At Tilting the Lens, our mission is to build an equitable and accessible world through collective education. On September 17th 2024, we hosted our Inclusive Gaming Webinar as part of our webinar series. The webinar featured Bryce Johnson, one of the co-founders of the XBox Adaptive Controller, and a leading figure in accessible tech at Microsoft, along with SightlessKombat, a gamer without sight and an accessibility consultant, to discuss how the gaming industry can evolve to accommodate disabled gamers.

The session was hosted by Tilting the Lens CEO and founder, Sinéad Burke, and aligns with our ambition to open-source our learnings and share our global network with clients, the disabled community and allies.

On inclusive gaming, the conversation offered rich insights into the challenges and innovations in gaming accessibility. We had three key takeaways from the session:

  • Accessibility is the outcome of inclusive design
  • Gaming is not just a visual medium
  • Co-Design and global testing are essential

If you would prefer to read the conversation you can download the transcript.

But, on to our takeaways…

1. Accessibility is the outcome of inclusive design

A central theme of the discussion was that accessibility isn’t something to be added after the fact; it should be an inherent part of the design process. Bryce Johnson explained that accessibility is often misunderstood as a separate feature or accommodation rather than a natural outcome of good design.

“All accessibility really is, is personalisation that takes into account human diversity,” Johnson said, explaining that making products adjustable and flexible is key to creating truly inclusive experiences. He pointed to Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller as an example, which was designed not for users to adapt to the product, but for the product to adapt to the user. This philosophy pushes developers to create systems that are customisable, ensuring everyone can engage meaningfully.

The reason why the adaptive controller is called the adaptive controller, isn’t because you adapt to it, it is that it adapts to you.

For Bryce, designing with accessibility in mind means thinking beyond compliance. He believes that inclusive design leads to better outcomes for everyone, not just disabled users, and that flexibility within our process and products is what we should strive for. He shared, “the Inclusive Tech Lab here does not try for one-size-fits-all. Often I have to push against industrial designers and other people who think they’ve cracked the code: ‘I can do it, I can make this one thing that works for everybody’. Designers have good intentions and big ambitions in how to create a universal product, but actually, creating something that is multimodal, that people can adapt to suit their specific requirements is not only more usable, but it invites even greater innovation.”

2. Gaming is not just a visual medium

SightlessKombat, a passionate advocate for accessible gaming, offered a fascinating perspective on the misconception that gaming is primarily a visual experience. As a gamer without sight he has achieved milestones in games like The Last of Us and Killer Instinct without relying on sight. Instead, audio cues, vibrations, and assistive technologies have allowed him to fully immerse himself in gaming.

“Gaming is seen as a visual medium, but that’s not inherently true,” said SightlessKombat. He went on to explain that audio design and adaptive technologies can provide a rich experience for gamers who are Blind or low vision. Games like The Last of Us Part 1 have made significant strides by incorporating a suite of accessibility features that create multi-faceted sensory experiences. We asked SightlessKombat about the desirability of classic games being re-introduced to the market with more accessible features. He said “the fact of the matter was, I was then able to sit down on my own terms, and play through a game that I had been waiting for nearly a decade to complete at that point, I was never able to play it without assistance. […] Remasters like The Last of Us Part 1 give us the chance to experience games that were previously off-limits.”

His experience underlined a broader truth: when developers include features like menu narration, navigational assistance, and audio cues, they unlock opportunities for a whole community of gamers who were previously excluded from the gaming world. This shift not only enhances the gaming experience for disabled players but also enriches the industry as a whole.

3. Co-design and global testing are essential

The conversation also emphasised the importance of meaningfully collaborating with the disabled community throughout the design and development process. Both Bryce and SightlessKombat stressed the need for developers to engage with disabled gamers from the early stages of development to ensure that accessibility features are meaningful and effective.

SightlessKombat highlighted the significance of remote testing in a familiar environment, and global engagement: “you reach out to people from different parts of the world, offer them the ability to test remotely, and get feedback from a wide range of experiences. It’s essential for developers to consult not just with experts but with casual gamers and those new to gaming post-disability.” He shared his own experience working with The Coalition on Gears 5, where his feedback on navigational cues led to tangible improvements that made the game more accessible for Blind players.

On this, Bryce Johnson shared Microsoft’s philosophy at the Inclusive Tech Lab: “I have a discussion in our lab with colleagues, we call it ‘nothing about us without us’. It is to make sure that my colleagues have a constant set of opportunities to go and talk to folks from the disabled community.” Both Bryce and SightlessKombat also talked about the need to ensure disabled people are valued, that their expertise is budgeted and paid for. As Sinéad said, “lived experience is intellectual property.”

The Inclusive Gaming webinar underscored that accessibility is not a final goal, but an ongoing journey. Developers must continue collaborating with disabled players and value them as experts rather than merely as the end user. When developers meaningfully engage disabled players to be part of the process and integrate their insights into the game design, they ensure that the gaming industry can fulfil its potential as a truly inclusive space where everyone can play, and the requirements of disabled players are met.

For more information:

If you’d like to explore more about inclusive gaming, we recommend these resources discussed during the webinar:

  • Special Effect and RNIB’s “Design for Every Gamer” initiative
  • Platforms like Can I Play That for further learning

At Tilting the Lens, we are committed to advancing the conversation and moving the dial on disability, inclusion and accessibility, not only in gaming but across all industries and regions. Stay connected with us for more insights and upcoming events by subscribing to our mailing list.

You can also follow Tilting the Lens on our social media

If you would like to share any thoughts, questions, ideas for future conversations or ways we can make our events more accessible, please feel free to get in touch at: team@tiltingthelens.com

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