12 February 2012
Roberta: The AbleGamers Foundation has named the most accessible mainstream game for 2011, so the game most useable for people with a disability. Clarizza Fernandez from the Digital Media and Technology team at Media Access Australia is here to fill us in on the details. Welcome Clarizza.
Clarizza: Thanks.
Roberta: So which game has won Most Accessible Award?
The PC game developed by BioWare, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) lets you play a character from the Star Wars movie series. Players are posed with questions that, once answered, drive the plot of the game. The massive multiplayer game allows players to play with and against each other online.
There are often accessibility barriers in mainstream games that make them difficult, if not impossible for people with a disability to play. Lack of captions, colour contrast, and quick response times are just a few of the barriers often encountered.
In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald Film Victoria CEO, Jenni Tosi, said the investment fund will contribute to “any costs the developer incurs as part of their accessibility efforts, which may include technology, testing or accessibility consultants.” Film Victoria provides up to $100,000 or 50 per cent of the project budget for games developed in the state.
The game creates a three dimensional environment which can be explored by relying on a player’s sense of hearing.
Designer Pablo Mera explained his approach to the project. “We are not aiming at making a game for blind people... we are aiming at making an incredible new experience for everybody, that happens to level the field so blind people won't feel excluded.
