The team and I designed a traversal system for Mainframe Industries' sandbox MMO Pax Dei.
We conducted research and worked with an accessibility consultant to create six concepts, which we then prototyped and tested with blind individuals.
The final prototype, which included features such as an interactive map, navigation assistance, and audio narration, was well-received by testers.
I assisted with project planning, communication, testing, client contact, and prototyping/design.
Their problem solving skills, organization and teamwork was truly inspiring.
The process used by the team was an almost flawless execution of the design thinking framework.
They have provided us with plenty of useful material that will help to create a better product in terms of accessibility
and additionally they might have laid the groundwork to enable blind gamers to navigate in
sandbox games, which would be an industry first.
We are extremely pleased with the work the four have been doing. We are excited to share these findings with
the games industry.
Our challenge was to design a solution for Mainframe Industries to make the traversal system in their sandbox MMO Pax Dei accessible and enjoyable for totally blind individuals.
Throughout the project we worked closely with Mainframe Industries' Senior UX Designer Jasmin Dahncke and accessibility consultant Brandon Cole.
To gather insights, identify the main challenges faced by blind gamers, and inform the design, we conducted research through playtesting, benchmarking, interviews, and surveys.
The team, Brandon Cole (Accessibility consultant), and Jasmin Dahncke (Senior UX Designer at Mainframe)
Games with good blind accessibility
A player journey and storyboard were created to guide the testing process
Our 6 concepts
Highlight reactions from the test sessions
PROTOTYPING & TESTING
We developed several concepts to address the problem and, after consulting with the accessibility consultant, selected the most promising ones to prototype.
After developing an audio prototype we iterated based on feedback from player test sessions.
The tests identified several issues to be addressed in the next iteration, such as difficulties with setting a waypoint and understanding audio cues.
The second version of the prototype received positive feedback and the players completed the scenarios significantly faster than in the first version.
However, some players still struggled with finding information about resources in their current location and with understanding that "current location" was a menu option.
We addressed these issues in the final version, and concluded that customization and optional accessibility features would be important to consider implementing.
DELIVERY & TAKEAWAYS
I presented our project to Mainframe Industries. The presentation received positive reactions and the I was able to answer detailed questions. Mainframe Industries was satisfied with the project and provided valuable feedback.
In a team retrospective following the project, the team identified a few key takeaways, including the importance of conducting a dry-run of tests and interviews, changing test scenarios between tests, and testing the online meeting place in advance. Additionally, the team emphasized the importance of explaining unusual words during the presentation.
Watch the presentation
"They really did an amazing job with this. They're way ahead of the vast majority of developers I've worked with when it comes to having a mindset for accessibility in games" ‒ Game Designer at Mainframe
Prototype walkthrough
RESOURCES & PROTOYPE
We want to share our work, in the hope of more accessible games in the future!
Their problem solving skills, organization and teamwork was truly inspiring.
The process used by the team was an almost flawless execution of the design thinking framework.
They have provided us with plenty of useful material that will help to create a better product in terms of accessibility
and additionally they might have laid the groundwork to enable blind gamers to navigate in
sandbox games, which would be an industry first.
Our challenge was to design a solution for Mainframe Industries to make the traversal system in their unannounced sandbox MMO more accessible and enjoyable for totally blind individuals.
Target Group
Totally blind gamers.
Collaboration
We frequently updated Mainframes Senior UX Designer Jasmin Dahncke on our progress, and she provided us with insights. Mainframe also put us in contact with the accessibility consultant Brandon Cole, who we worked with closely during the project.
Mainframe Industries Logo
The team, Brandon Cole (Accessibility consultant), and Jasmin Dahncke (Senior UX Designer at Mainframe)
Games with good blind accessibility
2. RESEARCH
We defined our top research goals:
How does a blind gamer play now?
How do other games implement accessibility well?
What was an accessibility design that failed in other games?
Playtest
We played the game to understand the flow, the feeling, and their user journey.
Benchmarking
During one of our first meetings we were assigned 3 game titles that had received praise for their accessibility settings.
We played these games in order to understand what was good, and what was bad.
Accessibility Consultant
We discussed our benchmark findings and questions with the accessibility consultant before our interviews and surveys.
Interviews & surveys
Before we could design any solutions we had to understand the main challenges that blind gamers face when they play.
We interviewed our target audience, and sent out surveys which helped us understand the challenges better.
My concept sketch in the form of a user journey
Our 6 concepts
3. CONCEPT
Concept sketches
Each team member created a concept that would fulfill the brief. We then voted on the top solutions to iterate on during the prototyping.
Player journey & Storyboard
We created a storyboard for the prototype and test flow for the player tests. This helped us create a better first test session.
Concepts
During our concept workshop we identified the top concepts:
Interactive Map
Navigation Assistance
Resource Tracking (Audio Cue Toggle)
Audio Narration
Audio Cues + Audio Glossary
Item Scan
Accessibility Consultant
We discussed our ideas with the accessibility consultant before moving on to prototyping, and he approved all the concepts. He also explained more in detail how he would prefer the navigation assistance and map to work.
4. PROTOTYPING & TESTING
We created an audio prototype which we iterated on, based on feedback from the player test sessions.
Due to technical issues with Adobe XD prototype sharing, we had to quickly adapt our test sessions. We realized that the button keybinds didn't work well in the browser, and that the testers needed to sign in to an adobe account in order to hear the audio. This forced us to improvise, and we solved it by pretending that the players used voice control and letting them tell us which buttons to press during the test session. This also gave us an opportunity to gather data regarding their preferred buttons for each interaction.
Version 1 top insights
All the testers liked the interactive map, and loved the audio narration descriptions. Most could easily navigate both the menu and the environment, but we identified the key problems to fix in the next iteration:
40% of the users had trouble with setting Home as a waypoint
40% of the users had trouble understanding some audio cues
40% of the users wished the list would tell you how many items are in it
40% of the users wanted the map to immediately tell them their location when opened
Version 2 top insights
The navigation worked much better during this version. Each tester completed the scenarios significantly faster than last time. We also gained insight into some details that could be made even better:
60% of the players struggled with finding information about resources in their current location
It wasn't clear to some players that "current location" was a menu
We realized that some audio cues were too similar
Summary of tests
Overall, the players were engaged, excited, and positive about the prototype! The interactive map and audio narration descriptions were especially well liked, and several mentioned that they were excited to play the game in the future.
As with all players, each has specific preferences. As such, it is important that the accessibility features are customizable and optional.
Player demographic
Prototype walkthrough
Highlight reactions from the test sessions
I presented our project to Mainframe Industries.
"They really did an amazing job with this. They're way ahead of the vast majority of developers I've worked with when it comes to having a mindset for accessibility in games" ‒ Game Designer at Mainframe
"Gotta admit, I was so impressed with their work that I wanted to start pushing this stuff even more in our project. (...) this made me realize how we need to rewire people's thinking if we want to do this properly and not as an afterthought" ‒ Combat Lead at Mainframe
Some of the reactions from Mainframe employees.
5. DELIVERY
About 20 of the coworkers joined us for the presentation online, but there was more watching on a big screen at the office.
We were delighted by the positive reactions, and we got to answer several detail-oriented questions.
Mainframe was very happy with our project, and we got some great feedback.
6. KEY TAKEAWAYS
As always we did a team retrospective after the project!
Always do a dry-run of the tests and interviews
Change the test scenarios from test to test
Test the online meeting place at least 2 times beforehand
Explain unusual words in the presentation
Our island retrospective!
7. DELIVERABLES & DOCUMENTS
We want to share our work, in the hope of more accessible games in the future!
