Includification [3]

Includification is a term I was introducted to by the non-profit organization AbleGamers. To me, the word refers to the act of making something inclusive–which brings the idea that the object, activity, or space had previously not been inclusive or had some sort of barrier of access from the start. I really like this new term to define the mission to move towards accessibility and the specific guide I learned it from.[3]

"There should be no barriers to fun," is written in small script at the bottom of the contents of the well put together resource for game developers. It's this belief that everyone deserves to have fun, including disabled people, that these guidelines, laws, and checklists exist. They aren't there to make projects run longer or create more production costs, but rather to be able to give more entry to play to the 33 million disabled gamers only in the USA. 33 million is the statistic AbleGamers shared in 2018 and I've bet that number has grown in the past 6 years after the pandemic introduced more people to the potential gaming has in creating community and being a tool for further social interaction that is accessible remotely.

On the right, I've made a list of the checklist and various levels of accesibility that disabled gamers with different abilities have agreed upon that would made a big positive impact in their gaming experience. Although the list seems long, and some features might be more difficult to program or design around, that's the reason why they are split off in different levels and disabilities characteristics. Level 1 is distinguished as "good" meaning the options game that falls under this level would be at decent accesibility standing. However, the game could definitely improve and be better, so that's why level 2 exists with more options but might be a bit more tricky to implement. Level 3 is refered to as as the "best" because overall if a video game is designed with all the options in level 1, 2, and 3 that makes it a really great inclusive game. However, the options in level 3 are considered to be expensive.

But don't freak out! As AbleGamers said, by adding the first two levels from the start and early developemtn, these accessibility options should be cheap and take minimal time to implement. If accesibility is considered as an afterthought or towards the end of the product, then it becomes much harder to work around or add in. Therefore, they describe these suggested tiers like so:

Level 1 describes the bare minimum level of accessibility that you should have in your game--you will find that many of these things are already being included as standard-practice.

Level 2 outlines the best compromise between the need for greater accesibility and the ease of implementation.

Level 3 demonstrates what accesibility would be like in an ideal world where the barriers in the gaming space are almost all but gone.

Having gaming options is key. Being able to find games that one can play is important, no matter the disability. Thus, two truths can exist at the same time; 1) The gaming space can acknowlge that 100% inclusion is not feasible. 2) Access to entertainment and creating more accessible alternatives is possible.

"Developers simply need to be aware that adding accesibility is the right thing to do, even though it won't bring a large profit boost."

Some facts to consider:

• 50% of the aging gaming population has or will have vision problems in their lifetime.
• 10% of the men demographic in gaming is color blind.
• Quote from a disabled gamer: "Let me play."

Accessibility Guidelines for PC and Console Games

Visual

• Level 1 (Good)
• Changeable Text Colors
• Changeable Font Sizes
• Color-blind Options
• High-contrast Target Reticle
• Enemy Marking

• Level 2 (Better)
• Customizable Fonts
• Customized HUDS
• Map Recoloring Options / Alternative Views

• Level 3 (Best)
• Speed Settings
• Text-to-Speech Input

Hearing

• Level 1 (Good)
• Closed Captioning

• Level 2 (Better)
• Changeable Fonts
• Changeable Text Colors

• Level 3 (Best)
• Options to Include Ambient Noise as Text Output
• Alternative Reactionary Input

Mobility

• Level 1 (Good)
• Remappable Keys
• Alternative Configuration
• Camera Controls

• Level 2 (Better)
• Third Party Access (No Game Guard)
• Movable/Resizable UI
• Macroability: Let me Make My Own Stuff
• Difficulty Settings and Fail Safes: Not Just A Mobility Issue
• Save Points
• Sensitivity Sliders
• Click-to-Move / Mouse-to-Move
• Assists

• Level 3 (Best)
• Input devices
• Speed settings

Cognitive

• Level 1 (Good)
• Tutorial
• Sandbox Modes
• Difficulty Levels

• Level 2 (Better)
• Training Levels
• Intuitive Menus

• Level 3 (Best)
• Enemy Marking
• Speed Settings
• Auto-pass
• Perspective
• Reward System Balance