Problems & Solutions #

The solutions outlined below are largely taken from the Game Accessibility Guideline website, however, the topics shown below do not encompass everything available from the Game Accessibility Guideline website. It is strongly recommended that you visit that site and read through the listed problems to make an informed decision for your game.

Allow controls to be remapped / reconfigured #

Standard for PC games but rare on consoles, remappable controls are one of the best value accessibility features. Many people with motor impairments, whether permanent (eg. stroke), temporary (eg. broken arm) or situational (talking on a phone while playing) benefit greatly from being able to move essential controls into positions that they are able to reach more easily, for example with a single hand, or resting on a table-top using only the top buttons.

It also benefits the significant numbers of people who simply have different preferences to those of the designer, or those with different hardware layouts such as an AZERTY keyboard or Japanese PlayStation controller.

Ensure controls are as simple as possible, or provide a simpler alternative #

More complex control schemes require higher degrees of both motor and cognitive skill, so avoid using buttons/keys just because they’re there. Having to remember complex combinations of controls, being required to reach every single button on a controller or even just having to press multiple buttons at the same time can all easily result in unnecessary exclusion.

Sometimes complex controls are required or desirable. If your game really does require complex controls, that is fine. It becomes an issue is when controls are more complex than they need to be.

But even when controls are necessarily complex by default, it can sometimes still be possible to provide options for simpler alternatives.

Ensure that all areas of the user interface can be accessed using the same input method as the gameplay #

Seems obvious but is often overlooked, resulting in a game that has a mechanic perfectly accessible to a certain group, but that group isn’t actually able to get to the gameplay because the interface and menus use a different type of input.

A common example of this problem is gameplay controlled by keyboard, but menus controlled by mouse. So if for example you have designed gameplay controls for a choice of either keyboard or joypad, ensure that all menus also work for both keyboard and joypad, or if you’ve designed gameplay controls that work solely using motion controls, ensure your menus can also be controlled solely by using motion controls.

Include an option to adjust the sensitivity of controls #

There is no one-size-fits-all sensitivity level. As well as personal preference, some gamers have a restricted range of movement so require very high sensitivity, others have difficulty with precision so require very low sensitivity, more still use alternative input devices (such as a head mouse) that have different sensitivity requirements to regular controllers. The option to reduce sensitivity can also reduce the impact of simulation sickness.

Although PC/Mac operating systems offer sensitivity controls, these are within system settings which are only seen by advanced users, and consoles do not offer a system-wide setting at all. Different games also require different levels of sensitivity. Allow players to set it at game level, and offer a wide range of sensitivity. This applies to all types of input – mouse, touch, tilt, analogue stick, ideally gesture too.

Ensure interactive elements / virtual controls are large and well spaced, particularly on small or touch screens #

Related: Accessibility/Visual →

Established research on touch hit areas is a good starting point. 2.4cm has been found to be the ideal size for touch screens, but impractical for smaller phone screens, so 0.96cm is the recommendation for phones.

Bear in mind that people with either reduced accuracy or low vision will find even this difficult so use them as a minimum rather than a fixed size to aim for. Buttons also shouldn’t be close to each other. If they are, they need to be larger again to compensate. This also applies to cursor driven interfaces (mouse/analogue stick/motion detecting), where gamers with impaired precision will also have difficulty accurately targetting small elements.

Include toggle/slider for any haptics #

While it can be a useful accessibility aid, haptics – controller rumble etc – can cause discomfort, pain, and even injury. This is primarily due to its impact on conditions like RSI and carpal tunnel, but it can also present barriers to people with sensory processing impairments.

So at a minimum always offer the ability to turn of it off. This applies even for platforms that have a system wide toggle, as use of haptics varies from game to game and interacts with different people’s needs in different ways. For the same reason, offering a slider to give fine grained game-specific control over the strength of haptic feedback can also be useful.

Support more than one input device #

Different input devices involve different types of motor ability. Some are more suited to gross motor movement, some to fine. Some have complex motor-cognitive metaphors (eg. pushing a mouse away from you to move an on-screen cursor upwards), some are direct. Accessibility specific input devices also map to different mainstream devices, for example accessibility switches map to digital buttons, and eye tracking maps to mouse cursor movement. So there is no more or less accessible input device, different devices work better for different people

Outside of the demands of the input device itself, there are other reasons why people need to use different input devices. For example someone with a fatigue related condition who normally plays with keyboard/mouse but often needs to switch to playing lying down, and so needs to play with a controller instead.

So supporting as many input methods as possible will allow more people to play. For example a choice between controller / mouse&keyboard, d-pad / analogue, tilt / virtual stick, keyboard / mouse, VR motion controls / analogue stick.

Avoid / provide alternatives to requiring buttons to be held down #

Holding requires much greater motor ability than pressing, particularly on buttons that require more strength to operate, such as L3/R3 (pushing in the sticks).

While some degree of holding may be unavoidable, for example holding a trigger to accelerate or fire an automatic weapon, there are often others, that could instead be activated by a simple toggle, such as using a scope or looking in your rear view mirror, or even happen automatically, such as sprinting.

Playing using a toggle is marginally slower than holding/releasing, and automatic offers less control, so ideally offer a setting for players to choose which option they would prefer to play with.

Ensure that multiple simultaneous actions (eg. click/drag or swipe) are not required, and included only as a supplementary / alternative input method #

Holding something down rather than tapping causes difficulty for one group, and moving in a precise direction causes problems for another, so combining the two into a drag or swipe multiples the issue.

Other people rely on and enjoy these controls and find simple controls frustrating or less intuitive, so if you can, allow both.

Ensure that all key actions can be carried out by digital controls (pad / keys / presses), with more complex input (eg. analogue, speech, gesture) not required, and included only as supplementary / alternative input methods #

Many interactions that seem natural and intuitive to many people cause significant difficulty for others. A mouse for example involves calculating and moving along a precise trajectory, maintaining a steady velocity, the spatial metaphor of moving on a different plane to the screen, and so on – a great deal more cognitive and motor ability than simply pressing a button.

Although digital controls will seem less accurate for some players, for others they will be the only possible way of playing, particularly if they rely on assistive technology rather than standard controllers.

Include a cool-down period (post acceptance delay) of 0.5 seconds between inputs #

Conditions such as Parkinsons, essential tremor and cerebral palsy can reduce likelyhood of defined single presses, with slippage or shakiness common. This can result in unintended multiple presses, which can be a significant issue if interacting is already a drawn out process. If aiming for elderly or motor impaired players, including a simple cooldown period where no further input is recognised for a short period afterwards can avoid this.