The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has recently unveiled the Accessible Games Initiative at the Game Developers Conference, marking a significant step towards improving video game accessibility. This initiative, spearheaded by a coalition including Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and Ubisoft, and later joined by Amazon, Riot Games, Square Enix, and WB Games, introduces a new "tag" system designed to inform consumers about the accessibility features of video games.
Under this initiative, participating game companies will categorize their games using a set of 24 specific accessibility tags. These tags will appear alongside game information on digital storefronts and product pages, providing clear details on features such as "clear text," "large and clear subtitles," "narrated menus," "stick inversion," "save anytime," "difficulty levels," and "playable without button holds," among others.
Stanley Pierre-Louis, the ESA's president and CEO, emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, "Tens of millions of Americans have a disability and often face barriers to experiencing the joy and connection that comes with playing video games. We are immensely proud to announce the Accessible Games Initiative in partnership with industry leaders. This initiative demonstrates how impactful we can be when we work together in our industry-wide pursuit of helping more people experience the power of play."
The rollout of these tags will be gradual, implemented on a company-by-company basis, and initially available only in English. The ESA has left room for the development of additional tags or adjustments to existing ones over time, ensuring the system remains flexible and responsive to the needs of gamers.
Here's a detailed look at the tags and their descriptions:
Auditory Features
Tag: Multiple Volume Controls
Description: Separate volume controls are available for different types of sounds, such as music, speech, sound effects, background audio, text-to-speech audio, accessibility audio cues, and voice chat. Additionally, all game sounds can be adjusted simultaneously using one volume control.
Tag: Mono Sound
Description: Allows gameplay with mono audio, sending the same audio to all channels, effectively providing a single, combined audio channel.
Tag: Stereo Sound
Description: Enables stereo audio playback, where sounds indicate their position from left to right, but not from above, below, ahead, or behind.
Tag: Surround Sound
Description: Facilitates gameplay with surround sound, allowing sounds to indicate their source from any direction.
Tag: Narrated Menus
Description: Supports screen readers or voice narration for menus and notifications, allowing players to navigate menus one item at a time with full control over interactions and context changes.
Tag: Chat Speech-to-Text & Text-to-Speech
Description: Provides text-to-speech and speech-to-text capabilities for game chats, allowing real-time narration of text chats and transcription of voice chats.
Gameplay Features
Tag: Difficulty Levels
Description: Offers multiple difficulty options, including at least one that reduces the intensity of challenges, with descriptions of the differences between levels.
Tag: Save Anytime
Description: Allows manual saving at any time, with exceptions during saving or loading, or when it could result in game-breaking scenarios.
Input Features
Tag: Basic Input Remapping
Description: Permits rearrangement of button controls, with the "Full Input Remapping" tag allowing remapping of all game controls across various input methods.
Tag: Full Input Remapping
Description: Enables complete customization of which action is assigned to which control for all supported input methods, including the ability to swap controller stick functionality.
Tag: Stick Inversion
Description: Allows adjustment of directional inputs like thumbsticks for up/down and left/right movements.
Tag: Playable without Button Holds
Description: Allows gameplay without holding digital inputs, though some analog inputs may still require holds.
Tag: Playable without Rapid Button Presses
Description: Eliminates the need for repetitive button actions like button mashing or quick-time events.
Tag: Playable with Keyboard Only
Description: Supports gameplay using only a keyboard, without additional devices.
Tag: Playable with Mouse Only
Description: Enables gameplay using only a mouse or adaptive technology that maps to mouse inputs.
Tag: Playable with Buttons Only
Description: Allows gameplay using only digital inputs like buttons or keys, where pressure does not affect controls.
Tag: Playable with Touch Only
Description: Supports gameplay using only touch controls, without requiring non-touch controls.
Tag: Playable Without Motion Controls
Description: Allows gameplay without the use of motion controls.
Tag: Playable Without Touch Controls
Description: Enables gameplay without using touchpads or touchscreens.
Visual Features
Tag: Chat Speech-to-Text & Text-to-Speech
Description: Provides text-to-speech and speech-to-text capabilities for game chats, allowing real-time narration of text chats and transcription of voice chats.
Tag: Clear Text
Description: Ensures text in menus, control panels, and settings is of a reasonable size with adjustable contrast, using less stylized fonts.
Tag: Large Text
Description: Offers a large font size option for text in menus, control panels, and settings.
Tag: Large & Clear Subtitles
Description: Provides subtitles for all dialogue with adjustable size, background transparency, and font style, ensuring they do not overlap with important game elements.
Tag: Color Alternatives
Description: Ensures that important information is not solely communicated by color, using shape, pattern, icons, or text instead.
Tag: Camera Comfort
Description: Eliminates or allows adjustment of camera effects that could cause discomfort, such as shaking, swaying, bobbing, motion blur, camera speed, and forced narrative-based movement.
This comprehensive tag system aims to make video games more accessible, allowing players with various needs to find games that cater to their specific requirements. The initiative not only enhances the gaming experience for individuals with disabilities but also promotes inclusivity across the gaming community.
