they're trying to cancel me for Situational Disabilities & Accessibility Design
Summary
TLDRAlana, a AAA game studio writer and accessibility consultant, discusses the misconceptions surrounding game accessibility. She emphasizes that accessibility is not just about physical disabilities but includes situational and temporary needs, such as being unable to pause a game due to childcare. Alana explains the three pillars of disability in design—permanent, temporary, and situational—and argues for broader consideration in game design to accommodate a wider range of players without compromising core game principles.
Takeaways
- 😀 Alana is a writer and accessibility consultant at a AAA game studio, with credits on games including God of War Ragnarok.
- 🏆 Alana created the Video Game Accessibility Awards, highlighting games that excel in accessibility features.
- 🎮 In a video, Alana discusses the misconception that accessibility in games equates to an 'easy mode', arguing that it's about enabling all players to experience the game fully.
- 🔍 Alana explains the broader concept of accessibility design, emphasizing it's not just for those in wheelchairs but applies to a wide range of situations and disabilities.
- 👶 She uses the example of a parent unable to pause a game like Elden Ring due to a child's interruption, illustrating the concept of situational disabilities in gaming.
- 📚 Alana introduces the 'three pillars of disability' in design: permanent, temporary, and situational, which are widely recognized in various design fields.
- 🔨 The term 'disability' in design is used to describe any hindrance that prevents a user from completing a task, which can be situational or permanent.
- 🌐 Microsoft's design toolkit is cited as a reference for the three pillars of disability, indicating the mainstream acceptance of these concepts.
- 💡 Alana emphasizes that accessibility design aims to think broadly about all possible situations where a user might be hindered, without changing the core design principles of a game.
- 🚫 She clarifies that not all games or apps need to address every accessibility need, but the goal is to consider as many as possible to enhance inclusivity.
- 🔄 Alana acknowledges the evolving nature of language and is open to changing the term 'disability' in the context of design if it offends or upsets people.
Q & A
Who is Alana and what is her role in the gaming industry?
-Alana is a writer on the design team at a AAA game studio, and she also works as an accessibility consultant, having contributed to seven games so far. She is credited as an accessibility consultant on 'God of War Ragnarok'.
What is the significance of Alana's work in the accessibility space?
-Alana's work in accessibility is significant as it ensures that games are more inclusive, catering to a broader range of players with varying abilities and situations. Her efforts have contributed to making games more accessible without compromising the intended experience.
What is the 'Video Game Accessibility Awards' and what is its purpose?
-The 'Video Game Accessibility Awards' is an award show created by Alana that recognizes and celebrates games that excel in accessibility. It has been running for two years but took a break in the year 'God of War Ragnarok' was released to avoid a conflict of interest.
What does Alana believe about the criticism of 'Elden Ring' being too hard?
-Alana disagrees with the criticism that 'Elden Ring' is too hard. She believes that the game's difficulty is not a negative aspect, but rather a challenge that players should embrace and overcome to improve their skills.
How does Alana define accessibility in the context of game design?
-Alana defines accessibility in game design as going beyond just catering to players with physical disabilities. It includes considering various types of disabilities such as permanent, temporary, and situational, ensuring a broader range of players can enjoy the game.
What are the three pillars of disability as explained by Alana?
-The three pillars of disability are permanent, temporary, and situational. Permanent disabilities refer to long-term conditions, temporary disabilities are short-term conditions like a broken arm, and situational disabilities are context-dependent, like being unable to pause a game while caring for a child.
Why does Alana think it's important to consider situational disabilities in game design?
-Alana believes considering situational disabilities in game design is important because it allows for a more inclusive and user-friendly experience. It ensures that games can be enjoyed by a wider audience, including those in unique situations that may temporarily hinder their ability to play.
What is Alana's personal experience with accessibility in gaming?
-Alana has tendonitis in both wrists, which is considered a permanent disability. This condition affects her ability to rapidly button mash in games, and she relies on accessibility features such as changing quick time events to press and hold instead of tapping.
How does Alana view the criticism she received for identifying as disabled due to her wrist condition?
-Alana acknowledges the criticism but maintains that her condition is indeed a permanent disability that affects her gaming experience. She believes in the importance of recognizing and accommodating various disabilities, including her own.
What is Alana's stance on the use of the term 'disabled' in the context of situational disabilities?
-Alana is open to changing the term 'disabled' if it causes discomfort or offense. She understands that language evolves and is willing to use 'situational impairment' instead if it aligns better with societal preferences.
How does Alana approach the challenge of fulfilling every accessibility need in game design?
