Universal Design in Video Games

Over the past several decades, video games have captured an ever-growing share of public interest, experiencing exponential growth as a form of entertainment. With the burgeoning numbers of gamers globally, the industry has increasingly turned its focus toward improving accessibility and inclusivity. Yet, even as video games capture the imagination of billions, a considerable portion of the populace faces obstacles that prevent full engagement with this medium. These challenges arise from a complex web of factors—ranging from personal circumstances to physical and cognitive conditions. There is, therefore, a pressing need to confront and mitigate these barriers, aiming to make video games universally accessible and inclusive. In Chap. 2, we will conduct a comprehensive design analysis and introduce the Attainable Game Experience Framework—a resource designed to significantly influence your game creation process. Within this framework, we will spotlight four foundational design heuristics and examine their applicability across diverse gaming scenarios. Additionally, we will outline strategies for crafting universally designed video games that can accommodate a wide-ranging audience. Our discussion will be situated within the broader context of the video game design landscape. The primary objective of this chapter is to equip you with critical insights and guidelines that will facilitate your navigation through the complexities of accessibility and inclusivity. Armed with this knowledge, you will be better positioned to develop high-quality video games that resonate with a more extensive and diverse audience.

This chapter examines the pivotal role of investigating the implications and practices that shape an attainable gaming experience (AGE) design, emphasizing the need for an in-depth understanding of interaction interface design and a comprehensive data collection strategy. The chapter explores informed design philosophies that are instrumental in how they manifest hedonic or utilitarian design intentions. Special focus is placed on achieving a balanced integration of these design philosophies to deliver universally appealing gaming experiences. Detailed guidelines and methodologies are provided for initiating design investigations specifically tailored for AGE-focused projects. This chapter argues that a robust approach concerning the data collection and analysis ensures high-quality interaction interface design and helps advance the principles of inclusivity and accessibility, thereby broadening the appeal and reach of video games to diverse player demographics.

The advent of device-agnostic gaming platforms has revolutionized the industry by enabling seamless cross-platform functionality, thus freeing game developers from the constraints of specific hardware environments. This shift has democratized access to interactive digital experiences, significantly expanding the potential player base. However, challenges such as optimizing for diverse screen sizes and resolutions, ensuring consistent gameplay experiences across devices, and designing innate, responsive control mechanisms remain. These Assistive Technologies can be used in myriad ways to enhance and craft an immersive, distinct gaming experience that transcends the limitations of the platform on which it is played. However, we will explain how to use it to include a broader audience for your video game. This chapter delves into various Assistive Technologies that we and our peers in game development and academia have successfully employed to captivate a broader gaming audience. These technologies are categorized into three overarching dimensions: Visual, Ergonomic, and Audio. Within each category, we highlight exemplary implementations as well as potential obstacles that developers may face when integrating these assistive solutions. We conclude by exploring emerging areas of interest in Assistive Technologies and adaptive Input Controllers, setting the stage for future innovations in accessible and inclusive video gaming.

This chapter focuses on the design directives and design constraints within the four heuristics of AGE and the critical need to balance them for accomplishing the development of universally accessible and inclusive video games. It argues that AGE heuristics serve not merely as guidelines but as a dynamic scaffold that provides foundational insights for informed design decisions. This chapter explores how such a balanced approach transcends conventional accessibility, leading to the creation of games that are deeply responsive to the diverse needs of a wide player base. Through this balance, the chapter underscores the industry's ongoing commitment to Universal Design principles, advocating for a gaming landscape where players of all abilities can engage and participate.

This chapter delves into the methodology for conducting an Attainable Gaming Experience (AGE) design assessment, applicable to video game artifacts at various stages of development—from inception to completion. The chapter explores the advantages and disadvantages of adopting a multimodal approach for evaluating AGE design, aiming to ensure that the game experience is accessible to a diverse audience. It further contrasts the effectiveness of expert testers with specialized knowledge against employing community testers who represent a range of physical, sensory, or cognitive conditions. Additionally, the chapter provides a comprehensive outline of crucial considerations within these assessments, guided by the four core AGE design heuristics.

In the last decade, the concepts “serious games” and “gamification”—ergo, game-based artifacts that harbor purposes that go beyond entertainment—have attracted increased public interest, acceptance, and adoption and have consequently undergone an exponential growth. Although with the growing prevalence and influence of these two game-based siblings in diverse areas such as sustainability, community engagement, corporate training, healthcare, governmental initiatives, and perhaps most consequential, formal education, it also becomes imperative to ensure that the “serious games” and “gamification” artifacts furnished experiences are attainable for its targeted audience. Simultaneously, these game-based concepts possess a multifaceted nature. Besides promoting an entertaining experience for the participants, they frequently encompass ideas that promote growth in participants’ task performance, positively encourage sustainable behaviors, and stimulate the acquisition of new skills or the refinement of previously mastered competencies. Such utilitarian objectives differentiate game-based artifacts from the design space of traditional video games, as they must align with distinctive design directives and constraints postulated by their intended context. This chapter will comprehensively analyze the enablers and barriers that can impact your creation of game-based artifacts. Furthermore, it examines the appropriateness of serious games and gamification across varied scenarios and outlines strategies for crafting universally designed, inclusive games that cater to a broad audience. We aim to provide you with essential directions and insights to help you navigate these factors more easily and confidently. By doing so, you will be better equipped to produce top-quality game-based artifacts that are engaging and entertaining but also impactful, and effective.

The domain of extended reality (XR) has undergone considerable advancements and has brought forth an assortment of gaming experiences that cater to both hedonic and utilitarian contexts. In this chapter, we delve into the various aspects of XR technologies and explore their potential for making their highly immersive gaming experiences more accessible to audiences across diverse levels. We examine the technological innovations that have broadened the scope of XR and discuss its growing influence in the gaming industry. Moreover, we explore the remarkable impact of virtual reality (VR) on gaming, analyzing its potential for engaging players while highlighting the challenges it poses. Lastly, we outline the design directives and constraints for XR game applications that can be used by individuals with different conditions or those seeking to engage in such games. Finally, we emphasize the essentiality of accessibility and inclusivity in the development and deployment of XR game technologies, particularly in the gaming sector. Through this comprehensive overview, we aim to shed light on the multifaceted roles and transformative potential of XR in contemporary society.

Exergames offers an exciting avenue for game developers both in terms of heightening the player experience and promoting health-related outcomes. Common to all exergames is the use of movements during gameplay. Previous research has shown that by incorporating movements into gameplay can facilitate the additional enjoyment, immersion, and game challenge of exergames. Balancing the inclusion of movements with the already complex terrain of the game design introduces new challenges that exergame designers need to be aware of, especially in striving for a universally attainable game experience. Consequently, design constraints and attainable game design heuristics need to be understood in light of the exergames’ movement-based nature. This chapter introduces the concept of exergames, what they are, how they vary from one another, and the complicated dynamics that can arise in combining enjoyment with utilitarian purposes behind movements. Thereafter exergames are discussed in relation to the Universal Design perspective and the AGE framework presented in Chap. 2. The purpose of the chapter is to provide you with insights about the unique nature of exergames compared to non-movement-based games and what it can imply in striving toward attainable exergame experiences.