From chad at anacronist.com Mon Jul 6 00:42:28 2020 From: chad at anacronist.com (Chad Philip Johnson) Date: Sun, 5 Jul 2020 23:42:28 -0700 Subject: [games_access] Overwhelmingly Positive Press for Accessibility Achievements in The Last of Us Part 2 Message-ID: Here are just a few selections: THE LAST OF US PART II ISN?T JUST NAUGHTY DOG?S MOST AMBITIOUS GAME ? IT?S THE MOST ACCESSIBLE, TOO A look at how the studio is trying to expand the audience for the PS4 game https://www.theverge.com/21274923/the-last-of-us-part-2-accessibility-features-naughty-dog-interview-ps4 The Last of Us Part II: Accessibility features detailed 60+ settings make this Naughty Dog's most accessible game yet. https://blog.playstation.com/2020/06/09/the-last-of-us-part-ii-accessibility-features-detailed/ Video game 'The Last of Us Part II' advances accessibility options for gamers who have disabilities In 'The Last of Us Part II' video game there are 60 accessibility settings, including hearing options, features for low-vision and blind players. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2020/07/01/the-last-us-part-ii-video-game-accessibility/3223646001/ Blind/Low Vision Game Review ? The Last of Us Part II The Last of Us Part II is one of the most anticipated titles of the year. A great sequel deserves great accessibility. This is our Blind/Low Vision accessibility review. https://www.gameaccessibilitynexus.com/blog/2020/06/12/blind-low-vision-game-review-the-last-of-us-part-ii/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chad at anacronist.com Mon Jul 6 01:18:54 2020 From: chad at anacronist.com (Chad Philip Johnson) Date: Mon, 6 Jul 2020 00:18:54 -0700 Subject: [games_access] Blind Accessibility in The Last of Us Part 2 Message-ID: <8d4567c7-f136-6ae6-219c-cb500f42f37c@anacronist.com> Steve Saylor's reactions to the accessibility features The Last of Us Part 2 were featured in a CNN article: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/us/the-last-of-us-part-ii-accessibility-options-blind-gamer-trnd/index.html SightlessKombat's has shared his great successes with the game, and made a video demonstrating how the game is blind accessible: https://mobile.twitter.com/sightlessKombat/status/1276992407708618753 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STaiSTqkGHQ And on a related note, he shared a very compelling idea yesterday about how all remakes and remasters could also receive accessibility overhauls: https://mobile.twitter.com/sightlessKombat/status/1279407870250016768 Plus a pair of blind accessibility reviews for The Last of Us Part 2: Blind/Low Vision Game Review ? The Last of Us Part II The Last of Us Part II is one of the most anticipated titles of the year. A great sequel deserves great accessibility. This is our Blind/Low Vision accessibility review. https://www.gameaccessibilitynexus.com/blog/2020/06/12/blind-low-vision-game-review-the-last-of-us-part-ii/ The Last of Us 2 ? Blind Accessibility Review https://caniplaythat.com/2020/06/18/the-last-of-us-2-review-blind-accessibility/ -- Chad From chad at anacronist.com Wed Jul 8 15:03:01 2020 From: chad at anacronist.com (Chad Philip Johnson) Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2020 14:03:01 -0700 Subject: [games_access] GamesIndustry.biz Article on Silver Gamers Message-ID: GamesIndustry recently posted a good article on Silver Gamers from Wilhelm Taht of GSN Games: How to successfully cater to older players https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-07-06-how-to-successfully-cater-to-older-players A few excerpts: // /In 2018, people aged 65+ outnumbered children under five years old globally for the first time in history (Deutsche Welle). By 2050, over 16% of the world's population will be 65 years or older (United Nations). And even as far back as 2012, reports showed us that over 70% of US disposable income is controlled by individuals aged 65 and above (Nielsen). ... / /Let's face it: the older we get, the worse our eyesight becomes. Glaucoma, presbyopia, dryness, age-related macular degeneration, temporal arteritis, cataracts; these are all there waiting for us as potential challenges as we age./ /... / /It is imperative that you communicate with older players to gain a firm understanding of how they view and ultimately understand your content. Don't settle for doing superficial high-level online or in-game surveys, or polls on social media. Communicate with the players in depth, and really get to know them./ /... / /It can be a challenge to minimize the amount of things we want to say and make sure the interesting parts get all the attention. Readability thus becomes something you end up iterating on a lot until the shipping of a game./ -- Chad -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From i_h at hotmail.com Mon Jul 13 05:41:13 2020 From: i_h at hotmail.com (Ian Hamilton) Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2020 11:41:13 +0000 Subject: [games_access] GAconf 2020 Message-ID: September 28th-29th, fully online, and free to view - https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/366177/Online_edition_of_the_Game_Accessibility_Conference_announced.php Ian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jamesberg at ea.com Thu Jul 16 15:22:52 2020 From: jamesberg at ea.com (Berg, James) Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2020 21:22:52 +0000 Subject: [games_access] The Last Of Us 2 In-Reply-To: <3710AA54-2FE5-47C3-9036-49504BC87C73@westin.nu> References: , <3710AA54-2FE5-47C3-9036-49504BC87C73@westin.nu> Message-ID: Ian compiled a lot of the responses: https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/IanHamilton/20200714/366315/Gamer_response_to_TLOU2s_accessibility.php Cheers! James Berg (he/him) Senior UX Researcher ________________________________ From: games_access on behalf of Thomas Westin Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2020 12:14 PM To: Ian Hamilton Cc: games_access at lists.igda.org Subject: Re: [games_access] The Last Of Us 2 Very cool. I would like to know what the blind gaming community thinks of it; I suppose some blind gamers have been involved in the design process? /thomas On 9Jun 2020, at 23:38, Ian Hamilton > wrote: This is a biggie! Tons of accessibility accommodations, info on all of them shared before launch, including some video overviews. The features include it being fully accessible to blind gamers through audio/haptic cues and text to speech, which I believe is a first for a AAA. