Game accessibility
Within the field of human–computer interaction, game accessibility refers to the accessibility of video games. More broadly, game accessibility refers to the accessibility of all gaming products, including video games, tabletop RPGs, board games, and related products. Video game accessibility is considered a sub-field of computer accessibility, which studies how software and computers can be made accessible to users with various types of impairments. In Spring 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic caused a massive boom of the video game industry. With an increasing number of people interested in playing video games and with video games increasingly being  used for other purposes than entertainment, such as education, rehabilitation or health, game accessibility has become an emerging field of research, especially as players with disabilities could benefit from the opportunities video games offer the most. A 2010 study estimated that 2% of the U.S. population is unable to play a game at all because of an impairment and 9% can play games but suffers from a reduced gaming experience. A study conducted by casual games studio PopCap games found that an estimated one in five casual video gamers have a physical, mental or developmental disability. As games are increasingly  used as education tools, there may be a legal obligation to make them accessible, as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act mandates that schools and universities that rely on federal funding must make their electronic and information technologies accessible. As of 2015, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires in-game communication between players on consoles to be accessible to players with sensory disabilities. In 2021, video game developers attempted to improve accessibility through every possible avenue. This includes reducing difficulty and enabling auto fire. Barriers to access. Video game accessibility problems can be grouped into three categories that correlate  to a specific type of impairment: Government regulations. United States. In the US, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act 2010 (CVAA) brought up-to-date accessibility guidelines to advanced communication services (ACS), which is considered to include video games with communication elements including text and voice chat and the user interface (UI) elements to reach the chats. Video game trade groups including the Entertainment Software Association have requested waivers of CVAA enforcement for video games, arguing that while there is strong interest in the video game community to provide accessibility, video games are first and foremost for entertainment  and not for communication, and that because of the complexity of video game software, there are few standardized solutions compared to other ACS platforms. The Federal Communications Commission granted a final waiver that expired on December 31, 2018, making all video games developed and released after January 1, 2019 expected to be compliant with the CVAA; games that were partially developed after January 1, 2019 are expected to reasonably meet the CVAA compliance, as well as any game that issues major updates after that date. The FCC would hear consumer complaints about games that failed to meet the CVAA, determine  how feasible the remedy would be, and then determine if they should issue fines against the publisher of the game title. Accessible game categories. Over the past decade, small companies and independent game developers have developed numerous games that seek to accommodate the abilities of players with the most severe impairments and which has led to the definition of the following accessible game categories: These games are not only great examples of accessible games, but also drive innovation in game design. In recent years, game accessibility has been actively researched, for example in student projects The unique limitations of the  target group make such projects interesting, instructive and challenging for students. The Game Awards 2020 introduced a new category "Innovation in Accessibility" to honor games that made strides in improving game accessibility, with "The Last of Us Part II" awarded the inaugurial title. Modifications for improved accessibility. Development tools. Electronic Arts announced in August 2021 that it will offer five patents related to accessibility, including the ping system introduced in "Apex Legends", for free to all developers to use without fear of litigation indefinitely, as well as plans to promote any future patents related to accessibility within video games in  the same manner. Controllers. Small companies and volunteer based groups have modded video game controllers to help make video games more accessible for those with physical impairments. In September 2018, Microsoft released the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which is the first accessible controller created by a large game controller manufacturer. Besides featuring larger-than-normal buttons and controller inputs, the device allows numerous other devices to be connected through it and programmed for various features, allowing it to be adapted to a wide range of potential handicaps. Microsoft also worked other connectivity options to allow the Adaptive Controller to be connected  to other consoles including PlayStation units and the Nintendo Switch, as well as with personal computers. AAC. Augmentative and Alternative Communication technologies are making their way into the gaming industry to improve the social experience for users who are deaf or mute by providing