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Disabled Gamers: Industry Ignoring Us

Accessibility features are often lacking

By Sarah Whitmire,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 16, 2011 4:38 PM CDT

(Newser) – Chuck Bittner has limited use of his arms because of quadriplegia, and yet he's an accomplished gamer. Or at least he is on the relatively few titles with accessibility features that allow controls to be reconfigured for players like him, reports Wired. On Brink, for example, he can tweak the button layout and play with his face. The problem is that those features are usually the first to go when a developer's deadline is looming and the budget is shrinking.

“What game creators do not truly understand is that as we get older, we are more likely to be disabled,” says the co-founder of the nonprofit AbleGamers. “We have two wars going on, and our soldiers are not all coming back in the same condition as they left. Those men and women are gamers.” The accessibility fixes are relatively easy and inexpensive, say game designers interviewed by Jason Schreier for the article. It's more a matter of pressuring the companies behind the games and the hardware to make them a priority. Click for the full article.

In this image released by Bethesda Softworks, two factions battle for control of a floating city in a scene from Brink. The game allows disabled players to revamp the button layout.
In this image released by Bethesda Softworks, two factions battle for control of a floating city in a scene from "Brink." The game allows disabled players to revamp the button layout.   (AP Photo/Bethesda Softworks)
In this product image released by Microsoft, a Project Natal sensor for the XBOX 360 is shown.
In this product image released by Microsoft, a Project Natal sensor for the XBOX 360 is shown.   (AP Photo/Microsoft)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 3 comments
Scaramouche
Jul 17, 2011 2:13 AM CDT
So. I made two comments earlier. Both were censored. However, I'm enough of an asshole to recap with vehemence: I don't remember the exact words I used, so I'll paraphrase: As an avid gamer, I think the point raised here is fantastic. The whole point of a game is to play, and everyone benefits from play, and everyone deserves the joy that comes from it. *(my use of everyone is meant to exclude the psycho killer rapists, etc, who deserve punishment) I think all should be able to play in a virtual world, (all, again, same restraint) and it shouldn't matter what you're physical limitations are, since it is, indeed, a virtual world. Second comment: We need more noob cannon fodder. By this I include all the handicapped, not handicapped, and what have you. Those who, coming into the games as noobs, persevere, and by so doing improve, and become good competition, make the game more fun for all, since a challenge is what we're after. It doesn't matter if you're handicapped or not, if you present a challenge, we're glad to have you. If you decide it's not for you, not to your taste, then go. We won't miss you, and we won't care. Our friends stick it out, and that's all we care about. Now, to the bleeding heart moderator who censored me because I offended your delicate sensitivities: Perhaps you should be less arrogant, and assume that a point might be valid, even though, in your ignorance, you were offended. Grow. The. Fuck. Up.

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