After a week entering the world of accessibility in video games, we had to say goodbye to this special with a celebration. A message of encouragement that, far from looking to the past, focuses on the promising future that all players with disabilities face.
“The reason I don’t usually finish these types of games very often is because there is too much to consider and it exhausts me trying to figure out ways to get around barriers.
And in this, this is the first game I’ve ever played in my life where if I find something that I’m stuck with, if I find something that is too exhausting for me, I can just say “hey, I’m going to see the options and see if there is something that I can activate to fix it ”and there is always something.
I have not come across anything that I have not been able to find an alternative option or at least something that makes the experience easier for me ”.
It is inevitable that the words of Courtney craven, from CanIPlayThat, don’t nail a bit with a mixture of joy and rage. 50 years after Pong became the first big step of the video game industry, people like Craven can offer a hopeful message.
A promising future
The Last of Us 2 was not only crowned as a superb action game, with spectacular graphics, exquisite gameplay and an enviable speaker with which to focus on certain groups. The one of Naughty dog it also became the most accessible triple A in history. A title that, by the way, more than a year after its launch, it still maintains.
From the hand of more than 60 different accessibility settings, the disabled player can approach Ellie’s adventure with the comfort of any other user. Not in a corseted way based on what the study may consider convenient, but in the hands of dozens of variables that you can customize at will.
Whether or not you agree with their games or their culture of development, what is undeniable is that the study of Sony established a new measuring stick for triple A development. The “if they can, why can’t the rest”Which has served as a speech to question the quality of other franchises, now has one more excuse to repeat himself out loud.
It did not start as a completely selfless and selfless action, but what happened in early 2016, after the launch of Uncharted 4, undoubtedly marked the culture of the studio regarding accessibility and has evolved thanks to the work and interest of the team at Naughty dog.
Why Naughty Dog Caught About Accessibility
As we have discussed in previous articles, one of the most common problems among players with motor disabilities is facing QTE sequences or actions that involve pressing buttons simultaneously, for longer periods than normal, or simply pounding them at the highest possible speed.
During their games to Uncharted 4, the latter became a problem for Josh straub, founder of DAGER System who suffered from cerebral palsy. His disability prevented him from pressing the buttons repeatedly to break down doors, and when he could not find a valid alternative for this problem, he decided to write to Naughty dog.
“What developers need to understand is that these games are more than just entertainment for the disabled.
First, they offer an escape route from all disability-related potholes.
And secondly, they provide a social space where, instead of being judged by their physical appearance, we are simply judged by the actions we take and the things we do within the game.
The study was quick to respond with an update that solved the problem, offering the possibility to press and hold the button to act as alternative to quick tap, but also took care of modifying the colors of the teams in its multiplayer mode to be more accessible for users with color blindness.
Towards a more accessible video game
That situation made the study click and, with a view to its next development, they decided to put the accessibility of the game among the most important aspects of it. Using people with disabilities who were to act as consultants, the start of development was done with all their needs in mind.
The result is words like the ones we read a few lines above and countless videos on YouTube in which disabled players show the world with a smile from ear to ear how The Last of Us 2 They allow them to play with total normality and a comfort never seen before.
The idea of having to battle not only against the story and the gameplay, but against the game itself, is a problem that even the debate about the importance of the work should not mitigate.
It is impossible for independent or less resourceful developers to achieve that level of accessibility, but any approach to that goal should be cause for applause and celebration, as well as a compulsory subject for big developers.
The debate over whether or not a particular game needs an easy mode should pass away. What those games need are enough customizable options for any gamer to be able to enjoy the original experience without worrying about the barriers.
We don’t want them easier, we need them more accessible.