Games + Learning + Society Conference Proceedings

Accessible games are valued, doable and ultimately, accessible design is teachable. While the game community has been increasing its accessibility efforts, it can still feel challenging for design teams to prioritize and design for accessibility, particularly on games for learning. Some guidelines can be overwhelming and intimidating and may present contradictions when addressing different players’ needs. Learners need an opportunity to think through accessibility needs on a spectrum, consider categories (such as visual, hearing, motor and cognitive), and review designs in ways that are meaningful and doable. Designers and design students can learn accessibility design through a collaborative and participatory process. This established accessibility framework has been designed to help a facilitator guide participants through best practices on accessibility and apply it to the design process of transformational games. This collaborative learning leads to shared reflection on how to best teach accessibility and can be adjusted for use in formal classes or informal professional settings tailored based on the participants' needs.