an alternative to mic based communication. Strategies for improving accessibility. There have been several attempts at composing a set of game accessibility guidelines similar to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The most prominent is the Game Accessibility Guidelines. Due to the nature of video games though, some of the guidelines are intentionally broken by developers to  present a challenge. A good example of this is when Bungie recreated the Vault of Glass Raid. They made several choices to make the encounters more challenging. In the first version, when players were teleported at Atheon there was an indication on the minimap as to where the players went so deaf players could see what door they had to open. In the remake, this indication is removed to encourage communication and present more of a challenge, at the cost of accessibility. Guidelines by advocacy organizations. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Special Interest Group on Game Accessibility proposed 19  accessibility guidelines in 2004, which were derived from a survey of 20 accessible games. The majority of the games surveyed include games for the visually impaired, and several support motor or hearing impaired gamers. The Norwegian Medialt organization published a set of 34 game accessibility guidelines on their website, based on the 19 IGDA game accessibility SIG guidelines as well as their own set of guidelines. 2012 saw three major launches, Best Practices in Video Games in April 2012 by CEAPAT, Game Accessibility Guidelines in September 2012 by a group of developers, specialists and academics, and Includification, also in September  2012, by AbleGamers. In 2019, AbleGamers launched Accessible Player Experience APX, to increase the number of accessibility experts in AAA studios, as part of their new website accessible.games. APX focuses on provided an equal play experience without making designers feel restricted, and adding 'Accessibility Champions' to design teams in large studios. Strategies from academic research. A general criticism of the guidelines is that they tell a developer what to do but not why or how. An extensive literature survey of existing accessible games identified a game interaction design model that allows for precisely eliciting how a disability impairs the ability  to play a game. Based on this interaction design model three unique types of high-level accessibility barriers can be identified. Based on existing accessible games, the following strategies are proposed to make games accessible: Advocacy organizations. Several advocacy organizations and groups have been formed to raise awareness within the game industry of the importance of making games accessible. In 2003, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) introduced the Game Accessibility Special Interest Group, founded by Thomas Westin. In 2006, the Bartiméus Accessibility foundation initiated the Game Accessibility project, a project which focuses on creating awareness and providing information for  game developers, researchers and gamers with disabilities, led by Richard Van Tol. These two major groups work together as advocates within the game industry for increasing the accessibility of video games for gamers with disabilities. In 2004, two gamers with disabilities, Mark Barlet and Stephanie Walker, founded AbleGamers.com, set out to further advance game accessibility in the AAA gaming space. Some of their efforts include: pressuring NCSoft to remove Game Guard from the game and discussing with game developer Blizzard the addition of color blind friendly enhancements to the game World of Warcraft. In 2009 AbleGamers.com started 501(c)(3) nonprofit The  AbleGamers Foundation to facilitate their work. In 2010, the Accessible GameBase was launched by the charity SpecialEffect. This was a site that aimed to develop a welcoming, all-encompassing gaming community. In 2012, a group of games studios, specialists and academics came together to create the Game Accessibility Guidelines which won the FCC's Chairman's award for Advancement in Accessibility. This website has many tips for game developers as to how to make their games more accessible to those who have disabilities. They raise awareness about the need for accessibility and the ease of which some features can be  implemented. In 2018, Susan Banks and Courtney Craven, launched Can I Play That?, a games accessibility resource for gamers and developers. "Can I Play That?" expanded upon their previous Deaf / hard-of-hearing video game reviews to consider the wider experience of disabled gamers. "Can I Play That?" provides accessibility reviews, news and features, as well as workshops for developers and games studios and annual Accessibility Awards. Despite these, and other initiatives, the situation is far from perfect: Many game developers are still very much unaware of game accessibility. Developers who acknowledge the importance of game accessibility and want to  use it in their designs often don't know how to do so. Games developed in research projects usually consist of small demos ("proofs of concept") which lack the quality and (re)playability of mainstream games. This is usually also the case with games that have been developed by small companies and hobbyists. Knowledge about accessible game design that is gained in such projects often fails to get documented. In recent years, game accessibility has become a topic of increasing interest to the academic research community. It is recommended that collaborating with people who have disabilities can vastly improve the results  of accessibility initiatives.