General Gaming ‘God of War’ Director Explains Why Accessibility Is Not a Compromise

[Ghost_MH]

1 minute ago, Bacon said:

That wasn't my point. My point was that it IS just cheats under a different name. It is like calling GTA "Cheat Codes," "Assist Codes." No difference. 

 

It's the intent of why they made the decision to include a "cheat mode' was included in the first place. They wanted the game to be more accessible, so they began by including a cheat mode. Then decided it was too judgemental and went for Assist Mode, without any outside interference. They came up with the name on their own.

[Bacon]

But it was called cheat mode first because they are cheats and the devs knew it. They just didn't want people to not feel bad about using it so they changed the name. 

[Bacon]

And, not exactly on topic, but Sekiro was really close to actually adding some great accessibility into the game but they fucked it up. There is an item in the game that lets you convert 5 SP into Damage. You get it super late into the game, and it is totally not worth it for normal players(and it is more of a trap than anything) but it would have given an edge to struggling players if it was introduced early. 

[Bacon]

[number305]

So if you play Celeste and you slow the game down, turn on infinite stamina, increase your air dashes, and turn on invincibility... you are not playing Celeste.  

 

I mean for a disabled person I guess you can watch the story.  But whether you are disabled or not you are not going to get the Celeste experience playing that way.  I have not beat Celeste - but I played about the first half of the game and it was good.  The whole point of that game is dying on a level lots and lots of times - and figuring out exactly what you are supposed to do - then even after you know what to do dying lots more times trying to accomplish it - the the best part when you finally nail it and get through to the next screen you get a big rush and sense of accomplishment.  No one is going to get that feeling with all the cheats turned on.  With those cheats on you could probably walk through the game and maybe die a handful of times (if you are invincible then probably only dying when you encounter a hole to fall down).  Its cool if you want or need to play that way but you are not experiencing the real game.

 

Also every game on Xbox has accessibility options.  The Xbox adaptive controller works with any game because it is an xbox controller, and there are a ton of options to make games playable on that thing for a wide variety of individuals.

[Ghost_MH]

1 hour ago, Man of Culture said:

100% this.

 

 

Edit: it is a genuinely thoughtful article worth listening to if you care about issues like difficulty and accessibility.

 

That video doesn't say anything new. Games don't need easy modes, they need accessibility options. This isn't a reframe of an old "this game is too hard" subject. The only reason this is gaining traction over the past couple of years is because the broader subject of inclusiveness in games is gaining traction.

 

Making games easier is not the solution. However, the solution can lead to a game being easier. Slowing the speed of a game for those who can't press buttons fast enough makes games easier. Getting rid of QTEs might make a game easier. Adding visual clues to games where normally you have to listen carefully for hints might make a game easier. Giving auditory clues where normally you'd have to watch for something to pop up on the screen make the game easier. Getting rid of complex button assignments and combinations in cases where people can't afford a $100 controller and all the peripherals you'd need to make a game work with it might make a game easier.

 

Hell, everyone likes to bring up Microsoft's Adaptive Controller like it's an end all be all solution here. It's $100 and includes a d-pad and two buttons. If games don't allow complex inputs to be simplified, it won't work with the base controller. It's already tough enough bring disabled, now we need to spend hundreds on a controller and accessories for that controller when a regular controller might suffice with just a few options to modify the experience to your physical requirements?

 

None of those are easy modes. They're accessibility options that might make a game easier, but that's not the point. Just making a game easier isn't the answer.

[Bacon]

People want easy modes in games they don't like so people who wouldn't play these games in the first place can play them.