Gaming has become a ubiquitous part of our culture, with over half of people in the UK, Europe, and US regularly playing digital games, regardless of demographic. Despite this, it is only recently that game developers have made a concerted effort to make their games accessible to players with disabilities.
The recent release of God of War Ragnarök has sparked a discussion on the topic of accessibility in high-budget and high-profile video games. As the ninth installment in the God of War series, it boasts to be the most accessible game yet and is setting a new standard for accessibility in the industry.
However, the question remains – what does it mean for a video game to be considered accessible? Is the accessibility feature in Ragnarök just a marketing strategy to stand out in the crowded gaming industry, or is it a meaningful improvement?
Complexity of Combo Combat
The challenge in Ragnarök lies in its combo-based combat system. Players control the character Kratos and navigate through various levels by defeating enemies through quick button presses and precise movement of both the character and camera viewpoint. This fast-paced combat system is a staple of the game.
It’s not difficult to see how players with physical disabilities, such as tremors in their hands, or visual disabilities could find it difficult or even impossible to progress in the fast-paced, combo-combat style of Ragnarök. The game requires quick button presses and precise character and camera movements, which can be a challenge for players with disabilities. The issue is compounded by the fact that many players with disabilities have multiple disabilities, up to two-thirds of them in some cases.
It is unfair for someone’s physical or visual disabilities to stop them from playing digital games. However, there must be modifications to the game design to bridge the gap between the player’s abilities and the game’s demands.
Pioneering a New Era
To promote a more inclusive gaming experience, our research on accessible player experience has shifted the focus towards ensuring good gameplay for a diverse player base.
The first step is to ensure that all players have access to the “game feedback loop,” meaning they can initiate actions through controls and receive and comprehend the game’s response to those actions.
Subsequent step towards creating an accessible player experience is adjusting the game challenges to accommodate a diverse range of player abilities. This means that challenges should not depend on specific capabilities like quick reactions or sharp vision. With these accessibility measures in place, players can experience a truly accessible player experience.
To truly be considered accessible, contemporary games must offer a variety of choices for controls, graphics, and gameplay. This way, players with disabilities can tailor the game to their needs, ensuring an optimal and accessible gaming experience.
Ragnarök takes accessibility to a new level with over 60 customization options for various aspects of the game and its interface. Players can easily adjust things like font size and enable automatic movement controls, eliminating the need for button presses during climbing, jumping, and running.
By providing over 60 different options, including increasing the font size of in-game text and automatic movement controls, Ragnarök sets a new standard in accessibility that builds upon the success of games like The Last of Us 2 (2020) while also introducing innovative features that allow players to easily customize their experience.
Challenges for developers
The challenge for game developers in creating accessible games lies in balancing the needs of a diverse player base with their own creative vision for the game experience.
Our research focuses on accessibility as a matter of configuration in order to support the creative and productive process of game design.
Based on studies in architecture and software engineering, our research has found that the types of accessibility options for digital games can be grouped into recognizable patterns, even though some options may be unique to a particular game.
To address the challenge of players facing difficulty progressing in a game due to a mismatch between their capabilities and the level of challenge, a “helping hand” option can be implemented. This pattern involves providing assistance to the player to overcome obstacles, but its specific form depends on the game and the obstacle in question.
The need for assistance in overcoming challenges in games can vary for different players. To address this, our research has identified the “helping hand” pattern, where the game provides support for the player to overcome obstacles. This can take the form of an assist mode for aiming or navigation, or in-game characters offering helpful tips. Our partnership with the AbleGamers Charity has resulted in the inclusion of the helping hand pattern in our accessible player experience design deck, now available to hundreds of game developers globally.
