Disability acceptance and accessibility inclusion are on the rise in the gaming industry. In recent years, development studios have made efforts to include accessibility in their designs. Content creators and media outlets are beginning to shy away from treating disability-related stories as niche pieces. Yet industry events like conferences have notably lacked conversations about the disabled experience. That is, until the Game Accessibility Conference (GA Conf).
Founding and the Past
Ian Hamilton and Tara Voelker, the codirectors and founders of GA Conf, spoke to WIRED about the events that sparked the creation of the conference. After attending numerous other events that were either inaccessible to disabled attendees or failed to include meaningful talks or panels discussing accessibility, the two began the process of designing an inclusive event.
“The initial seed, I guess, was when Tara and I attended the Games for Health conference in Boston in 2012, which had a mini-track on game accessibility run by Ben Sawyer,” Hamilton says. “I think that really illustrated the potential. In the years following that, accessibility awareness was pretty low, and when there was accessibility content at mainstream game development events, it was usually a basic awareness raiser on what it was and why it mattered.”
Voelker echoes Hamilton’s statements. It wasn’t until 2015 when game studios and event planners truly thought about incorporating accessibility and disability inclusion.
“Accessibility talks at mainstream dev events had stagnated, and the events themselves weren't really interested in pushing it forward,” Voelker says. “It was always at the 101 level, in part because more advanced talks being submitted to the conferences were being rejected or told to make it more introductory. That was incredibly frustrating to see. By having a dedicated conference, we could ensure those talks had a space.”
The event began in 2017, and since then, GA Conf has continued to educate developers and disabled players alike on the intricacies of accessible game design and proper disability inclusion and representation. Since its launch, the conference added a European event, as well as hosted presentations from developers at Sony, EA, Microsoft, and even from the FCC. But aside from educating the public, many talks and panels explore the meaningful connections between games and disabled individuals. Hamilton recalls one specific incident that eventually culminated in a collaboration for one of the most critically acclaimed accessible games to date.
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“Brandon Cole is a funny guy, and he was joking about how he was opening for [the developer] Naughty Dog. He idly mentioned that he'd love to be able to play a game like Uncharted or The Last of Us as a blind gamer,” Hamilton says. “Then Naughty Dog got on stage, and they said they weren't sure whether games like that could be made blind-accessible, but they'd love to chat. Sure enough, a few years later, The Last of Us 2 arrived with a suite of accessibility considerations that turned the industry on its head, including being fully accessible to blind gamers—and sure enough, Brandon was listed as a consultant.”
2021 Panels and Talks
Cole’s networking opportunity demonstrates both the willingness of the gaming industry to work with disabled individuals, as well as the importance of events like GA Conf to help facilitate these conversations. And as the conference completes its fourth year, more studios and disabled speakers are using the event as a platform to raise awareness and share ideas.
This year the conference hosted a range of talks, including a session with Insomniac Games, a 10-year reflection on accessibility from Steve Saylor, and a panel discussing the barriers that those with motor disabilities encounter while gaming. Other notable highlights include the origins and success of Can I Play That, a gaming news and review site focused on accessibility, presented by founder and owner Courtney Craven, and a brief discussion hosted by Ian Hamilton on incorrect assumptions about game difficulty, barriers, and accessibility. Each conversation is necessary to advancing accessibility and disability awareness in gaming. Whether attendees are viewing a panel featuring personal anecdotes or a talk discussing the intricacies of accessibility settings, knowledge is being shared.
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One talk during this year’s conference asked the industry to remain cognizant of developments, especially to ensure that advances are still helping disabled players. Cherry Thompson, accessibility project manager at Ubisoft, is no stranger to GA Conf. With several years of presentations ranging from proper disability representation to an open letter of adoration and cultural importance, Thompson demonstrates the necessity and importance of accessibility and disability inclusion. This year’s conversation continued to remind developers to respect and notice disabled players.
“Where this talk starts out is recognizing that we’re not doing this alone,” Thompson says. “Games are very unique. The challenge of accessibility in games is different to any other challenge in accessibility. We can look literally anywhere else to see where things are done right, or where things aren’t done so right, or where things even maybe harm the disability community, so that we can know what pitfalls to avoid, and it also gives us good ideas for what directions to go in.”
Where GA Conf Goes From Here
Working on accessibility makes Thompson keenly aware of methods that should be avoided, particularly in relation to game design. Aside from the daunting task of asking the entire industry to reflect on advances in accessibility and how they impact disabled players, Thompson wants to shift the focus of accessibility from options to inclusive design. While accessibility settings and features are necessary, and “will always be integral to accessibility,” they say the industry’s reliance on them can be detrimental.
“Whether options are the center of accessibility is another question,” they say. “Right now, options are the approach we’re taking, and this is where I think we’re heading in a difficult direction. Accessibility isn’t options, and options cannot carry the weight of all of accessibility. That’s partly because, as I say in the talk, accessibility isn’t a tangible thing, it’s something that exists whether we do anything about it or not.”
Thompson is speaking about the uniqueness and personal aspect of being a disabled individual. Accessibility arises from the interaction of a disabled person with any inaccessible thing. And what is deemed accessible for some is not for others. This alone is why options are necessary, but they need to become an integral part of the game itself, rather than a feature bolted on from the outside.
“Will options continue to look the same in 10 years? That’s what I really want everyone to think about,” Thompson says. “The way options are approached, the way they’re presented to players, the way they work, as kind of this thing on the side or on top of the game—this is how they’ve been since games have existed. Is that the right approach, or do options deserve to be moving into the future at the same pace as the rest of our design?”
Thompson’s hope for in-game accessibility options is the eventual “complete overhaul of what they are,” and what that future will look like is hard to say. But it’s these talks and conversations that allow the games industry to think critically, brainstorm, and ultimately advance when it comes to design, accessibility, and properly supporting gamers in the disability community. GA Conf isn’t just another developer conference that cannot be understood by the masses. Instead, Ian Hamilton and Tara Voelker’s event brings disabled people’s ideas, critiques, and concerns to the studios and developers that can create these accessible experiences.
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“That's why the event exists, to help drive the industry forward,” Hamilton says. “And key to that is offering a place for the community to come together, to reenergize, to learn, to share, to find support, to find collaborators, to not feel alone in their fight. Ultimately the event is just a few days of facilitation. The change is being driven by the developers, the advocates, the people at the “coalface” for all the other 361 days of the year. So if we can continue to help make those people's lives just that little bit easier, then I think we can be happy that our hopes for the future have been met.”
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