BURNINGTYGER'S PROFILE

author=LockeZ
This article doesn't even mention any of the more difficult disabilities to design for.

- Blind users can use software that hooks into a computer game's text to send the text to a screen reader and read it out loud to them. However, this requires that all the text in your game be in plain text format, including in the menus and splash screens - not in images that contain drawn text. For character movement in the field you'll also need subtle sound effects when bumping into walls, and different sound effects when bumping into different types of interactive objects. Combat needs to include a skill name for every enemy skill, including normal attacks, and the text at the top of the screen needs to specify which enemy is using it instead of just naming the skill. It also will help tremendously if the battles are turn-based rather than ATB, so that the screen reader will have time to read all the skill menus and so forth.

- Mentally disabled users are probably doing just fine, as 99% of commercial games seem apparently designed for people with no brain activity may have a variety of issues that cause different aspects of games to be difficult. For example, memory issues are one of the most common mental disabilities in the world, thanks to illnesses like Alzheimers. Quest trackers that point to your current goal, quest logs that describe what you're supposed to be doing and why, and something like FF13-2's "Previously, on FF13-2!" scene that shows 30 seconds of short clips of the major events so far each time you load the game are all extremely helpful features to anyone who's having trouble with memory, or has other problems like planning that involves multiple steps.

It's of course impossible to design a game playable by people with any imaginable disability. And be careful: many of the things designed to help people with disabilities can make the game feel too easy to people without disabilities, since they reiterate the most important pieces of information multiple ways instead of testing the player's ability to notice and respond to them, so you may want to allow the player to disable these features in the menu.

author=PentagonBuddy
I don't think devs can account for 100% of every factor that could stop someone from playing, but it doesn't hurt to make an honest effort.

author=Ratty524
Yuna how did you become that good at pixelling backgrounds like that?