some random thoughts on the whole hard games/easy mode discussion that's been happening recently, from my own personal history of making stuff -
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It seems super obvious when you state it like that, but as a designer of action games, it's very easy to get them confused. I've done it, and I regret it. Not every game needs to have an easy mode, but every game can have accessibility options.
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Back in 2009(!) I saw
@retroremakes quietly give an impassioned talk about accessibility in games in the back room of a pub after the year's EGX. This was just before VVVVVV came out, and I was totally convinced. I added full accessibility options to VVVVVV.Show this thread -
You could reduce the game's speed, turn off screenshake and effects, freely lock or unlock content, and even make yourself invincible. I'm really glad I did this, and I just don't believe that it's ever hurt VVVVVV, a brutally hard retro inspired game, to have these options.
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If somebody beats Veni Vidi Vici at 50% speed with invincibility turned on, then: that's fantastic! It's still a great moment for that player. It has no bearing whatsoever on another player who does the same challenge with the default options.
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I made one big mistake, though: on some level, I was worried that some players might "ruin" the game on themselves by enabling these options, even if they didn't really have to. So, I tried to disincentivize it.
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I don't remember the exact language I used, but in the menu, the game said something along the lines of "these options are meant to make the game accessible to disabled players".
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I regret that. I should have just made the options available without the unnecessary guidance.
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When Super Hexagon came along years later, I thought about accessibility options again, and decided not to implement them.
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This whole game, I figured, is about mastery of challenge, and is probably not even going to be of interest to people who would use accessibility options. Making the game easier would ruin it, I thought. But I was wrong!
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I've had people throughout the years tell me that, once you've mastered Super Hexagon, it becomes this kind of zen, meditative thing. I've had people tell me they use it to focus, and deal with stress.
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I could have made that accessible to more people, but I didn't, and I regret it now.
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If you're a designer interested in making your games accessible to more people, here's a great list of things to keep in mind, from Special Effect: https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/accessible-gaming-wish-list …
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(As a footnote: my new game, Dicey Dungeons, is turn based and mouse controlled, and, I think, already very accessible to everyone - but I want to do more, and I'm very open to suggestions on how to improve it!)
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Via
@Alterior, another great resource: http://gameaccessibilityguidelines.comShow this thread
End of conversation
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