Video games are the ultimate form of escapism for many people, and it’s normal to come home
after a long day at work or school and boot up a video game. They are also gradually becoming
more accessible, with big budget titles, particularly those which have made the decision to allow
core aspects of the gameplay to be changed for those who do have a disability.
Some of the biggest video game titles of the last few years have dedicated accessibility options.
For example, Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018), is considered to be the quintessential Spider-Man
experience. Some of the options in this game include the ability to auto-aim the webbing, and
make traversal easier. A more recent example might be the Resident Evil 4 remake released in 2023. The game features aim assist, the ability to automate certain actions, and the power to skip certain events which require pinpoint timing. These are ideas and concepts which have greatly improved the overall quality of video games because they help to make them more accessible for everyone. It is something which we are very keen to push for more of in the gaming industry, because it can be one of the biggest
challenges that we can face for disabled folks who are trying to enjoy an experience but struggle
to get past the roadblocks. Accessibility is something which should be a major concern for a game developer, but there are many who don’t view these things as such. In fact, there are a lot of big budget titles that go out without any accessibility in mind, and this creates a major problem. Lots of people need
accessibility in order to play games in a way that supports their unique disability. If somebody
has a sensory processing disorder, for example, they would benefit from having certain puzzles
automatically completed that require the ability to process large amounts of information quickly.
Disability within the world of video games isn’t something that we particularly think about, but, as
well as having good representation, we should also strive for accessibility to make even the
most action pack of games, a little bit more enjoyable for everybody. It wouldn’t take much effort
to make accessibility changes, but it would mean a lot to so many. Hopefully, video game developers will continue to create amazing accessibility features that will make a massive difference to the lives of people all across the world. Video games are truly amazing because they bypass so many of the common problems that we face with communication and accessibility. It would be a shame to see that die out. Hopefully, moving forward, we can see more examples of accessibility and how it can make a big difference to people’s lives. After all, increased accessibility is never a bad thing. If we can do a good thing for someone and make a game more accessible, don’t we owe it to them to do just that?