Stevie Wonder Makes A Plea
Stevie Wonder, while praising video games, and the music/rhythm genre in particular, at the VGAs this year, also put forth a plea: make games more easily accessible to disabled gamers like himself.
He is not the first, seeing as there exists an entire site for such conversations: Able Gamers. However, he is a higher profile celebrity using a public stage to bring forth this issue.
It is actually rather surprising to think of the small ways in which games can make sure disabled gamers are included: subtitles, larger print, and a whole plethora of more innovative ways to make sure they are included. As Game Accessibility, an offshoot site of Able Gamers, states:
Accessibility matters because games matter. Video games offer people a way to connect that no other technology has been able to do. You can reach out and have a great time with someone in the same room, or across the world. Games are an escape, from bills, from work, from stress, from a disability. All of us use games as therapy in one way or another. Accessibility matters because the disabled community wants to be included, not excluded. They want to play the game YOU are playing, not one that is made for them.
As gaymers, it is an argument whose inclusivity message we can recognize, along with female, non-white, trans, and a plethora of other gamers. We all love games, and many of us wish to see them be more inclusive in varying measures.
So, here is to hoping the visibility of Stevie Wonder and sites such as Able Gamers keep striving to make games more accessible for everyone.
Meanwhile, Blue Marble Game Co. has a survey up for disabled gamers to better understand industry needs, if you happen to fall into such a category and wish to participate, head right here.
VorpalBunny
Posted to Miscellany on 14 December 2009
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: disabled gamers, stevie wonder, vga
Thank you for pointing out this important subject matter. So many people say, "Who cares, it does not matter to me" and we say the same thing every time. You are one bad day away from caring about game accessibility, a drunk driver, an accident while you are on the slopes, or a hidden time-bomb in your DNA, and BOOM you will care about it.
Thank you for covering the story (also note that I am also a member of this site too, mainly lurker but all gaymer)
I agree. People who are in perfectly good physical condition tend to show this problem with empathizing with those who are not as "up to par" as them, especially when it comes to the ability to play games, or do other particular things they otherwise would have been great at doing had it not been for a particular disability.
I've never heard anyone make a plea quite like Stevie Wonder before, but as I was reading the article, I did just as Mark above me mentioned, and made this list in my head of what could be done to ensure even a blind man could have a good time. I definitely hope his voice is heard.
I am not disabled, but I am all for games having accessibility options. I normally play with subtitles turned on so that I can make sure I don't miss anything during cutscenes, also so I know what is being said during gunfire and explosions. I didn't like the Dead Rising font as that was too small for my TV for me to read (I have near 20/20 vision) and I don't like how I can't reconfigure the controls on ANY! XBLA game. None of these things are recent innovations, but prevent me (an able bodied gamer) from enjoying my games, so I really feel for gamers with disabilities because Publishers and Developers are ignoring them.
O' and don't get me started on the whole epileptic seizure thing, you know games can be certified quite easily to not cause censures!? I can't imagine what it would be like to look forward to Mario64 as a kid only to findout that it caused me to have an epileptic reaction.