How do people with disabilities play video games?

Philipp Rüegg

22.1.2019

Translation: Eva Francis

Gamepad, mouse or keyboard are great gaming tools. But using them requires a lot of skill. What if you can only use one hand or only your feet? People with disabilities depend on specially designed controllers and the right software. The gaming industry provides solutions, but in most cases, gaming is still a challenge for people with disabilities.

Games usually offer settings for people who are colour-blind or subtitles for deaf gamers. But this by no means allows everyone to enjoy gaming. People with disabilities have complex needs – especially when it comes to the controller. A regular controller has up to 17 buttons. This may satisfy most gamers, but imagine you can only use one hand. Now, half the number of buttons is probably too many already.

Fortunately, inventive minds come up with solutions such as custom controllers to gap the bridge and make gaming accessible to more people. Non-profit organisations often initiate such projects. Last year, a major manufacturer, Microsoft, joined in. But software solutions are the most common approach to making games accessible to as many people as possible.

Software tricks

Offering options for colour-blind or deaf people is one thing. Such settings have almost become an industry standard. Activision may have recently claimed the opposite to justify why they missed out on providing subtitles for the «Spyro» remakes. But fortunately, that's an exception.

However, there are many more support features that game manufacturers could implement in their products. One positive example that stood out most recently is «Marvel’s Spider-Man» for the PS4. The game manufacturer Insomniac delivered a surprisingly wide range of options: For example, Quick Time events can be deactivated, which is appreciated by people who suffer from panic attacks. You can also replace tapping buttons with holding buttons, which helps in the case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Another important option, which is a given for PC players, but still far too rare for consoles, are custom key assignments. Especially if you want to save your individual setup and not have to reconfigure it every time you restart a game. I'd love to see a norm introduced, which makes sure games offer such options out of the box. At least, blockbuster games seem to be leading the right way in this respect.

Custom controllers

In 2015, Microsoft introduced a luxury controller: the Xbox Elite. What was primarily intended for hardcore gamers became very popular with people with limited mobility. The Xbox Elite is equipped with back paddles that can be replaced and offers the option to reprogramme each button and store it in custom profiles. Having reached the unexpected group of customers it did, Microsoft intensified its efforts in this area. The result? The Xbox Adaptive Controller. It looks like a digital turntable. And that's not far off from reality: The panels are touch-sensitive and can be operated without requiring the fine-motor skills of a thumb. On the back of it, there are connections for every single button of the Xbox controller, which can be connected to various devices such as pressure switches, rudders or mouth controls. This way, the controller can be operated with one hand and one foot; one hand and a shoulder or one foot and the chin.

Microsoft's Adaptive Controller remains an exception. Usually, people with limited mobility have to make do with DIY solutions such as this one-handed Joycon adapter created with a 3D printer.

The «PUBG» streamer Rocky NoHands proves how efficient players with custom controllers can be. Rocky Stoutenburgh is paralysed from the neck down. But this doesn't stop him from gaming. With the Quadstick adapter, he controls the online shooter game by sipping on or puffing into the various openings. «PUBG was probably the hardest game,» he said to gaming magazine PC Gamer. «It took me about three days to make a layout.» He had to go without some commands – switching car seats, for instance, for lack of options.

But a niche – for now

Since the needs are very individual, there are hardly any universal solutions. Non-profit organisations such as Able Gamers or Warfighter Engaged are committed to making it possible for people with disabilities to play video games. They advocate for better support from manufacturers, establish a social network for those affected and develop input solutions themselves. The veteran support organisation Warfighter Engaged has implemented numerous projects in close collaboration with those affected. The solutions they come up with are tailored to specific needs and therefore usually unique.

Game manufacturers don’t do enough

Most game manufacturers don’t invest much in implementing special options. Why? There’s not much profit to be made. Since there is no legal obligation and people with disabilities make up only a fraction of the buyers, the extra work doesn’t pay off from a financial point of view. How come there are still certain exceptions worth mentioning such as «Spiderman»? This often comes down to affected people expressing their needs. Yet, the decision depends on the goodwill of the game manufacturers.

The same problem applies when it comes to controllers: From a financial point of view, it makes little sense for hardware manufacturers to produce such niche products. That's why projects such as the Adaptive Controller are a welcome change, even if it seems to have been primarily a publicity stunt for Microsoft. Nevertheless, with these efforts and the work of numerous non-profit organisations, people with limited mobility, visual impairments and other disabilities can continue to enjoy their digital hobby of gaming. And the world of gaming is one without limits.

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur. more

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