The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the adverse effects of social isolation, including depression, poor sleep quality, impaired executive function, accelerated cognitive decline, poor cardiovascular function, and impaired immunity at every stage of life. Unfortunately, social isolation has been an ongoing epidemic prior to the pandemic for many people with disabilities, which is why AbleGamers, a nonprofit organization, has spent the last 16 years advocating for inclusion across the gaming industry.
To promote inclusion and accessibility, AbleGamers provides training and consultation to production studios to remove barriers that people with disabilities experience, and creates opportunities for individuals with disabilities to fully participate in the gaming community; with impressive results. According to the AbleGamers Impact page, since their founding, AbleGamers has:
What is particularly impressive about that list of accomplishments is the development of the APX (Accessible Player Experience). According to the AbleGamers landing page for APX, through the development of the APX, the organization has identified 12 design patterns that ensure a player has the ability to modify their experience to their unique needs.
For example, players with cognitive disabilities may need to reduce the number of controls to create a more memorable interface, while players with upper limb disabilities may need to map several actions to a single action to complete the sequence. This is a design problem in which players cannot successfully complete a sequence of actions required to proceed further in the game. According to APX's "Do More With Less" Design Pattern, designers should allow players to reduce the number of actions required so they can successfully progress. Providing the user this adaptability and flexibility is also found in other types of accommodation and accessibility best practices.
Over the past decade, the gaming industry has undergone a positive transformation that promotes inclusivity — success that may not have been achieved without organizations such as AbleGamers. AbleGamers has identified 5 pillars to combat social isolation through gaming:
For players with disabilities that need help gaming, visit AbleGamers. Individuals with disabilities that want to make games accessible can work alongside game developers by joining the Player Panels.
To learn how to make games that are more accessible or to receive input from players with disabilities on your designs, visit Accessible.Games.
If you are interested in helping AbleGamers continue their important work removing accessibility barriers to the gaming industry to decrease social isolation and create a more inclusive world, visit AbleGames donation page.