2012 turned out to be a very encouraging year for game accessibility. They saw big-name studios adopting the game accessibility guidelines of including — and by doing so — creating some of the most disability-friendly video games to date.
Surprisingly, EA Sports’ FIFA 13 has earned the honor of being 2012’s Accessible Mainstream Game of the Year. “For disabled gamers with Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, and even one-handed gamers,” the announcement reads, “the ability to play such a sophisticated sports game with simple controls that can be handled by a trackball or mouse mean gamers who may not have been able to enjoy iconic sporting activities like baseball, football, hockey or soccer can now take part in the fun.”
FIFA 13 is the first high-end mainstream sports game to allow users to control the entire game with only a mouse. For disabled gamers with Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, and even one-handed gamers, the ability to play such a sophisticated sports game with simple controls that can be handled by a trackball or mouse mean gamers who may not have been able to enjoy iconic sporting activities like baseball, football, hockey or soccer can now take part in the fun.
Features including remappable keys, customizable color options, high contrast and intuitive menus, visual cues for all audio input and high socializing replayability tipped the scales in favor of the English football game.
But the number one reason FIFA 13 came out on top is the inclusion of perhaps the most powerful feature seen in any game to date. By manipulating the games AI and PC settings, disabled gamers can tailor the game to their needs. The entire game can be slowed down. The computer can be set to perform slower and with less efficiency. Player controlled avatars can utilize additional speed, accuracy and shot power.
For those with cognitive disorders and motor impairments, the ability to set the game to an acceptable rate of speed enables those with even the most severe of disabilities.
AbleGamers congratulates Electronic Arts on their fourth and most impressive win. On behalf of the more than 33 million disabled gamers, we thank EA for accepting the game accessibility guidelines of Includification with open arms and utilizing the disability communitys suggestions on how to improve game accessibility.
