Fonts in video games can have a world of issues, all related to their implementation, and they’re all easily fixed, too. At least as far as subtitles go. Make sure they’re relatively large (or better yet, allow the user to adjust their size), avoid Comic Sans like the plague, and make sure color choices don’t clash with the background. But that’s just one of many accessibility issues developers (and players) face. There’s also colorblindness to consider, and of course, as is the focus of this article, blind gamers. So… have you heard about the Games for Blind Gamers 2 jam?
Game jams. Generally speaking, they’re relatively simple in terms of what they ask of participants: make a game, maybe there are some simple restrictions like the theme, perhaps even engine or type of game (visual novel being the most common there). This one, on the other hand, is a bit trickier as it’s all about making games for blind gamers, as well as “to build awareness of blind gaming (and accessibility in general)”. Needless to say, that means thinking way outside the box – unless you actually have experience implementing accessibility features of this particular variety. In which case, well, damn. You’re awesome. No, really. That’s much too rare.
With that in mind… how about some rules? Then again, who needs… oh, there are actually some:
- Reusing bits of existing code is fine – entire projects? No.
- That also applies to assets.
- To ensure as many people as possible can play your game, please make sure it runs on Windows, or web/HTML5.
So, need more info? Well, as always, the jam page is a good place to start, although #games-for-blind-gamers on this Discord server should not be underestimated, much like the AudioGames forums. Oh right, dates: from April 1st, 2023 to April 30th, 2023. Now, remember to… have fun!
(Screenshot is from “audio based action adventure”, The Vale: Shadow of the Crown.)
