Accessibility options in GameMaker

N

nlacroixcforp

Guest
Howdy,

I'm currently researching for one of my upcoming project.

A law here forces developpers to make our projects accessible to everyone. (vision or hearing impaired, colorblind, etc.)

I was wondering if accessibility options in this software is someting that is possible. Are we able to access elements inside the game through the code? For example, can I put an alt txt on a img? Or would a screen reader software be compatible with games done on this?

Thanks alot for any informations,

Nicolas L
 

RangerX

Member
Depends the level of accomodation you absolutely have to go through.
Making a game that is fine for colorblind people shouldn't be too hard. You basically care about the luminosity of colors instead of their RGB combination.
As for displaying text as images, I wonder who that does help?
 

Genetix

Member
Where exactly could there be a law forcing developers to accommodate to everyone? That seems impossible, and broad. I think it is good to find ways to help out players with disabilities and to keep them in mind, but I am also wondering what planet you are developing games from?

Technically, it depends on what you need to do (outside of the question of why) - text over an image is a simple feature you can build in - if you do have specific tasks you want to accomplish I'd be willing to help.
 

Roa

Member
I will double.

That sounds ridiculous. Accommodating by law for disability by any standards is pretty invasive in the first place, but the fact that this is such a broad scope that it would literally be impossible to include all options takes it that much further. You know how many pieces of software wouldn't exist if this law had basis? Where do you even live and what laws are you specifically looking at cause I would like to believe you're misinterpreting something here.

Making reasonable accommodation like color blind options is really all anyone does, most people don't even do that. The people that do, do so out of courtesy, NOT because mandates.

You sure you're not specifically looking at government or learning software?
 

Phil Strahl

Member
For example, can I put an alt txt on a img? Or would a screen reader software be compatible with games done on this?
You should look into screen-reader software and their APIs but I doubt that it's possible with sandboxed games to properly access them without doing some crazy code gymnastics. It would be easier (although still a lot of work) to, say, have the gameplay back a recorded sound when hovering over objects, etc.

Regarding accessibility in general, here are some resources that I found very helpful:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Yal

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
From my experiences with colorblind people (my dad is completely colorblind), the main thing that creates issues is when the only thing that delivers information is the color of an object. The octorok shooter game in Majora's Mask, more or less all 'match 3' puzzles, RPGs where enemies are just repaletted to signify them being stronger... or for that matter, RPGs that show changes after equipping something only by coloring text red or green depending on if it's a change for the better or worse. You should always convey information mainly though shape, and only use color for highlights or an aesthetic touch. Many modern games don't just color their fire monsters red and their electric monsters yellow, they also add effects where the fire monsters emit cinder particles and the electric monsters' skin have small electric discharges every once in a while. Small touches like that add a lot of 'shape' to a difference if done right.
 
Top