Current Events > real argument about "accessibility" in games

(+) Yeah! (+)

since the last topic went kaput because the TC flew off the handle for no reason.

my lazy copy/pate from my post in that topic:

Does the game built around "accessibility" or that access is an additional feature to get new players learn the mechanics and system?

If it is the former, then it would be bad. Like most AAA games, it will be shallow, soulless rehashed, safe. Formulaic turdshow. For example the dumbing down of fallout 4. Dragon age, etc.

If it is the later, i have no problems to it. For example dungeon rats, a hardcore combat tactical turn based RPG designed around brutal encounters, but fair, which can be . . . Daunting for new players.

It has an easy mode where new players are given more leeway. They are still playing with the same rules as the base/normal difficulty, but the numbers are tweaked so new players are given more chance at failure while learning how to git gud, to say.

The problems is games are designed in reverse. The base game are easy, designed to have as much instant gratification as you can. Basically the EA way where they want you to "push buttons and see something" awesome.

Then they tweak numbers in the hard mode to give players unfair and artificial disadvantage. Usually in form of grinding or even worse, encouraging microtransaction.

Just see AAA games nowadays, there are are always artificial "skill tree" ( which in the end always give you enough points to have everything), puzzles are downright offensive, basically belittling player's intelligence and combat that is simple and require no thought at all.

tl;dr:

good = example of good easy mode in dark souls where enemies do less damage, but same level design, behaviour, etc

bad = making dark souls linear hallway and 1 button spam combat for "accessibility"

even more tl;dr:

good = training wheels design mentality

bad = pacifier that pump dopamine into your brain design mentality
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depends what type of accessibility we're talking here

colourblindness friendly mode: sure
subtitles for people with hearing problems: sure

but at some point I think there's no realistic way to make the game accessible for everyone. Some genres could probably have modes intended for completely blind people but most games I think it just wouldn't work (that said I know some blind people have completed games obviously not intended to be played like that so maybe anything is possible with enough perseverance)

your example of a dark souls easy mode only goes so far, if someone has say, an actual impairment that prevents them from properly using the controls (an easy one would be to imagine someone with only one hand) then all you do by halving the damage enemies deal is doubling the length of time before they die. I'm not sure you can always actually account for this without having your game turn out to be something else entirely

unless that's not the sort of accessibility you meant
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When I think of accessibility I think of UI design that helps people that are visually or aurally impaired in some way. Features that compensate for colorblindness by also making sure to give icons unique shapes in a addition to unique colors, and audio visual cues synced up to audio cues so that people was hearing issues can catch them. It can be really small easy quirks too. I would like to see more of these make their way into how game developers design their games, but so few people think about it already, it seems way far down their list of priorities.

kirbymuncher posted...
Yeah, I agree.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5tPJDZv_VE
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apolloooo posted...

artificial disadvantage

What makes a disadvantage artificial or natural?
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philsov posted...

apolloooo posted...

artificial disadvantage

What makes a disadvantage artificial or natural?

Artifificial usually comes from number bloat in most games. Like playing rpg, if the devs are lazy, they would make the boss just have 5x more HP and attack.

While good difficulty are the ones that give you hard time, but fair. For example, hard mode in divinity original sin 1, enemies have more advanced skills, and items, and still fair, because most of the time, you have access to tje same ability and skill, and with good resource management, you can counter it. It give you agency over how combat goes. Whilst bloating stat just add another time but not effort required in completing the challenge.
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