-Alana acknowledges that it is nearly impossible to fulfill every accessibility need due to the vast number of requirements. However, she advocates for thinking broadly and considering as many situations as possible to make games more accessible without compromising design principles.
Outlines
🎮 Accessibility in Gaming: Beyond Easy Modes
Alana, a writer and accessibility consultant at a AAA game studio, discusses her role in the industry and her work on seven games, including 'God of War Ragnarok'. She emphasizes that accessibility in gaming is not just about easy modes but is a broader concept that can affect anyone at different times. Alana challenges the misconception that accessibility is only for people in wheelchairs, explaining that it includes situational disabilities like having a child interrupt a game session, which prevents pausing the game.
👶 Situational Disabilities in Gaming Design
Alana elaborates on the concept of situational disabilities in game design, using the example of being unable to pause a game like 'Elden Ring' when a child is in danger. She introduces the three pillars of disability in design: permanent, temporary, and situational. She explains that while accessibility design should aim to be as inclusive as possible, it's not feasible to accommodate every need. Alana also touches on the broader implications of accessibility in app and web development, where the goal is to ensure users can complete tasks without being 'disabled' by situational factors.
🔊 The Language of Accessibility and Its Impact
In the final paragraph, Alana addresses the potential discomfort some may feel with the term 'disability' in the context of accessibility. She acknowledges that language evolves and is open to changing the terminology if it makes people more comfortable. Alana suggests that 'situational impairment' could be a more acceptable term. She also reflects on her personal journey with accessibility, starting with her own wrist condition that affects her gaming experience, and how it led her to become an advocate for accessibility features in games.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Accessibility Consultant
💡Video Game Accessibility Awards
💡Elden Ring
💡Accessibility Design
💡Permanent Disabilities
💡Temporary Disabilities
💡Situational Disabilities
💡Design Principles
💡Time Wars
💡Tendinitis
💡Corporations
Highlights
Alana introduces herself as a writer and accessibility consultant at a AAA game studio.
She is credited as an accessibility consultant on 'God of War Ragnarok'.
Alana created the 'Video Game Accessibility Awards', now in its second year.
She discusses the negative reviews of 'Elden Ring' for being too difficult.
Alana disagrees with the notion that games should be easier and advocates for players to 'get good'.
Accessibility design is broader than just physical disabilities, it includes situational and temporary disabilities.
Accessibility features are not just for those in wheelchairs but can apply to a wide range of players.
Alana explains the concept of situational disabilities in gaming, such as not being able to pause a game.
She introduces the three pillars of disability in design: permanent, temporary, and situational.
Alana provides examples of situational disabilities, such as having a heavy accent affecting voice command usage.
Accessibility design aims to alleviate situational disabilities without changing the core design principles of a game.
Alana clarifies that accessibility features are not about making games easier but about allowing more people to experience them.
She emphasizes that accessibility design is about thinking broadly and considering many situations.
Alana discusses the importance of language in accessibility and the potential for terms like 'disabled' to change over time.
She shares her personal experience with tendonitis, which led her to become involved in accessibility advocacy.
Alana acknowledges the role of corporations in promoting accessibility to ensure user engagement with their software.
She concludes by expressing openness to changing the term 'disabled' if it makes people more comfortable.
