A “rallying cry to the industry to start making real change”.
Image credit: RNIB / T&PM / HEX
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has established a player testing panel for the video games industry, research institutions, and academia, called the Design for Every Gamer Player Panel.
Alongside its new Devkit: Best Practice in Accessible Gaming 2024, the organisation says that by engaging with this diverse group, “developers and researchers can gather essential feedback on accessibility, helping to ensure that their games and studies are inclusive and accessible to gamers with sight loss”.
RNIB’s Devkit itself offers “in-depth guidance” to help developers integrate access features into their projects, such as menu narration, high-contrast modes, scalable UI, and haptic feedback, ensuring “seamless gameplay for users with sight loss”.
“With platform-specific solutions and accessibility frameworks, the devkit empowers you to create immersive, fully navigable experiences that meet the needs of gamers with sight loss while maintaining technical integrity,” the charity said.
As part of this work, the RNIB also introduces Spectrum Shift, a game “within” the Gaming DevKit. Working with T&PM and HEX, the organisation has created a browser-based adventure game designed to demonstrate the access features from the devkit. You can watch it in the video embedded above.
“The game showcases how features like audio cues, haptic feedback, scalable UI, and high-contrast visuals break down barriers for gamers with sight loss,” the RNIB explained.
“This hands-on example allows developers to explore how accessible design creates an inclusive experience across all devices. The game is currently in development.”
The RNIB website has more on how it’s working to create a better gaming world for people with sight loss, as it makes “a rallying cry to the industry to start making real change”.
