The Playstation Experience 2016 took place in Anaheim, California, bringing game developers from all over the world to show off their newest projects. AbleGamers staff were there to speak to these developers and the gamers attending the convention about our mission. The experience allowed for Ablegamers to spread the message of Accessibility to hundreds of attendees that approached our booth. Ablegamers Staff even sold out of shirts! This didn’t stop guests from donating and wanting to become a part of the cause, and many new friends were made to keep ensuring everyone can game in 2017.
Mark Barlet, founder of AbleGamers, spoke on a panel focused on accessibility in gaming on Sunday of the event. The panel focused on how the gaming industry must figure out which barriers exist to keep gamers with disabilities from enjoying the games they love, and how best to remove these barriers from existence. Mark and the other speakers made a point of emphasizing that gaming can and should be accessible to all, and that the tools to make these options are available for all developers. Adding subtitles, using symbols instead of colors, adding options in difficulty levels, controller setups and other customizable options found at Accessible.Games that all allow for gamers to continue gaming.
“I’m a storyteller, and I want everyone to enjoy my story” is a mindset that Mark hopes all game developers can adopt. No longer is an accessibility feature something that gamers should have to beg for, but rather something that should automatically be given so that no one is held back from any game. Fellow panelists agreed with this, stating that accessibility is a message everyone in the gaming community should be helping to spread. The entire panel is available on Sony’s YouTube channel, check it out!