All children should be able to game

Tofu is in a tight spot. The guide dog has ventured onto a rock in the middle of the river and can't make it down on his own. Five children immediately set off on a difficult rescue mission in the mountains. The special thing about it: all the protagonists of the game «The Unstoppables 2: Tofu in Danger!» have an individual disability. But the friends don't let this stop them and use their respective strengths to master the adventure together despite all the hurdles.

Melissa, for example, is blind, but she uses her cane to reach higher objects. Jan, on the other hand, may not be particularly fast, but the boy has bear strength and carries Achim up stairs in his wheelchair.

Like the first part of «Unstoppables», which was published ten years ago, this app was also created by «LerNetz », a company specialising in media-based learning, and the Cerebral Foundation, a charitable organisation that helps people with disabilities in Switzerland. To put it bluntly: there are very few digital offerings that are so skilful at making the issue of accessibility a playful experience for all children.

Raising awareness

However, inclusion and accessibility mean much more than simply breaking down prejudices and fears towards people with disabilities. More important are structural solutions that ultimately contribute to the quality of life of society as a whole by raising awareness of social cohesion, diversity and respect.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 1.8 million people in Switzerland live with a disability, including «around 10,000 children with a severe disability and a further 44,000 with a mild disability». According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - the latter of which has been in force in Switzerland since 2014 - they all have the right to play.

However, when it comes to inclusion and gaming, many people often lack understanding. Perhaps because they don't know children with disabilities or their needs, or perhaps because they have little interest in video games themselves. The answer is quite simple: nobody should be excluded because of an impairment. All children who can game should also be able to play. However, they repeatedly come up against considerable hurdles in the four areas of hearing, seeing, understanding and physical limitations.

In addition to improving accessibility, the focus on inclusion and gaming also pursues another goal: children with and without disabilities should play together.

A flagship project

Few initiatives are leading the way in this area as well as «Gaming without Borders», a project run by the Fachstelle für Jugendmedienkultur NRW in Germany. Since 2020, children and young people with and without disabilities have been meeting there to scrutinise games in terms of accessibility. Children without disabilities are made aware of what it feels like to play with these kinds of restrictions by being sensitised in a playful way using tricky aids. For example, to simulate motor barriers, they restrict the range of movement of their fingers with tape.

Even though a lot has changed, there are still far too many games that do not take barriers into account.

«I think the commitment of Gaming without Borders is great,» says Bettina Wegenast, President of PlayBern, an inclusive games festival. «I would also like to see something like this in Switzerland. After all, this initiative not only benefits people with specific disabilities, but also broadens the view of games in general.»

The festival, which takes place annually in Bern, combines the themes of «Games & Art», «Education» and «Accessibility». Passionate gamer Pesche Buri, who is in a wheelchair due to a progressive muscle disease, is also on the festival's board. «For me, inclusion means», he said in an interview with the online publication «Hauptstadt», «that people with a disability are simply part of normality.»

Gaming aids on the market

In order to play better, Pesche Buri had to modify his gamepad himself. The market now offers a range of assistive accessories such as the Xbox Adaptive Controller, the Logitech Adaptive Gaming Kit and the new Sony Access Controller. For more severe limitations, mouth-operated joysticks such as the Quad Stick or the Tobii Eye Tracker, which allows users to control with their eyes, are also available. Computers, but also common games consoles, allow - quite different - accessibility settings. Tablets with iOS and Android have also long offered operating aids.

It is particularly important for gamers with motor impairments to be able to change the assignment of the keys on the keyboard and controllers to suit their needs. Various visual adjustments would be possible, such as taking colour vision deficiencies into account, increasing contrast, enlarging important text passages or having them read aloud. Subtitles offer good support for children and young people with hearing impairments, especially if they can transcribe sounds as well as dialogue.

In order to make games accessible for a diverse gaming community and enable everyone to participate without restrictions, a rethink in game development has long been necessary. Even though there has been a lot of movement in the industry in recent years, there are unfortunately still far too many games that do not take barriers into account. What use are subtitles if the font is difficult to read in colour on the background?

Inclusion should therefore play an even more significant role in conceptualisation and game design. A look at Article 23 of the UN Convention on the Promotion of Children with Disabilities provides clarity: «States Parties recognise that a mentally or physically disabled child should lead a full and decent life in conditions that respect the child's dignity, promote the child's independence and facilitate the child's active participation in the life of the community.» That is a commitment!