The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has launched the Accessible Games Initiative, a groundbreaking "tag" system designed to enhance video game accessibility for consumers. Announced at the Game Developers Conference, this initiative is backed by a coalition including Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and Ubisoft, with additional support from Amazon, Riot Games, Square Enix, and WB Games. The ESA will oversee the initiative, which aims to provide clear information on accessibility features through 24 specific tags.
These tags will be displayed alongside game information on digital storefronts and product pages, helping players identify games with features like "clear text," "large and clear subtitles," "narrated menus," "stick inversion," "save anytime," "difficulty levels," and "playable without button holds," among others. This initiative is a significant step towards inclusivity in gaming, ensuring that players with disabilities can easily find games that cater to their needs.
Stanley Pierre-Louis, ESA's president and CEO, emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, “Tens of millions of Americans have a disability and often face barriers to experiencing the joy and connection that comes with playing video games. We are immensely proud to announce the Accessible Games Initiative in partnership with industry leaders. This initiative demonstrates how impactful we can be when we work together in our industry-wide pursuit of helping more people experience the power of play.”
The rollout of these tags will occur gradually, on a company-by-company basis, and is initially available in English only. Over time, the ESA may introduce more tags or refine existing ones to further enhance accessibility.
Accessible Games Initiative Tags:
Auditory Features
Tag: Multiple Volume Controls
Description: Separate volume controls are available for different types of sounds, such as music, speech, sound effects, background audio, text-to-speech audio, accessibility audio cues, and voice chat. Additionally, all game sounds can be adjusted simultaneously with one volume control.
Tag: Mono Sound
Description: This feature allows you to play with mono audio, where the same audio is sent to all channels, effectively providing a single, combined audio channel.
Tag: Stereo Sound
Description: With stereo audio, sounds indicate their left or right origin, but do not convey depth or direction from above, below, ahead, or behind.
Tag: Surround Sound
Description: Surround sound enables audio to communicate the origin of sounds from any direction, enhancing the immersive experience.
Tag: Narrated Menus
Description: This feature supports screen readers or voice narration for menus and notifications, allowing you to navigate menus one item at a time with announced interactions and context changes.
Tag: Chat Speech-to-Text & Text-to-Speech
Description: This dual-purpose tag enables real-time narration of text chats and text transcripts of voice chats, facilitating communication for players with auditory or visual impairments.
Gameplay Features
Tag: Difficulty Levels
Description: Players can choose from multiple difficulty options, including at least one that reduces the intensity of challenges, with clear descriptions of the differences between levels.
Tag: Save Anytime
Description: This feature allows manual saving at any time, except during game-saving or loading, or when saving could lead to game-breaking scenarios.
Input Features
Tag: Basic Input Remapping
Description: Players can rearrange button controls, either by swapping or using another method. This differs from "Full Input Remapping," which allows remapping of all game controls across various input methods.
Tag: Full Input Remapping
Description: This tag enables complete remapping of all game controls for all supported input methods, including keyboard, mouse, controllers, and virtual on-screen controllers, with the ability to swap controller stick functionality.
Tag: Stick Inversion
Description: Players can invert the direction of thumbsticks or flight sticks, affecting game movement in up/down and left/right directions.
Tag: Playable without Button Holds
Description: The game can be played without holding digital inputs, though some analog inputs may still require holds.
Tag: Playable without Rapid Button Presses
Description: This feature eliminates the need for repetitive button actions like button mashing and quick-time events.
Tag: Playable with Keyboard Only
Description: The game can be fully played using only a keyboard, without any other devices.
Tag: Playable with Mouse Only
Description: Players can use only a mouse, including adaptive technology that maps to mouse inputs.
Tag: Playable with Buttons Only
Description: The game and menus can be controlled using only digital inputs, where the pressure applied does not affect the controls.
Tag: Playable with Touch Only
Description: This feature allows gameplay using only touch controls, without the need for non-touch inputs like buttons or analog sticks.
Tag: Playable Without Motion Controls
Description: Players can enjoy the game without using motion controls.
Tag: Playable Without Touch Controls
Description: The game can be played without using touchpads or touchscreens.
Visual Features
Tag: Chat Speech-to-Text & Text-to-Speech
Description: This tag, which also appears under auditory features, enables real-time narration of text chats and text transcripts of voice chats, aiding players with visual or auditory impairments.
Tag: Clear Text
Description: Text in menus, control panels, and settings is displayed at a reasonable size with adjustable contrast, using less stylized fonts or options for font change.
Tag: Large Text
Description: This feature allows for the use of a large font size in menus, control panels, and settings, relative to the device's screen resolution and typical viewing distance.
Tag: Large & Clear Subtitles
Description: Subtitles for all dialogue are available, with text at a reasonable size, adjustable background transparency, and non-overlapping placement with important game elements. The font can be less stylized or changed.
Tag: Color Alternatives
Description: Important information is communicated using shape, pattern, icons, or text instead of color, or color can be adjusted.
Tag: Camera Comfort
Description: This feature ensures no camera effects that may cause discomfort or harm, such as shaking, swaying, bobbing, motion blur, camera speed, or forced narrative-based movement, or these effects can be turned off or adjusted.