Transcripts
allow me to explain hello everyone if
you don't know me I'm Alana and I work
9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at a AAA game
Studio I am a writer on the design team
but I also work as an accessibility
consultant and I've done that on seven
separate games so far uh I'm credited as
an accessibility consultant on God of
War Ragnarok because that is the much
work that I did on that game was in the
accessibility space and I also created
my own award show called the video game
accessibility Awards uh We've run that
for 2 years I took a break last year
because God of War Ragnarok came out and
it would be very weird to have an award
show the same year as the game that you
worked on accessibility even though I
don't vote on it it's voted on by a full
panel of disabled Gamers but uh it's a
thing that I care a lot about and know a
lot about um more than most people
though there are certainly people who
like full-time do accessibility in the
space Who would know way more than I do
but earlier in the week I made a video
that I called Elden ring is too hard in
quotations um and majority of that video
I think it's like the first eight
minutes I'm just basically talking about
the negative reviews that Elden ring has
gotten for being too hot and saying that
I disagree with them majority of that
video is me saying no I think that you
should get good like I did literally say
get good in it the second part of that
video I wanted to talk about something
that I'm just going to give with more
detail now about accessibility
design and why when people talk about
being against a game being accessible I
think it's really silly because their
accessibility is so much broader than
just a guy in a wheelchair which is what
most people seem to think of when they
think about accessible design but when
it actually comes to that design it is
much much much broader than that and
will definitely apply to you at some
situation in your life so in this video
I was talking about that I was saying
when people ask for accessibility in
games they aren't asking for an easy
mode because they also just want to
experience the hard game they're not
trying to get it to just be easier and I
was saying you know accessibility design
is so much bigger than than people think
it is an example I used and to be clear
I wasn't even advocating for this I
didn't say that I think it should be
there it was just an example an example
I gave uh where I let me just show you
the clip first let's let show you the
full clip and people that are asking for
accessibility are not actually asking
for an easy mode that isn't the intent
there are also multiple kinds of
disabilities especially where gaming is
concerned there are long-term
disabilities there are situational
disabilities there are temporary
disabilities it counts as a disability
where a video game like Elden ring is
concerned if you have a kid you have a
2-year-old you're trying to play Elden
ring you can't pause that is a
situational disability that you have
where the game not having the option for
you to be able to pause for example is a
hindrance for your
particular disability a situational
disability you may need to pause to stop
your kid from putting a fork into a a
sock so I basically explained three
pillars of disability as it pertains to
design I did not invent this term this
term has been around for a long time
there are variations of the term and
it's multiple facets of Design This is
used in web design it is used in app
design it is used in software design and
it is used in game design or development
design or development either really
works as it turns out to actually even
broader than that um I've learned this
week from people contacting me about it
that situational disability is also
considered in like commercial build
buildings um apparently it's not even
just app development it is much bigger
than that and there are three pillars of
design there is permanent which is the
thing that I think most people think of
when they think of the word disabled
person who has one arm somebody who is
blind uh let me pull this up literally
just give you a direct example this is
from Microsoft design toolkit and I'm
sourcing them because they are the
company that most of you will know the
name of will be familiar with but you
can find examples of this all over the
place in this space so we have permanent
on this side which is for example
someone has a perent disability someone
with one arm someone who is blind
someone who's deaf or someone who is
nonverbal then there are temporary
disabilities which is like if you broke
your arm you broke your wrist you have
an ear infection then there are
situational disabilities this is example
that's used here as new parent a driver
who is distracted a bender I can explain
the Bender one because people confused
about that as well and a heavy accent
people are also reacting to the heavy
accent one so let me explain what the
situational disabilities mean here maybe
an app can't understand your voice
because you you have a heavy acccident
that is considered a situational
disability you are disabled you are
unable you can't cannot proceed uh
through whatever software or whatever
task you are trying to complete uh
because of something that is situational
to you and it is situational also to the
context of that game like the
situational here means having a heavy
accent is not considered a disability in
layman's terms you would not be called
disabled all over the world none of
these things are like if you have a
heavy accent you're disabled it's not
that it's just the situational
disability in terms of design is that
you are disabled from using the
interface in the way that a user should
be able to because of your situational
disability that's the term the bartender
example here um is referring to a really
loud environment so if you are somewh
loud they could also use Music Festival
but they're just using someone who
functionally regularly Works in a
certain environment so if they're in a
loud environment and they can't hear a
particular thing on whatever app
whatever interface that they are trying
to use the accessible design would aim
to alleviate that situational disability
it's not saying bartenders are disabled
in the way that the public Associates
the term disabled I feel like distracted
driver is pretty obvious the new parent
one um the example that I used which
again is fairly commonly used I didn't
invent the it's been around for a really
long time is if you're a parent you're
trying to play a game like Elden ring
and you are halfway through your boss
fight and your kid runs across the floor
and does something dangerous you have to
drop the controller and go and get them
that would be considered a situational
disability in that in that situation you
are unable to complete the task that you
are trying to complete because of
something that happened to you
situationally you have been disabled
from completing the task the way this
pertains to accessibility isn't to say
that all games all apps all processes
need to alleviate all of these things
that's not the intent either like it's
just a way in which accessible design is
