Title: Game Accessibility: Where We Are & Where We Need to Go!
There are approximately 2.5-3 billion gamers in the world, i.e., half the world’s population – excluding users of gamification, serious games, educational games, etc., who might not all play games. Of these , at least a third experiences a disability, or a body different from that of the “ideal gamer”, and hence experience unnecessary barrier to their use of game technologies. This threatens to exclude a large number of people – many of us really as we age – from game-related space that not only offer entertainment, but also socialization, education, culture, and much more! In this talk, I will briefly explore what game accessibility is, who it benefits, some of its key guidelines, as well as what we need to research and develop next to ensure a gaming world without inclusion barrier. This discussion is based on an extensive, systematic literature study, as well as findings from on going research with people with disabilities and game developers.
Digital Games Research Association, India 