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  • Setho10
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8Nov 09

Some GS Users Really ****

I may get modded for this but I just have to say this. Some GS users are incredibly close minded. An article today on GS pointed out a suit in which a visually impaired gamer has asked Sony to implement better accessibility features for visually impaired gamers. The comments below the article were disgusting. First off, it was almost completely assumed that this person was blind. Careful reading of the article, though, would have explained that this person had impaired visual processing. That isn't the same thing as being blind. So this person essentially has really bad eyesight. And he wants to be able to game. Well good for him. He deserves to be able to play games just like the rest of us. The GS commenters seemed to say that this person was merely being an **** for requesting very basic features like a compass with audio cues, larger, more high contrast mission markers, and voiceover detailing mission objectives and items collected. These are very simple features to implement, and speaking that the suit was for an MMO it would be simple to patch these features in.

As a disabled gamer I always work towards making games enjoyable and fair to the most people possible. For the number of people that have visual, audio, or other forms of disabilities, the number of games with accommodations is very small. In today's world there is no reason why all text in a game can't have VO. You don't need a professional actor for things like mission objectives, and in most cases you can safely turn the VO off. But for those that need it, having a member of the team just read through all of the text so that visually impaired people can complete the game isn't all that tough. Likewise, offering very vivid visual cues when it comes to mission objectives is an easy change. A simple option could toggle on a high contrast mode for quest giving characters, important environmental objects and the like. As a designer I can assure you that something like this wouldn't take that long. The high contrast models don't have to be that detailed because the people using them wont be able to see the detail in the first place.

As far as an audio compass, again, that is not the hardest thing to program. I could program an audio compass in ten minutes. Also, it would be simple to say incorporate some sort of rumble feedback when near an area of importance. This would be especially true for finding hidden collectables that may be small and difficult to see. By having the controller rumble when near the item, or maybe by having a specific noise play louder and louder the closer you get to an item, you could make collecting COG Tags, or treasures, or skulls, or what have you enjoyable for people who maybe can't see a tiny glimmer in a huge battlefield.

Finally, I really want to advocate the use of additional visual cues for those that are red/green colorblind. Many of these people have trouble knowing what button to hit when a game simply says, "Hit the red button." If all the buttons are either green or red then they may be at a loss on which button to press, and since many button-pressing objectives are timed, this could quickly lead to death. Also, when a game has doors that are marked green or red depending on if they are open or closed they should put the red and green marks in different locations, similar to stop lights, so that people who can't tell the difference in the colors can notice that those doors with the light in the top slot lit can be opened and those with light in the bottom slot can't. Again, things like this are easy to design but can allow additional people to enjoy a game. So to game designers out there, please make games enjoyable to all types of people. Later guys.

  • Posted Nov 8, 2009 6:30 pm PT
  • Category: Editorial
  • 18 Comments

18 Comments

  • Setho10

    Posted Nov 8, 2009 6:31 pm PT

    By the way, since when was "suck" a banned word?

  • just_nonplussed

    Posted Nov 8, 2009 6:56 pm PT

    it doesn't matter what topic or news item GS posts.. there will still be the most ignorant and stupid comments underneath. it's almost as bad as youtube. i don't/can't even look at any comments on YT now, without seeing racist/sexist/homophobic/religious/ridiculous abuse.

    there are so many 'users' on GS that i want to physically punch. it's pathetic that some of these people can allowed to be so ignorant and stupid, and not get banned - but if you try to say anything, you're just as likely to get banned too. this is actually a really poor website.

    you should make this into an editorial, and see if you're met with the same ignorant comments. ;p

  • just_nonplussed

    Posted Nov 8, 2009 6:59 pm PT

    by the way, it's the same on kotaku, last i saw. people calling thinking the guy is just a gold digger or something.

  • raahsnavj

    Posted Nov 8, 2009 9:06 pm PT

    If it is easy I say go for it, but I wouldn't go out of the way to provide such features. Then again, I'm one of the few that complains about Nintendo's kids games still not using voice overs. I mean come on, Nintendo aims for pre-readers and early reading demographics yet have they ever made a fully voiced game? I guess the easy stuff still isn't easy when you have to port it over to numerous different languages.

  • skullflower

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 8:07 am PT

    I think these features may slowly be integrated into games as the years go on. Just as they are in other media.

  • polsci1503

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 12:33 pm PT

    This is why I primarily stick to posting on friends blogs and steer clear of the unwashed masses that populate the forums and news stories. I do comment on news pieces from time to time, but I always address the story itself and never other commenters. There's alot of stupidity out there...

  • JodyR GameSpot staff member

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 12:35 pm PT

    You didn't call out any names so your blog so it is fine. If there are offensive messages though, don't forget about reporting the abuse if it's something extremely offensive. We try to do our best to monitor all areas of the site, but the reality is, Gamespot members also do majority of the patrolling of the site by reporting the abuse. I'll definitely ask some of the mods to monitor this article going forward.

  • gdw0908

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 1:32 pm PT

    @ Setho10
    You couldn't be more right... I wish there was a little more compassion out in the world, but you better believe if any kind of accident were to happen or genetic degenerative disease caught - they'd be the first to complain and whine about life "not being fair"

    @ JodyR
    Thanks Jody, I really appreciate the effort to monitor it further. I know a bulk of us feel the same way when you see the individuals who don't know what it is like to have a disability or deal with adversity the way some people do. In fact, I think some of these people should be forced to deal with such inconveniences for a period of time and maybe then some sympathy would be achieved. Probably not, but maybe.

