Reflection is an important precursor to attitude and behavior change, but existing advice on designing for reflection in games is mixed and requires further empirical investigation. We report on the design and evaluation (n=32) of a game to prompt student reflection on work-life balance. Participants played as themselves or a third person character (Alex). An inductive qualitative analysis of post-play interviews, and a follow-up one week later, resulted in four themes relating to how gameplay facilitated reflection: making (sensible) consequences visible; it's like MY life; the space between Alex and I; and triggers in everyday life. A deductive qualitative analysis also indicated that while both games resulted in different forms of reflection for the majority of players, those who role-played as Alex appeared more likely to experience higher levels of reflection. Through exploring the ways in which the two versions of the game succeeded, and failed, to support reflection, we highlight the importance of providing a relevant context to players (so the game feels close to their experience), and allowing them to role-play as someone other than themselves (but not too close).

Digital games represent a prominent element of popular culture, with the ability to play as well as participate in video game discourse being a matter of inclusion and equality. However, many digital games are inaccessible for players with disabilities. Only a small amount of literature has sought to understand the difficulties developers experience when making an accessible game. This literature indicates that developers experience numerous difficulties making accessible games, yet underlying causes of these difficulties are not well understood. The present research uses interviews and a grounded theory approach to illuminate the experiences that developers encounter when trying to make accessible games. We identify several difficulties that the game developers experience and describe how these difficulties are affected by knowledge and motivations of the individual developer, organisational attributes of the work environment, and the use of external resources such as drawing upon the experiences of players with disabilities.

Abstract The profile of accessible design of digital games has increased rapidly in both research and practice. Whereas at one time accessibility was a niche area of interest, it is now a key feature promoted in commercial gaming. Typically, games achieve accessibility by offering a range of options, both in settings and gameplay, that players can customize to meet their individual needs and preferences. However, there is a distinct lack of systematic data regarding the accessibility options that players prefer, how options can be prioritized in design or how options can impact player experience. This paper presents a study that collects data about options preferred by players and uses it to expand and validate a design vocabulary for accessible design in games. Further, the results point to a need to prioritize particular types of options, specifically those relating to the player-feedback loop of games, before implementing options that modify the challenges encountered by players.

Abstract In research and practice into the accessibility of digital games, much of the work has focused on how to make games accessible to people with disabilities. With an increasing number of people with disabilities playing mainstream commercial games, it is important that we understand who they are and how they play in order to take a more user-centered approach as this field grows. We conducted a demographic survey of 154 players with disabilities and found that they play mainstream digital games using a variety of assistive technologies, use accessibility options such as key remapping and subtitles, and they identify themselves as gamers who play digital games as their primary hobby. This gives us a richer picture of players with disabilities and indicates that there are opportunities to begin to look at the accessible player experiences (APX) players have in games.