the changes these rings implement are the exact features many disabled players need. Intended or not, this has already become an accessibility issue.

Geoffrey Bunting, Eurogamer

Having read the absurd reasoning for limiting the accessibility features in this way, I would not be as kind as Geoffrey Bunting is over on Eurogamer. It’s frankly embarrassing to have a grown ass man talking about their “gamer pride” as some sort of strength or virtue, doubly so to be used to justify the most needlessly restrictive and arsey way of implementing any accessibility at all.

The amount of extra work that goes in to a system like this vs a toggle is not slight either! I’d say it’s a complete self own, except games aren’t made by one person so it’s more just creating needless work for people just to make things worse for everyone else. Shameful really.

A reminder then that bodies break, illness happens, situations change and everyone is only ever a short hop away from their abilities changing. Ability isn’t something you can safely assume to be at a consistent level or a permanent state.

Temporary disability is a thing. Circumstances can easily shift too – having a kid about the place or whatever can shift your normal, what you can comfortably do without assistance. Life happens and it’s silly to pretend it doesn’t.

Not fighting against accessibility is as much an investment in future you as it is increasing the number of folks who can use a thing.

It’s a shame then that as the industry has been making great strides regarding accessibility features there’s still faintly influencial people in games coming out with this nonsense. Very videogames though. Very videogames.

if you are not interrogating more deeply how norms created by the markets that produce these rules, you are just giving the game industry a complete license to define what kind of experience is valid and what isn’t. this has much more serious implications when it comes to the ability for experiences to exist that would never be able to be made by large studios

Liz Ryerson, The California Problem

A long read from Liz that touches on – and discusses – the problems surrounding a vast number of interconnected things plaguing videogames. I wouldn’t even want to do it the injustice of trying to summarize it either.

As ever, Liz does a fantastic job of pinpointing things and cutting through the bullshit that videogames does rather like to indulge in. There’s a few points here and there where I’d say my own stance diverges a tad from Liz’s (and it is just a tad) but that’s for me to mull over, not a slight on this incredibly excellent and thoughtful essay.

It’s an essential, excellent, read. I’ve been super grateful for Liz’s contributions to games over the years and, well, nothing has changed there. Grab a drink and snack and do give this a read and if you have some spare cash, please consider Liz’s patreon.

\\………..//: The California Problem

ellaguro.blogspot.com