How do you get games accessibility right? You ask disabled players.

Together with GLITCH’s director of insights, I led a hybrid marketing and user research campaign called #HyperDotA11y. (HyperDot is the title of the game we were publishing, and #a11y is the numeronym shorthand used widely by accessibility advocates.)

HyperDot developer Charles McGregor’s design pillar of flexibility meant the game was remarkably accessible from the start. We decided to push it further and enlisted the help of games accessibility specialist Aderyn Thompson to design a remote user research project featuring disabled game streamers.

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“The accessible games community has a wonderful saying: nothing about us, without us. HyperDot’s team took this to heart, and their public research inspired me to take a similar approach for my work with the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order team.”

— James Berg, senior UX researcher at Electronic Arts

Players livestreamed their game sessions and gave live reactions on what was working and not working for them. Their feedback helped us identify and lower barriers to playing HyperDot for all players.

By taking our research out of the lab and putting it live on Twitch, we got to show the game off to viewers ahead of release, plus use streamers’ gameplay footage and live reactions for ongoing promotion. Demonstrating our commitment to making games accessible generated buzz among disabled players and accessibility advocates, giving HyperDot a foothold in these communities as well as a unique angle for media coverage.

Slide: #HyperDotA11y, How an Itty Bitty Indie Team Does Accessibility Research
#HyperDotA11y Goals: 1. Investigate barriers players face with HyperDot. 2. Identify updates we could make to increase the game's accessibility. 3. Position HyperDot as part of a counter-narrative to the debate about accessibility and difficulty mode
Slide: Research that's out of the box and out of the lab. Benefits to letting people participate where they're most comfortable: at home. Partnering with content creators gets a bigger, more diverse participant cohort than local research. Powerful to
Slide: Player guide. Play in a way that feels natural, starting with controller of choice. Provide impressions of the boot up process and the settings menu. Try to play five levels; keep going as long as you like. Talk about your experience.

Deep Dive

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How HyperDot made waves in accessibility research

Read on Xbox Wire
 
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Accessible design and focusing on the gaps in HyperDot

Read on GamesIndustry.biz
 
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HyperDot mobility accessibility review: 10/10

“HyperDot is perfect. Not only is it one of the most entertaining arcade games I've played in years, its hidden therapeutic qualities for physically disabled players cannot be emphasized enough.”

Read on Can I Play That
 
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HyperDot Deaf/HoH accessibility review: 10/10

“The Deaf/HoH accessibility is fantastic in that no part of this gorgeous game relies on sound. Visual cues are stellar and it’s just so damn pretty!”

Read on Can I Play That
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