The British Institute for the Blind has released a dev kit to enhance the accessibility of games for people with visual impairments
The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) is calling on game developers to join their initiative to create an inclusive environment for visually impaired and blind gamers. To support this, the organization has released guidelines on integrating relevant features into their projects.
Spectrum Shift
This devkit includes recommendations on how to implement:
- voice-over menus;
- high-contrast modes and color adaptation for colorblind users;
- scalable user interfaces;
- haptic feedback (e.g., through controllers);
- in-game navigation through audio cues and audio descriptions;
- a co-pilot system for co-op gameplay and much more.
Additionally, RNIB has supplemented these practices with examples of their implementation in games like The Last of Us, God of War: Ragnarok, Sea of Thieves, Diablo IV, Star Wars Jedi Survivor, and others.
According to RNIB representatives, the devkit is intended to be a desktop reference for interested developers. "It will help create exciting, fully accessible games that cater to the needs of visually impaired players while maintaining technical integrity," they explained on the institute's website.
Moreover, in collaboration with the marketing agency The&Partnership and web studio HeX Productions, the organization developed Spectrum Shift—a browser-based adventure game—to demonstrate how these features can be applied in real projects.
As part of this initiative, RNIB has also established its own testing group, which is open for collaboration with representatives of the gaming industry. The group consists of visually impaired gamers.
