Accessibility in mainstream digital games is becoming an increasingly prominent concern, yet accessibility considerations inside of games are still inconsistent, with some developers delivering more accessible games. Very little research has sought to explore the underpinnings of this disparity from the perspective of game developers and game development studios. This thesis seeks to better understand the challenge of making accessible games, primarily from the perspective of game developers with the vision that this understanding can help us develop strategies to ensure accessible and inclusive games are made available, the industry wide.
The thesis begins with an interview-based exploration of the experience of making accessible games, from the perspective of professional game developers, helping us to understand how the personal motivations of developers, organisational support and external resources are all important to creating accessible experiences. This is followed by an exploration of the experiences from a specific studio, first from the perspective of players playing a game output by the studio, and then from the perspective of developers working at the studio that made the game. Combined, this data illuminates several key challenges associated with making accessible games, as well as opportunities that a studio could leverage to enhance their ability to deliver accessible player experiences.
The insight from these studies is then combined into a checklist-style tool that targets game development studios, designed to be used by others to illuminate their challenges, as well as educate organisations on the personal, organisational, and external factors contributing to their ability to succeed in making accessible player experiences. The thesis contributes significantly to a body of literature that has sought to explore the experiences of game developers around game accessibility by providing in-depth insight into the challenges that developers encounter in their efforts to make accessible games. We also provide actionable suggestions and strategies that development studios can use to reflect on their processes and more effectively pursue the creation of increasingly accessible games.