  • kellymae

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 5:42 pm PT

    Seth, that was a fantastic blog. To your question about the word suck, it is only banned in titles as far as I know. \

    I missed the article that you referenced but if you have a link I would be very interested in it. As to your blog; as you know I am visually impared. My vision by all accounts is just this side of horrific. I am not quite at being designated legally blind, but I am very close. Even with my eyeglasses my eye sight is terrible which does sometimes make gaming somewhat annoying. I've never really thought about the points you bring up however simply because it has never been presented as an option. I am truly glad there are people like you out there that are thinking about it though, because I would hate to think that if my eyesight worsens I am going to be s o l as far as my gaming obsession goes. \

    As just nonplussed suggests, I too think this should be expanded and made into an editorial. It is very well written and something that needs to be talked about. Thank you for bringing it up.

  • JustPlainLucas

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 7:34 pm PT

    Yeah, I've read a few of the comments, and they were rather displease. Personally, though, I have an issue with him suing the company for these features. It is not a necessity for him to game. He can certainly find other games that are easier for him to see in order to play. He doesn't need to play these particular MMOs. I hope this doesn't come across as harsh or cruel, but it's not my intent. I'm merely stating that I view this lawsuit as almost frivalous. No one likes to be left out, surely, but as a consumer, he has no right to tell Sony how to make their games. It would be nice if Sony incorporated these changes, as you said, it would be very easy to do. The truth of the matter, unfortunately, is they don't have to. By the way, Seth, the word suck is only banned in titles, and it was something that was adopted when GS merged with GameFAQs. GF users tended to abuse the term to the point that GF decided to censor it out of topic titles, and that practice was applied to GS as well.

  • Setho10

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 10:50 pm PT

    @raahsnavj - As far as porting the game to multiple languages, yea it could be a bit costly to voice all of the text, but it wouldn't cost anything additional to add the other features he asked for.

    @skullflower - I would hope. The game industry keeps talking about appealing to the casual market, but then doesn't go the extra mile to incorporate accessibility features that movies have had for years.

    @polsci1503 - I rarely comment on news features either. People tend to just start flame wars on the forums.

  • Setho10

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 10:57 pm PT

    @JodyR - Thanks for the support. While I have your attention, might I suggest you have the author of the article rewrite the first sentence to make it clearer that the person in question is hard of sight and not blind? The way it is worded now gives the impression that the entire article is about a blind person, and I think that the confusion in the comments may stem from that line. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

  • Setho10

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 11:10 pm PT

    @gdw0908 - It's a shame that some internet users feel they are free to discriminate and act ignorant just because they are not there is person having this conversation. Most of what's said online would never be said in an actual conversation.

    @kellymae - I marked it as an editorial. I think it's terrible that publishers spend millions of dollars on features that are not at all important to the game, but ignore features that would make the game more accessible to more players. I especially think that all game dialogue should be voiced. raahsnavj is right in saying that Nintendo claims to be making its games for the widest market possible, but then doesn't include VO in games like Wii Sports Resort which is targeted at two demographics that may not be able to read the instructions (senior citizens and young children).

  • Setho10

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 11:10 pm PT

    @JustPlainLucas - But do you really think game companies are going to voluntarily add accessibility features to games? It's easy but it isn't free. I think if Sony loses this suit then it will force game companies to include features for people with all types of disabilities. Think about this- some games don't include subtitles for spoken dialogue. And some games don't offer both visual and audio cues when it comes to things like timers or mission markers. If I'm a deaf gamer and the only way the player is told he has to exit the area in one minute is through spoken word then he will have no clue to hurry. Likewise if there is just a small visual marker and no audio then a hard of sight gamer may not notice that he has to hurry either. This is the type of suit that will open the doors for others who want to play games but can't because of bad industry practices. I totally support it and hope he wins.

  • JustPlainLucas

    Posted Nov 9, 2009 11:22 pm PT

    I understand, I'm all for features that help disabled gamers enjoy games, but I believe a suit is going about it the wrong way. I have personal feeling regarding suits that are not out of 100 percent necessity, and I'm sorry, as much as it would be nice for a disabled gamer to enjoy the same games on the same level as other gamers, gaming by nature is not a necessity. Including features is a decision that is solely up to the developers and should not be forced by letigation. As I've said before, consumers do not hold the right to tell companies how to make their products, regardless of their disadvantages.

  • gdw0908

    Posted Nov 10, 2009 6:00 am PT

    @ Setho10 - I just made this point as to the overall immature tone of the net when compared back to the early 90's. Being online for these coddled losers who are sheltered by their parents is akin to driving a car - you wouldn't run up to the front of the line in a store and cut over/in line if you weren't in a car, so why do it there? Similarly, most people wouldn't say 90% of the stuff they post online in person (well, I would... and do), so why do it online...???

    It just really shows the immaturity of our society (especially in the US) in general.

My Recent Ratings

Title Score
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 9.5
Dead Space 9.0
Bujingai: The Forsaken City 7.0
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss 9.5
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 8.0
.detuned 4.5
Bionic Commando 7.5
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction 9.0
Resistance: Fall of Man 8.0
X-Men Origins: Wolverine 7.0
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