I am begging people, from game devs to game journalists, to regular players: Stop equivocating difficulty options with accessibility. While difficulty options can make a game more accessible as a side effect, they are are not a substitute for real accessibility options. - ThreadSky

cassie-mmk.bsky.social • 35 days ago

I am begging people, from game devs to game journalists, to regular players: Stop equivocating difficulty options with accessibility.

While difficulty options can make a game more accessible as a side effect, they are are not a substitute for real accessibility options.

Reposted from Arron Automata

If a dev adds difficulty options to make their game more accessible for players then that’s a huge win.

Comments

saltymoongoddess.bsky.social•35 days ago

people never gave forspoken a fair chance but that game is phenomenal if you actually play it. I completely changed how I played the game by removing the spell selection time slow feature from within the default game options b/c I don't like how it disrupts the flow but the option is there w/o mods.

cassie-mmk.bsky.social•35 days ago

If you want examples of games with accessibility options, go look at God of War Ragnarok, Doom the Dark Ages, etc. where you can still play these games at a high difficulty while tailoring the experience to your specific needs.

cassie-mmk.bsky.social•35 days ago

In Expedition 33’s case, I installed a mod that gave me a bigger parry/dodge window. It’s still challenging for me, but now that I actually have a chance, learning enemy attack patterns is fun. I shouldn’t have to mod a game to make it accessible.

heartstm.bsky.social•35 days ago

I agree. It's unfortunate that people who want the difficulty the same but with more lenient parry timing have no real option for COE33 (aside from a mod).

cassie-mmk.bsky.social•35 days ago

Like seriously, it’s great that Jennifer English could play the game because of easy mode, but what if she didn’t have to because Expedition 33 had accessibility options that weren’t mods? https://www.vice.com/en/article/jennifer-english-was-able-to-play-clair-obscur-expedition-33-because-of-story-mode-heres-why-easy-difficulty-options-matter/

cassie-mmk.bsky.social•35 days ago

Anyway, if you want to learn more about accessibility, you can start by following people like @ianhamilton.bsky.social and @stevesaylor.net Especially if you’re a game journalist or developer. @charalanahzard.bsky.social also touches on accessibility a bit on her YouTube channel.

balrogmidgar.bsky.social•35 days ago

I certainly think difficulty modes can be a small piece of accessibility. The biggest problem with using them that way is that your difficulty options better damn well tell me WHAT is changing, and even that is no substitute for a fully fleshed-out accessibility menu.

balrogmidgar.bsky.social•35 days ago

Easy-mode isn't going to remedy the fact that Reds and Greens are difficult for me to perceive. It won't stop my arthritis from flaring because something is a hold instead of a toggle. It won't disable flashing light patters for people with epilepsy.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply