With a sign language actor in Forza Horizon 5, Ray-Fleury no longer has to ask his family what he missed.
“There are a lot of people with disabilities and deafness, and many doors are closed every day. What I mean is that people like us are consistently always present. It’s regarding equality. Being on the same ground means I’m not distracted by the closed doors. I’m not trying to eliminate inequality. It’s most important to be with your family, “says Ray-Fleury. “It’s also transmitted to me, who is deaf. Play is an important part of life for everyone, as many people continue to be socially isolated in a pandemic.”
Tara Voelker, accessibility lead at Xbox Game Studios, said the game played a major role in overcoming traumatic injuries. When she was 10 years old, she was hit by her car on her way home from school and it took quite a long time for her to recover.
“I mightn’t go out or do anything with my friends. I loved video games, so at that time I might be childish with video games until my recovery and do something with my friends. I was able to do it, “Volker said. She still remembers playing her first “The Legend of Zelda,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” and “Indy Jones’ Last Holy War.” “It was my life for a few months, but the impact is still there. I knew for myself that games would be very important.”
Volker held an inclusive workshop a few years ago at Playground Games, where he wanted to get feedback from the deaf and hard of hearing early in the development of Forza Horizon 5. In doing so, he used the connections of the disabled people in the UK community to contact Akito and other experts and bring them together in the same room as the game developers.
Volker, who has been involved in the development of games such as BioShock Infinite, says, “The future direction of the entire product has been decided.” “It was incorporated into the development process.”
Over the course of two days, the developers learned from the room where people with disabilities talked regarding their gaming experiences and what was the reason they didn’t get the same experience as people without disabilities. ..
“By talking to them, I was able to figure out what I was struggling with,” said Tarnya Smith, producer of Forza Horizon 5 at Playground Games. “It was just an eye-opener. On the production side, the subtitles were great and I thought they would be useful for everyone, but they didn’t really help the deaf people who rely on sign language. I see. This was a big alarm. “
At that point Playground GamesAccessibility is the core of the gameIn addition to receiving the Accessibility Innovation Award at The Game Awards 2021, the same year Can I Play That? Accessibility Awards (Can I play? Accessibility Award) It has also won awards in two categories.
“We’ve realized that adding these features gives us the opportunity to make our games even more enjoyable,” said Mike Brown, creative director of Forza Horizon 5. “This is an important part of the game and we need to protect it from being lost.”
The development team also knew that there was a deeper need for such accessibility features.
“The gaming experience requires a lot of things, and when you do that, there are players who make different discoveries and face other challenges,” says Brown. “We will continue to solve the problems of various people. The complexity that is the strength of the game also brings us the problems that we creators have to solve.”
Playground Games has learned this time, but we are also correcting the trajectory.
According to Smith, he first hired a company run by the deaf and auditioned to support the casting of actors according to the scene, but more manpower was needed there. It is said that he noticed. For example, casts, crews, interpreters to communicate with actors, consultants to see if the actor’s sign language meets the standards, and if the language is appropriate.
With the focus on accessibility, Playground Games has taken a whole new process of getting everything into the game and seeing if it really works. So I consulted with Mr. Akito and other deaf people many times, asked them to play the game, and evaluated the reaction.
Akito sees this update as a precedent for other gaming studios and the gaming industry as a whole.
“It’s really a precedent and a standard has been set. It’s like a new territory, and if Playground Games can do it, other big studios should be able to do the same.” Said Mr. Akito. “I’m looking forward to seeing what’s coming out. Standardized formats may come out, other studios may imitate, and what to the community of the deaf and hard of hearing. I’m also worried regarding the opportunity. “
Brown says his commitment to all gamers will continue.
“By developing a game like this, it’s easy for some people to think of themselves as an accessibility expert,” Brown said. “I think we should be truly humble. We must continue this effort, continue to question, and have the power to make it better.”
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