What is accessibility like in video games? Web accessibility is understood as the inclusive practice of guaranteeing this accessibility to portals, with the tools and technologies designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them.
In other words, it is the tool with which all users can perceive, understand, navigate, interact and contribute to the website.
Accessible video games?
Well, now that accessibility has also reached the world of video games. A few days ago they reported the release of ‘The Last of Us Part 1‘.
About this release, Naughty Dog shared details about its accessibility features. Specifically, it was Matthew Gallant, director of the game, who spoke about them.
The first thing he indicated in this regard is that “we hope it is an accessible experience for people with visual, hearing and/or reduced mobility disabilities.” According to Gallant, “the biggest new feature we have is audio descriptions for cutscenes.”
To do this, the studio had to partner with Descriptive Video Works to obtain the ideal result.
Are consoles like the PS5 accessible?
They also added a function that reproduces the dialogue via the PS5’s DualSense control as haptic feedback. In this way, a player with little or no hearing can feel how to interpret a phrase.
It is able to capture the emphasis along with the subtitles to get an idea about their pronunciation. Other features in this video game are the alternative controls.
It should be mentioned that it is possible to customize the DualSense of the PS5 at the level of buttons, presses, camera assistance and lock. Regarding the visual section, it is feasible to adjust the size, control and contrast of texts in the user interface, as well as the contrast in high definition.
What are the accessibility tools?
The game, which will be available from September 2, also has the options to adjust camera movement, blur, following distance and field of view to avoid motion sickness. For people with visual disabilities there are ‘Navigation Assistance’ and ‘Enhanced Listen Moden’, which will serve as a guide.
In addition, there is a screen reader and audio markings in several languages, including Spanish and Latin Spanish. The game has functions to improve stealth and activate slow motion while playing to make things easier.
It is possible to adjust the difficulty to make it more accessible. There are five different levels and it is customizable. The subtitles of the game can also be configured, to highlight them more so that everyone can enjoy it.
Quite an effort on the part of the developers to offer a more complete experience to users with different needs, reaching a greater degree of accessibility, thanks to the adaptability options offered by the PS5 technology itself, an achievement to be appreciated and which we hope will continue to be implemented in the development of video games.
