[Interview] The goal of Xbox… The world where everyone plays as much as I want
[ Park Yeo-jin reporter] The ultimate goal of Xbox is that all users, including more than 400 million gamers with disabilities, will be able to play the game they want with their desired devices.
Anita Mortality Microsoft (MS) Xbox accessibility director (Director of Accessibility) emphasized in an interview with. Mortality said that the game can open a new community window for gamers with disabilities. I realized that people can connect to each other and share joy and sympathize with each other through the fan-decicated game, he said.
MS, who has been in Microsoft for 16 years, has been working as an accessibility director through the engineering department. Accessibility is a field that supports anyone who can experience the desired game regardless of the failure, and includes both emotional aspects, including the technical and belonging of developing related functions. He is experiencing the process of listening and modifying feedback at an unexpected point as an engineer, realizing the importance of inclusive design and technology.
Microsoft is one of the game companies that show the most active steps in accessibility for people with disabilities. In 2018, the company launched the ‘Xbox Adaptive Controller’ to establish a controller system that suits the disability pattern, and also built an ‘Xbox access guideline’ that provides services for gamers with disabilities the following year.
After about two years of research, Microsoft began to embody the needs for developers and users. In February 2021, he launched the Microsoft Gaming Accessibility Testing Service (MATS).
This is a program that verifies access to game access by connecting developers and disability testers, and more than 150 titles have been tested. In November of the same year, the Accessibility Feature Tag also provided users with intuitive accessibility options.
About MATS, Mortality Director said, Every year, more studios, developers, and publishers want to use the service. I expect it to be.
The Xbox team will also launch the ‘Players with Disability Focus (PWD)’ service that provides gamer’s feedback to developers with comprehensive tests such as MATS. The focus is on providing a solution that focuses on core scenarios, menu search and game settings.
The Xbox Ambassador Accessibility Explorer Path, a running module for those who lack access to accessibility, has also been added. The Xbox Ambassador can test the platform and game accessibility function and check the best practices.
The addition of ‘accessibility options’ to the game means that more people can play the game in the way they want, and in the process, they may feel that they have been embraced. You should be able to choose to play.
He emphasized that gamers with disabilities have no reason to give up a fast or difficult game. This means that it will help to compete with non-disabled people in existing games without focusing on ‘functional games’ suitable for people with disabilities or easy games.
Accessibility options are actually very diverse. Subtitles, text-sized adjustments, text voice conversions, color change functions for color blinds are continuously updated. For example, the ‘Stories of Blossom’, which is about to be released next year, is also a game that is being developed by expanding accessibility options for many people to participate in the game, rather than the title suitable for a specific type of disability.
The Grounded, which was launched in September, puts an option to adjust the sound effect in the scenes of spiders or spiders for those with spider phobia, and in Fora Horizon 5, US sign language (ASL) and England Sign language (BSL) is applied. ‘Halo’ supported allies and other color options for color drug users.
With the recent aging of the game population, access can be an important topic for non-disabled people. This enhancement of accessibility is not limited to the disabled or a specific type, but the story of everyone is the story of everyone.
Everyone lives at some point in the disorder or equivalent physical condition. In addition to genetic factors, accidents, and aging, they can be widely Otis media or go to a noisy concert the day before, and they may not be able to hear their ears, and they can also include a ‘situation disorder’ where the headset may break down.
Most of us suffer from one or more disabilities, whether it’s permanent, temporary, or situation, he said. In the long run, Xbox wants to create a world that represents the diversity and inclusiveness of all population.