Welcome to Accessibility Jam
Make a game in 10 days that can be comfortably played by people with hand tremors! Are you up to the challenge?
Accessibility is an incredibly important part of game design. Adding even the most basic accessibility options can open your game up to being played by a ton of different people, and helps those with disabilities enjoy themselves.
That being said, we are aware that options like this aren't always that easy to implement, which is why we've revealed the specific type of accessibility consideration we want you to make early - there will be a theme announced at the start of the jam that pairs with the accessibility consideration.
What are hand tremors?
Hand tremors means uncontrollable, involuntary hand shaking. They can be caused by Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease, strokes, and can significantly impact a person's ability to play games. We, as game designers, can do lots to accomodate this! Read further below for a couple of examples for how you can help people suffering from these conditions enjoy your games.
Theme: CHILLED
Head on over to the Discord server to discuss your ideas! Here are a few ways in which you could interpret "chilled": "relaxed", "cold", "frighten", "hanging out with friends". A chill vibe, it's chilly out, it chilled me to the bone, I'm chilling with Dave this weekend.
Research
There might be a little bit of extra research required to work with this accessibility consideration. Helping people with hand tremors play your game requires careful consideration of input. Here are a couple of tips to get you started:
INPUT COOLDOWN
People with hand tremors may accidentally press buttons multiple times. It might be a good idea to add a "cooldown" on input, so multiple presses aren't registered.
Game Accessibility GuidelinesINPUT SENSITIVITY
Different games require different levels of sensitivity. A player with hand tremors may require a lower sensitivity so they can aim/move/etc with more precision.
Game Accessibility GuidelinesMISCLICKS
Giving players a way to handle unintentional input is incredibly important. Examples of this might be an "undo" mechanic, a button to cancel/go back. Along the same lines, you might make changes of direction a "hold" action - e.g. if you were making snake, you might have the snake move in the direction you're currently holding down.
GAMEPLAY CONSIDERATIONS
Perhaps you could design your game entirely around not needing precise input. A slower-paced puzzle game, for example, would eliminate the need for input sensitivity adjustments. There are plenty of games that you can make that won't require specific considerations!
UI CONSIDERATIONS
When making your UI, make sure buttons have a larger click area, and have a hover state. This makes it clear what can be clicked, and the larger click area will help guard against misclicks.
Guidelines
- You should work in some way to make your game accessibile to players with hand tremors.
- There will be a separate, optional theme, announced when the jam starts.
- You’re allowed to jam by yourself, or in teams, and there is no limit on the size of the team.
- It would be good to have a playable Windows or WebGL build, however supporting other platforms is encouraged - such as macOS and Linux.
- English is required for major text in your game, however supporting other languages is encouraged where possible.
- If your game contains disturbing or otherwise NSFW content you must add appropriate warnings.
Rating
Ratings will be based on:
- Accessibility: What steps has the creator taken to make the game more accessible? Have they gone the extra mile?
- Approachability: How easy were you able to get into the game? Was the game intuitive or did it have a good tutorial?
- Overall: How fun was it to play? Did the game have the right amount of challenge? Did you enjoy the experience?
- Creativity: How creative was the idea that the game took on? Was it unique? Did the team try something new or take on a different approach to the genre?
- Visuals: Graphics, atmosphere, and overall look or aesthetic of the game. Is it consistent and nice to look at?
- Sound: How well do the music and sound effects fit in with the overall environment of the game?
Q&A
Can I use [engine]?
Yes! Absolutely, use whatever engine you like. Unity, Godot, Unreal, your own custom engine - everything goes.
Can I use premade assets, scripts, or ideas?
Yes! You can use any assets you have as long as they follow these guidelines:
- The asset is general purpose (e.g. character controllers).
- You have the legal right to use them.
- Write which assets were made before the jam in your description.
- Credit any assets you don't own in the description.
As for ideas, you are free to plan out your game before the jam starts, and also remember the theme!
Can I submit my old game or start working on my game before the jam starts?
The majority of your game should be made during the jam, premade assets are an exception to this and can be made before the jam starts, following the guidelines stated above.
How much time do we have?
You have 10 days to create your game and submit it to the jam. After that there will be a rating period that will last another week before we announce the results. During the rating period, submissions will be locked - no bugfixes allowed. This is a game jam, it's not supposed to be perfect!
Where can I ask more questions about the jam?
There are 2 main places. You can ask on OUR DISCORD SERVER, or you can go to the community tab right here on itch and ask there! There will be plenty of people willing to help. Lots of people are new to game jams here, and if you are one of them, there are a bunch of experienced jammers who can answer any doubts or questions related to participating in game jams in general.
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