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/the-last-of-us-part-ii-ps4/accessibility/ Ian _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at lists.igda.org http://lists.igda.org/mailman/listinfo/games_access_lists.igda.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From i_h at hotmail.com Thu Jul 16 15:48:52 2020 From: i_h at hotmail.com (Ian Hamilton) Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2020 21:48:52 +0000 Subject: [games_access] The Last Of Us 2 In-Reply-To: References: , <3710AA54-2FE5-47C3-9036-49504BC87C73@westin.nu>, Message-ID: Definitely worth having a play Thomas, there's some similar stuff in there to in Terraformers ? And yep they worked with one 100% blind consultant and two legally blind consultants, and did user research with a bunch more VI folk. It isn't perfect by any means but it's a huge step forwards for AAA ________________________________ From: Berg, James Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2020 10:22:52 PM To: Thomas Westin ; Ian Hamilton Cc: games_access at lists.igda.org Subject: Re: [games_access] The Last Of Us 2 Ian compiled a lot of the responses: https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/IanHamilton/20200714/366315/Gamer_response_to_TLOU2s_accessibility.php Cheers! James Berg (he/him) Senior UX Researcher ________________________________ From: games_access on behalf of Thomas Westin Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2020 12:14 PM To: Ian Hamilton Cc: games_access at lists.igda.org Subject: Re: [games_access] The Last Of Us 2 Very cool. I would like to know what the blind gaming community thinks of it; I suppose some blind gamers have been involved in the design process? /thomas On 9Jun 2020, at 23:38, Ian Hamilton > wrote: This is a biggie! Tons of accessibility accommodations, info on all of them shared before launch, including some video overviews. The features include it being fully accessible to blind gamers through audio/haptic cues and text to speech, which I believe is a first for a AAA. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/the-last-of-us-part-ii-ps4/accessibility/ Ian _______________________________________________ games_access mailing list games_access at lists.igda.org http://lists.igda.org/mailman/listinfo/games_access_lists.igda.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thomas at westin.nu Mon Jul 20 09:06:26 2020 From: thomas at westin.nu (Thomas Westin) Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 17:06:26 +0200 Subject: [games_access] The Last Of Us 2 In-Reply-To: References: <3710AA54-2FE5-47C3-9036-49504BC87C73@westin.nu> Message-ID: <850AC63F-693D-40EF-BC8A-73B837281835@westin.nu> Nice to hear, and while I haven?t had the chance to try it yet (I only have a PS4 at work) it looks very impressive indeed. Best, Thomas > On 16Jul 2020, at 23:48, Ian Hamilton wrote: > > Definitely worth having a play Thomas, there's some similar stuff in there to in Terraformers ? > > And yep they worked with one 100% blind consultant and two legally blind consultants, and did user research with a bunch more VI folk. > > It isn't perfect by any means but it's a huge step forwards for AAA > From: Berg, James > > Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2020 10:22:52 PM > To: Thomas Westin >; Ian Hamilton > > Cc: games_access at lists.igda.org > > Subject: Re: [games_access] The Last Of Us 2 > > Ian compiled a lot of the responses: > https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/IanHamilton/20200714/366315/Gamer_response_to_TLOU2s_accessibility.php > > Cheers! > James Berg (he/him) > Senior UX Researcher > From: games_access > on behalf of Thomas Westin > > Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2020 12:14 PM > To: Ian Hamilton > > Cc: games_access at lists.igda.org > > Subject: Re: [games_access] The Last Of Us 2 > > Very cool. I would like to know what the blind gaming community thinks of it; > I suppose some blind gamers have been involved in the design process? > /thomas > >> On 9Jun 2020, at 23:38, Ian Hamilton > wrote: >> >> This is a biggie! Tons of accessibility accommodations, info on all of them shared before launch, including some video overviews. >> >> The features include it being fully accessible to blind gamers through audio/haptic cues and text to speech, which I believe is a first for a AAA. >> >> https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/the-last-of-us-part-ii-ps4/accessibility/ >> >> Ian >> _______________________________________________ >> games_access mailing list >> games_access at lists.igda.org >> http://lists.igda.org/mailman/listinfo/games_access_lists.igda.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chad at anacronist.com Mon Jul 20 14:15:32 2020 From: chad at anacronist.com (Chad Philip Johnson) Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 13:15:32 -0700 Subject: [games_access] New GASIG Facebook Group Message-ID: <9ff0a794-3c84-b448-c034-5049d0f61857@anacronist.com> Hello all, Am?liane (@AmelianeFC) has created a new Facebook group for the SIG that can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gameaccessibilityigda Many of the group's initial members are likely to be GA professionals and advocates who previously belonged to a much larger gamedev Facebook group (which is in the process of shutting down). This new group will allow for these accessibility discussions to continue, plus it will offer an alternative to Twitter and Discord for SIG members who tend to be more active on Facebook. Am?liane will be running the group and I will be helping out as needed. -- Chad From i_h at hotmail.com Fri Jul 24 01:54:03 2020 From: i_h at hotmail.com (Ian Hamilton) Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2020 07:54:03 +0000 Subject: [games_access] GAconf registration live Message-ID: The talks will be free to view without registration, but you'll need to register if you would like to take part in the networking chat and/or get reminders of the login details for the talks. The first batch of speakers has been announced too, with lots more to come - http://www.gaconf.com/speakers Ian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: