Through gaming he has met many people he would never have met otherwise. For him, gaming is more than just a hobby. It brings him fun and distraction, and above all it doesn’t mean isolation, but rather social participation. Everyone is the same behind the screen, the only thing that counts is what happens in the game, says the 36-year-old, who has been paralyzed since an accident almost 20 years ago.
Accessibility in Gaming: The gaming industry is adapting
The gaming industry is increasingly addressing the needs of disabled people and offering accessible features: with subtitles, visual cues for people with hearing impairments, adjustable difficulty levels or color contrasts.
Game developers often work directly with people who have special needs when playing. At Xbox, according to Kaitlyn Jones, product manager of the accessibility team, “we have a great team, we meet with the community, listen and ask what’s working and do our best to integrate it all.”
Gaming with your mouth: Special controllers, eye tracking, voice control
The need for innovative solutions is great: According to the German Games Industry Association, around 8.2 million gamers in Germany have a disability. Around 14 percent of them use special input devices to play games. Dennis Winkens, for example, plays with a QuadStick. This is a mouth joystick that is operated with blowing or pulling movements. Dennis can now move around the virtual world completely independently.
Accessible gaming tools
Special controllers: Adaptive controllers are adapted to the motor skills of the user, one-handed controllers can be operated with just one hand. QuadSticks offer the ability to control games with your mouth (joystick and sip-and-puff technology).
Eye tracking devices: The technology records eye movements and translates them into in-game actions. This means games can be controlled solely through eye movements.
Voice control: Voice control systems allow certain game actions or functions to be carried out using only voice commands. This technique is helpful for people who have difficulty making physical entries.
Adaptive software: The software makes it possible to change the key assignment. For example, multiple actions can be carried out with a single keystroke. This makes operation easier for people with motor disabilities.
“Gaming without Borders” association for more inclusion
Despite technical advances, many gamers with disabilities still encounter insurmountable limits. The “Gaming without Borders” project therefore evaluates games for their accessibility. The initiative is unique in Germany and advocates for more diversity and inclusion in the gaming world. Since 2023, it has been presenting the Gaming Without Borders Award in cooperation with congstar. The award goes to games, projects and people who particularly advance accessibility in gaming. The award ceremony takes place annually as part of Gamescon.
Although a lot has happened in the industry in recent years, there is still a lot of catching up to do. In an ideal world, all games could be played by all people. But the gaming world isn’t quite there yet.
I would like to see more attention given to the topic. Ideally, we can choose any game without having to worry about whether we can play it or not. That would be the ultimate.