is hard to drive.
Love sees no species.
From TFA:
and if you think that people with disabilities don't play games...
...you're a dick. I'm not sure what you are if you think people think that.
If you're blind...guess what? You're never doing to drive a car. End of story.
If you have no legs or can't walk, you're never going to learn karate and becoming a kickboxing champion. End of story
There are certain things, of course yes we can make more accessible to the disabled, but I'm sorry, gaming is NOT one of them. A recreation that refines split second reflex and hand eye coordination SHOULD NOT BE MUCKED UP so someone with fucking parkinsons can play it 'easier'.
If you have Parkinson? Sorry you simply can play games that require a steady refined hand. END OF STORY.
I know im going to get modded as troll / flamebait but i am SICK TO DEATH of people who are PHYSICALLY LIMITED EXPECTING TO BE ABLE TO DO THINGS AS IF THEY ARE NOT: REALITY CHECK, YOU CAN'T AND YOU NEVER WILL, DEAL WITH IT
I think a rating system is an interesting proposal from those affected by disabilities...
but I'm curious how this will affect game developers.
I realize that the market for disabled gamers is certainly a very small percentage so what will be the incentive to spend the time and resources to add the extra features required to get a decent rating?
Further, will a poor rating deter non-disabled people from buying and supporting the game?
I don't see a rating system being of much use to anyone.
What might be more effective is encouraging the licensing bodies of the console manufacturers to include disability-compensating features in the feature list on the packaging somewhere like they do with the "2 player" "online play" etc.
In the UK we have the Disability Discrimination Act (‘DDA’) ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability_Discrimination_Act_1995 ) This requires that service providers do not provide a disabled person with a lesser degree of service than a person who is not disabled and that they make reasonable adjustments to facilitate this. Any public website based in the UK would be bound by this legislation. Cases are heard in a criminal court with a jury. Statute law does not define what constitutes a disability or a reasonable adjustment, the courts decide this on a case by case basis. A common prejudice is that people think of disabilities, first as someone in a wheelchair and maybe secondly of a blind person. A disability may in fact be mental, ‘invisible’ (e.g. epilepsy) or in fact any chronic condition that disables someone. The comment “Someone with no legs shouldn't sue Ford because it is hard to drive.” is not relevant because Ford do provide cars that may be driven by someone with no legs- certainly an automatic with hand controls is available in the UK. The linked article specifically mentions ‘World of Warcraft’ which for the terms of the DDA is a web-based business operating in the UK. There is a very clear precedent here with Odeon Cinemas (a UK chain) not providing a website that was accessible with alternative browsers: before http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39124215,00.htm and after http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/accessibility/ The alternative of course would be to not do business in the UK
That would explain that easily-fraggable player I met last night in Halo. xX_Hellen_Killer_Xx just kept spinning around looking skyward while filling the mic channel with mad mumbling noises.
1. Handicapped people, much like everyone else, want to play games and are willing to pay money to do so.
2. People who make games want to sell games.
3. Handicapped people, much like everyone else, are reluctant to throw away $60 on a game they may not be able to play.
Seems like someone should have the job of creating a set of developer tools along the lines of "Unreal Engine - Color Blind" or "DirectAccessibility". Games with such features could then bear an industry logo, white D-pad on blue field or some such, to signify a certain accessibility standard.
Some sort of accessability labeling is an idea worth thinking about anyway, and I'd honestly expect Nintendo, with their "all ages" marketing, to lead the way. Being able to purchase a game with reasonable confidence that you'll be able to play it would make purchasing decisions easier, and sell more games to people for whom that is a concern.
On a final note, as a guy who gets around on crutches, I think it's a pretty lame move to sue a consumer goods producer because they don't cater to your own special snowflake problems. For my self, if I don't think a store is easy to get around in and shop at, I go to a different store. Game makers are likely loosing sales to people with various problems because those people have the expectation that they won't have an enjoyable experience for their $60. For such a natural market for their product, it seems like an issue that could be overcome, but suing based on "how dare you not make the game good for me with my individual needs" doesn't strike me as a very adult way of working in the world.
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we want the game to have remappable keys, or played with a mouse, or remappable buttons on a controller.
If your game is designed for multiple controllers plugged into a USB hub, and your players demand support for USB mice, you're going to have a hard time reading multiple mice through popular PC operating systems.
As for the rest of your comments, those are all different departments, and I am sure that the voice actor is not being asked to fix bugs
The money paid to a temp to work on a bug is money that isn't paid to a voice actor.
Gameplay is something we haven't figured out for non-handicapped players. My gf was complaining about a game, all movement is controlled by using the mouse. Move it forward to walk, move sideways to turn, restore to where it was to stop turning.
If you're disabled and would rather use keyboards, it's not an option in this game. If you're not disabled, it's still not an option.
Ensuring all controls are programmable would go a long way to helping everyone, not just the disabled (or just my gf, which would improve my standard of living).
Early in the process, someone decides the game should be controlled this way, and it affects a lot of other decisions. You can't make a WII game that suddenly requires a keyboard to solve a puzzle, or switch weapons fast enough to defeat a boss, so the gameplay sits on those decisions.
Is it possible to lock onto a target and walk around? Or do you omit locking and strafe instead, making the user strafe and rotate simultaneously to avoid being hit while remaining on target? Are the fire and strafe/lock buttons ones you can hold at the same time (preferably different hands) or do you have to hold both the triangle and x buttons while pushing L2? These things need to be abstracted away so anyone can play any game with any input device. A NES controller with USB hack on the end, or mind reading, or voice, or keyboard, or mouse plus anything else, should be equally possible. Not equally successful as I've pointed out, but possible.
If one particular board or puzzle requires certain faculties, that should be clearly labeled (parkinson's might cause problems playing because the aiming system sucks, blindness might leave out details because it's supposed to be a surprise reveal but we didn't include subtitles because no one's talking).
I myself am seriously incapable of distinguishing between tones.
When I was a kid playing Myst I had to talk my mom into doing the tone matching puzzle for me, because I absolutely could not do it.
Did I sue them? No. I accepted the fact that there are some things I'm just not wired for, and I sucked it up and moved on with my life.
I'm all in favor of making things accessible, but there's a big difference between a traffic light and a video game. One being designed with poor accessibility will limit a few peoples' choices of entertainment, one will kill people.
For the record I'm all in favor of a rating system for various disabilities, but I don't think it should be mandatory, and I do think it should be an independent organization. Let's not make more hoops for developers to jump through, seeing that the ESRB hoop is already small and on fire.
Porquoi?
Ensuring all controls are programmable would go a long way to helping everyone, not just the disabled (or just my gf, which would improve my standard of living).
The issue with that is that programmable game controls are a really hard problem to solve in a generic way, as you always end up with edge cases that just don't work properly with a different control device and often you need to change game logic to fix the issues, which is why games like Dragon Age have to pretty much completly rewrite their user interface for use with a gamepad instead of a mouse.
That said, having software like joy2key or xpadder can get you quite far and make some games playable with devices which they weren't build for.