much broader than people think it is in
the ways that it can help a lot more
people than people think it can and it's
also definitely a reality in
accessibility where it is basically
impossible I would argue to fulfill
every accessibility need on the planet
that is very very very difficult to do
there are so many of them the
situational ones are so numerous but
it's just a means of looking at design
that would allow the people who are
doing the accessibility design to think
about it as broadly as possible think of
as many situations as possible in which
somebody is disabled from completing the
task somebody's unable to complete the
task somebody is hinded from completing
whatever task they are trying to
whatever function they are trying to
complete and whatever software they are
engaging with I think the word
disability is probably really common
used in the text Bas because we use
disabled a lot like a function was
disabled this feature has been disabled
Bluetooth has been disabled it is no
longer able to work not because it's
been turned off or it doesn't exist it
has just been disabled I think that's
probably why it's widely used and not
considered to be offensive when it comes
to design and there are also I've
definitely seen people say having kids
isn't a disability it's just a
responsibility go do something else and
that's totally valid yes if you that can
make you a shitty parent the intention
is not to allow parents to be shitty
parents the intention is to allow them
to not be punished or have a negative
consequence in your product because of
something like that where possible and
like a very good example of I think
people misunderstanding it as a design
ethos and not a thing you have to do is
I've seen people say oh what so I'm
disabled if I can't pause in a
multiplayer game when I need to no one
would ever argue to take away from the
design of the game so like if that is
the purpose of the game is an online
multiplayer experience where you are
having interactions with people in real
time and that is the core of the game no
one is going to argue that the game
fundamentals should ever change that's
not what people are asking for no one's
going to say you need to have a pause
menu in an online game like that that
obviously is functionally impossible it
is just about thinking about the most
accessible options for the thing that
you are making without changing design
principles you would never change design
principles you would still want your
core game to function exactly as is The
Last of Us Part Two again I think is the
most accessible game ever made they
clearly created exactly what they
intended to create and then added all
the accessibility features to make it an
extremely accessible game and the
purpose of sheets like this and
information like this again is not to
say that like your game's not going to
be no one is going to be furious if it
doesn't hit pillar it's just that there
are a lot of pillars a lot of this comes
of course from people who actually care
about Gamers who have disabilities I am
one of those it started in a very
selfish way I mentioned it in the video
but I have tendonitis in both my wrists
this means that I can't rapidly Button
Mash I've had that for like maybe 10
years now and so I have trouble playing
any game that just requires like if you
have a QT I will always change to press
and hold in the accessibility menu
rather than tapping because I will
eventually like my wrist will lock up
and I won't be able to do it that's how
I got involved in accessibility and
technically that is considered a
permanent disability I do call myself
disabled because I have that like in
general terms I'm not going to say I'm
disabled but I've actually had people
who most people would identify as
disabled in the accessibility space
criticize me for that like I've had
criticism that it's basically aana you
are disabled and by being afraid to use
that word you are preventing other
people from realizing that they also
have disabilities that's a whole thing
but technically that is considered a
permanent disability in so far as it is
permanent it's not going away and I have
trouble playing video games and so I
need accessibility features that's how I
got involved in the space now as I was
saying a lot of this obviously comes
from people who have disabilities who
care about disabilities who actually
genuinely care but I'm also sure that a
lot of this comes from the app
development and the web development
where they just want to make sure that
you will never turn off the thing part
of it is surely corporations being very
time hungry we call it the time Wars
here on this channel where I've spoken
many times about right now being in an
era where corporations just want as much
of your time as possible so I don't
doubt that some of this when it comes to
higher ups is also coming from the time
Wars where you know the corporation
wants to make sure that you don't have a
situational disability that prevents you
from engaging with their software that
makes their software frustrating that
makes you want to put down their
software in any capacity it is
definitely mostly people who care in my
experience I don't think I've ever met
any of those people but I don't doubt
like that the term probably came from
web development or app development where
they were just trying to make sure that
you wouldn't have some situation that
would disable you from completing the
task on their website that they want you
to stay on now if people are upset or
offended by the term disability or
disabled here I I don't think you're
ever wrong to be upset by a word or
offended by a word if that's how you
feel and that that is how you feel this
has been this way for a long time it is
used in the space all the time it is
used by disa permanently visibly
disabled people on a regular basis in
the accessibility space but language
changes according to societal
preferences all the time so if people
were to you know just be learning about
this term this week which it seems like
is the case for a lot of people and are
really offended by the use of disabled
or disability in this context I'm not
not against changing it I'm an
accessibility consultant but I'm not on
the kind of boards where they make these
terms or make these docks I've just
helped on games specifically with the
permanent disability side not the
situational disability side but if
you're upset about the term I'm not
going to tell you you're wrong to feel
that way uh if it made you uncomfortable
to hear that kids are considered a
situational disability again it's not
that kids are though it's that the
context of which the child appears and
does something disables you from
completing a task whatever semantics but
if you would like to change the term and
if people would be more comfortable if
when I speak about this again in the
future which I'm sure I will I many
times before that I call it a
situational impairment instead I'm
totally fine to do that it's just a term
disabled exists in this context because
of the industry from which it was born
but I'm not against it being changed
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