Inclusive design
My primary motivation as a games designer is to make better games, but I also think in doing so I could help make a better industry. I think games should be for everyone to play, and anyone who has the passion to make. I think it is important that we as designers take responsibility for our work and the messages it conveys. In creating we should always be deliberate. The steps I need to take to make work I am proud of include being aware of my own prejudices so I can avoid accidently incorporating them into my games, trying to see the experience I am creating from the viewpoint of a variety of players to ensure my message is still conveyed as I would wish it, and working with people whose opinions and life experiences are different from mine to create rich, and diverse experiences. This could be summarised down into three words: inclusivity, accessibility and diversity.
INCLUSIVITY
The Goal: Everyone is represented and feels comfortable in the fictional world I have created unless they are not meant to make a deliberate, and preferably narrative supported, point. At the very least they should not feel excluded.
Implementation: A constant and ongoing process of reflective analysis while designing games, and particular characters, is the most important thing I can do towards making this happen. It will help me identify when I am falling back on unnecessary stereotypes instead of developing strong characters that can stand on their own. I will not be afraid to ask the same questions of everyone else in my team, and challenge them to question and take responsibility for their own ideas. It is easy not to notice incorporating your own prejudices, but your audience will notice them.
There is an overall question I want to establish that ALL designers should always be asking themselves when it comes to inclusion. That is, “What message does including this send, and does it need to be said?” If it doesn’t send the message you want the game to send, then re-evaluate your design.
ACCESSIBILITY
The Goal: People are not restricted from playing my games by visual, cognitive, physical or auditory issues.
Implementation: Games mean so much to me, and have been an important part of my life. It has given me many rewards, in entertainment, in confidence, in self reflection, in community, and in exploration. It would pain me to see anyone miss out on the things gaming has to offer. As an example 4.5% of the population experiences some kind of colourblindness. (Colour Blind Awareness, 2015) Those who best understand how to resolve these issues are those who experience them, and getting in contact with them is the first step. Luckily many groups have stepped forward to make this information publically accessible and even create tools to help. The least I can do is use them. For instance, http://www.etre.com/tools/colourblindsimulator/ shows examples of how designs would look to people with various vision impairments.
I also found http://www.includification.com/ to be an excellent resource for a variety of conditions.
It goes beyond just creating games that everyone can play without feeling excluded, it asks questions of how games interact with our health and our lives and our sense of self. Games are a powerful medium, and can do a lot of harm. But they can also do so much good. Games can be healthy and positive experiences for everyone if we as designers take responsibility to make them so.
DIVERSITY
The Goal: My games aren’t just played by everyone, but made by people who have diverse backgrounds so my games represent more than just a single viewpoint on the world.
Implementation:
“If you ask people to hire who they like, what you end up with is a homogenous team. People like people who are just like themselves.” (Sheri Graner Ray, Nymgamer.com, 2012)
Games are not exclusive. Anyone can pick one up, play it and have a wonderful experience. No one should miss out on the fantastic things that games can offer. I don’t want to work with people like me. I don’t want to work in an environment that will close doors and miss opportunities. I want to work with people who are open to anything, whose only philosophy is “I can do anything except things I haven’t tried yet”. Those are the people that will turn this industry from the boys club it is into something that everyone can be a part of and enjoy. In saying that, I don’t want to pander. Not because I don’t believe in inclusivity, but because I believe that it shouldn’t matter who is included and who is not. It shouldn’t matter who made the game or what was behind it. All that matters is whether you enjoyed it. If the answer is “Yes” then I have done my job. If the answer is “No” then I want to know why not, and how I can make the next one better. That’s all.
References:
Etre.com,. (2015). Colour Blindness Check - Etre. Retrieved 8 November 2015, from http://www.etre.com/tools/colourblindsimulator/
User, S. (2015). Welcome to Includification - Actionable Game Accessibility. Includification.com. Retrieved 8 November 2015, from http://www.includification.com/
Nymgamer.com,. (2015). Episode 30: An NYMG Interview with Game Designer Sheri Graner Ray | Not Your Mama's Gamer. Retrieved 8 November 2015, from http://www.nymgamer.com/?p=1060
