Accessibility & InclusivityIn GamesOr, “How Not To Be An Asshole”

What to take away

You probably know all this stuff already. But, think:

Can you make your games more inclusive? Can you make your games more accessible? Are you making assumptions about your player base?

Who Plays Games?

Teens, Games And Civics Report [1]:99% boys, 94% girls play games. 73% play on PC, no gender divide.ESA Essential Facts about the Games Industry [2]:58% of Americans play games.Average age: 30

BBC Survey100% of British teenagers play games.

[1] http://www.pewinternet.org/2008/09/16/teens-video-games-and-civics/[2] http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2013.pdf

Who Plays Games?

EVERYONE

So, what’s the problem?

Industry games target white, able-bodied, cis-gendered heterosexual male demographic.

Many other groups play games while feeling they are not the intended audience. Games frequently fail to address needs of people with disabilities.

Accessibility

Because games are for everyone

The best definition of game accessibility, that I have come up with, is giving as many players as possible the best opportunity of completely experiencing a game.

Josh Straubhttp://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/08/03/game-accessibility-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters.aspx

People with disabilities will play your game regardless of the difficulty.

Make it easy for them.

Spot the Problem

Colour-Deficient Vision

Deficiency Males Females

Red-Green 10% 1%Yellow-Blue <1%Monochromacy 1/100000

Deuteranopia

Protanopia Tritanopia Default to Orange and Purple Avoid Cyan, avoid Red vs Blue Allow players to choose (e.g. team) colours Display game information symbolically

Colour-Deficient Vision: Tools and Tests

ColorOracle (Java) [ http://colororacle.org/ ] Sim-daltonism (OS X) [ http://michelf.ca/projects/sim-daltonism/ ]

Can you play your game in black and white?

Colour-Deficient Vision: GIMP

Other Vision Impairments

Add audible cues to game/UI events Resizable UI text High contrast option Text to Speech (TTS) option

Blindness Very hard to cater to in most games Games based around music or sound might work

Can you cater to blindness without compromising your game?

Hearing Impairments

Don’t rely on sound alone to convey information Add closed caption option for voiced dialogue

Motor and Cognitive Impairments

UI Simplicity Limited number of controls Control-map settings Avoid controls which require two hands Avoid elements which require fast

reaction times

Avoid requiring simultaneous key-presses

Avoid repetitive button presses (such as quick-time events)

Give "tap or hold" option Have a "speed" setting to allow people

to slow down your game to something comfortable for them

Doesn't mean making the game easy

Accessibility Resources

One Switch Games http://www.onebuttongames.com/ http://www.oneswitch.org.uk/

Accessibility Guidelines http://gameaccessibility.org/ http://

www.game-accessibility.com/index.php?pagefile=papers

Trigger Warnings

A trigger warning should be placed on games containing Rape Domestic abuse/Partner Violence Phobic attacks Anorexia/Eating Disorders

A content note is suitable for discussions of those and other topics

Better safe than sorry

Inclusivity

Inclusivity

Forget realism Don't have white, able-bodied, cis-gendered heterosexual male main characters

We have enough of those already

Copping Out

Games don’t need characters. Characters in games don’t need to be anthropomorphic.

However, most games will have anthropomorphic characters. What if you can’t cop out?Three options: Fixed main character Character selection Character customization

User-generated content is always good

Spot the Problem

$158,922 says this is a problem

Sexism: The Bechdel Test

Sexism: The Mako Mori Test [1]

A complement the Bechdel Test: At least one female character Who gets her own narrative arc That is not about supporting a man’s story.

[1] http://chaila.tumblr.com/post/58379322134/spider-xan-also-i-was-thinking-more-about-why

Sexism: Damaging Tropes

Sexist tropes pervade pop-culture: Damsel in Distress Fridging “Men With Boobs”*And many more… Feminist Frequency [1]

Geek Feminism Wiki [2]

[1] http://www.feministfrequency.com/ [2] http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/ * Verbal presentation comments on transphobia of this term

Spot the Problem

Sexualisation

Sexualisation of female characters alone is awful.Sexualisation in general is not appropriate for inclusive games.

