Accessibility & Inclusivity In Games Or, “How Not To Be An Asshole”
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Transcript of Accessibility & Inclusivity In Games Or, “How Not To Be An Asshole”
Accessibility & InclusivityIn Games
Or, “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 Survey
100% 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 more
Doesn’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/ ]
