itch.io

It is done! Unburied is now published + submitted to the jam

Copy-pasting the contents of the first few posts in the thread by Eb for you:

People stress me out with how much they misunderstand "alt text is contextual".

It doesn't mean you put the context of the image in the alt text. It doesn't mean you skimp on the alt text, either.

It means the alt text is going to change depending on where and why you post the image.

"Alt text is contextual" means if I post a photo of my dog with a toy on a thread or forum about digital photo editing, my alt text is going to very briefly skim over the details of my dog and the toy and I'm going to describe other qualities of the image, like background blur, sharpness, tint, etc.

If I post that same image of my dog and a toy on a review of the toy, the alt text will be primarily about the toy as it appears in the image. 

If I post that image on a "show your dog's coat pattern" forum or thread, the alt text will focus on describing my dog's coat pattern in the image.

If I were to post that photo here as a "look at my adorable dog; she will lift your mood" thing, then I want to describe what it is about my dog in that image that is so adorable and mood-lifting. Is it her facial expression? Her posture? Her giant ears?

This is what "alt text is contextual" means.

If you are posting a screenshot of the game, for the alt text you would describe what is pictured in the screenshot, but how you describe it depends on why you have chosen that screenshot. For example, let's say there's a screenshot of the villain and the hero swordfighting. Did you post that screenshot to introduce the characters, to demonstrate a core gameplay mechanic, or to illustrate the art style of the game? The same picture would be described differently depending on the purpose of the screenshot. 

Also (and I hate that I have to say this) using alt text has benefits beyond the inclusion of disabled people: if, for example, the images aren't loading, they can check the alt text and know what the images are supposed to be. If instead they just see the word "screenshot", they might write you off instead

Circling back because I found a good thread that unpacks how the purpose (and therefore meaning) of images shifts in different contexts, and why that means you adapt the alt text to the purpose rather than omitting it entirely: https://bsky.app/profile/ebthen.bsky.social/post/3l7mgydvp762k

Thanks for hosting! This is going to be my second jam, so fingers crossed I can get a good balance between "good" and "done"

Hello, and thank you!

Hello! I joined Itch to participate in the recent one-page RPG jam, and ended up submitting a one-page RPG about traveling the Multiversal Library System via word association. I plan to release other content too, and have written some stuff for DayLITE Publications as well. I like SFF + Horror, games in general, and cats

Hello! Just wanted to let you know that if you design with accessibility in mind, it's entirely possible for people who are blind or have low vision to play your games. For example, I just released a one-page TTRPG, and in the process of designing it, I:
-Used text-to-speech software to make sure all the text could be read aloud
-Also included a plain text file in case of software incompatibility or other user needs
As for alt text, my screenshots include a filled-out example of gameplay, so I'd like to add alt text for anyone who relies on it (such as screenreader users), and in this case the alt text would include the text of the given example. Similarly, I have a banner that has the game title + a badge for the One-Page RPG Jam, which would be very simple to describe in alt text but now I have to add to the description.

Anyway, if you're interested in learning more about accessibility in gaming (or alt text in particular), here are a couple links:

Free Accessibility in Gaming Resources Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZFSXz-Yva1KZAsP7NblCdkoiQ6RcjxSV2gj98eXusJs/...

How to Write Alt Text for Memes (a guide with applicability beyond memes and in general a good starting point): https://veroniiiica.com/how-to-write-alt-text-for-memes/

I agree that we need alt text for cover images, banners, and screenshots (I found this thread because I was trying to figure out how to add them on Itch). Guess I'll have to some image descriptions as a stopgap

Thank you for the templates + explanations!

I just downloaded this and you absolutely nailed the Gothic Horror vibes

Thank you!