Why? Limits age range of game to adults Excludes players uncomfortable with sexuality Limits where you can play and with whom

Race/Ethnicity

POC - People/Person of Colour Don't have a whitewashed cast. A totally even mix is totally cool. At least cover White, Black, South and East Asian in any respectable character

selection If you have a specific setting, research ethnic minorities/indigenous people Avoid stereotypes like the plague

Stereotypes

Racial stereotypes are most normalised Regressive, not progressive. White characters get to be interesting – why not people of

colour?

When including marginalised groups, a stereotype does more harm than good.

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/08/black-professionals-in-games-tomb-raider-producer-morgan-gray-on-diversity-resident-evil-5-and-the-problem-with-cole-train/

Memes

Stereotypes are a type of meme Memes denote a lack of originality

Inexcusable in any creative medium Comic/Internet memes are, by nature, exclusive

Supplant wit with memory and reference Limit the shelf-life of your game

What’s Right With This Picture?Three guesses

HeteronormativityWhy should all represented relationships be straight?Other options:• Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual• Poly/Omni/Pansexual• Asexual

Two techniques:• Don’t make a fuss• Make it a surprise

Spot the Problem

Trans* 101

Terms Sex your anatomical arrangement Gender Binary masculinity/femininity Gender Identity a person’s self-definition within or without gender

binary Gender Expression a person’s expression of gender Transsexual a person who opts for sex-reassignment surgery (not

generally

applicable)

Trans* 101

Includes Transgender GI does not align with sex Cross Dresser* GE does not align with sex and/or GI Genderqueer GI does not fall within Gender Binary Gender Fluidity Genderless And moreDoesn’t include Cis-Gendered a person whose sex aligns with their gender

* This was originally labelled “Transvestite”, but changed to reflect that this is not the preferred term, and considered inherently derogatory by some. See also: http://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender

Trans* Inclusion

Don’t ask for sex/gender unnecessarily If you do, give a text-field, not a radio button

Don’t separate customisable clothing by character sex Include androgynous characters Include trans* characters in general DON’T JOKE (Yahtzee, Gabe, etc.)

Gendered Pronouns

Avoid the generic “he” at all costs Excludes 51% of all people (proven by science) “He/she” is better, but clumsy

Excludes people outside gender binary (Genderqueer, Genderless, Intersex)

Generic “they” is grammatically correct and excludes nobody If you want to argue with me about grammar, I WILL FIGHT YOU Even if it weren't, what's worse: being wrong, or excluding and marginalising people?

Gendered Pronouns

Ze and Hir Genderless alternatives to he/she and him/her Respect individuals’ wishes.

If your game includes third person pronouns referring to the player, ask them to input their preferred pronouns at the beginning of the game, or put it in the options screen

Religion

Avoid organising events on the Sabbath (such as weekend game jams – whoops) Be mindful of religions that prohibit certain things

e.g. If you include simulated or actual gambling (dice or cards) in your game, Muslims may not feel comfortable playing it.

On the other hand, don't allow religious teachings to restrict inclusivity in other ways

Accountability

You will make mistakes

I write about the things I can't not write about. If I wrote about all the examples of sexism I see every day, I'd never sleep.

Melissa McEwan,http://www.shakesville.com/

How not to react to offense

DO NOT Ignore it Get defensive Explain/lecture on the reasons not to be offended

If your intentions were good, your communication wasn’t

How to react to offense

Apologise If unclear, ask how you have caused offense Ask how you can fix it Learn

How to avoid offense

ASK

People Who Talk At People About Things

Mattie Brice [ http://www.mattiebrice.com/ ] Gabriella T. Richard [ http://gabrielarichard.com/ ] Anne Anthropy [ http://auntiepixelante.com ] Julie Pagano [ http://juliepagano.com/about/ ] Paolo Perdecini [ http://www.molleindustria.org/blog/ ] Inclusive Podcast [ http://inclusivepodcast.com/ ]

Contact / Questions

Twitter: @GazokMesEmail: jamiebayne@hotmail.com